Well I had a few minutes and I wanted to read all the posts...we just put our Christmas tree up and most of the decorations in the house and we are about to go outside and do our reindeer, snowman and wreath. We had a very good Thanksgiving...everything I ate was pretty healthy except for my pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I am a sucker for pumpkin pie...I just couldn't resist. I ate leftovers on Friday so I was still a little off track but have been on track since and my weight has stayed the same so I am happy with that. Now I have to work my butt off this week because I want to see a loss. I am going to make sure I exercise more this week.

Dogpal--I sure hope the results from the vet don't indicate cancer. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. My best friend had to put her 15 year old dog done the day after Thanksgiving due to kidney failure. I have 2 dogs myself. Please let us know when you find out. Just stay positive.

Ammi--Sorry to hear that you have been sick.

Futurediva--Glad to know that you had a great time on your trip. I have never been on a cruise....hopefully I will one day. I have always hear such great things from people that have gone on a cruise.

Well my hubby is calling for me...to everyone else glad you enjoyed your holidays.....take care everyone.

Andrea

I decided that I’d rather know what I needed to worry about than to just be worried about a great unknown. I sewed my practice fabric. It is amazing how fast you can sew when you don’t have to worry about overlocking seams or topstitching. I just stitched where the zipper should go too, so I had to slide it over my head. It fit like someone had sprayed it on with paint. I will have to give it some ease to make room for the lining, but I was shocked. I expected the top to fit, and for the bottom to need extensive altering. It not only fit, but I looked good in it. I actually have a waist and bust line now. I have to add some to the sleeve for my freakishly long gorilla arms, but that was expected. I’m actually so relieved.

Brandnew-Yes, I’m taking pictures. We actually have to include them in my immigration application, and a copy has to go to some file in some politician’s office for Austin’s nomination for the Order of Canada. I don’t even know what that is, or why on earth they need a wedding photo. The immigration people simply want to know that I’m not paying Austin to marry me so that I can come to Canada to work. I told them that I just wanted to be a housewife, but they just didn’t believe me. Elaborate weddings are more likely real ones.

Dogpal-if my head gets any bigger, the headband for my gown is not going to fit. I remember what it felt like to finally get out of the 5’s. I know how good that feels. Being over a quarter of a ton used to weird me out terribly. I am looking forward to being in the 2’s for the first time in 15 years. When that 3—disappears, I will never see it again. That is the biggest and best promise that I can ever make to myself. About your dog, I had one with cancer several years ago, and the vet said that they actually have better chemo for dogs than for people. He recovered completely. I will pray that yours does as well. That will be the hardest thing about moving to Canada, I will have to leave my dog behind. He’s too old to make the trip, and my foster son is going to take him. They practically grew up together so he will be fine, I’m going to be the basket case.

Ammi-I am feeling much better. I’m actually going to do a lot of work the next 3 days because he’s at a conference and won’t be able to phone me every hour. I’m not at a point yet where I can say, I love you, I miss you, but I need to work right now. I still melt when he calls.

Rabid-you weren’t the only one who took time off over the holidays. My water aerobics class only had 10 on Friday. We usually have at least 40. Don’t give yourself a hard time, just hop back on the pommel horse.

Futurediva-I admire your courage in taking a cruise. I’ve always wanted to, but was afraid I’d sleep next to the buffet.

Going to lose-I never paid attention to salt either until diagnosed with high blood pressure. I normally have very skinny fingers, the only skinny thing on my body, and when I can’t bend them, I know I’ve gotten ahold of some hidden sodium somewhere. This week it was some Syrian wild cucumber pickles. I felt like I needed one special thing for the holiday, and if I have to pick adding calories or salt, I usually avoid the added calories.

Hello People

Well here I am again. I managed to get all my ironing done, AND I made turkey burgers from scratch. I was going to have them with potato waffles which would be quite low fat and WW points and all that, but hubby said we should have chips, and I caved. It's been ages since I had home made chips, so it was a really delicious meal.

