Hi, I hope everyone is doing well. Today was a long day but a good one. I got the keys to my new apartment and I'm looking forward to a new place to live. I just have to learn from my mistakes, I don't want history to repeat itself.

I feel a bit overwhelmed with the move and some ongoing medical issues but I think today was a good day.

Good night.

Amy

I'm excited for tomorrow. I get to work with my new guy friend and we have an awesome team for closing! Should be a good day compared to the last week or so. Unless they drag him downstairs to cover a call-off. I swear somebody calls of every single day And they always pull from men's. Like hello! It's almost Father's Day, we're busy as **** in Men's!

But on another note, I got a pap smear at the beginning of May and my gyn called me the other day. I've been working during office hours every day since and won't get a chance to call back until Monday. Hoping everything is Ok! And I only have 20 hours next week, which normally would be fine, but my long distance boyfriend is coming to see me in August and I really need the money! I can not afford for every week to be like this so I hope they're just trying to fix my average for a busy week later in the month. I'll have to really save this month to make up for the lousy hours.

Just a quick post this morning. It appears I've plateaued at 218. Super heavy, calorie-blasting workouts all week and no loss according to the scale. Even though it is Sunday, which is usually a day for a longer workout, I think I'll keep it light today--maybe just a walk--and give myself a bit of a break before hitting the gym hard again on Monday. Barrels of sunshine and warm temps today so I do plan to get outside and soak up some Vit. D. :)

I'm still not exercising much. I go for a very short walk M-F. My mobility isn't improving. Plain old walking is a challenge still even with losing 100+ lbs. I'm really discouraged. I didn't lose any weight this week either. This is the first time I weighed myself and it wasn't lower. With not sleeping well so often I think I am eating more. I'm really frustrated.

We both just need to stick with it. Don't give up. Recommit to your program and do the best you can to get your walking in. We can both do this, lilturtle. All of us can do this!

Celebrated my birthday today by taking a shopping trip. I tried on a pair of size 20 jeans and they fit. Unfortunately, they were low-rise jeans and $70. Besides that, they already had holes in them. Not a chance was I spending money on those. Since the 20 fits (down another size!), I came home and ordered 3 pair of jeans online for less than $60. ($19.99 each and a 40% off one item coupon).

We went out for lunch for the first time in eight months. I had a salad a lobster caesar salad. I forgot to ask for the dressing on the size so couldn't eat the lettuce on the bottom of the plate because it was saturated with fatty dressing. All I really wanted was the chunks of lobster, anyway. :) The salad was to fill in the gaps. :lol:

Hi there!

I've had an okay day, packing, spending time with my guinea pig and fighting off the side effects from a medicine. I think I'm making progress!

Ohio- congratulations on passing your test, way to go! Math can be quite tricky, but good for you for passing, yay!

Melarie- I hope that everything is ok with your health. :hug:

Worth the effort- I know that plateaus can be so frustrating, hang in there! I've gained some weight, I've got to get it off, weight can be so tedious! Good for you for working out! :hug:

Lil turtle- hugs! :hug: :hug: :hug: I've had mobility issues too. Have you thought about physical therapy? Maybe that could help. After my ankle surgery, I ate more than I needed to and it worked against me, I can relate. Take care.

Worth the effort- Happy Birthday! My birthday is next month. I enjoy shopping too but I do too much of it. Congrats on fitting into a size 20! Yay!


Have a nice evening. :)

Amy

worththeeffort2 - Happy birthday!!!

Amy, my copay for physical therapy is $30 visit. I'm going to be paying over $200 a month in therapy costs. My brother is an athletic trainer, maybe I will ask him for ideas.

Howdy folks! Not a whole lot to say today. It's my day off from the BERP and also from socializing (yay!), since my niece Margaret and her son Gavin are coming over on Wednesday instead of Sunday.

Bob and I are Formula One fans, so we watched an exciting auto race today. Other than that, the only thing of note is that I worked on the first page of my new art journal. What's an art journal? It's like a regular journal in that you write about your life, thoughts, feelings, etc., but also you do art on the pages. You explore new techniques, try to push the envelope of where you're at creatively, that sort of thing. Most of the pages have both writing and art on them, all woven together, but some pages just have art. My great-niece Grace and I are both starting art journals: she came over yesterday for another session of helping me sort clippings, and we showed each other how we'd decorated the front & back covers of our journals. She'd already filled several pages with visual & verbal info about what she's been up to. She's off to a great start! I have to keep reminding myself that she's only 13, and trying to remember what I was like at 13. She's really a whiz at sorting my clippings, hardly ever needing to ask me "Where does this one go?"

