Debbie-I’m craving chocolate mostly, and I want to mix it with those hot tamale candies that I hate. That and fried chicken or anything salty. So far today I’ve stuck to protein shakes. I’ve been doing some hand work while sitting in a chair trying to get up the energy to actually go to the sewing machine.

Valerie-step away from the cake. When I have something to get rid of, I take it up to the corner, and hand it to one of the homeless or prostitutes. I used to make cookies once a week back in Florida to give to the drug dealers on the corner to stay away from my boys. They were just boys too, and my peanut butter or oatmeal cookies were probably the best nutrition they got all week. Do horses eat cake?

Xena-I used to love going to the showcase open houses. I liked getting a view of the new colors or designs. I might decorate Harry Potter, but I can’t see myself doing Goth or Vampire. As big as I am, can you imagine how scary that would be? I wouldn’t have to worry about getting a seat on the bus though. The little old ladies would run to catch the next bus once they saw me coming. Good luck on your test. My class doesn’t start until the 21st.

Soul-Having a plan is the most important thing when it comes to dieting.

Toobooty-I’m sorry about your breakup. Life breaking in is always part of weight loss. If our lives were perfect, and everyone supportive, we probably wouldn’t be as large as we are. The best way to cope is to allow yourself to grieve and to breathe. Make sure you have an eating plan, and only have food in the house that fits your plan.

Hello all,

GoingTL200, sorry you had a soggy camping trip. I hope you had a better day today regarding food.

Catherine, I've been really tired this weekend as well. I hope more protein helped you. Did you finish your sewing?

Debbie, I understand when the scale doesn't cooperate!! I hate that. Hang on! Did you .. really?... exercise?!

NoLWHorses, dang that stupid cake! I hope you made it without sucumbing to the call of the The Cake.

Xena, I so understand the pain in your back. I hope you were able to stretch it out.

Soulbliss, welcome back!

Wyllenn, skillet lasagne? I've never heard of it. I have a bunch of crock pot recipes with WW points for them. I'm still looking at things to cook later.

SJ, I'm so sorry your BF did that to you and blindsided you. Keep in contact here is the best way I can think of to cope.

Story, TOM is lurking around the corner for me as well. I feel like a water ballon. Doesn't help when I wanna eat anything not nailed down either. You aren't alone!

OMG, I was just mesmerized by a food commercial. Bah. I hate TOM!!! I just hope he appears BEFORE next weekend. I am doing my annual bicycle tour then and that will make life miserable if he shows then.

Luv and Hugs to all!
Ratkity

Rat-I couldn’t get up the energy to sew. I just did some hand work instead. I cut out a winter hat. It’s going to be in the 30’s later this week, so I may need it.

AH! The cake, like Elvis, has left the building. My friend took it to her family picnic. I did so freaking good at my own family picnic, that I'll be patting myself on the back all night.

Off to play some putt-putt... too bad it's not quite enough to count as exercise.

Hello Everyone!
I had a lovely long post all ready and the stupid computer lost it once again!! I wish I wasn't so anal that I have to "preview" every post, cause that's when it all goes to poop!
Sorry, I just don't have the energy to do it all again.
I survived the "girl-party", and will try to fill you in again tomorrow.
Nighty-night, and sleep tight!

TooBooty- sorry that he dumped you and it sucks. I'm in B-more as well so if you need a shoulder or something support is just around the corner!!

Val I hear you on the cake I was doing so well at the cook out today till someone brought brownies!! its the one damn sweet that I stuggle with and I had 4 of them. bah!

Rat, yes I actually did the dreaded exercise. The 1 mile walk plus abs for the morning is really quick paced and it was hard to keep up. I didn't get the abs part in because we had to go take the old treadmill to someone who bought it from us. It was worth sacrificing the abs for the 100 bucks!!! Tomorrow I plan on doing the whole thing though. Hope TOM doesn't show up on your weekend plans.

Catherine, you just sound like your plain 'ol worn out. I sure hope the doc can shed some light on whats going on with you tomorrow.

NoLIfe, hope you had a great time put putting around!

Donna, glad you survived the girl party. Sorry to hear you puter ate your post. I hate when that happens.

We got some rain here. Just enough to cool things down. It was sorta nice.
I'm working on a big 'ol puzzle now. It's 39" long and 15" tall. It a bunch of goofy store fronts with tons of people in it. Between that and crocheting, I'm staying occupied pretty well to where I don't think of what had happened on Thursday with my son.
Stay OP and enjoy the rest of the evening!
Debbie

Miss me? I am sure no one noticed I wasn't here. Oh well!