Andrea - that is so cool that you have already put your Christmas decorations up. Is there any particular reason why you put them up when you do. I always wait until the first day of December and then I take them down again on the 6th of January. That's the day after my mum's birthday and it was always a traditon when I was at home that the decorations didn't come down until after that. So I stick to that. I had some awful news today, well sad news anyway. My friend went to visit relatives where I used to live and my old house is gone It was knocked down to make way for a four lane highway. I wanted to go back one day to show the place to my hubby, and now I won't be able to But enough of the moping, I am just going to focus on doing my Christmas decorations later this week

Catherine - what a wonderful feeling for you to see that you have a bust line and waist, and that the top fitted beautifully. I can't wait to see the photos of you in your wedding dress. I am sure it will be one of the proudest moments of your life. Having lost so much weight, wearing your wedding dress that you will have made yourself, and of course marrying your soul mate. Can't ask for more than that. I think it's so sweet that you melt when he rings you and you can't drag yourself from the phone. It reminds me so much of how Daren and I were before he moved in. Since then we have rarely been apart, but I am sure when he has to work I will miss him dreadfully. I may have had horrible health in the time we have been together, but at least it means we have been together pretty much 24/7

Sharon (voodoo) - My MSN has been playing up, it hasn't let me connect. I think it might be something to do with my Nortons, so I am going to check it out after this and see if there is anything I can do. I am hoping to get it sorted and be online for a chat tomorrow.

Ok time to see if I can sort it out now. Take care and happy weigh ins to those that weigh tomorrow.

Hugs,

Ammi

Well after 4 years of trying I'm finally pregnant again!!! I just found out this afternoon. But I'm worried because of my current weight. Can I still lose a little bit of weight - sensible eating and light exercise - while I'm pregnant, especially since I'm at such a high weight? Let me know!! Love all!!

CONGRATULATIONS, that is such fantastic news and I am so happy for you. I am sure if you talk to your midwife or doctor they will be able to advise you on diet and exercise during your pregnancy. Take very good care of yourself, and congratulations once again.

Big Hugs,

Ammi

Well...I am home and had the most fabulous time in Florida. The entire time was about seeing old friends and reconnecting with people. I feel so happy now knowing that I have not left my entire life behind me. The time with my parents was phenomenal and even better...I think (ok I know) that Jason called and asked my dad's permission for us to get married. The proposal is coming soon..but I know that he did it and I am just ecstatic. The he surprised me when I got home with an early Hanukkah present (no, not an engagement ring) which is a GORGEOUS silver and diamond necklace...the pendant is a smaller circle inside a larger circle (both with diamonds) and it's honestly somethign I would have picked out for myself. In all this time he had never given me any sort of jewelry...it was so beautiful that I cried. I missed him so much when I was gone and it was just so amazing to have something to come home to.

So on a whim while I was home I went and tried on 2 wedding dresses. I walked in and they took me straight to the plus size dresses..a little bit of a downer...but in the end..whatever. I'll buy the dress I love and it will be altered to fit me and that's that. I didn't love either dress but seeing myself in a wedding dress in front of a mirror was so overwhelming.

My thoughts and good wishes are with all of you for everything you are going through right now...sorry I am not making individual responses...but I am so behind from being away that it would take me days to figure out whao is dealing with what right now. Just know that as I thought about my past year and how I have gotten through it...you all were right there with me. I wouldn't know most of you if I bumped into you on the street...but your messages of support for each other and for concern...and your tips and stories...they mean so much to me and knowing that you all are still there when I turn on the computer in the morning is a HUGE source of my motivation. I can succeed because I feel that there are people who believe in me and supportme. It is through thats upport that I have come to belive in myself and I thank you all immensely.

Just a quick reply to everyone. I woke up this morning after a small sore throat last night and I am sick with a flu bug. My hubby is too. Thank you everyone for praying for my "Pepper" dog and for all of the well wishes for her. I am happy to say after 4 antibiotic pills, the lump in question is shrinking. I am trying to not get too excited but it seems like a plus. We won't have actual test results until Tuesday.

Glad you are home and happy JulleeCee and Futurediva. You were missed!

Ammi: be easy on your self for sleeping. It sounds like your body is trying to fight off your flu bug!

Andrea: We usually get our tree on Thanksgiving weekend too, after all the Christmas shopping but, we are not going to be home for two weeks around Christmas so we decided to not decorate. I miss the house lights already. I tried to talk my hubby into doing just lights outside but no dice.

Catherine: I knew once you sewed your practice dress you would feel better. I bet you look so lovely! Thanks for the encouragement about my dog. So sorry that you have to leave yours behind but glad it is to family who love him.

Goingtoloose: How aweful to have so many cookies in your home and being so tempted. Freeze those babies and get them ready to go.