I'm not so bummed out about the BERP anymore. I'm starting to see the baseboards in multiple rooms. Everywhere I look, I'm amazed at the spaces that have opened up. The end is not in sight yet, but I don't feel so overwhelmed. It's easy for me to think of what area to attack next: that's a good feeling. And Bob is excited, too. He's beginning to believe that we really will get our house back.

I'm too tired to do personals, so I'll just say that I'm thinking about all of you, including those who haven't checked in recently. Happy Birthday, Worthy! Size 20 is awesome! Sorry to hear you're frustrated, Trish: just hang in there & stick with your eating plan, and you'll keep losing weight. Comparing our two tickers, it looks like we're at similar points in the journey: not to halfway yet, but getting there. We can do this—we really can!

Anyway... Take care, everyone!

Amy: Glad to hear you're making progress with packing.

Lilturtle: I think it's a great idea for you to talk with your brother. He might have a whole bag of tricks he can share with you.

Fiona: I'm so glad to hear that Bob is starting to come around and be positive about the changes taking place. Congrats on making progress and taking time to feel good about the progress you've made.

Back to work for me today. Yesterday's weather was so perfect. I wish every day would be just like it. :) My annual performance review is on Wednesday. Even though my job performance is top-notch, my supervisor is mercurial. Her moods are unpredictable and I am in the unfortunate position of "favorite whipping boy." Life is easier when I can stay under the radar but this week, I'll be front-and-center because of my review. Bleh.

This will be really short, as I'm so busy lately. Mood has been good, thankfully, but getting nowhere on the weightloss front. Hope to turn that around this week. Possible severe awkwardness with my mom this coming weekend, but I'm going to ignore, and hope it goes away.

I'll try and get back later for a longer post...my boss is gone this week, so I'm kind of difacto supervisor again...I'd rather be busy than bored at work, but it does cut down on my internet time! :)

Hi there,

I'll make this a quick post because I need to get back to packing which is a bit overwhelming at the moment. I know I'm making progress but my anxiety level is high, which isn't helped by all of this excessive clutter. I'm a bit nervous about the movers, I've seen great reviews on yelp but I've also seen a D- grade for a moving company with the same name on the BBB website, I don't know if it's the same company.

It feels good to have vented a bit, thank you all for reading.

Take care,

Amy

last post for awhile?
 

Hello support buddies! This might be my last post for awhile since we leave for Ireland first thing in the morning. I am busy as heck with appointments and packing and laundry before we leave. Also hope to get my house in some order before we leave since a friend is staying with our dogs there. I am running out of time. It will take us all day and night to get to Ireland due to the 5 hour time difference. I am looking forward to doing nothing but relax once we finally get on the plane! Things seem to be better with my mom, so all should be okay there. I hope we can have some good conversations with my parents while we are there.

Lilturtle: please hang in there! All will be okay and you will start losing weight again if you keep on walking and watch portions. Everyone hits plateaus from time to time. We are all here cheering you on!!! :cheer2: Big hugs to you! :hug: :hug: :hug:

No sleep again last night but this was due to a toothache. I don't have dental insurance. *sigh* It sucks to be poor but not poor enough for medicaid in times like this. On the bright side, my desire to eat is really low even though I am starving.

Another day of the BERP. I'm still working to free up book boxes ("banker's box" size) for the remaining books we're giving to charity. I spent the whole day emptying just one box, since it had a lot of magazines in it that needed to be paged through for clipping images. Clipping is the slowest, and the hardest, part of this project. At the end of a day of clipping, my eyes are so tired I have to lie in the dark for a few hours.

Tonight is the night we put out our recycles: I'm glad we have two big bins on wheels, because this week's BERP-ing filled one to the brim and the other half-full with discarded paper. I feel sorry for the men who have to pick them up and dump their contents in the truck, because paper is so heavy!

