Hello Everybody!

Thought I'd try again for the post I lost yesterday. I can't believe I missed four entire threads over the holiday. I'd normally try to go back and read them all, but I'm just out of time!

The weekend was busy, busy as usual. Between dog school, sewing and cooking in prep for the vacation and trying to have a life as well I really need that upcoming vacation! For those not in the know, I do medieval reinactment with the SCA and we have a "war" coming up - a week long camping event - on June 9th. I think by the time I'm done with all this sewing, I'll have enough clothes for four medieval women. They made do with like one dress and two shifts! (Of course, they didn't smell too good either probably! ) In the midst of all the camping prep we had archery practice - which I'd been dying to go to - so I took a couple hours there.

I'm still plugging away at work - still behind. If I can do three decisions a day every work day, when I get back I'll be - well, still behind, but not as far as I have been! If I can do 4 or 5 (NOT likely) I'll be pretty much caught up! That would be excellent, although unrealistic.

I remain pretty much unmotivated when it comes to diet and exercise. At least I'm not really gaining...but I really can't wait for life to settle down a bit so I can concentrate on food and exercise again! I've not been going nuts - the whole healthy-eating thing is ingrained enough that I don't pork-out anymore even when not watching it, it seems. But still, I just haven't had time to think about it much.

I was glad to see a discussion of heights and goal weights. I am every bit of 5'10" myself and my original goal was 190 - which is what my driver's license says. (I'm sure the folks at the DMV thought I was 190 when I was 328! ) I've since revised that to about 170 - the high end of the charts. I have never, ever, weighed what the charts say I should weigh - and it would be quite a novelty for me. But truth be told, I'll be sooo happy to break 200 I won't know how to act! Like Xena, I can't even imagine 143! I'd be bones!

Kaylee: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You look GREAT!

Well, I really wanted to do more replies, but I'm just out of time. Hope everyone has a happy, healthy OP day!

Patti - I did want to say...are you sure you are getting enough calories in? Even working out a lot, you might have had your body stall out if you aren't eating enough. Or, I know it's hard to do, but maybe your metabolism needs a shake-up. Indulge a bit one day and go significantly over what you usually eat and then the next stay well under. Do that a time or two and see what happens. The only other thing I can think of is maybe you have built quite a bit of muscle from all that exercise - can you see or measure a differnce in your body that isn't showing up on the scale? Plateaus are the WORST part of losing weight! Don't give up!

thanks for the advice, i have been doing meal replacement shakes and eating lean cuisines this week so today i am going to go for eating a good fiber filled supper and see if that helps! i HATE plateaus... makes me want to quit but i refuse to do that !

Xena:

The marriage class is not synagogue mandated...but our rabbis encouraged us to take it. It is offered at the University of Judaism (yes there is such a place...it is a private liberal arts college) through their continuing education department and apparently it is not only a great opportunity to get some key issues dealt with but also to meet some other couples. It is 10 sessions...most with the entire group, then some private sessions too: 1 with rabbis, 1 with a financial planner and 1 with a therapist. We committed to doing this and we are excited to get it started. We're going to have to miss one of the classes when we go to Comic-Con in SD, but that's alright. We might be able to make it up.

So I'm off to the gym now. Slpt in an extra half hour but it helped. I'm not sure why I am so tired this week. I have gotten good sleep the last few nights since I have been back in town. Hopefully I'll catch up eventually.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEY!!!!!

Good morning ladies,

Patti: I don't know if you were here when our lovely Hippievanlady was still here. You have probably heard a lot of us refer to her as Catherine. Well, she is my inspiration and I want to tell you about her a bit. She weighed somewhere around 600 pounds and couldnt move around too much and decided to start dieting and exercising. At first she could only flutter kick her feet while she was in bed. Before she left us, she was down to about 320 or so. Well, she always, always said that if she hit a platau, one of them lasted her six months and she never gave up! Anyway, if she hit a platau, she would up her calories. Now, I came here in April of 2005 weighing 505 pounds and I thought Catherine was nuts. I never told her that but I did think to myself, no way I will up my calories. I need to eat less. Well, I lost 40 pounds for the year in 2005. I gained it right back because I was eating so few calories a day and swimming and hour a day plus doing 100 situps a day at home. I was so disgusted because I was stuck at 40 pounds lost for months. Unlike our Catherine though, I gave up and started to chow down. I gained it all back quickly. On April 19th of this year I joined Curves diet program and it taught the same way as Catherine was telling us. You have to eat enough calories or your body will go into starvation mode and stay there. I was so scared to eat as many calories and carbs that they told us to eat but I thought, what the heck, my way isn't working and what I was learning was making sense so, I did it and I have had a steady weight loss so far each week.

I know it doesn't make sense but I do know that it works. There are things that I have learned should I hit another platau to do to help my body get back on track. The reason that it hits plataus and such is because our matabolism is so screwed up from starving ourselves so much.

I hope this helps you and if you would like to pm me with your home email address I would be happy to email you any thing I can to help you along.

Big hugs to you

Everyone else, please have a wonderful day and be blessed,
Annie/ dogpal

thanks so much for that story i would love for you to email me or whatever. If you would like my email address, PM me and I will send it to you.

some days i feel like i eat too much and other days not enough but i always exercise . maybe my body has just adjusted to the exercise so maybe i should add a few more calories and . i try to stay under 1800 if i can.

