Catherine -- I always love reading your posts!!

Hey, there's a great thread going on in the 100+ club, asking the question I think most of us have asked: How did I get here (my starting weight) in the first place. Some neat responses! Check it out!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...60#post1532160

Hi All,

I am so tired, it's been a long day. I cleaned my bedroom, hoovered through the house, exercised, made a lovely chicken stew, did all my ironing and then this evening had to go to a Parent/Teacher evening at Caleigh's school. I am really really looking forward to having an early night tonight!

Jill - the reason I haven't really been excited about getting close to 100 before now is because it was all happening before Christmas and I knew that whatever I lost, no matter how close I came, I would be having a gain over the festive season. I did get down to 98 lbs lost, but then I gained 7 lbs. Now that 7 lbs has nearly gone, and I know this time as I get closer to the 100 that I will reach that marvellous milestone and carry on losing

Good luck with catching up on your exercise. I fell behind with mine too, and I really don't think I will make it to my goal this month. I'll do my best though!

Sharon - sorry to hear that Gareth had to come home from school sick. It's funny how kids are nearly at death's door at school and have to get sent home, then they have a miraculous recovery when they get home Do you think he will be going to school tomorrow?

I bet you won't take long catching up with your exercise, you have all that walking to do and you are going to be using your exercise bike, and maybe your work out DVD. You might just surprise yourself with how well you do!

Michelle - good on you for getting some walking done I bet all that packing you are doing is working off some cals too!

So when is the PC going to be packed, just wondering when we have to say goodbye to you Not for too long though, so that's one good thing!

Annie - did you go swimming? It seems that you were destined to go especially as your dog baby woke you up so early and you got your exercise and chores done. If you did go swimming I hope it was wonderful

Heather - a virtual party will be wonderful, it will have to be a joint one because I am hoping to share the thrill of getting to 100 lost with Lilion who is also well on her way to that milestone

on the weight loss, you have obviously been doing something right lately. That's great news

Patti - glad your leg wasn't bad today and that you got 40 minutes done on the treadmill. Have you ever thought of getting a Gazelle Rider. It would be much more gentle on your joints.

Ayanna - my non food rewards are things like a long foot massage from my hubby, face cream that I wouldn't normally spoil myself by buying, a good book or CD I have wanted for ages, a new hand bag, pretty PJs, or a new top, pretty much I like to buy things that I wouldn't normally treat myself too. Being a mum and wife I tend to spend any spare cash on my family before I'd spend it on myself, so it's nice to earn treats for myself!

Nancy - seems to me that pizza and icecream don't make a huge binge, but I know it was the reason for wanting the icecream that makes you more worried than the amount you ate. On diets of old I used to often feel resentful of not being able to eat what I want. I don't know what's so different this time, but thankfully I haven't had to deal with those kinds of feelings yet. I think I might have if I tried to stay OP over Christmas though!

Sabrina - maybe you could remind your friend of all the reasons she wants/needs to lose weight. Or like Patti said, show her Zelma's before and after photos, they are enough to inspire anybody. I am still a work in progress so my photos aren't nearly half as impressive, not YET

Shadie - what an angel your son is, you are so lucky to have him be such a help to you on your weight loss journey. Sounds like with him on your side you are going to see those lbs really shift

Thanks for the compliments on my pic, and for the lovely words about me inspiring you. I never thought I would ever be a diet inspiration to anybody, and you won't believe how much that helps me actually stay on track. I don't want to let myself down, and I don't want to let you all down!!

Catherine - thanks for sharing those 7 habits, they all make sense and are definitely worth remembering.

A turkey the size of a VW, now that would be something You could just dive inside the stuffing in it and eat it from the inside out

Em - Have you remembered to watch GMTV to see Paul Mckenna? I saw some of it today but am not sure what I made of it. They blindfolded a few people to see how much food they would eat if all outside influences were cut out and they could concentrate purely on their eating. They had counted how many cals they had eaten one day on the weekend, then how many they had today. It's supposed to have been a LOT less, with one of them saying they were just sooooo full after eating very little. I wonder if they really were full, or if they just didn't want to look like pigs on TV??