I'm too trashed to say any more. Tomorrow I'm going to do something other than clipping, that's for sure. G'night, y'all—I'm wishing for all of you a happy Tuesday!

this has been on my mind..have you heard the results? thinking of you!

Hi Fi, lilturtle, Amy, worth, lost, Monte C., Ohio, Sabrina, and Kathleen, who is winging her way to Ireland

Fi, what a sense of accomplishment you must be feeling each day ( I hope :) Seeing baseboards is major!

Amy, I hope your anxiety is not bad today about moving. It is a huge upheaval (literally!) isn't it.

lilturtle, very sorry about the toothache, that is the worst pain in my opinion.

Worthy, I hope the mercurial supervisor sets her sights on someone else for a while! we have a front-of-the-house woman like that. She likes me fine when she needs cookies for a personal family party..then the same day she'll say something kinda mean, just to get a laugh. Ugh to people like that.Oh! belated Happy Birthday :)

Lost, it was good to hear from you!

Monte C., hey enjoy your position at the top :D :devil:

Sabrina, how are you doing? :)

I finally had the appt. to have my dented car looked at; if the ins. co. agrees, I will be getting a whole new bumper :carrot: and have my air bag sensor checked/repaired. to the tune of over $700. And not one penny out of my pocket :p as it was 'the other guys' fault.

I haven't been doing terribly with eating, but I haven't been on the straight and narrow path either, which means I'm not down either. This has happened so often before, I can look okay (in my eyes) at this weight, yet I want to get down in to the 140's!!!

Yes I did, thanks for asking :) They said it's probably nothing, that there was an abnormality, but they ran a couple of the tests a second time and everything was negative so it was probably just a mild yeast infection or some sort of irritation. I just have to get another one in 6 months.

Man, I need more hobbies or some friends outside of work. I get sooo bored on my days off that I can't wait to go back to work. I'm sitting here counting down the hours until I can start getting ready! Sad that my buddy Alex won't be there for two days though.

Speaking of work though, now that the initial stress of a new job has worn off, I'm eating normally again and I'm not losing like I was those first couple weeks. I'm glad that I'm more comfortable at work, but I could seriously do without the bigger appetite!

I saw a dentist a little bit ago. Got an antibiotic and vicoden. It will have to be pulled later this week.

Nothing worse than being depressed and letting your feelings out only to see that your post was lost.....

I'm so incredibly sad and depressed right now. I'm not seeing any weight loss and no change in the way clothes are fitting. I'm working my butt off in the gym and watching what I eat and I'm getting nothing. Right now I'm so depressed I'm not oging to go to my cycling class because I can never make it through them when I sad and depressed like this. I'd end up quitting halfway through which is just even more depressing, so I'm not going to go. All of this, not seeing results, makes me want to eat, but I know that won't make me feel better. I'll just end up feeling worse. My husband says he loves me just as I am, but I don't love me. I gained all of this weight during a nearly 9 month pregnancy and now I'm just FAT. I don't have a baby to tote around or talk about that can be the reason for why I am the way I am. Nope, I just am. I still have to wear maternity pants because I can't get into a size 16 pants yet and size 18 are so incredibly huge on me I can't wear them comfortably. I'm so mad at myself right now, because it's obviously something I'm doing wrong. Probably still eating too much or the wrong things or whatever. I just don't know what to do anymore. I HATE my job, but every job I've applied to I don't even get an interview. I've prayed for God to find me something, but it's clear I must have to be miserable right now. I hate my body, I hate my job. I just want to be happy, but it seems like it's just not going to happen.

Oh Sabrina :( I am so sorry you are so sad. You experienced all the downs of being pregnant without being given the joy at the end ... so unfair and wrong.

It is always wonderful when our guys tell us they love us just as we are! and they do. But as long as we don't love ourselves, we won't be content.

I don't have anything useful to say, but I am wishing I could offer something helpful. :hug::hug::hug:

lilturtle, sorry about having to lose the tooth, but I hope you get relief with the vicodin.

melarie - Well I guess it is a great thing to look forward to your next day at work, even without your pal :D

Hang in there, Sabrina!
 