Blessings everyone,
Dogpal

I just have a couple minutes here before I have to get ready to go for my sleep study. I was diagnosed 2 years ago with Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) so they want to see if I'm doing any better or worse- they could only reduce the number of central apneas I was having from 65 to 30+ with my breathing machine...hopefully this time they can figure something else out. Its so hard when I tell other doctors that I have Central Sleep Apnea- they always assume that since I'm overweight I have to have the more common Obstructive Sleep Apnea. A lot of days, I wish I did- at least that makes more sense then me 'forgeting to breath', plus its easy to treat OSA then CSA

I played around with Pumplin Pecan cheescake recipe some more today...I had to use the left over pumpkin somehow. I really liked how it turned out- I made it in cupcake pans so its easy to control portions (somehow its just to easy to cut bigger slices then you should out of a full sized cake ). The reciped ended up making 30 mini-cheesecakes at 87 calories, 3g fat, 1g fiber, & 3g protien OR 1.8 WW pts. I didn't include the cookie I used as a crust since they would varry, depending on what you have- the ones I used are like a English Digestive Biscuik/Cookie and only have 0.3 pts per cookie, so one mini-cheesecake is 2 pts- pretty good treat or even having 2 for 4pts for breakfast would be good. It is a soft cheesecake- more like a cross between a custard & a cheesecake- but you could probably put more unflavored geletin in if you wanted it thicker...of course mine is still warm so it may thicken up as it cools. I'll post the recipe in the Sticky Recipe Thread so it doesn't clog up our thread here.

dogpal- I hope you get feeling better soon

Julee- don't forget that for some strange reason, bridal wear funs really small. A friend of mine usually wears a size 8 but had to get a size 12 wedding dress- you would think they would just the opposite...don't they know that if we could wear a smaller size we would spend more on the dress

Catherine- I'm so excited to hear all the details of your wedding dress. I need to get back into garment sewing one of these days, but my machine embroidery & teaching embroidery related classes have kept me busy.

Brenda- Ohhhh~cookie swaps- that could be really dangerous I would have such a hard time not wanting to sample each one that I couldn't trust myself. And on your post disappearing- are you using Internet Exployer? I've switched to FireFox and one of the extensions I use with it saves whatever sites I had opened and even what I was typing in a post if I accidently close it out or for some strange reason it crashes. Its saved me so many times that I can't immagine how I ever did without it.

Bye for now....I'll go post that recipe now~

Evening everyone

christineu ~ I got many of them ready to freeze except for one... sweet delicious carribean squares. I had 3. I threw out the other 9. There was no willpower. No second thought. This time last year I would of ate more and not thrown any out. Thanks to you all I tossed the buggers! Yeah me!

DogPal~ I have my fingers crossed for pepper! Bailey ( my beagle) is still on drops for this eye thing that she has. Vet says at least 2 more months of drops before we do any more tests. And she HATES getting them. I have to bribe her with milkbones each time. Her eyes may clear up but she will have to start posting on 3FC too *L*cause her behind is widening

Julee ~ I love getting jewelery!! I am jealous The necklace sounds beautiful! Steven gave me a beautiful pearl and gold one for a wedding gift. It broke because of my big ole fat neck and I felt SO bad! I have had it fixed twice but it is SO delicate that I can break the gold chain now with 2 fingers

I sold wedding gowns for over 2 years before I was married and it is SO true that gowns run small!! There are some wonderful dresses out there. Try on one of everything!!!!! Most times the dress you have pictured in your mind, is not what will look best. Regardless, you will be a beautiful bride

Catherine ~ I am so excited for you that your practice dress fit so well! I did a lot of work on the gown that I purchased because I bought it from a friend and altered it so that it didn't even look like the same gown

Andrea ~ I am SO jealous I want my tree up too! We usually get a real one but this year we are buying an artificial one and we have to wait for either insurance money to come or a free paycheck ( one without a hundred bills to pay!) At this rate it will be during boxing week sales when we buy it *L* We have our outdoor lights up but not on yet. Tomorrow night they will be ready to sparkle! Steve has to get out the extension cords and stuff first

OK I have to run now. Bed time and all.... Tomorrow is going to be a VERY boring day as I am in meetings all day for work and I would hate to start snoring *L*

I have recommited to my bike and ski machine. I have not touched them for about 2 weeks. Tomorrow morning I start again. It is a new day and a new week.... wow and almost a new month!!

Night!
Brenda

Hi all - Please accept my apology in advance for all the posts I'm going to miss, but I know I just can't get them all. Loved reading and catching up with everyone, tho!

Dogpal, Glad the antibiotics seem to be working! It's AWFUL when our furbabies aren't well and can't even tell us what's wrong! Keep us posted.