I went MIA due to being crazy busy, and then went away for a while. Hope all is well with everyone. Not sure I will ever get caught up!!

Being away from my puter for so long made me realize how much I appreciate this forum!!

to all of you...

Annie - So nice to hear from you. Wonderful that things are going very well. I'm glad you're really making the effort to get your protein etc. down, because I know it can be months before hunger returns for bypass patients. So looking forward to following your progress over the months to come!

Donna - Sorry you lost your post! I've learned the hard way to Ctrl-C to the clipboard before doing *anything* like previewing etc. Have a great day anyway.

Debbie - Enjoy your big ole puzzle. Do you just break them up after, or do you preserve them somehow?

Heather - I read on another thread about your 'back to school' outfit. I work in education as well, though not in the classroom. It's funny how we all have a 'back to school' outfit, even though I'm nowhere near any students and tomorrow will be like any other day at the office. I still need a 'first day of school' outfit! I will be wearing something old. A dress I loved about 12 years ago, but a classic enough style that it's still OK. It fits me again for the first time in a decade. It's funny...when I started this process late last fall I said "I'd like to be 265 by the first day of school next year and I'll wear (that dress)". This morning I was 263.8. Pretty close for such a long view! Anyway, have a great first day...

Peggy - Welcome back!

John - Congrats on your surprise loss. Keep it up! You're doing great.

I had a wonderful, wonderful NSV last night. I had a bath, in my own bathtub, in my own house that I've lived in for 9 years. I've tried maybe a half dozen times over the years, and was just extremely uncomfortabe and wedged in the tub unable to move or relax. I'd form a dam in the middle of the tub and water would spill over the sides rather than around me. It always made me very sad. I hadn't tried for a couple of years because I'd just gotten bigger and bigger but last night I decided to try. I fit perfectly. I never wanted to get out. I had bubbles and salts and candles and music and I lay there turning on the hot water with my toes as required until my tank ran cold. I'm still happy today.

It was like what Battle said the other day about my high heels...a lost bit of girliness that I get to reclaim. I have always strongly identified with being female and have always loved the trappings of womanhood. When I was at and near my highest weight I felt lost and genderless. I'm starting to feel like me again.

yeah Meta, good for you!!! I love bubblebaths and don't take them much anymore... Maybe I will today.... i know I could use a nice soak!

Debbie – I am so sorry to hear about the issues with your son and DIL. I don’t hope that things go badly for him, but I do hope that like Catherine’s foster son he realizes how wrong his actions towards you are. It is such a violation to find out that someone has invaded your privacy like that.

Catherine – That is such fantastic news that your stress test went well and that your heart is healthy! Definitely something to celebrate!

John – I was just wondering how you were doing. Sorry to hear things have been going so badly. If you are feeling so thirsty you can’t quench it you might want to see a doctor and get a blood sugar test, as that is a symptom of diabetes. Also, congrats on being down 7 – that is fantastic!

Donna – It sounds like you have had quite a month!

Val – Welcome! It is hard enough dealing with a major weight issue on its own – I can’t even imagine how tough it must be for you adding something like MS into the picture. It is totally inspirational to me that you aren’t letting it stop you. What are you holding in your avatar picture?

Deb – I was wondering where you were. Sorry to hear you have been in a bit of a funk. I hope you are enjoying statistics. I was really surprised to find that I really enjoyed the subject and actually toyed with the idea of becoming an actuary until I decided that I really didn’t want to spend my life reducing humanity to numbers.

Lindsey – My step-grandmother is similar to your grandmother. Although she isn’t overweight and could take care of herself, she stays wheelchair bound and lets other people care for her. Although, as a mother of 6 maybe it her turn to have other people care for her since she spent her entire life taking care of others? Either way it is sad to see her waste away.

Annie – I am so glad to hear your recovery is going so well! It is amazing that you are feeling stuffed just from water and protein shakes, but I guess that means the surgery worked! Sorry your sister wasn’t very helpful.

Brenda – I’m sorry to hear that your camping trip was rained out.

Soulbliss – Welcome back! I would love to do a CSA box, but being single I am really worried about it being way too much for me.