How are you doing with your 'non' diet with Paul?ade a chicken stew, did all my ironing and then went to Caleigh's school for Parent/Teacher evening. I am really looking forward to my bed tonight, and you can bet I won't be having a late night tonight

Well my friends, I am going to check my emails now and then I am going to go to bed. I might check here before I go, if not, then I will 'see' you all tomorrow.

Hugs,

Ammi

Ammi maybe i will check into getting a Gazelle Rider i could use my poor old joints to convince my hubby couldnt i?

evening everyone!

Just stopping by to say hello. Hubby is on the treadmill and I am hopping out of the shower. Going to curl up on the couch and enjoy "The Class" before I go to bed.

Ammi~ I havent forgotten the blog. I promise by the end of the week I'll have something posted.

The wonderful poochie is crying to go out and play in the snow. Its storming out adn she loves it

Talk to you tomorrow. I'm hoping for a storm day!

Brenda

Hi all. I just got back from swimming and I feel great. I am so glad that I braved the ice and snow and went over there and did it. The water was a really nice 92 degrees which felt lovely. lol. I went to the deep end and moved the whole time I was in the water doing some kind of evercise. I met a lady there that gravitated towards me and started chatting about loosing weight etc. I will probably go two times a week for a couple of weeks then up it to 3 times a week. I thought about you girls before I went to swim and believe me it helped me to just do it Thank you for all the support. I feel like I will sleep like a log tonight. I never thought I would say this but, Annie did 60 minutes of swimming and 27 minutes of other exercise today so, I did 87 minutes of exercise in one day and I may jump on the bike for a mile or so. lol I am feeling so great about it. Thanks again for all the encouragement. Sorry no personals tonight.

Blessings to you all, stay well and be op,
Annie

Annie -- You rock!!

Thanks Wyllenn. I ended up getting back on the bike for 1.2 miles so about 5 more minutes before bedtime. I guess it beats watching the tube. I crashed around 8 p.m. and slept no problems until midnight. Now, back to be at 1a.m. hopefully to sleep.

Blessings all,
Annie

Hello girls!! Thnaks for the hopes that I could find a solution to my situation. Sadly, I can't. Therefore, I would LOVE some advice. I guess I am basically tierd of being the only one to clean up. The problem : I have OCD and I can't help that. I really could use some wonderful advice from you smarter than me ladies.

As far as weight, it's not changed a pound. WHAT THE CRAP?????? I added green tea two days ago and I'm drinking about two cups a day. Trying to add more to it. I wanna get to being able to only drink green tea and water.

Ideas or opnions for that too would be awesome!!

Ammi -- you are doing great girl!!
Thanks for listening girls~!


Erika Leigh

Morning All,

Yesterday I got into a new routine of when I would do my housework, exercise and spend time online. It involves saying NO to naps in the day with the hope of sleeping better at night. It worked last night, YAY. Problem is that hubby didn't sleep well and he's just gone back to bed for an hour. I really really want to do the same, I know I will fall asleep, but more importantly I just love cuddling up to my honey. BUT I have to stay strong. I am not tired, and if I sleep now I will not only ruin my chances of a good sleep tonight, but I will eat into my Internet time So here I am fighting to stay out of bed!!

Patti - I wonder if anywhere does a trial before you buy on the Gazelle? Maybe if you find one second hand you could try it before you bought it? I mean it's ok for me to say how fabulous they are, but it would be great if you could try for yourself before paying out any money. Tony Little has a web site, you should go look at it and read more about each kind of 'Rider' that there is.

If you decide you want one, all you have to do is tell hubby it's that or a WII or PS3, I think I know which he'd prefer you to have

Brenda - glad to hear you haven't forgotten your blog. I don't write much in mine, but I try to keep it updated once a week for my WI.

