HELLO CHICKIES!

Hippievanlady - I LOVED your story about the water instructor! You have my sense of humor - I would have spit the water her way too! LOL! That's great that you were an inspiration to someone watching. You are an inspiration to me everyday with the weight you have lost - I'm still struggling to lose more than my original 5 pounds. BUT.......I'm getting back up on the beast tomorrow! My back is getting better!!

Lilion - Yummmmmmmm - Beer and Pizza sounds SO GOOD! I agree that we need to eat that way once in awhile - My birthday is Saturday and it's the BIG Five-O! You better believe I'll be eating THAT day! LOL!

BamaMom - are you in Gulf Shores? I'm glad you dodged the bullet this time. We go to Pensacola Beach every year where my cousin has a condo - they were hit really bad with Ivan and it sounded like the barrier Island (where he's at) got hit again pretty bad - we are to leave 4 weeks from Sat. - we'll see how things are then.

BigGirl - CONGRATS on the house!!

Well everyone, have a GREAT day!!

Lori in IL who will climb back on the BEAST! Uh huh!!

I'm a newbie, but when I saw this section I thought.... "Hey, I'm 300+ and ready to try again!"

I'm 27 and I'm tired of being overweight..... I just wanna be able to buy normal clothes in normal stores, lol.....

My biggest problems are....
1. I am a major soft drink addict (Dr. Pepper, I had my last one this morning and I'm nearly in tears over the thought of not drinking them anymore Diet soft drinks make my stomach hurt and just taste yucky, lol)

2. I only eat 1 meal a day and it's usually very late (like 11:00-12:00).....
I know I have some issues with food, I don't like eating during the day, I have texture problems with certain foods... I never over eat or binge or anything.... when I do eat it's usually regular sized servings and such..... Does anyone else have this problem??

3. I rarely have energy (probably cause I don't eat, lol)...... I know when I was eating 6 small meals a day and going to the gym 5 days a week, I had TONS of energy and was always bouncing around.... I REALLY want to get back to that point.

I've had every medical test known to man done to me.... I'm healthy as a horse..... a draft horse maybe, lol.

Whew..... I sure hope I posted in the right place.


~Jen~

Hi everyone

I want to give a big ole Welcome to Xena! So nice to ahve you here. I am tall too at 5'10" I weigh 469. Try not to be overwhelmed by your task ahead. Try to break your weight that you need to loose down into smaller chunks. I started here around the 1st of May of this year and I weighed 497 then so slowly I am going down. It sure makes it easier to have chicks to talk with. I think you'll like it here.

Biggirl Yeah to you on your new home. I am so happy for you. It sounds like you will be getting the bathroom of my dreams. I love big tubs and lots of space to decorate things up. Good luck on your move and have lots of fun.

Suemarie: I sure hope that your little Sebastian gets better soon.

OneTallMoma: I don't think I welcomed you yet? Sorry if I haven't and so ......Welcom to you. I hope that you love it here. to you on going back to WW.

Catherine: I sure hope all of the hurricane activity misses you. Stay safe. About your long distance friend. I am keeping you in my prayers that he is the prince charming you have always wanted. I want to put my two cents worth in here also about how motovational you are to all of us and we don't even get to see your bottoms up dives in the pool. You are so wonderful and I am very thankful you are here on this forum at the same time the Lord has me here.

Bamamom My prayers are with you as well that you stay clear of the hurricanes. Stay safe as possible. About your next date with Scott and a possible kiss, I hope when it happens, it knocks you out of your socks!!!

Startingover: Don't give up or feel guilty. That will keep you away from here and we want you to come back. Everyone messes up at times. Just get back on the horse and take control again. You can do it.

FluffyBunny: Welcome. I am so glad that you are here. This is a special and loving place to be. Any encouragement we can give you, you have. Looking forward to loosing with you

Everyone else that I didn't mention by name, HI and big ole hugs to you all

Also, Tashabella, how did the phone call from the DR. go? I have been praying for you and you are on my mind.

Blessings,
Dogpal

Hi Everyone!

Those of you in the hurricane's path, please stafe safe. I will be sending good vibes your way!

