I'm glad to hear most people had a good new years. Mine was pretty calm, just stayed home. With moving just before Christmas then being invaded by family at Christmas. It was all a bit much and the down time was nice. I was really looking forward to a positive start to a new year and weight loss goal but within a day the positive attitude was gone. My ex slithered back into my life to cause again more drama. I'm seriously ready for this guy to grow up and realize he left me. But I'm happy to say I was able to resolve it all this afternoon and hopefully now I can move on. Just focusing on eating well and increasing activity for now. To be honest, I forgot the scale at my previous home so I have to go out and get a new one.

Hello all,

Hope everyone is having a good end to their weekend. I'm back at work today. Only 20 more working days to go until my month long holiday- thank you CHINA!! 28 full days until I am on a plane home to the good ole USA. I can't wait. Everything is good here right now though. I'm just finishing up week 8 of my WOE and can't wait to weigh in tomorrow for my official weigh to see where I'm at after a full two months. I don't know if I can push the time to go by faster for this month, but I'm definitely going to stay on plan and keep working away until that day I can throw my suitcase in a taxi and head to the airport. Hope everyone had a good holiday. As always, I lurk more than I post, but I promise I am here and doing great!

Treat Awesome loss!!

Ubee You make me smile Not sure if I've ever made someone's jaw drop before. I promise you I really am trying. I feel so much better being back at home and in my normal routine. I am realizing now that all those carbs I ate caused me to bloat. I think my body is detoxing from it now so hopefully I'll be down the pounds I gained when I weigh in tomorrow.

Donna Thank you so much for the compliment! I'm right there with you on the opportunity front. I feel so proud that I have made it almost a year on my journey and feel like this is gonna be a great year health wise!


Betsy Thank you so much! ((((Hugs)))) I am going to work to take care of myself a little better this year. The weightloss is going great but I don't take the time on my appearance. I love makeup hence why I am a part time makeup artist but I am so lazy when it comes to doing my hair and makeup especially for work. I take too long to do my makeup so I need to work on keeping it simple so it doesn't take almost an hour lol...I just love doing different techniques and take my time because it's therapudic for me. How did the garage go today?

Fi Thanks love!! DH gave me that Iron Maiden tee. It was his but it doesn't fit him as well anymore...one of my favorite bands!! But my most favorite of all time has to be Judas Priest!!! It really stinks hearing about your trip to the ER...I hope you and DH feel better soon!!

Well I'm nearing towards the end of my time off from work and I don't want to go back lol...I guess as I get older I need to really think about starting a retirement plan so I can actually retire one day and not have to work for the rest of my life...but man how do you do it when almost every cent goes to bills?

Today my grandma took me shopping for new clothes. It was so nice of her to do that for me as a late birthday present. I got 2 new pairs of work pants in a size 18!! I can finally give away the size 22 and 24's I've been swimming in away to Goodwill!! I also got a pair of dark wash jeans and a few different staple shirts that I can dress up or dress down for work or pleasure. I got the work shirts in an XL and got two graphic tees in a Large!!! I can't believe it!! Slowly but surely I'm gonna get the rest of this weight off! I'm starting to turn into the petite person I really am lol...Now I just need to find me a new pair of work shoes. I didn't find any I liked while we were out today and she was too tired to venture out from the mall so that's ok.

DH is at the comedy club tonight so I'm relaxing at home with the kitties and turtle. Gonna go to the gym tomorrow and am going to try and get DH to go with me. He keeps complaining about how fat he is but I haven't said much about it to him. It's hard but I can't be the one to tell him what he needs to do, he needs to figure it out on his own. I just told him that this could be his year and when he's ready I'll do everything I can to help.

Anyway I'm off for tonight. Take care lovelies!

Hello chicken friends!
Sam....what an amazing sense of achievement! You have done so well with your weight loss journey and had so much to upset your equilibrium...I so admire you....you are my hero!! My DH has put weight on recently and you are right.....they have to come to their own conclusions and decide themselves. So he will be joining me on my healthy eating plan as of tomorrow. I used to to plead with DH to come to church with us as I feel he so needs God in his life but have come to realise that however much I want to, I can't do it for him. He has so much that troubles him that I can't help with.
Shan...how lovely to see your excitement in your post! I am sorry to be a bit twp as we say in Wales but what is WOE??
Jhoolia.....I hate to sound like Mrs Cynical Knickers but really.....so men EVER grow up? My DH is 55 and although he has certainly improved in the 4 years since we met, I wouldn't describe him as "grown up"!
Fi....what a nightmare! I hope your cough improves quickly....you must have been desperate to go to A&E. I have just come back from church and for once I was the only one NOT coughing instead of my usual death rattle! I have always used Diaorylite (not sure that is the spelling) which you give to babies and kids when they have D&V to rehydrate and is seems to work.
Betsy....how is the garage going? I have set myself a "drawer/cupboard" a day challenge.I tend to leave it all at once and then can't face it!
Am struggling a bit to get exercise but am really hoping to get back to the gym this week. I often have a battle to get past my husband if he thinks my chest is too rattly.....it's a bit frustrating as we often argue about it. I won't get better if I don't exercise to increase my lung capacity but I know I sound awful!