I hope you get that storm day you were hoping for

Annie - OH MY GOODNESS, that is fantastic that you went to the pool and spent an hour swimming Then you went home and exercised some more and did 92 minutes in total Talk about being on a roll I am really happy for you, and proud of you too. that you aren't going to be sore today after all that swimming!

Erika Leigh - how often to you weigh? Regardless of the answer to that, just remember that the scales are a fickle thing. Have you been measuring yourself? If you haven't, maybe you should. That way if you have a disappointing WI you can measure yourself and hopefully see a difference there. Don't be disheartened, you earned a loss, you didn't get it, but I bet it will show next time you weigh

I am going to go email now, and then get a snail mail letter started. Got to keep busy so I keep out of bed Bye for now,

Hugs,

Ammi

Thanks for the uplifting Ammi. How do I get started with Measuring?

Erika Leigh

I just want to thank you all SO much for your wonderful messages/emails. I don't know how to let you know how much they meant to me. They made me cry... they made me smile... they simply made me feel better. For that I can only thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I am home for a few days now, then we are heading back down to spend some more time with Mum, before coming back next week (last week of my school holidays) for a few days to get myself organised, then back down to Mum's for the last weekend of the holidays. It is a long weekend here - Australia Day - and we are stopping at Mum's a couple of nights, then heading down to my brother's to stay a night as there is a family reunion (Mum's side) in his town. It should make for a nice finish to a somewhat 'mixed' holiday.

The last few weeks have been the hardest in my life. I don't think there is any way you can prepare for the death of a parent. I somehow thought that 'when' it happened, I would be 'adult' enough to handle it. Boy was I wrong! All of a sudden I felt 12 years old again. I truly felt WAY too young to cope with it all. And WAY too young to be losing my Dad. But I found myself being very persistent with things and questioning everyone, ALL the time, to get the best treatment for my dad and to have the best funeral that could have been planned to farewell him.

I know that the pain will ease, and that one day I won't cry whenever I try to talk/write about what has happened. I know that it will just take time. I just never knew that it would hurt this much. I also never expected all of the guilty feelings to come pouring out. All of those "I wish I'd visited more" and "I wish I had taken him to the Zoo like I said I would". I always just figured that I had time to do these things, and I had time to be selfish for a little bit longer.

Mind you... I can also look at the amazing positives that have occurred in the last month.

* Neil and I went to my old home town for Christmas. I haven't been there for 22 years. My sister and one of my brothers and their families are there. My parents were also there for Christmas, so we spent a rare Christmas with them, just a few days before Dad had the stroke. THAT was a bonus.

* I am positive that Dad was seriously ill. He had lost SO much weight and was in a LOT of pain in his shoulder and neck over Christmas. I truly feel that the stroke could have been a blessing for him, because I don't think he would have wanted to suffer through a prolonged illness.

* We all got to see Dad and tell him we loved him, which is something many people don't get to do. We had that little bit of extra time with him. Neil and I even slept over at the hospital the night before he passed away. So I was there to hold his hand in the middle of the night and to let the nurses know that lying on his back caused him too much pain, so they moved him and he had a more restful sleep. I will cherish that time with him.

* I have heard it said that nobody can die with dignity, but my Dad did the best job possible.

* Dad would have been SO proud of the number of people who turned up at the funeral, and at the wonderful things that were said about him. He will be forever known as a proud man and a true gentleman, who would help anyone at any time and expected the same of those around him.

* Dad's family got together on a few occasions and celebrated his life. We laughed and joked and simply enjoyed each other's company. That is a great legacy for anyone I believe. And I know he would have loved watching us, from wherever he is now.

Anyway, I have gone on WAY too much here I am sure. I have not written any of this down before and I didn't realise that it would all come pouring out. Thank you for those of you who have read through it all, and thank you again to all of you who sent messages to me. They truly helped a lot and I will cherish every one of them.

