Just wanted to hop on here this morning. Feeling slightly frustrated. I usually only weigh once a week but since I just got the scale this past Saturday and freaked out over the number, I have been weighing daily. Not putting a ton of stock in it, but just trying to see if its moving or not. I am super confused because I have been totally on plan with my diet and yet the scale hasn't budged in 4 days since my black-out/fainting spell on Sunday. I've been too afraid to exercise again so I have just been making sure to stick to my plan everyday. Clearly that's not working. My soreness from my fall is fading but I still am worried about it ever happening again. I've never been so terrified in my life. To fill you guys in, on Sunday I had walked the walking trails near my house for an hour and fifteen minutes. 2 times at a good speed and the last 2 very slowly (a cool down if you will). Anyways, after I finished I went and sat down to watch my BF finish his soccer game. I watched for about 45 minutes while I sipped on some water. Then my stomach started to feel sick so I stood up to get his attention to let him know I wanted to go home. I took about three steps and my vision became like a kaleidoscope. I grabbed onto the fence to steady myself and completly lost all of my vision and fell to the ground. My BF said that I was only out of it for about 30-45 seconds but that I couldn't focus on anything for about 5 minutes while I was laying on the ground. Anyways, never been more scared in my life. Of course my new employer here in China still hasn't gotten my insurance set up yet so it wasn't like I could just run to the doctor. Went home and relaxed and ate some protein and had some orange juice in case it was blood sugar. I need some motivation to get the exercise going again but I'm terrified of what happened the last time I did a little exercise. Anyone have any suggestions? As you know, I tend to do all my workouts at home using DVD's. I only do the walking trails once a week when my BF has a soccer game and last Sunday was the first time I did it. Usually I just stay home, but I thought last weekend this would be a good use of time to exercise and support him in his hobbies.

Just stopping by for a quick Hello to everyone. I hope everyone is doing well. Welcome to the new faces. I will make a more detailed post later... just came by to share that I tried the C25K today... only did half of day one but walked/ran 2 miles...

Don't know what's going on, but I posted yesterday and it's no where to be found. Second time this week......couldn't possibly be user error.......must be computer gremlins. I'll try again.

Trying to remember the witty remarks I made yesterday (ok, Ubee, they might have been half wit remarks!):

Fi -- Was so glad to read that you got through a whole day without the depression pain. It has been a long haul for you this time and it just sounds so debilitating. Your collage sounds interesting, even a little scary. Loved the pictures of the kitties.

IChoose -- 2 miles! That's wonderful.....and 2 miles further than I'm able to go. Glad you stopped in for at least a little wave at all of us.

Shan84 -- Do you by any chance have a blood pressure monitor at home that you could check to see if your BP is maybe low? Hopefully this was a one time thing, but definitely something that should be checked. When does your employer expect to have your health insurance set up? In terms of not losing any weight. Four days is probably not a good guide, but if after a week or even two weeks there's still no loss, you may need to lower your calorie allocation some. There's a lot of fine tuning that can occur to keep the weight loss going. Good luck.

Sam -- Good to hear that you're back in your routine although sorry about the migraine and cold. Your meals sounds so interesting. Your DH is turning out to be your best dieting ally between his support and cooking healthy for you two.

Terra -- 24 pounds off is great and definitely much better than gaining 24 pounds. Good for you!

Dean -- Maybe in a stuck place right now. I'm enjoying my morning coffee, too, but your coffee always sounds better.

Donna -- Please come for a visit and train my Toby. The little dickens (ok, the enormous dickens) took off for the hills again yesterday. The silver lining is I got a lot of exercise, but it was a silver lining rimmed with red because I was mad at him. So glad you're back with us.

Ubee -- Miss you girl. Hope you've been doing some wild and crazy thing?

