Kim!! Today is only my 2nd day to the board, but I have found so much support and info .. its been great! in reaching your weight loss goals .. and I am here if you need a buddy!

Kim and Rayne and Kristy -- Feel free to join our December exercise thread! It's pretty easy -- set a goal for the number of minutes you want to exercise -- whatever that is, and log them in the December exercise thread! Don't worry that the month has already started -- either include your exercise from the past few days OR just set goals for the remainder of the month!

On that thread, a number of us are also logging their exercise into a group total: so far, 261 minutes! You could help add to our total!

Rayne -- I had a lot of the same thoughts as you did about that doctor in the blog. One was just as you said: perhaps he doesn't have success because of the old "self-fufilling prophecy". He doesn't think they can lose weight, and inadvertently makes it happen.

However, I also think we should acknowledge that apparently it IS very difficult for people our size to lose weight successfully (just look at how many people disappear from this board). WHY exactly is that? I don't think it's only because others expect us to fail. Obviously being so far away from a healthy weight in and of itself causes problems, as does a lack of information about how to lose weight in a healthy way (and all the 'quick fixes" out there)

And I'm not just talking about us -- the people who are trying -- but what about all the people who just think they can't do it (egads, that was me! Too bad, cause I gave away so many clothes that I could maybe fit into soon! ).

I'm asking because I wonder if the answers will give us any insight about how to do be more successful.

i keep lurking but not positng =/
hurt my leg..agian..twisted my ankle..patch of ice...fun. havent done much the past few days exercisewise..and have been eating rather unhealthy..but got married on the first so everything else kinda got..forgotten about for a bit
guess i should go exercise..or maybe ill just curl back up in bed ...zzzzzz

oh and..suppose i should ask if anyone has any experience with irregular periods due to thier weight...its been bugging me alot lately...see about a year ago my period kinda..went out of wack and i bled madly for about 2 and a half months..my periods always been a tad unpredicatable ..skipping months and such..but never like that...only thing that stopped me from bleeding to death a year ago was a high dose of birth control..so once i stopped bleeding, about a week later, i stopped taking the pill, as my doctor told me to. this was early feb of this year. and since then i havent had a period since. ive had period like pains..such as horrid cramps, but i havent bled. just wondering if my weight could be why..currently weigh about 315...in jan i weighed 280ish. i know i should go to the doctor, but currently thats not a option, i cant afford to,frankly i still have medical test bills that need to be paid of from that >.<, and dont qualify for free insurance =/....any imput to ease my mind a bit?

Swallowedup: I was 17 years old when I first had an episode of what you are talking about -- I bled for nine months straight. I am now 38 and have been battling this for 21 years (it took 15 years to be diagnosed). The last time I bled, it was for a year and a half straight. I have polycystic ovary syndrome. The bleeding is from cysts rupturing.

I am now taking Yasmin (specific birth control pills) and it is the ONLY thing that has ever stopped the bleeding or kept it under control in the last 21 years.

If you'll take my suggestions, here they are:

First, if you're not bleeding, be happy. Don't worry about it. It's probably fine. But you will eventually start bleeding again (I always have).

When you do start bleeding again, if it doesn't stop, I suggest that you call around and try to find a GYN who has experience treating PCOS. Tell the office that you don't have insurance and will have to pay for it yourself and ask them to help you keep the costs low (they won't order any unneccessary tests if you do this). At that point, they can give you some more hormones to stop it. Your only expenses should be the appointment and the hormones (unless where you live requires you to have a pap smear before dispensing hormones -- you also could go to one of the free pregnancy clinics like Birthright for a free pap smear).

For me, these bleeding episodes come back every two years (apparently that's how long it takes for me to get one of these cysts). I will say, however, I had one rupture about two months ago and because of the Yasmin, I bled heavy, but it only lasted about seven days (instead of seven months).

Unfortunately, there's no surgery to correct this. You just have to keep dealing with it. Also unfortunately, the PCOS causes a hormone imbalance and that makes you gain weight so you get in a never ending cycle of hormones and weight. You also have to be careful because people with PCOS are at high risk for diabetes and heart disease.

There are a few treatment options available to help with all this so you have to find a doctor you like and stick with them. You also should learn everything you can on your own. You have to really make sure you eat right and exercise also.

I hope this is not what you have, but if it is then this should help you. I wish someone could have told me all this 21 years ago because it would've saved me a lot of heartache and stress. It's worth asking and checking into. Either way, even if you have to pay for it yourself, make sure you get to a doctor each year. It could save your life. (A $100 or $200 doctor bill is worth paying to be healthy and alive!)