Sabrina: I am so sorry that all of your hard work hasn't paid off yet. That is so incredibly frustrating, I know from experience. :( Please try not to put yourself down. The negative self-talk only makes things worse. Expect results to come and keep on working hard with food and exercise..... and you WILL get results in time. I am trusting in this myself, too, so BELIEVE along with me that better days are ahead of us! I am in Boston, on my way to Ireland, and hubby plugged in his computer, so I just have a quick chance to write. I am sending HUGS :hug: to all of you and hoping that things get better for Sabrina and Trish, and that all is well with everyone else. Trish, so sorry about your tooth. Sounds painful. Glad you saw a dentist and got meds to help you feel better. Hang in there everyone! We are in this TOGETHER!!!!! :grouphug:

Sabrina, I'm just passing through here so we don't know each other, but I am very sorry to hear that you are so unhappy. Believe me, I know the feeling of trying so hard with no results. Please keep up the exercise as much as you can. Even if it isn't giving you the weight loss you want, it is doing wonderful things for your body. Increased endurance, strengthening muscles and bones, increased lung capacity, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, lowering resting heart rate, stress reduction....I'm sure there's some other benefits I've missed. It will probably lead to weight loss eventually. Your hormones are probably still all screwed up from the pregnancy. Take a deep breath and relax. Things will change.

Fiona, I think I need to embark on a BERP of my own! My biggest issues are books and clothes. I don't think I've disposed of any clothing in the past 20 years. I could lose 60 lbs, and have things to wear all the way down without doing any shopping. I only get rid of things that are ripped or stained beyond repair.

I also have books everywhere. I read fiction and then pass it on, but I have shelves and boxes of cookbooks, and self help books that sometimes help and sometimes not. I try to donate the excess to the library for used-book sales, but am reluctant to get rid of them. My life would be so much better without all the clutter. I would be very happy if a guest could actually come to visit and stay in the guest room. Right now it would be like sleeping in a warehouse! LOL

Feeling a bit better today having slept and having the vicodin. I hope to get back on track.

I had a bit of a breakdown yesterday... my boyfriend and I have been in a long distance relationship since september 2012 and we were supposed to have our first visit in july for my birthday. Due to passport issues we've had to push that date back a couple weeks, which upset me because I was really looking forward to spending a birthday with him. Well yesterday he came home and told me something else was wrong and we had to push it back by another 3 weeks. For some reason, this really upset me (even though it's actually nice because it gives us each 2 extra paychecks before the visit) and we had a little... conflict over it. Everything is fine now, although I'm getting increasingly more discouraged about how things will work out. Ugh. I hate planning things like this. So stressful, and my friend keeps asking me when the big day is and I feel silly telling him a different date every time.

Hi from my new place :)
 

Hi there everyone!

I'm all moved into my new apartment, this is very exciting and today was a crazily hectic day. I think that the movers that came are a good company but they had mechanical difficulties so they were running very late, fortunately the building where I moved into was very flexible. I think I would use this moving company again, minus one rather flamboyant mover of the group. :dizzy:

I'm exhausted and I was planning to get alone done tomorrow with appointments but it looks like I will be waiting for Comcast, they messed up the appointment window, at least I can sleep in. Yay, I am so relieved that I moved, now I am going to relax for the evening and hopefully have a good night, my first night as a Philadelphian!

Take care and thanks for listening, I will try to respond to some personals tomorrow ;)

Gentle hugs,

Amy

Hi Wannabe, I made a huge decision to 'release' hundreds of books from our shelves almost 2 years ago. It made such a difference. I thought it would be difficult, but it was OK. I've cleaned out both my parent's homes, so I am really aware now of wanting to 'get rid' as opposed to 'get' at this stage in my life.

Amy, congrats at being in your new home! :)

Trish, I'm glad you got to sleep and got some relief with the pain med.

Hi to everyone else :wave:

I took a chance at riding to work today, because the radar for this afternoon showed alot of clouds coming ,but I thought I'd be okay. Wrong :devil: I got rained on for the first 6 miles; then just wet roads for the remaining 15, but my butt was soaked and then I got chilled and then the wind was blowing me around :rofl: "It's not just a commute, it's an adventure!" should be my theme song :D :D

Hi Holly! Thank you for your kind words! I really like it here, it's a change but I like it a lot. Oh no! I'm sorry that you got rained on. :( I was going to Philly from the town where I used to live and I got soaked walking to the train station! I am so glad that I have a new rain jacket.