Thanks everyone for wishing us well w/ the house. We are overjoyed. It's a little bit unbelievable right now. We want to move yesterday!

Dogpal, Wow I just realised from your last post that we joined around the same time and we've lost pretty much the exact same amount of weight. I've been a bit annoyed by how much my weight loss is crawling these days. I wonder if this is the plateau? One moment I think it is, another moment I'm blaming myself for not working hard enough. Anyway... what can we do but push through this???

Starting over, Everyone is giving you such great advice, but I'll just briefly chime in and say, 'Do this for yourself!!!' I think I just keep getting back up again this time and plugging away at exercise and cutting back on all they yummy things that I want to snack on because I realise that I don't want to leave my 20s still fat! I've missed out on so much and I refuse to miss out on anything else. I've just recently realised that I haven't swam since I was a child. How sad is that? How sad is it that I didn't even realise swimming was missing from my life?! because I'm so preoccupied with looking like a whale in public. Catherine, you are an inspiration and very brave, but I don't think I'll go there until I'm around 100 lbs down Anyway, starting over - listen to your screen name and do it!!!

Today I drank loads of water. I did ok with food - I had a scandilous spaghetti bolognese dinner w/ a small salad and low fat garlic bread... IT. WAS. HEAVEN. And then I really pumped it up during my aerobic workout. I kept telling myself, Love this exercise the same way you loved that pasta and bread and you will be oK.

Catherine, good luck with your gentleman friend. You certainly deserve to have that special someone in your life and I hope things work out. Writing love letters during that 'flirting time' is always so exciting!

Well, girls... I'm off to watch Big Brother, wash some dishes, and snuggle up next to hubby...

Hi Just posting a new tracker with a smaller 1st goal. Hope everyone is doing well. Biggirl, I know for sure that I slagged off in eating the proper way that I am supposed to be. I am back on track now. I see that you are exercising regularly again, maybe it is just a plateau. Just keep pluggin along. I don't want to leave my 30's being this fat. I do still swim daily and every other chance I get but that is because I am such a water freak. I don't think I would be happy without water to dip a toe in.

Blessings,
Dogpal.

My First Mini Little Goal!

Thanks for the warm welcome Dogpal!
Those little goal things are so cute!
As soon as I get a new scale I want one.

Take care!

Hi again everyone! Well, weigh in today was not so great. I went up to 296. I am discouraged with myself because I was feeling fairly confident I was in for at least a small loss this week and I ended up sabotaging myself with a binge last night. It has continued into today. My struggle with binging is what helped me to put on 100 pounds so fast. I work on it, but still I succumb every now and then. Slightly less frequently than I used to, so I am trying hard to celebrate that and not beat myself up too much for messing up. I guess I can at least say that for the past several months I have pretty much been maintaining within a 3-4 pound range rather than packing on the weight like I was. Sounds kinda silly to be happy to be maintaining at 296. Well, tomorrow is a new day and I will try again.

dogpal - Thank you very much for welcoming me. Judging from your screen name, I guess you like dogs. Do you have a dog/dogs? I have one little big eared mutt dog who I adore, along with my cat whose picture is my avatar. I just love anything with four legs!

Fluffy Bunny - Welcome to you from a fellow newbie! Cute screen name.


hippivanlady - Great stories from your water exercise class. I have been thinking about trying out some water aerobics classes at the Y near my office. Alot of people I work with work out there and I live in fear someone would see me in there working my fat butt out. Right now I am mainly going to Curves or doing Walk Away the Pounds at home, but at this weight I really starting to feel it in my knees. It is so discouraging to feel them creaking and cracking. I'm only 35...what have I done to myself?!?!?! Maybe someday I will be as brave as you are and get to the pool. I used to love to swim as a kid.

starting over - I can relate to how you feel about losing motivation. Sometimes even one day at a time seems overwhelming. Someone told me once to break it down to just one hour at a time, or even one minute at a time if I had to. I dunno, sounds kinda crazy, but maybe we could give it a try and see what happens.

Lilion - yet another tall girl. Wow, lots of us here! Nice to meet you.