Take care,

Zelma

Thankies everyone for your comments on my obese now thread lol ... Im telling everyone Im obese .. and so few understand how exciting it is rofl .. thank goodness for you lot

Its been a mixed few days emotion wise .., still awaiting news on my nephew .. still I figure the longer it takes the better the news could be right?

Sunday one of our lambs (Sooty the girl) got her hoof caught in a tree while we were out (she tries to climb the fruit trees cos she likes those leaves more than the grass and other food we have for her lol) and by the time we realised she was still in the same position it was about 8 hours later!!!! I felt so guilty my poor lamb stuck in a tree .. gawd that sounds weird lol .. can laugh about it now fortunately ... but on Sunday I was so afraid we would have to put her to sleep because of her leg not being anything but a floppy appendage. Fortunately the farmer out the back came to our place and had a good look at her .. it was badly bruised and strained.. but not broken. So she is now starting to put her hoof down a little more .. I had to tell Sweep off because he was lining up our neighbour to bunt him when he was bent over examining Sooty rofl.

I have finally reached my first hump in my journey .. would say bump .. but really it feels bigger than that lol. I keep thinking about my 35th birthday coming up .. Im one of those people that evaluate my life at certain times ... 30 was the last one .. now its 35 and I have been pondering what I have been doing the last 5 years .. as well as what I want to do for the next 5 .. The past 5 .. I havent done too bad really .. I have owned a business and made it successful. I have met and fallen in love with a wonderful guy. We have bought a lovely home together, as well as another property (even tho that one has been giving us headaches lol). I have so far lost over 60 pounds. I have built a closer relationship with my dad, and attempted to build bridges with my mother. So all in all .. I think I have had a successful 5 years ... my problem is ... I like to plan .. I like to know what Im doing in the next 5 years .. as a general guideline anyway. But other than losing weight .. I have no real plans .. well .. somewhere in there a marriage may happen lol .. havent decided yet tho.

Today on the phone I admitted to my honey I think I have lost my motivation. I am so proud of how well I have done so far not being a specific plan and other than on here, doing it on my own. I am happy when I have actually done a workout .. but I just cant seem to get myself to do it. I know I need to eat 3 meals a day (at least) .. and yet Im again back to skipping breakfast and lunch. Its a case of I know what Im doing wrong .. and yet I cant seem to get myself to stop it.

So ... tonight I got Richard out and danced with him .. then while still feeling fine I added in a 1 mile WATP! BUT ... Im not happy about doing it. To me that isnt what Im supposed to be feeling. I think this is why I havent really been on here much .. its more a case of I have been battling this feeling the last couple of weeks but I wanted to work it out on my own (as I do lol) ... only I just thought that as we are supposed to be accountability partners that I should be true and honest about how things are going instead of making out that everything is a breeze ... hehehe .. to think I said to someone recently that I was feeling guilty for putting on all this weight cos it is seeming really easy to get it off .. DOH! Should have shut up!

Tomorrow I am getting on my scooter and going to the gym in town with a pool. They have a special offer on at the moment to have new members so Im going to go and look it over and talk to them .. They have water aerobics there too and the only time it isnt on is over Xmas/New Year! If it looks good .. then Im going to sign up and hope that this will give me motivation .. to exercise if nothing else.

Anyway .. just thought I would let you know where my head is at at this moment.

Right .. just a couple of personals.

Zelma hunny .. I do know exactly where you are coming from with the questioning of yourself with visiting more etc .. I did exactly that when grandad (the dad of my life growing up) died. I just couldnt face seeing him as someone that was so unlike who he really was I think .. and it was harder still when my grandmother wouldnt let any of us speak at his funeral. I went home that night and looked out at the sky and picked out the brightest one with my daughter and named it grandad .. here we are 7 years later and I still miss him so much .. a lot of times I go to ring him .. or think Grandad would laugh at this .. then it hits me he is gone again. Its not that I dont remember he died .. just that he was the sort of person that was so alive and lived life instead of existing in it .. that its hard to think of him not still being there. Im babbling again .. HUGS and LOVE hunny.