Big hugs. Hang in there. (Sorry to throw all of this information at you, but if it helps then it is good. If not, no loss.)

Hi Everyone!

Well, I am sitting in shock! After having a crappy week with diet and exercise I weighed in. I lost 2 more pounds! Holy Moly! Yeah but I could kick myself in the butt because I know what "could" have been! Great way however to start the morning!! Good bye 360!!!!

I wrapped presents last night for a little over 4 hours! The ole shoulder is pretty stiff this morning so I popped a couple of Advil and am waiting for them to kick in before I try some tae-bo. I am still not finished wrapping, another 2 hours probably but boy will it ever be nice when it is finished. I am going to deliver some of them to my mothers this afternoon so they are not under my tree. They are piled pretty high this morning *L*

Catherine : Thanks for the encouragement! It means a lot! Soon you will be with your honey. And Canada is a wonderful place to hang your stocking

Have a great sunday everyone! Time for me to move my butt! There's still lots to do with decorating, presents and some exercising to do!

Talk to you all later!
Brenda

OK I can't count *L* I just went and updated my sig and realized that I lost 3 pounds. WHOOHOOO!!

sorry Kim ~ I forgot to welcome you!! I hope you enjoy your time here!!! Everyone is wonderful and so supportive!

Today I weighed in and am down another 1.5 for a total of 9.5 pounds but my ticker reads 10 since there are no half pound increments.

Brenda and Teahoney -- Congrats on those losses!!! WOOHOO!

Fire: I have been on BCP since I was 17 and have never had any problem with my periods until I started losing weight. Once I had lost about 40 lbs they started coming too early..which I was still on regular pills. Then they would re-regulate. I'm now down about 85 lbs and there is still some irregularity. I have asked both my primary care physician and an OB/GYN and they both said that it was due to hormonal fluctuations but that it was relatively normal. My PCP tried to put me on an IUD but the OB and I both balked...which is a good thing. I am more or less normal right now...but last month I had 2 days of early (heavy) spotting then nothing for 4 days then a regular period..so who knows.

I guess what I am trying to say is that hormones are funny things and yes, gaining or losing significant weight can and will throw your periods out of whack..even if you are chemically regulated.

Welcome all new chickies!!!

You guys are doing great!!! Congrats!

I'm still hanging in here...the swelling at the back of my head & neck seems to be going down. The first couple days after the occipital block was bad, I couldn't even bend down to pick things up without a lot of pain, but no daily occipital neuralgia headaches which is a big improvements. Friday night turned out to be a comedy of errors- around 11:30pm, I went out to my car to get my neck support pillow- one of those U-shaped ones filled with polyester microbeads thats all smushy- and soooooo comfortable...I needed it so I could sleep without pressure in the area of the injections. I threw on a heavy sweatshirt & my slip-on tennis shoes- even though its below freezing & we have a few inches of snow- figuring it was only going to take a few seconds. Good plan, except the door somehow locked on its own & of course I didn't have a house key- just a car key. I pounded on the door to get my dog to bark, hoping it would wake my Mom up (she sleep upstairs)...thankful I didn't have to depend on the cats When that didn't seem to be working, I headed to the garage to look for the spare key...but its really hard to find a key when you can't even find the light switch- in my defense, we thought the light socket didn't work for the longest time when we had just gotten a package of bad lightbulbs. Thankfully, as I was trying my best to find the light switch, my Mom had woken up and let me in- but I was so cold by then.

Yesterday I played around with some low fat/lower cal recipes. Will someone remind that I can't eat chocolate? My tummy just won't handle it anymore but its hard to break a life time of being a certified chocoholic. My poor mom has to eat that one- it was a chocolate oatmeal fudgy brownie that is really good, just to chocolaty for me. Today I think I'll stick to meringue cookies for the most part- tried a small batch yesterday that had oatmeal that was really good....today I want to try it with brown sugar instead of white. There is one with rice krispies that sounds good too...besides, my one cat loves when I make meringue cookies because she gets the yolks, which in turn, makes her hair look so much better.

Teahoney- Congrats on your weight loss!

G2L200- Congrats on your 3# loss!

Tashabella & SwallowedUp- Hormones can be so funny. I'm on a med for nausea that can also screw with your hormones. For 3 years I didn't have periods, other then when my GYN would have me take progesterone every 3 months to try to trigger a period which didn't do much. In August 2004, I ran out of the nausea med for a few days- its from Canada & it took longer then expected. I restarted on the same exact dose I'd been on but a few days later I had the first real period I'd had in the 3 years and its been pretty regular since then. My GYN can't explain why it happened- nothing changed drastically on my blood test or anything, so who knows. The one thing I would caution anyone is that if you don't have a period for several months, to let your GYN know- the first year I didn't, both my Internist and my GI doctor said not to worry about...my GYN wasn't too happy when it had been a year since I'd had a period and that the other doctors blew it off.

wyllenn- I would rather a doctor admit his prejudices instead of hiding them. He is not a doctor I would want to see- that is for certain. Its not just weight- but any time you get multiple medical problems, it seems like its too easy for doctors to blame any new issues on existing problems which leads to delays in diagnosis & treatment.