Going2Lose - You had me in stitches when you said you made it past the cookies at the swap, but the meatballs got you. That is SO "me". Plan for something, brace for it, then get blind sided! ...SOOOOO proud of you for tossing the dangerous !!!

Rabid - 10 hours... isn't that, like, 600 minutes??! Good grief, my goal was only 400 minutes... you make me look like a real slacker.... oh, well, slack I must. I'll stick with 400 and then I'll feel better if I beat it rather than lousy if I don't.... I applaud you for hoisting that pumpkin pie off on others! I'm just glad I'm not one of them!

BrandNewMe - Did you perhaps have a bunch of sodium before the WI at the docs? Any time you eat out, they sneak PHENOMENAL amounts of that nasty stuff it..... Or maybe their scale is just suffering from that epidemic that was running around - BSS (Broken Scale Syndrome.) I was glad to read your regular scale is ON TRACK and ur doin' FINE! When DH & I got married I went on BC, but it made me feel so sick. Then a different doc looked at how much I was taking and freaked out! It was a pretty high dose, and he said that because the estrogen is stored in fat cells, I especially shouldn't have been prescribed so much. I went totally off at that point, though. Nothing has ever come of it, and DH would probably have a fit if I got pregnant since he's almost 10 years older, but oh well. I think I'm hitting the change now anyway. GOOD for you for looking out for your own health!

Catherine - I'm looking forward to seeing the pics, too!!!! It's so cool that you're sharing this fun with us!

Tomorrow is The Big Day - my first WI at Curves. It's been great motivation to keep me behaving the best I could through T-day, but now I'll find out how much good or harm I've done myself otherwise. Please

hi, im somewhat new to the board. been looking around it for the past few months...just not signing up and actually posting. finally feeling a urge to introduce myself and try to get serious about losing weight. i like this site, yet feel a bit intimidated i guess. i dont know why, guess im just too shy. or maybe its that alot of people seem to be 30+...and im not even 20 yet.

ive pretty much been fat my entire life. the main reason would have to be because of health problems and not being ableto be as active as regular kids..though a sweet tooth would be a close second reason why. my family tends to be heavy set, so that combined with the previous two things is hard to overcome.ive dieted and exercised since i was about nine..yet the weight always comes back..i start losing and then ill end up getting sick for a week, which throws me off my track with no motivation to continue.also for as long as i can remmeber, ive always felt tired...which doesnt help when it comes to trying to exercise.

id really like for it to work this time. i dont own a scale, it would probably drive me insane and depress me if i did, but the last time i got to weigh myself was about a month ago and i was 315. id love to lose 100. id really like to be under 200, but just to lose a 100 would be great enough. i recently purchased a machine to help me exercise..a gazelle specifically, and i love it, but a fall a week ago tore a muscle in leg a bit..which makes it painful to walk, let alone use the gazelle...its slowly getting better, so im trying to get myself into a mental state where i actually feel like working out.

i eat vegetarian for for over 5 years (which initially that alone had me dropping 5 pounds a week, but that stopped due to not being able to eat right) i currently eat pretty healthy, except i need alot to feel decently full, otherwise the hunger pain wont go away. that combined with a craving for sweets isnt helping me. is there anything healthy i could eat like..a ton of as a snack?..something thats not like..carrot sticks or other veggies..i eat enough of those normally and dont want them a a snack i hate eating alot of sugar..family history of diabetes and the sugar itself hurts my stomache..yet the craving is usually unbareable

well, guess ill stop typing now..already babbled for too long.
if anyone reads this..thanks..i feel kinda...really stupid and embarrassed just for posting

swallowedupinfire, You are not stupid and you shouldn't feel embarassed at all. Everyone on this site has been, or is where you are and age has nothing to do with it!

I was a fat child and stated to diet about the time I was 9 or 10 also. Today I am a fat adult. I don't have any answers for you other than to be here and listen and try to encourage you to lose the weight while you are young, and the important thing is to keep it off! Something I failed to do. It has gotten so much harder to lose again as I have aged.

I hope that someone can come along and give you some snack ideas that will work for you. My snack is usually fruit, and I can't have a ton of that either. I think that even water puts weight on me, so I have to be careful about the snacks. I wish you good luck, and hope that you can get yourself on a program that works for you. Let us know how it is going, and do come back and post often. Iwillbe

WI results: 11.5 pounds off, BMI down 2.0, 5.75 inches gone... Now I face the next month, back on the truck.