hippievanlady - Thanks for the book idea I think I've heard of that book before - but not sure where I've seen/heard it. I will make sure to look into it!

Thanks again!

Hello all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I had WI on Saturday morning and I am down 3.2 pounds!! Since I stayed the same last week and was so disappointed, I was thrilled with my loss! I also got a wild hair and went out and bought a badmitton/volleyball set for the back yard. You know, thinking we could get some good family "exercise" fun. As I don't have a good track record with these things, hubby wants me to be VERY careful. Almost five years ago (when I was no doubt much thinner) I had a really bad "crash and burn" on my son's scooter that landed me in the ER, and was really the beginning of my climb back up the weight scale, as I couldn't work out for quite a while. Not quite two years ago I was in the backyard playing football with my son and fell into a rabbit hole and not only broke my talis bone, but pulled, stretched and damaged every muscle, tendon and ligament in my right foot and ankle. I was off work for two months and had four months of physical therapy. Took me right at a year to get over that one. So, the hubby has good reason to worry about an injury! I have filled in all the rabbit holes in the yard though!

Welcome to all the newbies that have posted. I hope you get the encouragement and support you are looking for. This is a great forum with really great folks on it.

Lilion - I am so sorry it rained all over you. I really sucks to camp in the rain and storms. If it makes you feel better, it is supposed to clear out and dry up here in KC, so maybe the rest of your family's vacation will be dry and sunny.

Solus - Sorry to hear about troubles with your SO. Hang in there and realize that you have to do what's best for yourself. You'll be in my thoughts.

Angela - Very sorry to hear about your grandmother. She will always live on in your heart and memories. I recently lost one of my best friends to brain cancer four months ago who left a 10 year-old daughter and a very devastated husband. She had fought a very hard and long battle and exceeded the doctor's life expectancy by over a year. She had a stroke about six months before she finally passed, and was never the same as she wasn't able to talk, walk, etc. I'll be praying for you and your family.

Catherine - I don't think you give yourself enough credit. Girl, you jump in with both feet and flirt right back! You never know, it just might be fun!!

Starting-Over - Thank you! I do love my babies. They are my "mid-life crisis" children!! My sisters tell me that I've gone over the edge and turned into one of those "little old ladies we used to make fun of as kids." I told them I most definitely have and I'm having so much fun doing it! I do realize I'm pathetic, and yes, they have t-shirts, coats in the winter, halloween costumes and I recently bought them a dog stroller. I don't care, as I said, I'm having so much fun and they love it!

Really better get to work, as they do pay me to be here! Will try to plug in later this evening. To all those that had a loss - GREAT JOB and keep up the good work.
Take care - Kim

Hey, bellas!!

We were supposed to go to my company picnic on Saturday, but the skies opened and it rained all day. We stayed home.

My office has a "biggest loser" compeition going. We're split into two teams and boy, is dieting with other people ever strange! I'm the biggest one in the whole competition (which doesn't bother me, by the way) and folks are eating weird stuff. The contest lasts 12 weeks (I'll be in Las Vegas during two of those weeks) so it should get very interesting.

The other team jumped ahead our first week with a three pound loss, while our team had a net gain of 1 pound.

I need to get some new walking shoes; the pair I have are too small in the toebox and really uncomfortable. Stingy me was going to save a few bucks by getting shoes that I though would stretch some -- and of course they didn't!!

Great job on the loss, Kim! I love the pics of your babies...

More later!

It's been a while since I posted...it was a long family-filled weekend...we had a Bar Mitzvah and my parents were in along with a bunch of other cousins...it was really wonderful and I was so happy that Jason was with me. Foodwise it was also good which made me happy...I've become a little less anal about everything but it's also becoming a lot easier too. At one point my BF and my uncle and I (who are all on WW) were sitting right by the sweets table...and not touching it. It just became white noise to me...I had one cookie (home made chocolate chip from my cousin's mom) and it was enough.

Last night was dinner with my family and my BF's family....which went surprisingly well...I thought it would be a disaster...I'm glad I was wrong.

Today I was invited to a party that I declined an invite too...sitting nextto a bunch of cookies is one thing..but this was for swimming and cheesecake...so I declined. Maybe next year.

Hope you all have a good week and that you are making it successfully through all of your trials and tribulations.

hi guys! this is gonna be a hit and run!