Well, I better be going. I promised myself I would get more sleep this week. Hopefully the extra rest will help keep the binge-monster at bay. I do think sometimes when I am tired and stressed it makes things worse on me. What can I say? I need plenty of beauty sleep in order to thrive.

Take care, all!

Fluffy:
Welcome to the group. I started WW on February 2...which required a complete overhaul of my eating habits. Most days I did one meal...I was too lazy for breakfast, would work through lunch and then I'd get to dinner...telling myself that since I hadn't eaten all day long I could feast...on anything...and I did. This really wasn't so healthy..especially because I would eat until I was stuffed...wind up hungry (or so I thought) 2 hours later and then would graze all night. In addition it made me a total bee-yotch because my blood sugar would be so low I would be completely cranky and would snap at anyone (aka my Boyfriend).

I'm now down about 55 lbs...I eat 3 meals a day plus about 3 snacks...plus at least 64 oz. of water. I purged my house of all "junk" but have done lots of research to find alternate foods that are still satisfying when I feel the need to nosh or want something sweet, chocolate or salty.

It's a process. I've been lucky that my BF has been doing WW with me and that I have had wonderful supportive friends around..including the people here.

Long term substantial change requires effort and sacrifice...I wish you lots of luck and hope that you can turn to us as a part of your support team! These women are a wealth of information and motivation. I can also recommend a few other really good websites that can help you get some food ideas and whatnot.

Best of luck...take it one day at a time and remember to breathe!

Smells like dinner is almost done..must go and check....have a good night

WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW CHICKIES!

XENA - I'm with you on the critters! We have 3 dogs and I love them nearly as much as the kids! LOL! They all sleep with my dh and me every night - such an adventure! Don't worry about the bingeing - I think we all probably do it or we probably wouldn't be overweight to begin with - it's a constant daily lifestyle change - I'm maintaining at 310 so don't feel bad!! SIGH -

FLUFFY - Glad you joined us! I have absolutely no energy either at 310 pounds - I have twin girls who are 9, an 8 and 7 year old boy and will be 50 this Saturday - I just HAVE to get this weight off to keep up with them!!!

Have a GREAT Tuesday!!!

Lori in IL

XENA - Thanks. Your kitty is cute! I used to have a torti-shell cat a loooong time ago, we have a Bengal now, but she thinks she's a dog. She is our dogs' living chew toy, lol... soon as I can figure out how I want to put on of my pups as my avatar. We have 10 dogs (9 Chihuahuas and 1 German Shepherd) and TONS of other pets..... reptiles, birds, spiders, rats/mice, and one crazy horse! I LOVE animals.
I am going to start taking the Shep to the lakefront for walks as a form of exersize...... I KNOW that once he gets used to that he'll keep me motivated, lol.

JuleeCeeS - I know EXACTLY what you mean about being snappy! Sometimes I just snap and the one who always gets it is my poor BF, he just shrugs it off cause he knows I'll be back to myself after a little tantrum.
That is so awesome that you've lost 55lbs since Feb!!! CONGRATS!!
I thought about trying WW, I'll have to do some reading on it. I did Atkins a few years ago with great results (80lbs), but I gained it all back after a rough spell in my life...... right now I want to try a combo of Atkin's and the PaleoDiet... good thing I'm not a veggi!
I forced myself to drink more water today and I actually feel pretty good. I didn't eat much though I had some cauliflour (with a little butter) for lunch and more for dinner and some pork rinds (salt and vinegar, my new fav!) and sugarfree peach yogurt as a snack.
I'm going to try and cook a bunch of chicken breast tomorrow and freeze it in individual containers..... the hopefully I will eat the right amount of protien.

mom2fivesweeties - Thanks for the welcome! I don't have any children, but I do have a 5 y.o. GodSon and a 1 y.o. neice and MAN can they wear me out!! I want so badly to be able to do fun things and rough-house with my lil' buddy, it upsets me when I get tired and have to stop playing with him.... it's good inspiration to think of all the things I'll be able to do once I lose the lbs.!
When I reach my goal weight I want to take him and my Mom to one of those vacation ranches, I have a horse (I haven't ridden her yet, she was a rescue and needs some work) and it would be so neat to spend a week on a real working ranch.