Body – I was the one to break off my last relationship and it was very painful even though it was a long time coming and totally the right thing to do. I can’t imagine the pain at such an abrupt decision like that. Has he talked to you about why? Sometimes just understanding the reasons for things can help so much. Be kind to yourself. Take some time and let yourself grieve. Let your friends be there for you. Get your anger out instead of holding it in.

TheStory – I am also retaining water due to TOM and it is pretty crazy. Why does my body do this? I feel like an inflated balloon.

Val – I am glad the cake made its way out of the house. I guess it really depends on how you play putt-putt whether it counts as exercise or not.

Meta - I totally know what you mean about being a bathwater dam! I actually haven’t taken a bath in my new place yet because I am worried it won’t work well, but you have inspired me to give it a try, which I will do tonight!


Speaking of needing a soak – I am so unbelievably sore, especially my right shoulder. I almost dropped my water glass last night at dinner. I have had 3 days of torture – not how I wanted to spend my holiday weekend. It started on Saturday when I arrived at my ex’s at 7:30am to go pick up the truck. It ended at around 11pm when I finally got home. We packed up a 24’ truck with all his stuff – just the two of us. It took us the entire day to pack everything up, especially since there was a lot of stuff he hadn’t finished packing. It was so exhausting. Luckily, he agreed to pay a friend of mine to help on Sunday and he also managed to get a co-worker to help, so for the unloading we had four people and it only took us about 6 hours. However, after that I still had to drive him back to drop the truck off and then get home, so I was gone from the house from 8:00am until 9:30pm. Yesterday I could barely move when I woke up, but we still had the cleanup of the old apartment to do. I left the house at around noon, we cleaned until about 8pm, and then we drove the last load of his stuff down to his new place. To top it all off I started my TOM right in the middle of it all. Ugh.

Thank goodness I decided to take today off, because I need it not only to recuperate, but to get things done in my own house. I have spent the morning catching up here and with email and I need to get to work on laundry and cleaning my own place.

With the stress of the move I didn’t give too much thought to what I have been eating over the past few days. However, one thing I find very funny in how I have changed. I decided on Saturday night to let myself have a treat and I told myself I could go to the bakery and get anything I wanted. However, when I thought about it what I really wanted was a WW Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough sundae. First of all, I have to thank WW for making something that totally gets my cravings done for under 200 calories, but also I find it amazing at how my tastes have changed. I would rather have the lower calorie item because I know I will be satisfied and not go overboard.

Hi everyone,

No time for personals at the moment, but wanted to stop by and say hello. This wasn't the best eating weekend--PMS, cravings, and social activities all converged. On Sunday I decided to not fight it for a day. Now TOM is here with its usual nausea, headaches and malaise, and I will naturally want to eat lightly, so it will all balance out.

On the positive side, my fitness level is increasing by leaps and bounds. This past weekend I took a walk in a public garden that is situated in a very hilly area. Several entrances to the garden have fairly long staircases. I was going around the gardens, up and down the staircases, and back again.

Next weekend is a promotional photo shoot for one of the movie projects I'm working on. We're going to Coit Tower in San Francisco. It's a steep climb to get there on foot, and then to get to the top of the tower there is a steep stair climb. The other team members are much younger and fitter than me, and I'm kind of stressing out thinking about keeping up with the group and then looking like I'm dead in the pictures. I'm trying to prepare by adding hills and stairs into my walks this week.

Have a great OP day today!

Listen to all these amazing NSVs!!!!! VERY inspiring!!!

Meta -- It is really funny about "back to school" clothes. And I think it's great you're fitting into your "target dress!" It really is reclaiming ourselves!

I just survived a potential minefield. This is our "opening week" at the college and we had a "welcome back" brunch. Lots of pastries, and yummy (looking) food. I am FINALLY finishing off the last of the weight I gained this spring. I knew if I had ONE pastry, I would want more. So I didn't. I ate some fruit, a yogurt, and one scrambled egg. I have food in my office if I get hungry. Tonight we have a "Welcome Back" Dinner to deal with... I don't know if I'll resist dessert or other minefields there, but at least I survived this one!

hey guys
Heather... good luck with your dinner tonight. I'm proud of you for behaving at brunch!!

for those that may not know, i just watched the commercial for Biggest Loser. It starts tonight which was a big surprise to me. I am pretty happy the commericial came on as I am a huge fan

Anyhow, gotta go and get something done. Been on here most of the day *L*