Still have an inordinate amount of trouble with sticking on plan. Totally a mental issue with me. I found some pictures yesterday where I was about 10 pounds heavier than I am now -- I put them on the frig because I look like a beached whale in them. The phrase thunder thighs may have been created from someone seeing those pictures. Since I'm totally a visual learner, maybe having to look at them every day will help since my mental picture of me is dramatically different -- and younger! Off to the gym, then to BIL's to put on his surgical hose (only another week and a half of that), and then a training session with my neighbor who is borrowing my RV this weekend. Cleaning and laundry this afternoon. Yipardee. Have a great day.

Good Morning!
Good job ichoose2believe!
shan84 that is so scary. Is there any way you can go to a free clinic or anything? I live near one of the top 10 fattest cities. So it is very different from where you live. My heart goes out to you. However I am very happy that you have found the love of your life. Happy Anniversary!
Sam glad to hear you are working so hard. Let's see that scale move down! Your pumpkin sounds way yummy.
Terra 24 pounds is great! Do you have a reward planned for when you get to 25 down?
Fi woohooo on the 0-0-0 day! What do the kitties do while you are making a collage?
Dean carbs will be the death of me if I don't change my ways. Do you count carbs?
Donna I have a friend like that. She just gets it. We seldom see each other but can always pick up as if we just saw each other.
MissBB how is your day off?
Betsy I am starting a new today. Let's try to get one day OP shall we?
Hi to everyone else.
Time to get serious. Last night I had the thought of maybe I should stop posting and just try to do this on my own. Of course Betsy popped into my head saying "Yeah because that worked so well in the past!"
Have a peaceful day!

Hi, Im not exactly new here, because ever so often i come on and read some of the comments ect... But i never comment. Today ive decided to comment. How often do you all weigh yourselves? About a week ago, i weighed in at 288lb, which makes my total loss since july 12lbs. I really want to weigh myself today, but im terrified i will have gained weight, it makes me scared to weigh myself. Do yall ever run into that? Scared to see that number go back up.

Sam ~ Yeah it is great

Betsy ~ Yes losing 24 pounds is better then gaining 24 pounds

Ubee ~ Nope I dont have anything planned for when I get to 25 but I'll start thinking about it.

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I woke up at 5:30 am and I got my morning duties done and I ate breakfast and then at 7:30 am I watched for my bus and then I got to school at 8:00 am, I was in the computer room from 8 am until 11 am and then at 11 am I had cooking class and then at 1 pm I had peer support and then at 3 pm I came home. I wasnt able to walk outside this morning but I'll be sure to do my 2 miles tonight before bed and I'll walk outside tomorrow morning and do my 2 miles tomorrow night also.

Betsy: I would love to visit America.....just too broke to get further than the end of my road! I visited Florida a few years ago on a typical Disney Style holiday (sorry!) but I loved it! all the Americans we met were friendly and chatty and very interested that we came from Wales rather than England. You have wonderful, proper mainstream shops for curvaceous girls where the clothes aren't ridiculously expensive too!I think you have told me before but what breed is Toby? Has he been neutered ( close your ears Toby) because the call of the ....erm.......wild can make them a bit loopy if not!

Shan....low BP was my first guess or low blood sugar it is worth checking. Also if you were sweating profusely and it was warm I guess it is easier to become low in salt. I hope you feel better now....don't lose heart or enthusiasm.
Ubee.....don't split on us! We need you! And I found that even if you are not in the Zone, this is still a group of people who get it. For me it is ALL in my head. When I am in the Zone I don't even feel hungry.......when I figure it all out I will write a book but free copies for my cyber friends of course!
Welcome fat4ever......this is a great forum any help you need on ANY topic diet related or not...is at your fingertips!
Terra you are so focused with your exercise...keep it up girl!!
Well we are off to see another cocker spaniel pup today as a companion for Maisy. It happens to be very near where my beautiful daughter is at Uni so I am using as an excuse for a visit! The down side is that I still don't feel great and am coughing a lot so sound like I have Pneumonic Plague!
We had some rain yesterday for the first time in ages but the sun is shining again today.......normally Welsh Autumn is wet, mild and grey, grey, grey! It is lovely dog walking weather but the two cross breeds are in season and the pup a little young to go far....and a bit TOO fascinated by the sheep on the mountain!
Have a great day,
Donna

Donna ~ Yes I am very focused on my exercise but I'm also very focused on my diet as well. I will definitely keep it up.

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I woke up at 4:00 am and now its almost 6:30 am and I am currently eating breakfast, I let Clyde outside when he woke up at 5:00 am and I gave him fresh water and food. Now I'm just posting on here and one other forum while watching episodes of Cold Case. Today I just plan to go on my morning walk and do my 2 miles tonight. I also need to fold and put away my clothes, I wont take weeks to do it this time around LOL.

Good Morning!
Terra I am so glad when you tell us you gave Clyde fresh food and water. My daughter was always in charge of that and she is off to college. Sometimes I forget. So, my cat thanks you. Clothes put away???
Donna I don't plan on going anywhere but sometimes that little voice can get very loud. My traveling days are over so I really appreciate the descriptions of your life. I love your sheep on the mountain.
Where is Dean with our coffee?
Welcome Fat4now! Yes, I did change your name. Positive attitudes get the job done! I am so happy you finally joined us. I weigh once a week. I keep a chart because your weight will go up and down. The chart is important so you can see that even though it goes up it always goes down again. Someone else can feel free to put it in better words. Haven't had my coffee yet.
Betsy we cross posted yesterday by almost an hour. Yes, it can take me hours to post with my ADD and multitasking. I get up to switch the laundry and one thing leads to another...
All right so today is my getting tough and serious day. I have my muffin top back in full force. I am going to a wedding tomorrow and I will be the fattest person in the room for the last time. I keep thinking if I eat enough treats I will get it out of my system. LIAR! Time to stop my pity party and get moving. I want to take off my big winter jacket in the Spring and shock everyone with how much weight I lost.
Have a peaceful day and put your fork down and move your butt!

Tanaia— I'm so glad you decided to start posting to the thread! Please keep posting, every day if you can, because it's very helpful to your weight loss effort to do so! It's nice to meet you, and I like your name a lot: you can call me Fi ("fee"). I agree with Ubee, by the way: you are not Fat4ever, but only Fat4now.

I am unusual for this group in that I only weigh myself once a month, and sometimes not even that often, like recently when I have been going through a huge amount of stress (mostly positive) followed by about a three- or four-week episode of severe depression. I know I have gained some weight because I didn't eat on plan consistently during the depression, so I skipped my monthly weigh-in on the 22nd.

But I keep a graph of my weight over time which is updated every time I weigh myself and is posted prominently on the front of the fridge. My current graph starts in February of 2012, and while the trend is consistently downward (79 pounds down so far), there have been three episodes of severe stress followed by depression, during which I gained weight. I like looking at the graph and thinking of myself as going on a long journey through time, getting gradually smaller as I go.

I've been thinking of all of y'all on this thread while listening to a fabulous song I've heard three times now on the radio: Nils Lofgren's "Fat Girls Dance." The lyrics are great, especially the refrain, repeating "Nobody's leaving 'til the fat girls dance." I tried to find a video online where you could listen to it for free: no luck. I tried to find the lyrics for it: no luck there either. But if you go to Amazon or iTunes or wherever, you coud buy it for $0.99. It's worth the 99 cents, believe me—a great pop tune with a catchy beat and lyrics about how nobody can leave until the fat girls get a chance to dance.

I happen to be a person who is fat-positive, which means that even though I am working hard to lose weight, I do not view "fat" as a pejorative or derogatory or negative word in any way, shape or form. I am a fat woman. That is simply a factual and descriptive statement, no more derogatory than if I were to say, "I am a thin woman" or "I am a tall woman." I'm actually a fat and short woman. That's OK, too. =smile=

So buy the song if you trust me on this...if not, I hope it will show up on YouTube some day so you can hear it.

I had two more 0/0/0 days (no depression pain in morning/afternoon/evening). That makes three in a row. Whoopee!! And I had a great session with my Qidong ("chee-dong") instructor yesterday: wow, this Qidong stuff is workin' miracles for me. I'm not yet back on plan in my eating, but I'm sure I will be soon. Ditto with my leg exercises and walking plans: it's all gonna happen soon, I can feel it comin'. Meanwhile, I'm moving my Qi ("chee") around in really positive ways, and my depression is OVER, I just know it!

—Signing off for now, Fi

Good morning everyone. Another day of getting up at the crack of dawn so I can get to the gym and back before driving my BIL to his appointments today. OK, in all honesty, getting up at the crack of dawn isn't exactly a real sacrifice since the sun doesn't come up until 7 now and I went to bed about 9:15 last night. Man, some people will say anything to get a compliment, won't they (I!).

Fi -- Love, love, love your posts this week mainly because of being pain free for a string of days now. Glad that you've found a Qidong who is helping so much.

Ubee -- Now really. Would I make some smart alecky response about how well (or "unwell") your (our!) go-it-alone efforts have worked in the past? OK, yes I would, but having been raised in the Midwest I think it's just part of the vocabulary. Couldn't be anything in the personality deficiency category. Don't know if this helps, but I finally was able to start back to the gym this week. While I'm still working through some of the bad food choices made while my BIL was here, there's something about having worked out that makes me WANT to eat better. Don't know if it's because I hate the work outs so much (in spite of feeling ssssoooooo much better) or if it's just a more positive start to the day or what. But, I'm slowly getting back to eating right and have lost a couple of pounds. We can do this, Ubee!

Terra -- Focusing on both seems to be the magic bullet. Laughed at not taking 2 weeks to put away your clothes.....sounds very familiar as I realized I had two wash baskets just because there were times when the clean clothes never quite made it to the drawers or closet.

Donna -- Toby is a Golden Doodle (basically a mutt who is half Golden Retriever and half standard poodle, but someone found people like me who were willing to pay for them!). He's definitely been snipped. He's just a little dickens who is still young enough to do crazy things and who has an owner who needs to do a much better job at training. Chuckled over your sorry for the Disney vacation in Florida. I love going there, too, and can hardly wait for my grands to be old enough to take there on vacation. I would love to see Wales some day -- in fact, all of the British Isles. Hope that cough goes away soon!

fat4ever -- I weight every morning and again at night.....obviously a little on the obsessive side! If weighing is causing your undue stress, just don't weigh at all. Take your measurements and use that to determine that weight loss is occurring. Or try on something that really doesn't fit -- too tight or can't even get it on. Use it as a guide for when it goes on easily to determine that you've lost weight. It doesn't matter what measurement technique we use as long as there's some way to determine if we're making any progress.

Dean -- What kind of coffee this morning? I put cinnamon in my grounds and it must be good because I just poured the last of the 12 cup pot into my carafe. I do half decaf/half full strength so that I can pretend I'm obeying the doctor's orders to cut down on the caffeine.

Guess I'd better get it in gear. Two appointments for my BIL today, and since it's raining here I'll spend free time working on sorting pictures for scrapbooks that I'm putting together for my nephews as one of the Christmas presents. One of them is 43 and the other is 38, and it dawned on me that with their mother gone, I'd better do this or else those photos will be lost. It's been fun looking back at the old pictures and my grand nephews look so much like their dad at that age. I've mapped out my eating for the day. One suggestion I could use are ideas for having healthy foods to satisfy my salt and sweet cravings. Unfortunately, my go to foods are potato chips and chocolate and that just doesn't work. Have a great day.

Happy dancing today! Started Aug 18th on this journey and weighed 346. Got on the scale yesterday and its 325.8. 20# down! I am 29 and haven't seen under 326 in 9 years! (I was 326 the day I delivered my son and have just gone up since then! Was 360 at the heaviest)

May not seem like much but yays! I'm super proud of myself! And... LOTS on NSVs too! Like I can run now- like actually run not just walk fast and I've increased incline to the max of 15 on the treadmill for 10-15 min and upped the speed for longer too!! I can't believe all the cool things my body can do and it's only going to get better from here!

Yipeee! Anticake! 20 pounds seems like a lot! I am glad you are proud of yourself. You should be!
Betsy why do all of your posts make me chuckle? As for your cravings that is where I screw up. Where is it written we have to give in to our cravings? I think thin people ignore them. You know we can do this. I am going to go on the treadmill today. Food has been good and I am making turkey breast and veggies for supper. I am finally psyched again!
Fi most days I am so fine being fat but I have a daughter who will need someone to care for her every day of her life. I want to stay around as long as I can and I need to focus on that! I run into trouble when I forget that. Thanks for reminding me of that. Love seeing all those 0-0-0 days!
I am feeling good. How is every one else doing?

Shan Sorry to hear what happened in the park. That happened to me once, but I didn't black out. I felt like I was going to. DH and I were doing a killer walk (about 5 miles) during the middle of the hot heat in the middle of summer this year. We stopped at a store along our walk and DH got me a gatorade thinking maybe I was low on electrolytes. It really did the trick for me but I couldn't push as hard on my way home as I would have liked. It is definitely scary for sure, but you shouldn't let it hinder you in your weight loss goals. If you truly are afraid to work out again in fear that his may happen again, you need to see a doctor regardless if you have insurance or not. I hope everything works out for you doll (((HUGS)))

Believe Great job on the 2 miles!!! Keep up the great work!!

Betsy The DH is wonderful!! Honestly though if I had not have pushed him so hard to cook healthier and show him how he probably wouldn't be doing it lol...It's either that or I don't eat, he doesn't have much of a choice lol

fat4ever What is your real name? I don't like the idea of calling you fat4ever because you won't be fat forever if you put your mind to it. I know it's crazy but let me tell you...If I can lose 75 lbs, anyone can do this. I personally weigh and measure once a week. I make sure to keep measurements because sometimes when the scale doesn't move, I notice it in my measurements, and how my clothes feel, so keep that in mind. I am here for you if you ever need ANYTHING so please don't hesitate to reach out to me ok?

Donna Never even realized you lived in Whales...I had a friend that was from there when I was in high school...Well, friend of my DH and I...Not sure what happened to him, I think he moved to Texas and is very happy there. The weather here has been very grey and dark and rainy which for it to be this grey for more than a day or two is odd I think...But I'm enjoying it and hope it's a sign for cooler weather for me. I hope you get to see your daughter and hope you feel better! I am battling a head cold right now so it's not been fun, but I'm still pushing through and eating right and working out.

Ubee I am really starting to feel like my determined self again. I really hate to make any excuses but the more I think about it the more I think I have still be greiving the loss of my friend. Just instead of crying it out every night until I fall asleep, I've been doing it with lack of care for myself. That's no good, and I know he wouldn't want it to be that way. He would be so happy at how far I've come. It's a real shame because I hadn't talked to him for a few months before he died and when we talked it was short and sweet because we were both busy so I never got to tell him about me losing weight and how much I had lost. I know he would be proud and even though I'm doing this for me, and me only. I want to make him so effing proud that if I believed in an after life he'd be so happy. I'm ready to see that scale move down and stay down once and for all. My goal is to be at 100 lbs loss by Christmas, but if I don't make it, that means I just gotta keep pushing harder...25 lbs to go, think I can do it?

Fi I am SO HAPPY that you had another 2 days depression and pain free!!!! I think you may be in the clear...This is fabulous!! I haven't listened to the song but it sounds great...Have you heard that song "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor...It's a catchy pop song and I just love the video!! The guy in the video can really dance!!! Watch it on YouTube if you have time...I am just like you...I am body positive...I love anyone who treats me as I would treat them it doesn't matter what you look like...Being fat or thing or black or white doesn't define who you are as a person...It is a simple description of what you look like. I think as long as you feel happy and comfortable in your own skin and healthy then it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. I am sending you huge hugs and can't wait to hear more about this Qi and how well it's working for you!!!

Anticake YES!!!! GO GIRL!!!! 20 lbs is something to be proud of and it is a lot!!!! The NSV's are great aren't they? I'll be 28 in December and have been above 300 lbs for more years than I would like to admit...Maybe around 7 or 8? I don't even know...I started my journey in January this year and so far I am down 75 lbs....Trust me if I can do it, ANYONE can...So happy for you girl keep going!!!

TGIF everyone!!!!! I still have the sniffles...ughhhh It sucks not being able to breathe out my nose because I'm sure I look just lovely with my mouth open all day long so I can breathe haha!!! I had a day of it at work today... I have this client whose father set up her insurance for her, paid for it and everything out of his account a few months back. He lives up north and she is down here for college. I've never met the girl since she never ended up coming in my office and we did everything by e-mail. I get a call from her dad yesterday to tell me he is very upset and worried because she was involved in a car accident with a tractor trailer and she is just getting out of the hospital. He said it was the other person's fault and upon speaking to his daughter who mind you is 25 years old and it sounds like she's been babied her entire life, I find out that the accident was her fault according to the police report. She has the bare minimum coverage and her car is totaled. Since she has only the bare minimums she isn't going to get paid for the damage to her vehicle and she has no car to drive. On top of all other things (found out she has epilepsy) she is in the teaching program at the university and if she misses one day of school she will be kicked out of the program. Her dad is worried for her and wanted me to help her find transportation since she doesn't know anyone here. This is way more work than I get paid for but I felt bad for her and him more importantly because his daughter is so far away and he can't check on her in person. I volunteered to go to her house after work and get her accident report and give her some taxi companies around her since she apparently can't get on the internet and doesn't have a phone book...Hmmm....weird right? I get to her house and she wasn't even there!!! She had left the accident report in the door for me to pick up...I was a little peeved since I went out of my way to help her and she some how found a ride to go somewhere...I think she is taking daddy as a fool personally...The man is going to fly down here early next week to go and buy her a car so she doesn't miss school. In some ways I envy someone who has a parent that cares for them so much and has the financial means to do that for them where growing up my mother was hardly there for me and left me to fend for myself....but in other ways I'm glad that I had to learn it all on my own because now as an adult I don't have to rely on anyone to do anything, and most importantly, I don't have to answer to anyone but myself.

Anyway, I know that was a long story lol...so I'll keep the rest short....I got my 4th work out in for the week and DH made home made french onion soup for dinner! It was sooooooooooo good!! Instead of throwing a piece of bread in the bottom I just put a couple croutons in there and topped it with some mozzarella...It was superb! DH and I are going to go to the River Walk tomorrow if the weather holds out on us...I can't wait.

Tanaia ~ Welcome to the thread, I look forward to learning more about you.

Ubee ~ Yeah with everything you do every day its hard to remember to feed and give the pets water, I understand that. Yeah I havent put my clothes away yet but I did fold them when I pulled them out of the dryer.

Betsy ~ I'm glad I'm not the only one that sometimes puts off putting their laundry away LOL.

Anti-CakeChick ~ Welcome to the thread.

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I woke up at 4:00 am. I let Clyde outside when he woke up at 5:00 am and I gave him fresh water and food. Now I'm just posting on here and one other forum while watching episodes of Cold Case. Today I did my morning walk and I did 2 miles at 1 pm today. I also need to put away my clothes, I wont take weeks to do it this time around LOL, I'm also gonna take a shower before I head to bed for the night.