I am so glad that I stumbled on this site! I feel so blessed to have found it..... I was just doing a search on DogPile.com on "altering jeans to fit plus size" and this one was nestled in the results. I'm so happy!

*HUGS*
~Jen~ AKA Fluffy

Hi ladies,

FluffyBunny: I couldn't even weigh on one scale, I took Hippievanladie's (catherine) advice here on this site when I first joined and she said she used to or someone she knew I can't recall which, had to weigh with two scales. I bought two scales at Walgreens for $8.99 each and I put them side by side and weigh. Then I use my really nice scale that goes up to 400 pounds and use one of the small ones to double check my weight. So far it is working for me. I can't wait until I only have to use one scale. The trackers are fun to use and they are really motivational too.

Xena: Yes, I am a dog pal. I love, love, love animals but dogs are my favorite. I connect so well to them. I have two big babies. They are both 1/2 golden Retriever and 1/2 labador Retreiver. One is a female and she is 6 and black. Her name is Pepper and we have had her since she was 5 weeks old. The other one is Yellow, really, really pretty and golden sparkling highlights. He is 3 years old and is the sweetest most loving animal I have ever seen in my life. Occassionally we will put a sheet on our bed over the top of our comforter and we, (hubby and I ) will invite our puppies up on the bed with us to cuddle while we watch tv or something. Many times we have al cuddled right to sleep and I have woken up a few hours later almost off the big king size bed because our male dog really loves to cuddle and he will snuggle with my husband and try to push his body into mine too wich pushes me off. About that time is when I say ok guys, go to your own beds. They are fun and they give me so much comfort and joy. We have no children after almost 20 years of marriage so they are our babies.

To everyone who was praying for my Dad after his injury. I wanted to update you. He is doing really well physically. Mentally, he is very sad. His two big dogs ran into him and broke his leg. They live on 50 acres right next to the Snake River and when my mom rushed him to the emergency room, she didn't stop to tie thier dogs up so when she came home at 2 a.m. their dogs were gone. My mom's dog which is a puppy less than a year old German Sheppherd came back but my dad's dog whom he loves so much, hasn't come home. My hubby, my sister and her children and myself, all have been searching the river for him up and down and also the shelters, police, neighbors, etc. My dad is very upset and thinks that he drowned. If any of you are prayers, I would so much appreciate you praying with me about finding this dog. He is only 3 years old and he is my dad's buddy. I know it isn't serious because he is just a dog but to my family it is very important. I hope some of you can pray with me that I can find him and bring him home to my dad.

I appreciate it guys. I can't tell you how sad and emotional I've been about this dog. I rarely share my feelings so it so it is big for me to ask for help. It is silly how much I love animals but, that is how God made me I guess. Thanks ladies. Hope you are all safe and very blessed by the Lord.

Blessings,
Dogpal

Just an update on the doctor thing. I returned the call to the lady from the doctor's office who left a message (this was the second person who called). She said she was just calling to tell me my test results were fine. I told her someone already had called two days prior and told me they were "A-OK." She didn't comment.

I told her I called last week and asked for my results to be mailed to me and I hadn't received them. She said "You want your results?" I said yes and she said she would mail them (second person to say so).

As for having it out with the doctor's office, I can't do that until I get the paperwork in my hands ~ otherwise, I have no proof that they are wrong and nothing to complain about. If the results are fine and I suddenly am not glucose intolerant and am not anemic, then praise God! (I don't believe that though.) If not, then I have a complaint ~ but not without the proof in my hands.

I'm glad this has happened because it's given me some time to think about my doctor's appointment. The doctor asked me to make a list of all the diets I've been on and bring them to him so he could basically pick one for me. In my opinion, they didn't work for me or else I'd still be on them. I chose this doctor because he claims to practice "integrative medicine," and I was hoping for a different approach, but if he's just going to pick one off the list at random then what's the point? I can do that. I'm pretty disappointed.

I'm also concerned that he would expect me to tolerate six months of diahrrea to take the Metformin (especially since I'm "A-OK" and could miraculously be healed).