Finals are this week and have been studying as much as I can. Yard with pool looks great! I hope to get pictures up this weekend and I will post my webpage so you all can see them. Eating... well lets not go there, hasn't been so good I would like to blame it on stress, but I know it's as much as my fault than stress *pooey on stress* I will get back in touch with everyone. Thursday is my last day for work AND finals so I'll be free at least until the 21st, then I start summer school ICK!

Take care!
Sue...

starting_over: I just want to say how amazing you are to have taken those children's name-callings so lightly! That is absolutely awesome, and everything you said was right on (that the parents probably hadn't taught them that name-calling was bad, that you KNOW you're becoming healthier, etc.). Rock on!

As for me, I'm hoping to bust through this short-term goal right quick. 5.5 pounds to go--shouldn't take too long considering the extra exercising I'll be able to do now that I only work my second job 2 nights a week, not to mention I'll be able to go to my TOPS meetings every week now, which should help to keep me motivated. I've just got this "feeling." Anyone else ever gotten it? Like no matter how many times you have tried to lose weight before, this time is going to be the time where you will succeed and lose the weight forever? Maybe I am crazy, but I have tried to lose weight before, and I have never been this sure and confident about it. I'm 22 years old, and darn it, I want to look and feel like I'm 22 (well, maybe 23, since my birthday is next month )! I think a big part of it is definitely the support and inspiration I find here on 3FC, which I have never had before. Reading about others' successes and advice just keeps me so much more motivated and driven--even when I go horribly off-plan, I know I'll be able to get right back on track, and those horribly-off-plan times are becoming much fewer and farther between, ya know? Alright, I'll stop babbling now I just needed to share a bit of my enthusiasm

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day today!

DoxieMom – have fun with your badmitton/volleyball set!!! Sounds like a lot of fun! I can’t remember the last time that I played either one…lol. Make sure to be careful though – we don’t want you to break or sprain anything! And aren’t doxies addictive? If I lived in a big enough house – I’d have a ton of doxies! I got my first boy 'Jack' in October 2000 (I was going through a very hard/emotional time) and he cheered me right up! Ricardo and I loved him so much that we went out two months later and adopted 'Chip'.

waterbaby – Your office you work at sounds awesome! I wish our office would do something along those lines! How fun would it be to compete against your co-workers to see who loses the most? That would really motivate me!

JuleeCeeS – Sounds like you had a good time at the Bar Mitzvah! And staying OP while at a party is great! That is really hard for some people to do! (Like me) lol. I don’t blame ya for turning down the pool and cheesecake party. I just don’t trust myself around Cheesecake yet! lol.

SueMarie301 – I agree - * pooey on stress! * Finals are almost over, and you’ll have a little time to re-coup! Keep chuggin along and you’ll be fine! I'm rootin' for you!

jillybean720 – Way to go on almost reaching your short term goal! You're almost there!!! You must feel wonderful! I love (and miss) the feeling of reaching my goals. And I can totally relate to the feeling that this is the time that the weight will come off, and for good! I have been motivated in the past, but not like I am now. I am prepared to go the entire way this time! And I agree – I want to look and feel like I am 22!!! (We can do it!!!) And I agree – reading about other people’s successes here at 3FC really keeps me motivated – because I want to be where they are at!

So today I am supposed to go to my mother’s after work for a BBQ – but the weathermen are calling for thunderstorms. I think we are going to have to re-schedule. In that case – my Aunt and I are going to stop over at ‘Fitness USA’ and get a tour of the gym. Apparently they have a pool and they offer water aerobics! (Sounds fun to me!)

Then tomorrow we are going to stop at the ‘Power House’ gym to see what they have to offer. I know that they do not have a pool or anything, so their prices are cheaper. One good thing about ‘Fitness USA’ is that they have certain days for ladies, and certain days for men. That appeals to me. So we’ll see what they both have to offer, and make a decision from there.

Other than that – I really have no plans for the week. (Gosh – I lead a boring life!) Guess I’ll have to get out and do some serious walking. I’d like to head over to the track and see how far I can walk without passing out lol.

Well – I am outta here. I will pop in throughout the day! I hope everyone is doing well – and having a great OP day

Talk to ya’ll later!
- Kari

‘The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.’

Recently, the kids in my neighborhood stood outside and made "moo" sounds at me one afternoon when I came home from work (a whole group of them). It's illegal for me to hurt them so I have no choice but to ignore it. I didn't keep an exact record, but I'm sure I binged after that.

I am flunking my diet today hour by hour (well, not total damage yet, but it's coming). Not only is it time for the little red-haired girl to visit, but my car is dying on me. I know it's going to leave us stranded.