Have a good night!

Take care ;)

Amy

Sabrina: Hang in there. You've had a lot to deal with emotionally with the loss of your baby. You're going to feel that loss very strongly for the next year, as you pass all the milestone anniversaries. That's completely normal. :hug: Try not to let your sorrow push you into bouts of negative self-talk. You're not doing anything wrong with your workout. It's just a really tough time for you right now. Maybe God is asking you to just let go and trust Him right now? Next time you hit the gym, slap on your headphones, crank the music, and tell God, "Whatever happens, God, please let it happen for the best." The hardest lesson I've had to learn, personally, is trust. When I hit a wall, plateau, or a period of utter self-loathing, I try to re-focus my thoughts and remind myself that I just have to trust that this is a journey of learning and I just have to trust God.

IBelieve: Have an absolutely fantastic time in Ireland!

Lilturtle: I'm sorry about the tooth. I hope the pain killer helps and that the ordeal is over quickly.

Amy: Congratulations! Now the move is over and you are getting settled in to your new apartment. As stressful as packing and moving is, what a great chance to do some "nesting" and get a fresh look out of your stuff.

My annual review was tense but went okay yesterday. I have no idea why my supervisor has taken a dislike to me. I work really hard. I'm efficient, organized, neat, and clean about my workspace. I've never failed to complete a project ahead of the deadline. She has to hunt for things to criticise. Maybe that's the problem? Beats me.

After a two-day headache and some really uncomfortable bloating, when the review was over, my body seemed to relax and release everything. I stepped on the scale this morning and discovered that I dropped 2.2 pounds overnight. I'm pretty sure it was the stress causing me to retain water, etc. which caused the bloating. Thank God, the review is done. Thank God, I'm back on track with the scale. Thank God, for another day to try it all again.

Blessings be on all my 3FC friends.

My weightloss seems to have stalled. For the last couple of weeks I was snacking more then I had been. Not every day but definately more then I had been. I have been having some major sleeping problems and I always seem hungier when I don't sleep. I'm not sure when I will see a doc yet but I will bring this issue up.

hi friends,

It seems that many of you are going through rough times. :( I am so sorry about that. Just hang in there ok??? Things always get better, they really do.

I had a great night in math last night. I took my Unit 3 Review last night, got a 91 %. I also took my Unit 3 Test last night and got a 94%. I am so grateful!!!!! Now I am ready to take my Final Exam, which I am going to take next week, a week early.


Amy, you got moved??? that is wonderful!!!!!!

lilturtle, Vicodin is the bomb!!!!! I am sorry about your tooth though and glad that you got some much needed sleep.

IBelieve, have a GREAT time in Ireland!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!

Sabrina, I am so sorry, sweetie, that you are so very sad. I wish I had some magic pill that could help you. Just know that we care and please post to us.

Much love to all. *hug*

Hi there!
 

Hi there everyone from Philly!

This is a very exciting time for me, I am a bit exhausted and sore but I'm so happy that the move is behind me even though the movers were a bit odd and almost two hours late, then they took a lunch break. :dizzy: Anyways, I'm getting settled in and I'm loving Philly.

I'm thinking of rejoining WW, but getting on the scale and facing the number is a bit daunting, it's time for me to face the music.

Have a good night.

I'll try to post tomorrow ;)

Take care chickies! Support and encouragement to all!

Amy :)

I slept last night and felt better today, but work on the BERP (Big Entropy Reduction Project—a massive decluttering of my house) went slow. I did some clipping of images from magazines, and also some puzzling over projects I started & abandoned years ago. What was I thinking, way back when, labeling little boxes and putting odd fragments from fashion magazines in them? I surely don't know.

Something's got me down, I'm not sure quite what it is. It's hard to wake up in the morning and do what feels like hours & hours of housework, day after day after day. I'm at a point where I'm just tossing a lot of stuff in the recycle bin. =sigh= Just one more day, and then I'll take two full days off this weekend. I want to make a collage!

Congrats on being in your new place, Amy! And congrats to you, Lisa, on your math scores!

Hi
 

Hi there,

Fi- Thank you for your congrats! :) I love my new place, it's been a bit of an adjustment though for Snickers, he doesn't feel well. I'm taking him to a new veterinarian tomorrow. I love being in Philly, I just have a lot of unpacking to do. How is the BERP going? I have been getting rid of a lot of things with my move. It's liberating!

