Catherine, both of your posts were so full of good info - Thanks!!! As for this 'not losing any weight' place that I'm in... well, I've been doing the exercise, I'm petrified of increasing my food intake and I'm thinking about trying some new types of foods. I'm just a bit confused about what I would try? Eastern foods don't suit my pallet.. I only like chinese food (Indian/curry and all that type of stuff makes me gag). I'm thinking about loading up on vegies and fruits. For example, I usually have oats w/ fruit conserve for breakfast. I might begin with a small bowl of oats and an apple, have a large portion of steamed veg w/ lunch and dinner, etc. And lay low on carbs. Just to see what happens.

Jill - if you're pleased with not feeling hungry on this diet, GREAT!!! I tend to panic because I eat less when this happens... I thought you were worried about it

Dogpal - good luck finding your dad's dog. I'm sorry everything seems to be happening all at once. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Bama and Xena - I rarely binge, but when I did in the past, I also felt like some other force was in control. It disgusted me when I realised I ate all of something and don't even remember eating/tasting it. I agree with Jill, it's certainly an emotionally issue that won't go away until you are in the right place and frame of mind to deal with the real issues. I had been 'thinking about' losing weight for close to two years before I started and during this time I think I binged more than ever before. This was because I was actually facing issues and owning up to things that I was in denial about. For example, my weight was a serious health risk and was killing my knees and irritating an ongoing health issue with my leg, but I continued to blame other things for them - 'like being cursed' Well, I just got to a point where the pain was just too much. I could barely walk 15 minutes without excruciating pain.

Speaking of being honest with ones self, yesterday I REALLY looked at my naked body for the first time in a long time. And I was shocked. I never felt as fat as I knew I was. Well, I took a good hard look and I finally saw the fat. I had a look at what my back has to deal with on a daily basis and all the weight that is sitting on my knees and I felt really sorry for my bones and joints. And, I had to apologise to myself and make a commitment to realieve my poor body. It felt good.

Hi everyone! Yes, I have been MIA for a couple of weeks, but have been really busy. I got into "home remodeling" mode and have gone mad!!! I have done really well with exercise and food, up until last weekend and I fell back into the comfort myself with food syndrome. I put my 13 year old son (only child) on a church van and sent him to Ohio for a week. He and I have never been separated like this before and I lost it. I started eating on Friday and didn't quit until Monday. I've dealt with it and am back on track and will stay there, but I'm telling you, cutting those apron strings really SUCK!! I cried all the way to the church, and twice before he actually left. One thing that is keeping my mind occupied is I'm back to work this week, and in the evening I have thrown myself into redecorating his room (paint, blinds, furniture - the whole nine yards) as a surprise for him. If I actually get it done before he comes home Saturday night it will be a miracle!!

To all the new chicks - WELCOME, WELCOME. This is such a wonderful place to get encouragement and make friends. I hope each of you get as much enjoyment from everyone as I have.

To all you wonderful losers - You go girls!! Each pound you lose brings such determination and encouragement to everyone else.

Unfortunately, I am playing catch up at work this week, so I don't really have much time to post, but wanted to pop in and let you all know that I am thinking of everyone and I have tried to pop in and read a few posts at a time.

Take care and "talk" to you soon!

Good Afternoon Ladies!

Not much time today, so I'm just doing a quick stop-in.

I am wearing a truely uncomfortable skirt to work today, much too tight in the waist. I'm wearing it because it fit for the first time in years and it's one of my favorites, a floaty, wrap-around, style. But I think it needs to go back in the closet until I'm down about anothter 10-15 lbs. (Gasping for breath) Still, it kept me away from the snack-day buffet in the break room, so I guess it's served it's purpose!

I've decided I'm going to try walking up and down the stairwell here at work for exercise on and off throughout the day. I suspect I won't get very far before I'm huffing and puffing, but I have to do something for exercise! I get so little of it! And since my butt and thighs are my fattest portions perhaps the stairs are the answer. It's a pretty tall building, so I expect it'll be a while before I see the top floor!

Hope all is well with you ladies. I admit, I haven't read all the posts today, but just wanted to drop by. I'll read when I'm home and have more time.

Later Ladies!

Hi everyone!