It's really stressful considering we have the one car, no money and my husband is handicapped and can't get around without the car (it's the only way for either of us to get to work/we're not even on a bus line). We also don't have anyone we can ask for a ride. We have more credit than we do cash so I might have to buy something I can't afford (and if that happens, I'm going to have to have my phone turned off and drop my Internet service -- there's nothing else I can cut back on). I just put us on a very strict budget and there's no more room to trim. I guess a second job also is in the works.

I'm not a happy camper today.

Speaking of happy campers, Lilion. That's horrible. I'll bet you're glad to be out of that wet tent!

Ohhh! I DESPISE miserable little brats who do things like that! I'd say call the parents to complain but there's a good chance that's where those little monsters learned such behaviour.

Save your reven...er...justice until halloween and hand out dry-cleaning cupons.

If you were really mean you could pick out a kid, walk up to them and in front of the others say "I just have one question for you. Do your friend's here know you still wet the bed? "

Ha! But...that would be childish and immature. Satisfying though!

Hi everyone.

I am having a great day so far. It is only 11:24 a.m. but I feel wonderful.

Hippievanlady: I am so happy for you. I bet that some people flirted with you even when you were 500 and something pounds but you just had no self esteem to notice it. I have seen your picture and you are beautiful. I have listened to your heart talk here at the forum and you are beautiful inside. I can totally see many men being attracted to you. Keep being your wonderful self and I'll bet the suiters will be lining up at your doorstep!

Starting over- You are really strong to not say anything to the kids next door and to realize that their parents just haven't taught them manners . I'm afraid my anger problem would have prompted me to go over to them and speak with them about how hurtful that may be to some people. I have done that before when someone was mooing at my sister in law. I have a tough skin and I didn't get upset but it made her cry which made me angry and I went and talked with the young men about it. They ended up apologizing to my sister in law when she came out of the store. I hope more than anything they never bully anyone else like that again. Congrats on not gaining as much weight as you suspected.

Doximom: Yea! -3.2 pounds is wonderful. Keep up the great work. I bought one of those badmitton/volley ball sets when we lived in CA. I loved it. Great way to exercise and have fun with the family. Be careful to stay on two feet.

Waterbaby: Your biggest looser contest sounds like fun. I don't think I could do it when I was working as I was truly the only one out of a small office of 6 who was not underweight. I did have a smiliar challenge at school recently and It was pretty fun.

Juleecee: I'm so happy that your dinner with your boyfriend's family and your family went well. That is wonderful and maybe next time it happens you won't be so stressed about it.

Suemarie: Good luck on your finals. I am so jealous of your back yard. We moved from a 1/2 acre home in CA with a pool in the back yard that I used daily to a tiny, tiny yard here. Have fun in your pool and enjoy it tremendously.

Jillybean: I feel like you do. I have been on so many diets before. I have never ever done this exercise every single day thing like I am doing now. I have never lost more than 13 pounds at one time. I am thrilled with 3fc website and the Christian diet bible study I am doing. Coming here is so motivating. My day is not complete until I check on all my chickies and check into the current 30 minutes a day exercise thread. We will loose this weight this time for sure.

Tashabella: I am so sorry to hear about your financial difficulites. I sure hope that you don't loose your car. I do know how it is to have only one broken down barely surviving vehicle. Good luck with that. If you do have to stop coming to this site for financial problems, I would sincerely, gladly write you letters weekly to keep in contact with you and help you to be accountable. PM me if that sounds like something you would like to do. I will pm you my address if it is and you can pm me yours. I hope not though because you add so much to our family.

Be blessed today everyone,
Dogpal

Well my "break" ended up lasting 2 more days than I originally planned. The scale spat on me and called me ugly names this morning. I've upped my water intake in hopes that the extra will all kindly drain away, if you know what I mean. Last night I tried to take an attractive photo of myself and failed miserably. My face is just too bloated and lumpy to be pretty. *sigh*

Hi all,

I am feeling guilty for being lazy the last 6 days. Food wise I have been good o/w I have done nothing. I find myself unable to motivate myself on the days I do not work to do ANYTHING much less exercise. I work as a nurse in a high stress area at a local county Hospital/Trauma Center and work 4-5 (7p-7a) shifts in a week, I try to schedule a long stretch off at least once a month to decompress. I feel more and more weary every month-I think I will start looking for another job. I weigh at work so tonight will let me know if just the dieting did anything for me.

Angela-Sorry about your Grandma-I know how it feels to lose someone who has been ill you feel both grief and a sense of release/relief that the person is no longer here to suffer.

