Hi all. I'm a relative newbie here- just joined 3FC in June, after doing Weight Watchers (again) for a few months and then realizing I didn't actually need the face-to-face support group as long as I had this board!

I have 3 boys and a hubby at home, and I work as a physician. I find it particularly challenging to get my exercise in, seeing that I often work from 8 to 6, and want so spend time with my family. I'd love to hear from any of you who manage to make the time to do it all (work, home, family and exercise).

I'm liking all the intros/re-intros also, so many new faces & also new to me faces that were here before me.

Well I am officially the crazy one. I had one child because I figured I could handle one. Boy was I wrong. One question - why is it that your kids know your washer & dryer clean better than the one at their new apartment which has a brand new laundrymat? Oh never mind I figured it out if the Kid comes home, Mom will do her laundry too. Well I guess one child wasn't enough because I foster kids too, my limit is 3 because I don't want to just pile kids up in the corners or closets, although I believe some of them would be better off living in my closets. I take in troubled teens & have teenage girls right now, and one is a very trouble pregnant teenager.

I am married to a great guy, Wade is awesome & he is just as bad as me about wanting to bring all the kids here and take care of them. I'm/we are all very active, we boat, ski, hike, do the bike trails & I am a runner.

Whoo hoo I got a bubble bath tonight, I think the girls were realizing they were driving me nuts, they worked together & cooked a very nice dinner & sent me off to take a bubble bath while they were cooking, they said something about they didn't need to be supervised.

Going to catch up on personals tomorrow, I need to get the girls done with homework & in bed.

Don't think it will take us too long to hit 5 pages....lol

Quick intro about myself...I am 42 and with hubby for 19 years (married for 10). Have 2 girls who are polar opposites of each other. 7 year old is a girly girl and has ADHD which we are treating with diet and supplements. 5 year old should have been born a boy...would much rather wear jeans and a tshirt and get her hands dirty in the garage with daddy. She says she wants to be either a race car driver or an aircraft mechanic (like hubby). Lord help me!
I was a teaching principal and gave it up to stay at home with my 2 kids after my second was born. Now that she is in school (2 more sleeps!!! YES!) I am going back on the sub list.

It hit 43C here (110F) and I am wiped. Too hot to eat which is great and no problem getting 10 glasses of water in me.

Glad to see so many returning faces! I think we'll have an awesome board!
Maddie

Wow, it's an explosion! Great to see so many new faces and a bunch of veterans back on the board : ) I'm about to turn 46, mother of 3 dysfunctional children and grandma to 3 as well. Single, date occasionally. Trying to get down to 130 for a number of years now and seem to be stuck between 161-165. Living in horrendously hot and humid south carolina, though the humidity has dropped this week. I don't drive so I get in lots of walking while traveling by bus around town. I need some new motivation, was going strong on the morning workouts until I lost my ride and workout partner. I have changed my eating a great deal, but still fall off the wagon when it comes to eating out on occasion. Much less often then I used to and I make the trek to the farmers market for meat, produce and raw milk 2x a month.

Hey everyone I haven't forgot ya'll. I am having some major issues with my 17 year old daughter and having to focus on her right now when I get home from work. I was posting when I was at work but we have IE there and for some reason this site takes forever to load so I can't post for now during the day.

I am down about 15lbs, not sure how I am doing this with all my stress. I am working the treadmill, 30 min a day 5 days a week and keeping the calories under 1300 a day. If you want to keep up with me, you can check my blog out.

I just want you all to know I support you and I do read the posts just can't get to posting as much as I would like to, take care ya'll!

Hi Everybody,
Looks like you are all doing so well diet wise.
Me....lost 3kgs in July and regained 1 in August. I turned 48 in August and decided that by 50 I need to be a sensible weight.....about 70kgs...still big but a lot better than the 101 I am now.
Bit about me, I'm in Japan, been here for 20 years, hubby is Japanese.
I have four kids oldest is 18, youngest is 8.
And it is hot here in Japan, horrible humidity.

Have to run, get ready for work.

Take care

Jackie

Hi there! I am new to the group also. I understand the kid thing! I have a 22 yr old girl in college, an 19 yr old son who has multi-disabilities and great 16 yr old step son. My husband of 10 years is my best friend, he gets me.

I am trying to get back into fitness and a healthy eating plan from the long break I have been on. I would like to drop about 6 pounds before I go back to see my doc for my 6 month check up! I am on high blood pressure pills. I really need to loose about 30.

One of my challenges when I get motivated to work out is that I start with a program something like turbo jam or the gym or walk away the pounds. I do well for the first week and then I get to thinking, am I on the right program, should I add more like pilates and I over do it. It is a bit strange to me but I think it is a bit of a perfectionist thing, which I am not!

Do any of you find you over do it and then finally stop working out because you did?

Oh forgot I am 43.

Finding time to work out. I have learned for me- if I don't do it first thing in the morning, I will not do it.

cheers!
yvette

My food is half on/half off, and this is the week i need to real it back in...I keep saying that. I am finding though that I'm not eating as much as i think i am, and i panic more readily...thinking i ate WAY too much - but when it comes down to it, it was just "a little too much"...I'm trying to find perspective, and just working on "healthier" through September. I started getting lazy with my snacking choices.

As for my running, picture a 200+ pound turtle slothing it out...a tiny bit at a time. That's me...but I'm not going ot apologize for being slow. I did that for a good 6 months. Too hard on myself...man, i'm still going, it's been a year in October that I started this running thing. I automatically assumed I'd be thin running for a year, yeah, not. What no one tells you is when you start going longer distances - you're starving and want to eat more calories. I've packed on tons of muscle, but i'm still fat - period. Anyway, my struggle for my next race (half marathon in Oct) is to finish on time. They have sweepers so you have to maintain a 16min mile for 13 miles. I'm a little slower than that, but eeked out 3 other races. My times are not getting any faster, so it psyches me out a bit...nervous as it gets closer, but i tell myself - i know how to finish when my body doesn't want to at mile 10, and that's a very important key for me.

----

Hi Dee- that's wonderful that you reach out and help troubled teens. I'm sure it's amazingly rewarding and stressful at the same time. I like your idea of just trying to eat healthy through Sept. I need tht as well, I've had too many boundaries, and get panicky if i jump in too quickly.

Denver- I must have just have just jumped out as you were jumping into 3fc. Very nice to meet you and hope your "new house and job" are working out well for you.

Annie- you've come so far!!! Look at you almost at your goal. I'm so proud of you for sticking with it -- ((hugs)) Remember when you were working on going "just 1 min" on your elliptical?

Becky- food journaling...man, sticking with that is such a struggle for me. I hope your schedule is less crazy this year for you, and can't wait to see how you do with everything. Any swim meets, or is the season over?

Foodfighter - hon, go by whatever name you'd like. (hugs) Your comfort is what's important so that you feel safe. Man, I can relate to that "closet" feeling. A few years ago, I sat down and told my husband how much I weighed..the ACTUAL number. I was keeping myself hostage. When I let myself say it outloud, it was so freeing...scary, but freeing. I'm a food addict, so I understand food issues, control, and numbing out, etc. Hang in there...one step at a time -- baby steps.

Hi Kelly, love your avatar...too cute. High school for your son! Is he excited? Mine is in 11th grade and started back Monday.

Cindy- that's awesome about the adoptions!! What a great feeling that must be. As for the "on the road"...most of my training is on the TM, but when I do a race - it feels mostly the same to me. Here's my advice - when you go outside, slow down your pace more - you'll go farther, shorten your stride a little bit, and do intervals outside before you do just that 20 min run outside. Slow and steady...maybe start it outside this time. You're going to get this. I'm turtle slow hon...I just take it one step at a time still! Trust me, my next half, i'll be at the back of the pack - but as long as you're going forward, you're making progress.

Neurodoc - 3 kids, physician, wife, etc...it's a busy life. WHo does it all? You do and you are...making little changes along the way to accomodate your needs and theres is really all anyone can do. There's no one best way to do it all...just carve out pockets of time to feel your best. Nice to meet you

Maddie- Yeah for school starting soon! Did you like being a principal? Good luck with the sub list...I have a cousin who just graduated with a teaching degree and is excited to start her career. Wow, it was hot up there yesterday! 110F!