Thank you all for the warm welcomes. *HUGS*
I've been reading everyone's posts with great interest.

Congrats to everyone who has lost some lbs!!! I can't wait to come on and say I've lost!

jillybean720 - I know what you mean about not being hungry. I have to force myself to eat and drink water (not soft drinks! I used to drink them all day long!).... what's funny though is if I eat breakfast I'm predictably hungry every few hours, I just try to eat some protein and drink more water.

DogPal - I really hope that they find Whiskers. I'll keep you all in my thoughts. Could someone have taken him maybe?

JuleeCeeS - Great list and tips! Hmmm... I wonder if Dannon makes that in peach....

BIGGIRL27 - You're braver than I am! I hate mirrors... it's almost like it's a stranger on there if that makes any sense.... when I accidently do see my reflection (or *shudder* pictures) my reaction is usually a mixture of disbelief and horror. I can't wait to conqure that!

Today is my third day without soft drinks/sugar!
I shocked myself yesterday.... I counted up all the bottles of water that I'd drank and I drank 5 bottles, that's 84.5 oz of water! I couldn't believe it! That's 84.5 oz more than I've drank in a looong time, when I was hooked on Dr. Pepper I never drank water!

I didn't do as good today, I woke up with a migraine headache (probably from not going to sleep until 5 am, I was having panic attacks all night)... but so far today I've eaten 2 light peach yogurts.... I REALLY need to stop eating them, they have fructose in them and 21g of carbs. .... 1/2 baked chicken breast and some cauliflour. Tonight I'll try and eat something different, lol, I'm sure I'll get tired of chicken, cauliflour, and yogurt soon.

Take care,

Hello

I haven't posted in awhile so I decided to come out of lurking. I have a lot going on right now sorry for my ghost act.

I have gained 3.5lbs so I am no longer under 300 but I am working to get it back off.

My boss is now in her final days and it is extremely hard to think of my food and exercise but I am trying. I hope everyone is doing good and I miss you all.

Love
Scooter

What a wonderful thread. I started out at 366.6 pounds at my first weigh in. Now I'm about 228 and trying to get under 200, it can be done! Here to cheer you all on!

Fluffy...yes they also make it in peach as well!!! If you are finding that when you eat breakfast you get hungry every few hours...then that might be a good indication that you should eat breakfast. It helps to keep your blood sugar in check and prevents you from going too low and then wanting to binge. What we discuss all the time at W is that if you eat more often, you will be less likely to OVER eat later on...which includes nighttime grazing...which we all do. The problem with that is we aren't really hungry when we do it...but we do it anyways. So why would you stop eating when you've had enough when you had already had enough when you started eating in the first place? My days are pretty much 3 meals and 3 snacks..which I have modified a little bit since I started walking. I have breakfast...usually yogurt and fruit or something like that....then I walk..then I drink 16 oz. of water and eat a light string cheese...then I shower and take my vitamins...then lunch, then snack, then dinner then snack. If I get hungry somewhere in between I nosh on fruit or crisp veggies.

I've found that I'm not getting cravings, I don't want to binge and I don't have the awful headaches that I used to have from not eating. I drink at least 64 oz. of water a day if not more...sometimes I'll add some Crystal Light or sugar free green tea mix. Some days I'll have a soda, but never until I have had enough water first.

But again..this is what works for me.

Scooter...you have ben missed. Hope to hear back from you soon!!!

Tonight is WI again...I'm inclined to think it will be good but then I think about all the people who wrote of having gains when they started exercising. I'm not using weights or resistance..I just walk for 30-45 minutes a day. So I'll expect nothing and be happy with anything I suppose.

I'm so glad I stocked up on fruit yesterday at the produce market.

TTFN...

Good Evening everyone,

Juleecee: Thanks a bunch for the recipes. I especially like the baked apples.

Lilion: Yea for you -2. I'm so happy for you and also think it is cool that you tried to wear something that was a bit snug. Usually I won't even go there. I am so used to wearing floppy loose stretchy things. I need to wear snug sometimes.

Catherine: Yea to you on -1 You are so inspiring and informative. Thank you for all of the information that you post. It is wonderful to read new information.