Have a great Sunday,
Donna

Good morning all. Just having an early morning pot of coffee before the boys (big and little ones) get here to load up the truck for the trip to the dump so that I can actually get the garage in order. My mantra for the day is usually something along the lines of Eat Right, Feel Better. Today it is You Will Be Happier with a Cleaned Out Garage. Fortunately, my family seems to think my muttering under my breath is normal behavior......at least for me!

Fi -- I'm glad to know where you've been as I was getting worried about not hearing from you for several days, but egads -- you and Bob have both been through the wringer. Hope that you are both on the mend soon. It sounds like this has been a particularly bad flu season, so pamper yourself and make sure that you get over this.

Jhoolia -- Another vote for a big collective WHEW that the holidays are over and life can get back to what passes for normal for all of us. Glad you took care of the ex and hopefully he has slithered out the back door.

Shan -- The countdown is definitely on for you. It is so exciting to have a great trip to anticipate, and it's a great motivator for staying on plan. Hope the next 28 days just fly by.

Sam -- WOW! You do realize that you can shop at "regular" stores now with your new sizes. That's an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. Saving for retirement is definitely something that needs to be on your list -- actually needs to be a priority in your budget. I was lucky to always work at places that had either retirement plans or else 401Ks to which I could contribute. Does your business offer something like that? If not, then open up a savings account that offers automatic transfers from your checking to your savings so that you are in essence paying yourself first. With already tight budgets, the discretionary spending has to be really closely examined and anything that can be eliminated needs to be to have the "extra" to put towards retirement. Cell phones and cable packages are the easiest places to start. Lots of people stream everything and get rid of cable altogether. And while the data plans and smart phones are nice to have, all we really need is to have a cell phone for emergency use. You can do this. Obviously saving for retirement is a passion for me mainly because doing that enabled me to retire early and comfortably. You can do this!

Donna -- The garage is slowly coming along. After working for a couple of hours yesterday, I realized that I needed to wait until all the stuff that has been put out there to be taken to the dump actually gets removed. Then I can go back through and actually get it organized and straightened up.. This has become a challenge! It is hard to know when to go back to exercising at the gym when you still sound rattly in your chest. Maybe do some exercising at home (I know you already walk the doggies) to help assuage DH's concerns.

Well, I've just been full of advice this morning. Sorry if I've come off as preachy -- problem solving is one of those things that has always come easily for me so I sometimes get carried away in offering suggestions. Now, if I can just turn it on myself and figure out how to solve the problem of the never ending sugar addiction! Time to get it in gear and I need to vaccuum -- again -- before everyone gets here. Toby has been a busy boy bringing in all sorts of little pieces of dirt. We're having super nachos today along with a Caesar salad and fruit salad and a sugar free raspberry jello pie (my niece loves them and it's her birthday). Hope everyone has a great day.

Betsy ~ LOL at realizing at 3 in the afternoon that defrosting something would of helped meal prep.

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I woke up at 8:00 a.m. this morning. Its now 11:46 a.m., We are trying to figure out what we're doing for lunch/dinner. Chinese as been brought up and so has Chipolte so we'll see if one gets voted on. After lunch/dinner I'll do my 30 min. walk dvd and then later on tonight I'll do my 40 min. chair exercises, I also need to clean the bathroom sometime today too.

Good Afternoon.
Trying to sneak in some me time. I am doing well but the house seems full with our daughter home from college and it being too cold to run around. Due to the cold more then likely school will be canceled for the first few days this week.
Betsy you are never preachy. What good is your wisdom if you can not share it? Expecting a garage update tomorrow.
Terra thanks for answering my shopping question. What kind of Hot Pockets do you get?
Donna has your daughter returned to Uni? Your son to school?
Sam it must feel great to have some new little clothes. Do you just look at them amazed that you can fit in them?
shan thanks for stopping in. Glad to hear all is well and you have your countdown up and running.
Julia time to get rid of junk food and bad news ex's all at the same time! Good for you!
Fi so good to hear from you. I was getting worried. Sorry for your troubles.
Waiting for my routine to return.
Have a peaceful day.