I will tell you that I went out of my town back to my hometown to see this doctor because of his reputation. I honestly think he doesn't want to take my insurance. I have had many problems with this type of discrimination in the past and I am seeing it again. This is especially prominent in my hometown, which is a place where lots of people are rich and can pay top dollar. (My family was not and is not rich, however.) They just don't want to deal with certain insurance companies and your medical care suffers. I will tell you that, if this is the case with the insurance, this doctor will be really, really sorry. He was keeping two dogs in his office and I'll have that place shut down so fast he won't even have enough time to get them out.

Anyway, I'm back to square one and still trying. I've gained about 20 pounds in the last month so I've got a lot of work to do.

Dogpal ~ I said a prayer your dad's dog will be found. Did you try making fliers with the dog's picture on it? It might help!

Dogpal- I know how hard it is to lose a dog. I will pray that your father finds his.

Tashabella-Just remember that doctor's are service workers just like a carpet cleaner or mechanic. If they do not meet your needs, or if they act like a mechanic does when he sees a woman coming into his shop, fire him.

Fluffybunny-welcome, and just stick in there one day at a time. You can't fix what you ate yesterday, and you can only plan for tomorrow.

Xena-This is how I handled my fear of being seen in a bathing suit. I dug out an old beach towel that my mother made. She sewed 4 bath towels together. It is long enough to go all the way around me. I either wear my suit under my clothes, or use the changing room so that no one has to see me putting my suit on. I wrap the towel around me, and head to the pool. The only place anyone could see me, was in the few steps from where I left my towel poolside until I was waist deep in the water. I also use it as a robe when I come out of the shower after class. After a couple of months, I don't even care who sees me anymore. I told someone I passed in the gym one day (my foster son's former baseball coach) that he should go to the viewing window during my class, then he could go home and tell his boys that he had seen me in a bathing suit to freak them out. We got a great laugh about it, and he has never been by to see my class. I learned early on that you can not die of humiliation, but you can die from obesity.

For everyone-I saw this week on my Yahoo health news and saw a follow up on the same report on CNN that a research project out of the University of Boulder (Where the national weight control registry is) found that strolling can burn more calories per hour than brisk walking can for someone who is very obese. I know that doesn't make logical sense, but it is like me having to eat more calories to start losing weight again. They are finding that being obese changes your body chemistry so significantly that these kind of disparagies are common. Slower walking also puts less strain on the knees. I don't want to get in shape only to have to have a knee or hip replaced along the way. My best guess is that slower walking doesn't set off the warning bells that throws your body into starvation mode. Faster walking may tell the primal part of your brain that the sabertooth tiger is on your trail.

A second report that I read yesterday also struck my interest. Researchers in Oregon did a study on walking on cobblestones. That's an old Chinese thing. They found that walking on the uneven surface helped improve balance, mobility and lowered blood pressure. I get the balance and mobility thing. They said you use your inner ear for 30% of your balance, but on an uneven surface, it increases to 70%. That basically exercises that function in your inner ear, and that is something that you lose as you age. My mom has that dizziness disease that I can't pronounce, so I have an interest in preventing that in myself. As for mobility, when I first started walking again in November, I walked like an unsteady toddler. My neighborhood has cobblestone streets and alleys. The sidewalks are a larger hexagonal block, but are also uneven with the passage of time. It scared me at first that I would fall, but I found myself using the smaller muscles of my legs and stomach more as I had to adjust with each step. A treadmill uses the same muscles in order. As for the lowering of blood pressure, they think that walking on the uneven surfaces stimulates different accupressure points on your feet. It is a centuries old Chinese tradition, that they finally decided to do some research on. The results were so dramatic after 4 months that they are going to do a larger study. I am going to him my cobblestones everyday for the next 2 months until my next doctor's appointment. I want off my blood pressure medicine, and am willing to try anything.

Hi chicas!