SueMarie: Congrats on the -4 pounds. I hope you continue to have fun with your family.

Xena: Hang in there and you can do it. Don't give up, keep coming here and posting, do whatever you can to get back on track.

Biggirl: Thank you for your kind words about the dog and everything. I have been so exhausted lately and I think it is 95% emotional toll on everything. Hopefully things will be getting back to normal soon.

Doxiemom: Happy to see you back. You were very missed.

Fluffybunny: I used to drink Dr. Pepper every single day at least 3 of them a day. I haven't had one in about 15 years and I can honestly say I am at a point in my life that I would rather have iced tea without sugar or ice water to drink. Keep hanging on, it will get better for you if you keep plugging along at no sodas.

Scooter: Welcome back. It is nice to see your post, hope you hang around again and post somemore.

MaureenM.: Thank you for the encouragement and welcome. This is such a loving and friendly place. I hope you like it here.

Well, to everyone else, have a great evening and keep on moving.

Blessings,
Dogpal

Jilly – Oohh I haven’t been on a roller coaster in soo long. Now that’s a great goal I would love to be able to do that again one day

Hippievanlady – wow your info you gave about the fat alarms was really great! Thank you for clarifying and sharing

BamaMom – your little brother sounds like my mother… except she says stop eating so much then asks if you want some desert 5 minutes later. She says I want you skinny but I can’t stand to see you suffer. Sheesh

MaureenM – WELCOME and congrats on doing so well on your weight loss journey!

I’m sooooo wiped out! Today was my first day at water aerobics. It was fun! But WOW! What a workout. My friend and I got there about 20 minutes late because wegot tied up in our physics class. I’m looking forward to going again

I hope everyone is doing well… I’m so tired I’m gonna hit the sack.

Ni Ni Everyone…
Sue…

Up .1...no idea why. It could be the beginning of muscle mass but what it really is...is frustrasting. It makes me feel like I was better off NOT exercising. I have never posted gains 2 weeks in a row. OK...they haven't been big gains at all..but I'm frustrated. Here's hoping it's not the beginning of a plateau.

Sorry I'm not uber-chatty...I just want to sleep and start over again tomorrow.

One final note...tonight at WW we discussed the importance of changing your environment before you can change your behaviors. We talked about what are the thigs in our kitchens that are deterrents to our efforts...how are we sabotaging ourselves. Our leader broke it down like this...If you live in an opium den...eventually you will smoke the opium. Just some food for thought...

G'nite all.

Julee--So true! I am lucky to live alone, I guess, because the only stuff in the kitchen is what I choose to buy. There's no junk food, and not even any healthy snacks other than fruit, really, so I have nothing to binge on. I used to have this bad habit of buying low-fat or low-cal snacks (like WW desserts, sugar-free pudding, low-fat graham crackers, reduced-fat cheez-its, etc.), but I would binge on those, too, and too much of even low-cal foods adds up to an insane amount. I no longer buy any of those things. I am moving in with Jeff (my boyfriend) in October, and he knows I watch what I eat, so hopefully, he won't mind that there's no ice cream or potato chips around. He can go out to lunch at work and have whatever he wants, but when he's in my house, he will eat healthy! Especially since he doesn't cook, so he has no choice but to eat what I make

Well, things are going well in my little corner of the world. I am really tired today for some reason, even though I didn't have to work my second job last night. It seems I can never just catch up on the sleep, ya know? I'll nap and sleep all weekend long, but come Monday morning, I'm still as tired as ever. I have had bloodwork done to make sure I'm not anemic or anything, and I exercise for at least 30 minutes a day 3 times a week (usually 40 minutes and 4 days a week, plus waitressing 2 nights a week), which is supposed to give you more energy, but I just feel like napping after my workout! I've also heard that low thyroid can make you tired, but they checked that, too, and it's within normal range, so who knows. Guess I just need to keep walking around this cubicle maze at work in order to keep myself awake