I got my haircut today, that felt great. I think I will rejoin WW next week.

It's rainy here, but it feels nice to be cozy in my apartment.

Have a pleasant evening everyone...

;)

Amy

:flow2: Good morning, everyone. I hope Saturday morning is dawning as a positive day in everyone's lives. We've had rain, rain, rain for the past three days. I'm ready for the dreary weather to clear out.

I heard some skuttlebutt yesterday at work :gossip: that one of the professional staff people may be retiring, leaving her position open. If I'm able to confirm the information, I will put my name in for a transfer/promotion to the position. I have all the qualifications the position requires and inside knowledge of the institution, of course.

I'm not counting any chickens, :chicken::chicken::chicken: but this is the first time a potential opportunity has come up where I would have a chance to move out of my current position to one that pays more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the situation comes to pass but I'm not going to hold my breath. I can't help but want it for the higher income.

I did several hard workouts over the past week and was feeling super tired last night, so I took a break from exercise even though last night was not a scheduled "rest" night. I'll hit the routine hard again today and burn some calories on the elliptical. After doing 90 minutes that one time, I've dropped back to 60 minutes each session. 90-minutes was definitely a goal I wanted to accomplish but on my current 1000-calorie a day program, it took a lot more out of me than I expected.

I'm waiting for my new, smaller jeans to arrive in the mail. Once I move below size 20, I hope to be able to buy off-the-rack in most any store in the area. Again, :crossed:

Hope everyone has a beautiful, beautiful day.

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for the encouragement. I have a pretty nasty headache right now, so I don't feel up to personals. I just want to thank you all so much for listening to me and encouraging me. I know this is a difficult time and that losing weight takes times. I know God has a plan for me and I just need to let it unfold.

Some good news is that I have an interview for a social services assistant position on Monday. It's part time. Unsure how many hours or the pay, I'm sure I'll learn all of that on Monday, but I'm excited about it. I got called for the interview only 2 days after it had been posted. I so very want it to work out so I can get out of my current job. It is just so draining and depressing. Children everywhere with parents who are mean and cruel. This job would be working in a nursing home with the elderly and would be a great starting point for my case manager career. If you're religious, please pray that this is the job for me. If you're not religious, positive thoughts for me would be appreciated! :)

Like I said, major headache today. It's my fault, I went to bed with my hair still wet last night. Gives me a headache every time! ugh!

I think I will go to the gym to weight lift soon. Hubby has a friend coming over tonight that we haven't seen in awhile and we're going to get pizza. Excited, haven't ordered pizza in awhile. That used to scare me food wise, but I'm very much in control of what I eat now, which is rewarding all on its own.

Oh, I'm not doing very well. The problem is not in what I'm eating, which stays the same: it's my mood. I'm taking a three-day weekend (Friday to Sunday) of not doing the BERP... because I had to stop for a while... because I'm suffering from depression pain. I'm so miserable, though, it doesn't feel like a break. I'm hoping this is a short-term thing, that it will be over soon.

Sabrina: I hope the interview goes fantastic. I'll be thinking of you.

Fiona: I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I hope the depression lifts and the pain mitigates.

Hi there...
 

Hello! I would just like to say Hello and give :hug: :hug: :hug: to those who need a hug!

I love my new place and my guinea pig, Snickers is feeling much better. I'm enjoying this new phase of my life.

I had a date tonight, it was a lot of fun! I think we hit it off! :)

have a great evening...

Fione- I'm so sorry about the pain you're going through right now. That is tough. Praying the time off will help. I will keep you in my prayers.:hug:

Worththeeffort- Thank you!!! I really appreciate it!:^::)

seabiscuit- So glad to hear the date went well and you are settling into your new place! :carrot:

I'm doing much better now. I guess I was just in a major slump. All of you really helped me get out of it and I'm so thankful. I ordered the book New Rules of Lifting for Women and it should be coming any day now. It has an eating plan as well which I'm really looking forward to checking out. I feel I have been eating well, but I don't think it is geared towards muscle building at all. I don't know much in that regard, so I'm excited about this. :carrot:

Really getting excited about my interview tomorrow!!!!!:dizzy: