How long does it take you to boil them on the stove?

I'm going to be sure and pick some up on my next grocery store run.

So, bad/good news. I was sitting here at my desk fighting the munchies (as I wrote above) and my desk mate handed me a box of chocolate covered blueberries. They're mine that I have her a couple of months ago because I knew I would eat them all if I held on to them. She was cleaning through her desk and pulled them out. So, I had three big handfuls of chocolate covered blueberries. They are 170 calories per 1/4 cup. I estimate I had 1/2 cup.

Then I threw them away.

At least you got some antioxidants!!

Bring 3 cups of water, milk or a combo thereof to a boil. Add one cup of steel cut oats and reduce to simmer. Cook 20 minutes or to the consistency of your liking. We are thick oatmeal people here, so I usually only go 18 minutes. At about 10 minutes, I add 1T of cinnamon. Before serving, I add some honey.


Freeze dried strawberries a lovely in it as well. I add all kinds of things (this is usually my lunch, not breakfast) like nuts, dried or fresh fruit. A fresh peach, diced, is heavenly.

Hiiiiiii!!! I'm here, they are napping! Can't stay long still, gotta go exercise while I can.

Love reading all your posts. You all keep me motivated!! I'm not in this alone. And I really do love personals on here. I want to do them really bad. I have to get things going more smoothly here tho to spend more time online. But know that I am reading each of these and keep posting!

Chelle, just had to remember to tell you how stunning you looked at your wedding. You look so happy. Love the house, you will enjoy fixing it like you want your home to be. All the little tweaks of comfort we women do to the places we inhabit are so great for the soul!!! What fun!!

Amberel, keep reading! Whatever helps to not go grab unwanted snacks is what you should do. I get on here alot on and off all day when I have a minute! I just read new posts, or other threads or now all the BL threads. Just helps me stay focused. You are gonna drop those pounds!!

Rhonda, I will answer Why I am fat but will take forever. Got heavy at 4, in one year. I was normal at 3, cute, blonde hair, my mom was a great mom, very loving, very intuitive, very caring.. she remembers everyone liking to feed me.. LOL. My dad took me places and it was fun having that 'little girl' to show ppl, to say I was his, he was so proud. Then when I got heavy he took me to docs over and over. My mom tried to tell him that they all can't eat junk at home or drink cokes all the time and expect me to not have any but he insisted he didn't have to stop having what he wanted to help me. (He was a bit heavy too tho.) So I just got heavier, at this point somewhat bc I was thinking he didn't want me around anymore bc I was fat. I think that was a bit true. He tries tho. I just think he grew up when fat girls weren't someone you respected. So made it hard to respect me.

My dad was very overprotective and wanted us inside the house ALLLL the time so bought us Atari when it first came out, board games, movies when VCRs came out, lol, I'm old I know. We had all that stuff and my parents weren't into any sports, etc. except some swimming in summer. I sewed and embroidered things for my teachers, I won contests for my drawings and so did my brother. I was in choir for nine yrs in school. My brother was first chair in band and went on to graduate for music in college. We excelled at all the things you can do inside. We both were in the upper 25% as far as grades in school. We adjusted to being told no all the time when friends wanted us to go bowling or to go swimming without our parents, and I loved baseball, would play with my cousins at my grdparents house when my dad wasn't around. I probably would have been pretty good. But they weren't into all that.

And so, as my dad was there after work but wasn't really spending much daily time with us (however, we did all go EAT and see movies WITH SNACKS AND COKES on weekends) and mom worked some evenings and some days, sometimes we were just soooo bored we ate. (We ate while we recorded our own radio plays we wrote and starred in, complete with sound effects like creaking doors and 'walking' by stomping a shoe on a wooden box, most of our plays were mysteries, lol, we ate while we watched shows on HBO when it first came out, Home Box Office presents... lol, I'm sure we snacked while we talked on the phone with our friends, etc.) All kinds of things, a jar of pickles, cookies, cheese, ham, chips, drank everything with sugar that was there,cokes, koolaid, swt tea, etc. Just a recipe for chubby kids. I just was the biggest. Always the biggest everywhere.. in school ( I remember getting to class after most of the other kids at times, 1 desk is left, I don't fit in it, I have ask someone to trade with me and then drag the desk over to them while everyone watched and then drag the bigger one to where I needed to sit, it is more than humiliating), at family reunions (yes both sides the majority are a little overweight at least, but I was always the largest child), in groups of friends, etc. But luckily I was always popular and well liked. I didn't care about the fat. Some ppl did tho. But their loss! LOL.

Anyhoo, now I have managed to change my life slowly and surprise surprise, some of my thinner friends from school and cousins and my sister and brother are now struggling with weight and some have asked advice from me. Wow. (That's what living here in America can do to u, overextended, underprepared for meals, no time, no energy from running all the time to this and that, hafta pick up dinner, etc.) And have you noticed all the great clothes they make for fat ppl now?? I had to wear my mom's clothes starting in 4th grade. True fact. Talk about having to grow up fast. If that won't do it, nothing will. Some kids in 7th grade (my grade at the time) thought I was a teacher.

The 'cure' is committing to teaching your children that it's a choice. The way we eat, how much we move, all choices. That way at least your kids are covered and hopefully theirs and so on. It's starts in the family. If kids come home, eat sugar, play games online, eat again, go to bed, how would we expect them to be lean and healthy and vibrant????

So far my kids love sports, their dad was always in them and he coaches them now, (we do veg out alot too, no one's perfect, we watch movies, etc. but we're saving up for a wii, can't wait.) We eat right most always and don't keep junk here for the most part. So far so good. I just wanna keep getting healthier and modeling that lifestyle for them. Progress, not perfection!!

Same with our country and obesity. I hope we progress to a time when people are active again in their daily lives. With all the computer work to be done, I don't really see it tho. Before this, ppl had to do way more physical work, it won't go back to that. This is our world now and we need to find a way to live heathily in it. It will take thought, planning and dedication.

(Ok, this was long enough that I didn't exercise yet, and coulda done personals but I have to sorta research to do those and just writing to you doesn't take the research! I'm sorry! I just get carried away chatting with you! I will try harder to keep these shorter.

Go kids! Go family! Go kicking obesity's arse!! Goooooooooo Blue!!!!!

Big hugs girlies and dude!!!
Selina

(So sorry if there are typos; No time to check right now! Took too long already!)

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I've been MIA, I'm enjoying reading all the threads. I can possibly keep up with all of them, sorry! A few that stuck out:

Amberlise - oh how I wish I had three hours to burn with nothing to-do. I really remember my working days (I'm a SAHM) At least "mr. man" lets you surf the web while at work even though he doesn't like it when you use the phone. Can you bring ankle weights and do leg lifts under your desk? hahahaha

I know why I'm fat:

I remember being very attractive to the opposite sex when I was younger. I was very confident for my age, often attracting all kinds of unwanted attention: from people who were supposed to be people you trusted - teachers, police officers, family friends and a lot of older men and much older boys too- general public and people I knew in my life through friends. I escaped this time in my life unharmed physically but emotionally it was hard for me. I'm fat because it's a great way to keep people away from me. I could get people to do whatever I wanted it seemed and I didn't want to be the person who could easily manipulate. It was SO EASY to do it, and I didn't want to have that power anymore, so I gave it away. I ATE IT AWAY.

It's that simple.

Ginger

Hello ladies...

Heather...I was going to say the same as Rhonda...everytime I come here, doesn't matter which thread I go to it always takes me to my last post. Funny I don't remember checking anything, lol. Hopefully Rhondas advice helps.

Nori...I've heard the asics are excellent shoes! One day I may try them, lol.

Sara...oh my goodness woman! You are doing GREAT! WTG on the 5.5 pounds this week!

Rhonda...so far so good this week. I probably could step it up some but still getting over the back thing so I have been taking it easy. Doing my walks for now, and very slow walks...walking nonetheless.

I'll have to get back to the why I am fat question. Out of time right now.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Ginger - That's the exact reason my Mom is heavy. When I was a toddler a friend of the the family (some friend) made a pass at her. She was thin and pretty, but by gaining weight she was able to avoid attention like that. She just had no other coping mechanism at the time. He died last year and I swear I think she went and spit on his grave.

That just makes me sad and pisses me off at the same time. What is it that we do to our girls that makes them think that they should protect themselves with fat instead of a palmstrike to the nose. Or a Glock. Whatever. I have no intention of allowing my daughter to believe that type of male CRAP is her fault at all. I was so fortunate to be raised by a mom who really instilled in us the idea that we are worth respect and that we don't have to take that type of behavior from anyone.

I am so sorry that your mom took that on herself. How much more fun to have stood outside his church or business with a sign saying, "NAME tries to screw his friends' wives."

Now I want to go spit on his grave.

dixiedieter - when you used the phrase coping mechanism - I realize now...I was just too young to know how to handle it.

onthetee - i agree with how angry it makes you. I never went to my mom and confided in her, so I don't blame my mom. She didn't know. It does make me angry that I didn't know how to deal with it.

Actually, not ALL the fat is related to being attractive and not knowing how to handle it. I do have to blame some of it on having my three precious boys. Carrying three - meant putting on over 90 lbs., being bed-rested for a large part of my pregnancy and the stress of dealing with three infants and less than 3 hours of non-consecutive sleep every day for at least the first year of their birth...led me to being this heavy too.

I was always heavy to the point where I was happy and able to do what I wanted, but I was still "protected" from the evil comments, flirty-ness and general sleazy-ness of the men around me (not trying to say ALL men are evil - I don't want Antares on our team to feel like I am attacking him). It wasn't until I had kids that the weight got so high, that now I struggle to tie my shoes or climb the stairs.

Ginger

Sara: 5.5 lbs is an awesome start!

Amber: I was the same way with binging for a long time. I couldn't wait for hubby to leave for the week, and the second he was out of the drive I'd run to the kitchen and stuff myself. I'd eat normal with the kids, but soon as they were in bed it was my time to eat, eat, eat. I have found there were reasons for this, and I did a lot of hard, hard work to get to the bottom of it. It still is not easy, but I don't binge the way I used to. This is my year to completely kick it out of my life...thus my little binge free day tracker in the siggy.

I'm not going to post why I am fat. Short version: this fat makes me uninteresting, undesirable to the rest of the world, and I have tried very hard to keep people out. There are reasons for it, reasons I have worked over the past year to understand and now am trying to overcome. It's hard, but I know I can pull through this. I know I can re-learn self-worth and wipe out the lies that were put in my brain as a child. I am determined!

It really pisses me off too. I didn't find this out until I was an adult, and I think there were other factors involved too. After she had me she suffered from severe depression or possibly a complete nervous breakdown, but being the 1970's in small town WV, it went undiagonosed and untreated. So I think that probably snowballed when the jerk made the pass at her.

I think she could lose weight now without much effort if she'd just remember to eat. That sounds weird, but I've tracked her eating for a couple of days (without her knowing) and she only eats about 800 calories a day. I called her on it, but she's almost never hungry, whereas I'm always starving. At least if she ever decides to put forth the effort, she knows where to start.

I will have to come back and really read everyone's posts but I have to do a quick run through because I really need to be leaving right now as I am typing.

Girlygirl--Love the update. Very motivating!

Why am I fat?
For several reasons, just as scgirl32--I am really sedentary and prefer to read, watch tv, listen to music, surf the internet, or talk on the phone, etc you get the point.

Also, I mentioned trauma/drama issues in my intro post and I was more specific about it in the all teams thread which is only part of the story. Basically these issues have affected my entire life in many ways and I really need to seek some help or I'm gonna be in trouble. Just like Mom2sweetpeas I've lost alot of weight (130 lbs) and gained almost all of it back. Also like Amberelise I am a binge eater. I enjoy the binges. I plan them, I look forward to them but feel really guilty afterwards.

The support on this forum has been tremendous and it has helped me many nights. Gotta go. I will check back later.

Marianne: Yep! I'm getting ready to work out after I shut down my work computer

Sara: Wow, 5 and a half pounds! Incredible!!

Anna: The way you make oatmeal sounds fantastic! I eat steel cut oatmeal every other day or so, I think it's McCann's or something, and it's basically just the oats and water, cooked for 5-7 minutes. Milk...cinnamon...honey...wow, I gotta try it that way!


So...Why am I fat?

I guess I've always been overweight, even in elementary and before. Growing up, we ordered a lot of pizza and the only time I had a home cooked meal was for the holidays. In high school, I moved in with my Grandma (who was an amazing cook!) and I fell in love with Mountain Biking and lost a lot of weight, just because I literally spent all day on my Trek 820, riding through the woods and the back roads. 20 miles a day was common.

After moving to the "big city" for my work, and spending more time sitting on my butt, I turned to pizza again for a quick food source. That got me over the 300's, but I truly believe that I would of stayed in the 315's if I hadn't became addicted to dieting.

Everytime I try to lose weight, I gain it back and more. The yo-yo diet rule. I can be the same weight for 2 years, but when I get fed up and try to lose it, and fail, I'm suddenly 50 pounds heavier than before in just a few months.

It scares me to death to think how I'll be if I end up 50+ pounds fatter because I failed again. That's kind of why I'm focusing more on exercise and when I do "eat right", it's more about fitting in a good healthy meal here and there, and less about denying myself.

And that's why I'm fat...yo-yo dieting and sitting on my butt a lot.

Ok, now it's time to go exercise. I'll be back later to post my times in the exercise thread(s).

Take care!

John

Write these seven affirmations on a card, and read them allowed to yourself every day. The affirmations are:


I am in the process of creative change.

I am becoming better every day in every way.

I am firmly on the success beam.

My own is coming to me now.

My personal God is guiding me and helping me daily.

I will be glad and rejoice in this day that the Lord has made.

I believe I can handle all the problems that will arise today.

Put them on your mirror or keep in your wallet - anywhere you'll see it every day. Whenever you think of it, say these phrases aloud. As you keep repeating these simple phrases, you'll begin to believe them; and when you believe them, they will happen.

Mine are written on an index card and taped onto my kitchen window where I wash dishes very often! I love reading them. If you decide to do the same, I hope they help you too.

Selina, thanks for the quotes. I'm claiming this one as mine. I do have to constantly remind myself that this is an ongoing process. Every day,I must strive to continue changing my life for the better and will continue to change even after I reach goal.

BTW...love the new picture!

And, Frozen Peach...guess who got snow today? Yep, there are a whole lotta frozen peaches around here today! We got about an inch. My girls have never seen snow and they're having a snow ball fight right now.