Hey Gang

Just a quickie - I am hungry as ever these days and wanted to come and confess where folks know what I'm talking about. I have NO IDEA why. So, I'm stuck in this hungry dilemma where I'm trying to cut back some because the weight is not readily coming off like it did the first 2 months, but in the meantime my stomach is absolutely screaming! Catherine, after your last post I'm wondering if it is thos tri- (blank - forgot the name) chemicals just telling me that I'm hungry because I'M ABSOLUTELY FULL OF ENERGY, just hungry as ever. I used to eat my oats around 7/7:30 am and then have lunch around 1 pm w/ no problem, Now, I'm finding that I've got to eat the fruit I've brought for my lunch around 10 or fill up on water to make the hunger pains go away! Also, after work around 5:30/6 I've felt FAMISHED. I'm trying to stick with fruit, but I have had one or two low - fat crispbreads with hummous plus the fruit lately. We usually eat dinner around 8 well around 11 my stomach is saying "Hiya gorgeous, got anything for me?!" I can't believe it This has been going on for 2 weeks or so... anyway, I'll 'fight the power' and keep resisting!

Kim, I forgot to say good luck with the re-decorating and being a 'strong mama' while your boy is away! Hey, sounds like you're cooking up a sweet reunion!

Hello everyone else I'll try and wrestle Eric off the computer today and get in a nice long, personal post! xxooxx

about 20 mins later...

OK... sorry I had to come back and add something. What I've written above and what Catherine said about needing to increase your calories to break a plateau got me thinking aobut calories because I don't really count them, but I roughly try and have about 1500-1800/day. Counting calories is just too much for me. I feel like I want to get on with my life and not become a 'Dieter' But anyway, point is I went to About.com to calculate how many calories I might actually need AND I AM SHOCKED!!!! It takes into acct height, weight, activity, and age... It says I need 2961 cals each day to maintain so that would be 2461 to lose. (http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm) What?! So, how can I eat this much and stick with my diet? And how do I know if I'm eating to many carbs? Is anyone on this amount of calories? If so, would you mind showing me what you might eat on an average day?

I'm quite puzzled. I didn't eat that many cals before and lost weight...

SueMarie-Your mom sounds like mine. I had to actually stop seeing her to be successful this time. Talk about a hard decision, but she is more than a sabotager, she is also abusive in a way. She's elderly, and I have even allowed myself to accept the fact that I may not see her again before she dies. When someone asks me if I am really committed this time to see it through to the end, I have an answer. I don't recommend something so drastic for everyone, but for me, it was necessary to be successful, and I am going to win this time.

Jillybean-fatigue after exercise can be low blood sugar. My water aerobics instructor is diabetic, and she checks after each class, and reminds those in the class who are also diabetic to check too. I have an apple waiting in my locker after class. I had the same blood pressure when I was a fat 20 year old, that I had as a fat 40 year old. But at 40, the blood pressure that I was told was a little high but okay, put me in the hospital. They have lowered what is too high now. The same thing happened with my thyroid. I was always on the low side of normal. I finally got a doctor to try a supplement. It ended up taking quite a high dose of thyroid to move that number even to the middle of the normal range. He said they think that over the years I had such low energy, that I kept eating to keep my energy up. I was stoking the fire with constant food, so my thyroid didn't have to work as hard and got lazy. When I started having low-thyroid symptoms, always cold, skin itching, and really when my hair started thinning out, that's when he decided to try me on the meds. You could also try some ginsing, but if you have blood pressure issues, use the siberian form.

Biggirl-If you have to eat a little something every hour, do so. I have found over the last 200+ pounds that avoiding hunger is an important part. Daily, I eat about 400 calories of cereal and yogurt for breakfast. A boca burger on whole wheat pita for lunch, and different things for dinner. I don't get bored eating the same things almost everyday because I have gotten used to it. Lots of cultures in the world eat the same thing at almost every meal, and survive. I eat fruit several times a day. I find that eating the same things makes it more like I am eating as a bodily function, instead of as a hobby or obsession. The more exercise I have on certain days, the more hungry I seem to be, so I try to listen to my body's needs, not it wants.

HELLO CHICKIES!

Just a quick note to tell you all I'm still here, but mega busy with the littles since it's summertime -

Got major exercise in today - took all 4 of them to Aldi and bought groceries for 7 people - then unloaded the van and put it all away - and the HEAT - oh my, the humidity is awful - I probably sweat off a few pounds!

Hope everyone is doing good!

Take Care!!

Lori in IL