UUUUGGGHHH
9 threads behind!! I just noticed that the last time I posted was May 24th.... Sorry guys!! I have been BUSY and sometimes life gets in the way. I didn't get to go back and read at least not today but I know where I left off! Unfortunately life is also getting in the way of much healthy food and exercise! Although I am painting, scrubbing, vacuuming, fundraising... all that not so fun stuff so I am not sitting on my butt eating cheetos either. I hope everyone is doing well and I see that it is Kayley's b-day. Have a great one chick! May all your dreams come true!!

Hope you are all doing well... I'll be back!
Brenda

Annie -- Do you know why Catherine stopped posting???? She really is an inspiration!

Patti -- Plateaus are frustrating but they seem to be a "normal" part of dieting. How long have you been on a plateau anyway?? If it's less than a few weeks then I think it's really nothing to worry about. It just happens. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will come off.

I am learning to not focus on the scales as my only source of information about how I am doing. How my clothes fit, and what I can do now are equally helpful.

Anyone know where Zelma went? Or Jill? (I've seen her on other boards I think) There are so many others!

Hello All,

Boy oh boy am I late posting today. This morning I got up and decided to try to help Daren cut the grass and hedges out the back. All in it took 4 hours, and it was a really hot day. So by the time I was finished helping out I was worn out, a bit burnt on the back of my neck, and had a splitting headache. I had to shower and then sleep for a while. I got up had a late tea, and finally now I feel up to being on the PC.

Kayley - HAPPY BIRTHDAY 20 today huh, you're getting old oh to be that old/young again

I loved all your photos taken while you were away, and love that you have used one for your new avatar photo. You are looking so great, I hope you are proud of yourself, I am proud of you!!

Thanks for explaining that you weren't eating spoiled children loved the photo with the huge bratwurst sausage in it

Xena - that's great that you are having some time off work now, sounds like you are very happy about that What are you going to do with all that time off?

Vicki - when I used to highlight my hair I always went for a red colour, I have always been too chicken to try blonde. It does look great on you though, so I am wondering if I could get away with it too? Maybe that can be one of my rewards when I lose more weight!

Yes you are right, it does feel good when you realise something has clicked which enables us to diet. Right now although I am doing well, I just can't wait to be 6 months down the line, or even a year and to be seeing big weight loss results! Just like you've done!

Elaine - I loved your post for Kayley, very bright and cheerful How are you doing, are you staying on track after that great weight loss from last week?

Mel - sorry if you have already told us, but what is it that you do for work? It certainly sounds like a mad time there right now. I hope you don't wear yourself out working all those hours and not getting much sleep.

That's good that you got to check out the website, though I am sorry that it does seem that you have a heel spur. Well if you read all the info you will know that the sooner you go and get something done to help you with it the more chance you will have of not ending up needing surgery. So please, somehow, find a way to make time to go to the doctors.

Misti - it sounds very much like your holiday is like the ones where people say that they need a holiday to recover from their holiday. I hope that all the sleeping you are doing will soon make you feel recovered soon.

Julee - sounds like you have a nice weekend planned. I hope it's as enjoyable as it sounds.

Annie - that is a very impressive amount of inches that you have lost, you should be so proud of yourself

Luan - great news about your new job. It's always better when you are in a job that you love.

Patti - I have sent you an e-card with a few suggestions that I can think of about why the scales may not be moving downwards as they should be. I never thought of the one that Annie mentioned though. The fact that you may be eating too few calories. Catherine is a very wise lady when it comes to dieting, I wish she would post again. I just hope married life and enjoying it is all that is keeping her from posting, and nothing bad.

Sharon - I am sorry to hear that Aiden is unwell, how dreadful for you to keep finding his little pools of vomit all over the place. I hope for both of your sakes that he will be much better tomorrow

Lilion - that is so cool that you take part in medieval enactments, I LOVE stuff like that! It's great that you can do all that sewing too, I bet they love you in that group.

Sorry that you still aren't that enthusiastic about diet and exercise right now, but how inspiring to hear you talk about it being ingrained now not to pork out. I look forward to when I feel like that.

Brenda - hello stranger I wondered where you had got to. I am glad that there has been nothing wrong and that you have just been busy busy busy.

Heather (wyllen) - I hate it when people just stop posting and we don't know what has happened to them. I like to think that they are just getting on with their lives and don't need the support of us here as much as before, but I can't help worrying. I wonder if anybody has Catherine's new address or a phone number.

Ok, I am going to try to get some sleep now, so take care all, and have a great weekend,

Hugs,

Ammi

this is like the 2 plateau i have hit . i hit one sometime in april where the scales wouldnt budge but when the did it was a pretty good drop. i am trying to add more fiber and water and see if that helps.

Kayley - that's GREAT news about the job offer at Whirlpool, like you said, what a great birthday present

So are you going to tell us what gifts you had?

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi everyone, I'm new here and wanted to say hi it sounds like this is a great place to come for support, I'm very much in need of that.

I went to the gym today and had a great surprise. I was last there 2 weeks ago, to find my weight had once again climbed over 300...it was 310. Then, I couldn't get back to the gym because my youngest daughter got an ear infection. So, today was my first day back, and I was expecting maybe to be down a couple pounds, but the scale said 288!!! I triple checked it to be sure I wasn't doing it wrong LOL

I've been watching what I've been eating, but I didn't think I was really doing that well. Guess better than I thought tho!