Mom2-5- I hope you get feeling better- UTI's are no fun. I've had more then my share this year and now I have to take a low down antibiotic to try to prevent them along with a surgical procedure that hopefully will prevent them from spreading to my remaining kidney. Thank goodness my Urologist trust me enough now to script Cipro to have on hand, so I don't have to go through the hassle of getting tested and getting a script called in every time. I make sure I always have it filled before I go on vacation or anything- just in case.

Catherine- I hated it the first time I saw OBESE in my chart too- it felt like such an insult when in reality it is just a description- a factual description. Surprisingly, none of my doctors have moved me up to the the 'morbidly obese' category, even though I technically belong there...but not for long.

Softkins- You are very beautiful- I have to say I love the red hair. I need to get a picture of myself up, but I don't have any good current ones. I'll have to work on that this week- actually my friend & I have been talking about doing our 'before' pictures, since we both have started dieting....and have avoided cameras like the plague because of our weight.



I almost forgot- I lost 3 more pounds, so now I have lost 13 pounds since I started a few weeks ago. And I've been trying to exercise a little each day- even if its only a few minutes....I have to start somewhere

Hi everyone

My name is Carole and I am new here by a week or so. I have just been looking in really up until now. I would be very happy to be included in such a supportive group. When you have such a great deal of weight to lose it is good to be around people who understand where you are coming from.

I began my diet one week ago when I weighed 350 pounds. I know weigh 339 pounds which is a loss of 11 pounds this week (granted it is the first week)

It feels pretty good to get off to such a good start. I still have 203 pounds to lose however.

One day at a time

Hi ladies! Sorry it's been a few days. Wow, I'm having to go back a couple threads just to start out. Lots to catch up on, so I'll do the replies and then add my own two cents worth!

Hiya and welcome to all the new ladies. You've found the most supportive little corner of the web! Hopefully you'll stick around and we can all get to know each other =)

Dogpal, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know this is belated, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about you and your family. Whether you're close or not, it still hurts. If there's anything I can do, please let me know.

Julee, congratulations!! The way he proposed is just too sweet! I love it!

Mom2-5, how are you doing? I know it takes time, but you know we're all here if you need someone to talk to. My thoughts and best wishes are with you and with Deb and her family!

Wyllen, congrats on making your mini goal, and for surpassing your November exercise goal! Woohoo! That's great! Thanks again for getting me motivated enough to get my butt in gear!

Tasha, Jilly, Voodoo, Andrea, going to lose, teahoney, congrats on your losses!

Catherine, how are you feeling now? I know you had a cold.. Next year is going to be so exciting for you! It'll be wonderful that you and hubby will get to decorate together, and start your own traditions! Just keep thinking of it that way, and hopefully this holiday season will go quickly. How's the dress coming?

Ammi, how are you feeling? Haven't seen you post today, how're things going? Did you finish decorating?

Welcome back dolphin, futurediva, and shadie! It's nice to see you around again!

Christine, how are you feeling? My dad had to go through several different nerve blocks, so I can imagine it's not fun!

Work has been insane. I work on a pediatrics unit, and we have 13 allotted beds for our unit. Thursday, we went from two patients to 10. Then, Friday, we went back down to 3. The turnover rate is what breaks us!

I haven't been feeling very well. Some of it, I'm sure, is due to TOM issues. Plus, I just went back on yasmin, since I apparently really need the balance it's supposed to provide. I'm grumbling about it, but it's just one more road block I can kick over eventually. Plus, I think hubby can tolerate me much better when I'm not all over the place emotionally due to horrid cramps and just general grouchiness.

Haven't lost any.. I'm pretty sure I've gained but don't quote me on that. I don't intend to weigh for the next week because of TOM, so we'll see what kind of damage control I can do in the next few days. Exercise has actually gone fairly well. Today I was a slacker, but for the most part, I'm kicking butt and taking names. Hopefully this will be a habit!

Eating has been.. iffy. It's hard to buy healthy foods when you're broke. It's even harder to plan out meals when hubby works the opposite shift. But, I have been craving fruits lately. I've eaten quite a few, and I'm starting to pick up on my veggie intake too. Maybe that'll become a habit too. We shall see!