Kathi, don't think I mentioned it to you, my son has obsessed on going to college in Charleston. (few years still) - but I smile and think of you. He found a "neat" apartment complex and a college with a voice acting/acting thing that got his attention. I've been watching your journeys, and yeah for the farmer's market. Have been following your bus journeys as well.

Losing It - good luck with your daughter and whatever is going on. Great ob on being down 15 pounds.

Jackie- my son is Japanese obsessed...he was so excited to drink "Japanese Soda" - we pickd up at Epcot/Disney, while he watched Anime...it's the little things I guess. Wow, never really thought about the weather in Japan - hot, humid - neat to know. Where were you before Japan? Was it a big culture shock change? or did you love all the differences?

Yvette- I love that you wrote this - "he gets me"...I get that...i have a husband like that too. 6 pounds is doable...and then we'll take it from there. I think sometimes when i'd work out, I'd be so "into it" then just lose interest...I found running last year and set my sites on a half marathon (did it in March 2010), and having a longer term goal, pushed me to get past that initial hump. I told as many people as i could i was taking on this challenge, and then i didn't want to fail. I've gone to to complete 3 of them now, with 2 more to do this year. Trust me, I'm a roly-poly over 200 pound runner, and it's not pretty...but having a challenge in the distance helps me keep moving. Maybe checking in a few times a week and accountability will help you.

Cheers, Deb

Hey everyone - looks like there are a bunch of other runners on this thread - how fun! Since everyone else did such a nice job with their bios, I should add that I've been with my bf for 7 yrs, we have no kids, a very emotionally needy cat and often dog sit for a sweetheart of a Lab and we love to travel. Our next big trip is to Tunisia in North Africa in the spring.

lambchop - I'm so impressed with your half-marathon plans! I bet all your running has changed your shape a bunch even if you don't see the results as fast as you'd like on the scale. Are you doing any long runs this weekend?

ho11ybr - I know what you mean on the perfectionist thing - it can make you be really negative with yourself. A buddy of mine and I have decided that we do best setting goals that we can knock out of the park. For example, if I say I need to run 30min 3x/week minimum, than when I run 45min 4x/wk and throw in a couple of long walks too, I'm exceeding expectations and can feel good. If I tell myself I have to exercise for hours everyday, I fail right away and get discouraged.

jackie - does being in Japan make things harder or easier for diet and exercise?

losingit - You are doing so well losing while under other stress - that's really impressive. Hang in there!

wlw - maybe we can push through the 160s together? Although you're much closer to a new decade than I am. Sorry about your losing your workout partner - having a buddy makes such a difference. The friend I do most of my long walks with has been out of town for a few weeks and it definitely changes things.

maddie - love your description of the girls - sounds like you have your hands full! what are you doing for diet and exercise? Apologies if you've explained previously.

on a boat - aren't baths the best? I just survived a major bathroom remodel and had a hard time living without a tub for a few weeks. It's so amazing what you do with foster kids - I'm so glad there are wonderful people like you out there giving them a great life.

neurodoc - sounds like you have a tough schedule! Could you get out for a walk on your lunch break at all or is that impossible?

cruisecat - good for you for getting the treadmill in first thing. I read somewhere that one of the issues people have with making the transition from inside to outside running is that they need to crank up the incline slightly on the treadmill to mimic running on outside surfaces. Might be worth a try cranking it up a degree or two for a while before going outside again. I love hearing about the shelter adoptions - what a great thing you do.

coco - hope you are happy with the weigh-in tomorrow!

icu - are you still competing with your swimming? Curious to hear what you think of C25K - I'm sure with all your cardio training you'll be super successful.

We've got guests (bf's parents) coming for the weekend tomorrow so I took the day off to run tons of errands so I should get on that. After my run, of course Hope you all are doing well...

Dancer - love the needy cat comment, LOL - I am looking at 6-8 this weekend. (i should be doing 8, after 6, we'll see how it goes) It will depend on how i'm feeling. I just got a great massage today - had tons of knots in my hips, so hoping it loosens me up.

North Africa, wow! that's exciting for you- how do you decide on the places to travel next?

Deb: I am in awe that you can even run 1 mile, let alone a half marathon, and that you are doing it out there! I struggle with 20 minutes on my elliptical machine, and have had to cut down to 10 minutes at a time. The fact that you aren't at your goal weight is probably discouraging, but I hope that the accomplishment of getting out there and doing what you're doing is giving you the encouragement and PRIDE to keep going.
FF2000

Cindy - Maybe the DHs are twins!