Solus-Hopefully you and your hubby will find a way to deal with your personal issues that brings you back to one anothe{hugs}

Tashabell-money the ban of all existance i have been in the situation where my financial belt was tightened so tight I couldn't breath. I hate to hear you are in that boat now. Just hang in there, no matter how bad things are now they are bound to change eventually.

AngieB

Trust me, guys. Even if I have to get rid of my phone, I will still log on at work! I'm not losing my 300+ family!!! I really appreciate your offer, Dogpal. You are so thoughtful -- not just to me, but to everyone here.

I assure you that I thought of a hundred things I'd like to say to those kids, but I won't. Some of them are really poor and come from bad homes and it would only hurt them anyway so I couldn't do that either. Hurt doesn't fix hurt. And I don't want them to permanently believe that all "fat" people are mean because "moo" went off on them.

It also has been my experience in life that if you stir it up, it will only stink worse. If I go to their parents, then they will start putting nails under my tires, etc. (Now... I wouldn't protest if they blew up the car so I could claim the insurance money on it ... )

I applied for a car loan this afternoon, but won't know until tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Tashabella, good luck with the car loan application! I too have one barely-on-the-road vehicle for the five of us, and if it dies I'm not sure what I will do. I'm hoping my job situation gets more stable soon and I can afford a new one.
When I was visiting Sydney recently, I had the experience of people saying hurtful things about my weight quite frequently. It was almost like they took it as a personal affront to them. I think its sad, and those people are ignorant. Good on you for not saying anything, but like you, I went home and a couple of days later ate far too much, and as well thought of myself as totally unacceptable etc. I think we need to really believe deep down that its totally their problem, instead of dealing with it by ultimately punishing ourselves (by eating too much).

Angela I'm sorry to hear of your loss. {{{hugs}}}

As for me - time to 'fess up'. I went to the dietician yesterday, and my weigh-in was 333.8 (up from 329.1 on 24th May). I haven't been exercising as I have been in a lot of pain from arthritis, and I haven't been doing a lot of other things that I should, either - drinking enough water, being kind to myself, stopping when I'm full etc.
Anyway, I broke down and cried in the dietician's office. I just feel like such a failure.
When I stopped blubbering, we worked out that I will do 5 minutes on the exercise bike every day this week (and no more than that - to stop my arthritis getting aggravated). I will drink enough water, and I will be kind to myself. I'm not stressing about food at the moment, because I need to take baby steps at this point.
I may never be thin, but I need to get some of this weight off so its not going to affect my health anymore.

Hey Ladies

Starting_Over – Yeah Thursday is my last final… unfortunately I start summer session next Tuesday Let me know how the gym tour goes! I just signed up about 3 weeks ago (give or take) for 24 Hr Fitness. I over worked my right forearm, it’s been sore for two weeks now.

Tashabella – How horrible of those kids. I know what it’s like, I sometimes get the same crap from kids at work. And yes, it’s illegal to hurt them, but ya know, a detention or two can’t hurt right? :lo: I love Solus’ suggestion!

Solus - :HiFive: RIGHT ON! I love that dry cleaning coupon suggestion hehehe!

Dogpal – thanks! I have a pretty good sized back yard. We looked at in ground pools, but it was to much. Cheaper to buy a house with one already built. So we decided the above ground will work for now.

Angie – I’ve been lazy the last 2 weeks. Altho I had a long 12 hour weekend of yard work and landscaping. Just gotta jump back on the saddle again… I’m hoping to get back on soon!

Angela – Warm thoughts and prayers for you. Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

Well ladies, 2 out of 3 finals are done. Let’s not even talk about calculus. I’m really upset with myself for not doing better in this class. Even if the instructor really sucked at instructing. :-P We started out with 28 students, the first midterm we had 17 left, the 2nd midterm we have about 14 left and today for our Final we had 11 people. So… wonder what’s up with that???

Just have one more. Thursday is my last final, and Wednesday is my last day at work then we are off for summer. I start summer session for school next week… but it’s only for 5 weeks, then I am off til Aug. 29th when work starts up again and then classes for the fall start up Sept 23rd. Woohoo… I need a break! I am hoping to focus a lot more on my weight loss when things calm down here. It’s hard to jugle school, work, homework and a family and try to loose weight. I’ve been sucking lately at it. I need to set some priorities for myself again. Maybe I can get something figured out for this summer. Must get back on track!!!

Hope everyone is doing well…

Take care…
Sue…