Hey y'all. I've been gone from 3FC for a while. I lost a bit more than I recorded here, but then got a new, challenging job and regained a bit from my lowest. Not a lot, but enough to realize that if I have another year of hit or miss I won't be able to wear my lovely new clothes.

So I'm back: hello to everyone I knew before and also to the folks I haven't met. I will be around when I can but that won't be as regularly as I'd like.

I also have some new goals for the new year, not just food and exercise and 70 XP on duolingo every week, but also, er - meeting people, which I really haven't done in an awfully long time.

I joined a dating website. My goal is to find the right one and go on some dates. I'm not sure at this point if the obstacle is more my pickiness or my shyness, but thus far I haven't brought myself 'round to replying to anyone who has messaged me.

mountain- WOE means way of eating (or lifestyle plan if you prefer)

ubee- Your support means so much both here and on our Atkins board.


So, I just wanted to hop on this morning since I just did my official weigh in for the week. I am now officially two months into my extended atkins induction and I am down 33lbs. I am so excited to see it working, just like I knew it would if I followed the book. I don't cheat at all. Feeling great and looking forward to the next couple of months.

Happy Monday everyone! (in China anyways already).

mnemosyne- It is great that you feel confident to start dating. The nice thing about messaging is that you don't have to message them a second time if you don't like what you see.

Shan84- those are fantastic results!

Ubee ~ I got Ham and Cheese Hot pockets

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I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning. Its 4:50 a.m. right now. Today my plans are to clean the bathroom, Do my 40 min. morning chair exercises, my 30 min. walking dvd and my 40 min. evening chair exercises. I also need to clean my room as well.

I have to come clean about my dieting and exercising. I havent been serious about my dieting and exercise for a couple of months now but I know I need to get serious about it if I ever want to reach my goal of 150 pounds. I just had to come clean and tell the truth. I'm sorry everyone for agreeing with everyone when they said I was doing good with my work outs , I hope everyone can forgive me.

Good Morning! Good Morning! Good Morning!
It is not as cold as expected so school only had a two hour delay. My daughter is just as excited as I am.
Terra seriously? of course we forgive you! What is going on? Have you been exercising at all? Have you been pigging out or just not trying as hard? Let us know what we can do to help. You are an important part of our community we are here for you.
Hi Sam17176! Care to join us? The more the merrier.
shan you are out of the 390's!!! I must admit, I was having a bad day over the holidays right after you bounced back up to 400 and you still stayed true to plan. I thought if shan is staying committed then so am I! Thank you for helping me over that hump.
mnemosyne welcome back! So glad to hear you came back before the dreaded regain +. Your loss over the years is a sight for sore eyes. 140 down good for you! I would love to hear more of your journey. Good luck finding the right one for you.

I am so excited to have my routine back! Just in the nick of time. Yesterday it was getting hard to stay on plan. My next goal is to lose 11 pounds by Valentines Day. Betsy's 10 off by Christmas really helped me. Is anyone else in?
Have a peaceful day!

Hi everybody!
Ubee....my daughter went to her Fiancé's on 29th Dec . Oh I really miss her all over again each time she leaves! She is now back in Bristol with a reading week before exams next week.
Little boy is back to school tomorrow He is looking forward to seeing his friends again. He also starts school tomorrow which I am hoping will help his confidence.
Mnemosyne......lovely to see you back and well done on your decision to "get back out there" as it were! And as Sam said you can always hit the "delete" button if they are creeps!

Terra....we are your friends my lovely! Well done for fessing up ...it's really hard to do that....but nobody here would judge you ...we have all been less than honest with ourselves and others at times.

Shan....that is amazing...you must feel such a sense of achievement. It will make the build up at to your holiday so much more exciting!

Betsy....you never sound preachy....and you have reminded me that I love Jelly....(no Jello over here....just jelly!) and the sugar free ones are lovely.

Back on proper track today....managed to screw up enough courage to weigh myself and I had only put on a 1.5lbs which considering how much I feel I have been eating was OK. My therapist said I looked like I had lost weight and she sees me every week....so that was nice!
Hoping to walk the dogs a bit further than usual as the weather is due to be milder tomorrow.
Back to the gym possibly Wednesday.
Have a great day.
Donna

Good morning all. Just a fly by this morning to let you know I'm still out here. Doctor's appointments two days this week, car needs to go in for servicing, and the work on the house that I'm having done starts this week as well. I may be just doing fly bys most of the week -- let's just hope it's not on a broom!

Have a great day.

I made a new collage last night: "paper-thin pantagruel". (As usual, click for a larger version.)

Still coughing like mad, but in good spirits...

Betsy, in the (pagan) company I keep, brooms are the only way to fly... =smile=