Dogpal - My heart just hurts to read about your dad and about his dog missing. I am surely a Pray-er and I'll pray for his health as well as for his spirits. It's certainly not silly to love animals like you do. To me, I imagine God creating the world and everything in it and just grinning about what we would think about them. And then I think about Him making dogs and cats and horses and animals that we, as humans, would love and make a part of our families, and I think that gave Him special pleasure, just because He knew they would give US special pleasure. I'm so sorry.....please let us know if he is found.

JuleeCees - "Long term substantial change requires effort and sacrifice"
Thank you so much for writing that. I have to REMIND myself of that every day. Everyone on this planet has "issues"...and Weight is OUR issue. Even when we lose it and are at goal, weight will STILL be our issue, because it will be a daily struggle to maintain the lifestyle changes we are incorporating. There are times when I want to pitch a fit about that...knowing that I will always have to "deal" with it. But then I remind myself that everyone deals with SOMETHING. It's like wanting to scream about having M.S. But then I remember that my M.S, although incurable, is not fatal. And there are people everywhere dealing with cancer and Aids and massive heart disease and all sorts of things that could end their lives at anytime. Whatever our "situation" is, it is just that....OUR situation....and weight is part of it. And we are meant to learn something from it, I believe, that we can use to make the world a better place.

Whew....waxing prosaic here this morning. I'd better go have a banana!!!!!!



You guys have a wonderful day.

BTW! - WELCOME FluffyBunny - No way NOT to love you with a screen name like that, huh????

Good Morning Ladies!

Guess I'll do post #30 and leave the new thread to someone else.

Well, I'm feeling pretty good about myself today, even though I did end up going out with a group of friends after my sca meeting last night and drinking 1 1/2 beers. You know, I never drank before I started doing things with these people! (Not counting my somewhat misspent youth. ) But I suppose five points worth of beer won't kill me! I did weigh on my home scale today and still appear to have lost a little more. I'm actually looking forward to Friday's WI. Hopefully I won't be retaining water. I tried on my old jeans from the back of the closet last night - non-stretch Just My Size brand size 20's - and I could put them on, button them and zip them!!! I won't say they fit, because I couldn't actually sit down, but they zipped! Considering the last jeans I bought were the stretch JMS size 24's, I considered it a triumph!

FluffyBunny: Welcome! I have a friend who also is overweight and never understood how it happened because she only ate one meal a day. That may be a challenge for you. If you don't eat enough, your body will think it's starving and shut down. You can very well gain on less than 1000 calories a day. Personally, I think that the only "diet" that works long-term will be one you can stay on for the rest of your life. Learning to eat right and watching your portions and becoming informed on how to make better choices is the way to go. Just my opinion. I'm sure whatever works for you, you'll still get lots of support here.

Xena: Always hate to hear about a binge. I know how discouraging it can be. But you just get right back on that horse! You can do it! Are you really strict with your program, like denying yourself all sweets and then you suddenly binge? I know I prevent binging by allowing myself to "be bad" now and then. That way I don't feel I've blown it and just keep eating, I eat my bad stuff one time and stop. I also have found wonderful substitutes for the things I shouldn't eat, like low-fat ice creams and chips. I eat ice cream almost every night...it's just that now I have a WW fudge bar instead of a butterfinger McFlurry. Keeps the bad stuff at bay.

Okay, consider the above my Tuesday Tip.

Dogpal: Gosh, I'm sorry to hear about your dad and his dog. Pets just really become members of the family and you miss them so much when they aren't around. I hope he comes home soon.

Catherine: You always have the most informative posts. You must do tons of research to find all this stuff. I'm ashamed to say I don't bother - I just read what you write! Now I need to find some cobblestones!

BamaMom: You hit the nail on the head when you said, "Weight is OUR issue. Even when we lose it and are at goal, weight will STILL be our issue, because it will be a daily struggle to maintain the lifestyle changes we are incorporating. There are times when I want to pitch a fit about that...knowing that I will always have to "deal" with it." My husband and I are looking at this as a lifestyle change. If not, and we go back to how it was before, we'll gain the weight right back. I know, because I've done it before. I've lost weight - substantial amounts - more than once. Keeping it off is what's hard. But this time we'll do it!

Well, best get back to work! Onward and Downward Ladies!