I cant remember who it was that asked about alternative treats than food for rewards?? How about a manicure .. a massage .. a day flying a kite! New clothes are a common thing too. I get myself a new figurine or bear for my collection. Maybe you could treat yourself to a new movie/dvd/video for your home. Have a home movie night (great for a family). Go for a walk where you can pick some flowers for your home .. its exercise and a lovely gift to your senses. Have a lovely bubble bath with some soft music and a soppy book to read. Im not sure what it is that you do usually or what your interests are or if you collect anything .. but if you collect something then treat yourself to a new addition to your collection, if you have an interest in something then treat yourself to a day spent involved in the interest. Good luck!

Okee .. well ... humm .. right .. 5 positives for Wednesday/Thursday
1 - My little girl isnt gonna have to get put down and she is walking better every day!

2 - My dad got back from his holiday down south safe and sound and we will be seeing him in the next week some time.

3 - I have decided to join a gym at last!

4 - I got to have a Caramel Sundae ... lol... oh boy is that a positive hehehe

5 - Im still on my journey .... even if I dont know the ultimate destination

Love, Light and Laughter everyone!!

Zelma I'm so glad to see you posting and to know you spent time with your dad. You seem to have a pretty good handle on your grief, I hope you can continue to think of the good times without too much pain and that DO NOT apologise for 'going on' getting it off your chest here is far healthier than holding it in & brooding.xxxxxxx Thank your darling Neil for keeping us updated on youxxxxx
Well that 'icky' feeling turned into a lung infection, I'm sitting here coughing, shaking and sweating. I rarely get colds & though I don't smoke colds always go to my chest. I won't go into details but vile describes the nasty stuff I'm coughing up (sorry). I hope everyone else is feeling better than me!!!
Annie WTG on all that swimming AND biking!!!xxxxx
Ammixxxx try & catch you on MSN around 5-6 if I'm up to it, though it's about all I can do, standing makes me feel faint, lol!!!
Erika, sorry about housework, & hope things improve for you.xxxxx
I have to go & lie down, thank goodness Garewth is back at school, though I'm stuck with Aiden as I'm too ill to walk him for 2 hours of nursery it's just not worth it!(kindergarden) & there's no one else who could take him.
Catherine, your posts continue to inspire and humble me.xxxxx
xxxbye,
xxxxxsharon

Morning everyone...

Kind of in a bad mood. I slept in so now I have to use some vacation time for this morning, NO storm hardly at all , and I am up 7lbs this morning!!!!!!!!! I havent been bad, I've walked my A$$ off all week.... grrr. I hate scales!!

Oh well, I know that I am doing the RIGHT things... sooner or later the scale will have to give up

Gotta head to work!
Brenda

ps... way to go annie!!

Zelma -- Thanks for updating us. I haven't had to deal with the loss of a parent yet, but I so appreciate your heartfelt comments. You seem to have a real gift for capturing how you feel. You also seem to know how to see the positives in the midst of sadness. Please do thank Neil for updating us!

Katt -- I know what you mean about motivation flagging. I think if you do this journey long enough, most of us face that. Let's face it, we have a lot to lose and it's hard to be gung ho for a process like that that takes more than a year (and sometimes several years) to complete!

I hope you like the gym you check out. I have never liked to exercise but really loved joining our current gym. I think it helps to find something to do there you can really get into. For me it has turned out to be weight lifting so far. Lots of people like water aerobics -- that may become your thing!

Motivation comes and goes, I think. Commitment to the process helps, I think! Find other things to focus on other than the scale. If you start water aerobics you can track your process there, or look at other things you can do that you couldn't before!

It's also okay to take a little break I think, if you need to. Maintain your 60 POUND loss for a bit before the next push. to you too!