Deb - The little pookie likes HS, which is 1/2 the battle I suppose!

Everyone else - HELLO!!!!

Hi Everybody,
Hope you are all well!

Dee... I also think it's great that your are helping troubled teens!! I have two teen boys (18 and 16) and they drive me crazy. Glad the girls gave you the evening off, that was really sweet of them to cook dinner for you!

Deb.....I hope your son gets chance to visit one day. Japan is both wonderful and frustrating at the same time. I have a real love/hate relationship with this country. But I'm here for life!

danceindenver....Japanese women tend to be skinny. Anyone over 50kgs is considered obese. I have students who are in their mid 50s and weigh maybe 55kg and complain that they are overweight. There is little help in the way of weightwatchers, jenny craig etc. There seems to be strange programes that show obese women who have lost a lot of weight in really weird ways. One woman lost half her body weight by eating a piece of fish and veggies for breakfast, then chewed gum for lunch and dinner!!!!

Well my kids are hungry, story of my life, everytime I sit down somebody wants something!!!

Have a good weekend everyone

Jackie

Hello friends!!

JackieChan said: "Well my kids are hungry, story of my life, everytime I sit down somebody wants something!!!" I had to smile, looks like no matter where in the world we are....we all deal with the same things. Love it!!

Yep, Deb, I do remember my struggle to start on the elliptical. I never did get to where I felt comfortable or enjoyed it. So I sold it a while back as I knew I didn't have room for it at my new home. I've been doing the Walk Away The Pounds and just love it!! I alternate between 2 and 3 miles (Boot Camp) and do it 5 days a week. I have been off while moving, but plan to get started again Monday or Tuesday of next week. Wanted to start back this week, but have been staying up late working on finishing the move and getting my house in order.

I maintained my loss and am holding at 152!! So happy!! I "treated" (and I use that word loosely) myself to Taco Bell for supper last night and I really didn't even enjoy it. I don't know if they have changed their recipes/ingredients or if my palate has just really changed that much....it just didn't taste that good. Again I say, I have really learned to wisely choose when I do eat something that isn't on my plan. If I am indulging....I want it to be worth my time!!

I got my kitchen mostly in order last night. Now if I can just find where I put everything () I'll be in good shape to get back to cooking and preparing food. I promised the boys I would cook when they get home from their Dad's next week.....they will be there until Tues. due to the Labor Day holiday. I really want to do grilled rosemary/garlic pork chops and some roasted potatoes.

I am so happy in my new home! I may need to rent storage for a while, but I am so happy I decided to go for it and buy my own place. It's HOME.

Love to all!

P.S. I'll try to check in over the weekend. Am spending Sat. thru Mon. at fiance's. Our OU Sooners football schedule starts this weekend!! Woot!!

Hiya all!

I'm behind on reading all the comments already, but I pledge to do my share this weekend. I was spoiled by having time at work to browse the site, and now the days are pretty crazy. So I just have a few quick things ...

Last night, after a day of great eating and journaling, I got home from work and ate the weirdest dinner I've ever had. Fresh rustic Italian bread with a wonderful peppery olive oil, a couple of whole tomatoes, a piece of cheese, and ice cream. Didn't go over the calories, and no backtalk from the scale ... but wow ... what a bizarre combination. Then I check the calendar, and there's the explanation - TOM on the verge. Aha!

Nope, didn't swim all summer. Will be jumping back in next week, though, to get ready for early season meets starting in October. I'll be here complaining about being sore and tired - feel free to remind me that it was a CHOICE to not swim! This year I'm going to add some weight training to see what it does for my times.

I so wish I had a good bathtub! We have a really nice "garden tub" in our master bath, but we discovered that the way it's supported is not structurally sound. The other one is ridiculously shallow and it's a cheap plastic shower/tub module, so it's cold and ... not fun. Future remodeling plans will fix this situation! I think our household would have more harmony if baths were a possibility.

kathi, I'm with ya on the workout partner. I'm AWFUL about keeping to a schedule when left to my own devices - self-motivation is not my strong suit!

Gotta run ... but I will carve some time out this weekend to do personals!