Thank you everyone for welcoming me.

Fiona It sounds like you and your friend (or relative?) had a lot of fun. It's wonderful that you can have a relationship where you can maintain traditions like that even though you have to be so far away most of the time. Congratulations for staying on plan! That's a bit accomplishment.

Chelainabear Love your blonde hair, it looks great on you.

IBelieveInMe2 I'm here! Good job on the workouts, it sounds like your working really hard.

To say a something about myself like you guys asked. I'm almost 25, I'm obsessed with the color pink, and I'm a bit of a gamer. I also love crafting, cross stitch being my main passion, when I have the energy for it.

I've been dealing with depression and chronic fatigue for a long time, but now that I'm finally getting proper treatment for the depression it is pretty easily managed. The chronic fatigue is another story, and it's a constant struggle.

I'd lost, slowly over the course of many years, almost 90 pounds and maintained between 150-140lbs for a couple years. But a ton of huge life stuff happened over the past year and on top of it I had a huge flare up with the CF. I've regained about 40/50 pounds. But the worst part is inactivity and a brief period of severely under-eating followed by a dive into comfort eating caused me to lose a huge amount of the strength and endurance that I had worked so hard to build up with exercise. It's very difficult to exercise with chronic fatigue because if I'm not careful I can make myself sick for days from one workout.

So my main goal right now, more than losing the regained weight, is allowing myself to get into that beginner mindset again and build up a regular routine of physical activity. Without getting angry at myself for not being able to start at the same level I was before.

Good morning, everyone. I've been struggling and out of touch for a while but just wanted to pop in to say hello. I have an extra long vacation weekend, starting today. A friend died earlier this week so it has been a tough few days. Not sleeping terribly well since her death. The funeral is tomorrow. I hope the ceremony will allow me to say a final goodbye and allow me to re-set.

Today is day 303 of my program. That's symbolic to me because my highest weight ever was 303 pounds. Still no bingeing but I did eat a piece of cake yesterday which is a complete and utter no-no on this program. Although treats like that will one day be back on the table, so to speak, it should not be in the mix at this point. My supervisor was a complete b*tch to me on Tuesday morning, causing my stress levels to rise. I fell back to my old habit of using sugar in an attempt to elevate my mood. Gak! I felt so sick afterwards, I ended up feeling much worse physically. Hopefully, I will learn from that lesson. I am determined to put negative feelings behind me today and start fresh.

On a more positive note, I'm attaching a photo of me with my husband's bike. Maybe some folks will recall that on my birthday in June, I rode a bike again for the first time in 30 years. On Aug. 23, I completed a 19 mile ride. This picture was taken just a short distance from my home, toward the end of the ride. As I tap out this post, I am drinking my morning protein shake in preparation for a nice long ride during which I will scatter bad memories and collect good ones.

Oh darn, I wrote a long posting and then lost it by punching the wrong button. I'm feeling kind of crappy anyway—depression pain lurking around the edges. Mary's visit was great, but the stress took a toll on my always fragile mood state. The next few days I'm taking some serious down time.

I don't feel up to retyping the whole thing, but I won't deprive y'all =smile= of new kitten pictures. These were taken yesterday in a sequence as they were settling down for a nap. Oscar starts out on the left, then at the top, then on the right; and vice versa for Nénu. Oscar is often hyper-alert, his almond-shaped eyes going all round with vigilance. Then you'll see him washing himself and poking Nénu. Then they both finally tuck in for a snooze. In order the photos are one two three four five. I like the last one because it shows off how long Nénu's hind legs are. Oriental shorthairs are different from "regular" cats in that their back legs are longer than their front legs.

I hope y'all are all well and happy today, or at least as happy as possible. Worthy, you look awesome in your bike pic!

I wanted to write one more time in August. It is officially August 31st now. I will post the new September 2014 thread tomorrow! I went off low carb today while on the road to my daughter's sled hockey kickoff event. Will attempt to get back to low carb in the morning. Exercise was good this past week, and I need to keep it up through the long weekend. The endocrinologist finally received a referral from my primary doc, so now I have to wait to see when she wants me to be seen: either October-November with her (since new patient) or earlier with a Physician's Assistant if she deems it necessary.

PhoenixAshes: Thank you for sharing more about yourself. I am so sorry that you suffer from chronic fatigue and had a setback recently due to life events. I've fought through major clinical depression and battle with fatigue often, so I know how exhausting it can be. Keep on hanging in there and taking as good of care of yourself as you can. You will gradually get your strength and endurance back. Be patient with yourself. I am happy to hear that your depression is well managed at this point. I would imagine that the mix of depression and chronic fatigue is totally debilitating. Do you take any meds for the chronic fatigue and/or depression? Only answer as you feel comfortable. I am so glad that you have continued to post and share more about your story. I will be starting a new thread on September 1st, titled "Ups & Downs Support Group: September 2014." I hope you will continue to post and follow us there!

Worthy: I hope that you are thoroughly enjoying your long vacation weekend! I am so very sorry to hear about the death of your friend and that you have been struggling. I am happy that you took the time to post and let us know, so that we can support you and send our sympathy, love, and prayers your way! Hope things begin to look UP for you soon!!! Great photo of you with your husband's bike! Thanks for sharing!

Fi: Thank you for sharing the photos of your adorable kittens! Oscar and Nenu look as if they are best buddies and completely comfy in their new surroundings! I hope you are taking this time to rest and rejuvenate after your time with Mary. Prayers that the depression pain stays at bay.

HELLO to everyone else!

*** PLEASE REMEMBER THAT I WILL BEGIN OUR NEW THREAD, TITLED "UPS & DOWNS SUPPORT GROUP: SEPTEMBER 2014," ON SEPTEMBER 1ST!!! PLEASE JOIN US THERE! ***

Good morning, everyone. I cannot believe it is already Aug. 31 and we'll be starting the September thread tomorrow. This summer has gone crazy fast.

Fi, the kittens are just beautiful. I'm glad Oscar has recovered from his illness and is looking so healthy in the pictures.

I just stopped by to post a quick hello in order to stay in touch. I've been able to go for two long bike rides so far this weekend and hope to get another in. I'm a bit saddle sore, so I'm not sure if it will be today or not. If I go out today, it will be a road with fewer hills than I've been dealing with since my knees were quite sore yesterday after my 19-mile ride.

In June, I set the goal of training to do a 10-mile ride during Labor Day weekend but I hit that 10-mile goal over a month ago. Still, I rode the route I originally designated for that ride yesterday, then continued on for what I hoped would be a full 20-miles but when I mapped it after getting home, I came up a mile short. Oh, well.

After sitting on a weight loss plateau for about a month, I've finally passed the threshold we all dream about on our weight loss journeys. I am in Onederland. Just barely, but the digital read out on my scale this morning clearly read: 199.8. Like I said, just barely but I'm there. Every calorie burned from here on will inch me closer and closer to my ultimate goal.

Worthy: Barely or not....... CONGRATULATIONS on reaching ONEderland!!! That has to feel SO great!!! Your LONG bike rides no doubt helped you break through that plateau and into ONEderland! Way to go!!! Just wanted to write and congratulate you!!! You are an inspiration to all of us!

We are at the lake and just got finished with a decent walk outside. I had heart palpitations (not terribly uncommon for me) during the night and tingling extremities this morning. Time to get this weight OFF and GET HEALTHY!!!!!