hello Ladies... DH's plane is being rain delayed in Chicago... me and the kids are trying to just wait with smiles Will try to get back on here maybe on tuesday. have a great day ladies

Ammi i wanted the day free for gaming and watching tv and just relaxing! good luck on getting a no computer day i know how hard that may be lol!

Hey guys!

Well, I'm sore. So sore. I wasn't too bad this morning, stiff but not like now. I stood on my feet (for the second time in 3 years) for over 4 hrs. Now I am sore *L* Strange but true that I know its a good thing but man, it doesnt make it any easier. I came home from work and had a nap. When I woke up I went to bed. *L* Then Steve made me feel guilty so I came here to make myself feel better.

Nancy~ I think that setting an amount to spend is a wonderful idea. A practice sword huh? I bet I could interest hubby in that exercise regime

Val~ I LOVE the quote! It is so darn true too. We'd all be skinny-mini and rich wouldn't we?

Kim~ Good for you for re-committing! I am the same way. Everyone knows when I am basically not being "good" cause I am not here as much as I could be. It IS a struggle but one we can win if we are stubborn enough to make the right choices, or at least to keep on trying to.

Heather~ Good luck with the new gym

ok... I am going back to bed now. I have to work again at the store in the am. Talk to you then

Brenda

Gym update: We joined! It is great! We swam tonight (only 20 minutes, but it was getting late by the time we finished all the paperwork), and tomorrow are going back for fitness assessments and are going to try to schedule something with a trainer. I think this is kind of the kick in the pants I needed to improve my motivation and get out of the exercise rut I'm in...

Lilion- Isn’t it amazing how critical we can be of ourselves? I do the same thing, pick myself apart. I think you summed up perfectly the way I’ve always seemed to feel too. The whole big and beautiful really worked (still works) for me as far as how I look at myself. I’ve always been able to find cute clothes (thanks to Lane Bryant) and my entire life people have been telling me that I’m beautiful. To this day random strangers will stop me and say that they just had to tell me I am beautiful. I think that because I am so overweight, I’ve never let that go to my head, I’m don’t think I’m gorgeous, but I don’t allow the fact that I’m overweight make me feel ugly. I think ultimately what has motivated me is my fiancé’s comments to me one day. My doctor had said that while I was still very healthy I should count myself lucky and hope that I lose weight before I develop some serious health problems. For some reason that didn’t effect me, but when my fiancé said “I love you, and it’s so hard for me to see you not caring about yourself. Are you so unhappy that you don’t care what happens to you? I will always love you, and you are gorgeous to me, but I’m watching you slowly kill yourself and it’s killing me.” I cried for about an hour- suddenly being overweight had nothing to do with how I looked. For the first time I cared about what it was doing to me, and that someone who loved me was being hurt by it. That’s my motivation now, I want to grow old with him, and to enjoy every minute of it, and if I let myself get eaten by diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc, how can I do that?

Heather- it’s great to see how much your view has changed. I’ve read your posts about how much you don’t like to exercise – yet here you are excited about a new gym membership!!! I have a 24 hour gym membership, and most importantly lots of classes I go to- as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, most my workouts consist of a class- it’s just the only way I will truly push myself for more than 20 minutes…or however long it takes me to get bored on an elliptical machine A trainer can be really great because they push you. I had one once, but wasn’t serious about my eating habits, so it didn’t do me much good. But I think it has a lot to do with the fact that despite my weight I have the ability to do fairly intense workouts people wouldn’t expect me to be able to do.

Sandy- I’m sorry about your leg- I’ve been out of commission for a while, so I didn’t know about it. I hope it’s not too serious, it sounds like your dr’s not too concerned which is a good sign. I’m so scared that I’m going to have something like that happen, I think I purposely ignore bad signs hoping that nothing bad will happen, just so I don’t have to admit to myself that I’m in that really dangerous place. I get scared whenever my leg starts getting swollen, or if I have chest pain of any kind (usually it is most likely heart burn, but it is so scary). I haven’t been diagnosed with anything yet, and I’m so scared that I won’t lose this weight fast enough and something will hit me, everything that could be bad, is in my mind. Good luck with everything!

Brenda- if you are really sore, I’ve discovered for me, that the best thing is to exercise. Sounds crazy right? But seriously by exercising and warming up my muscles the soreness will either go away or lessen considerably.


Well- didn't make it to the gym, as expected, but I also didn't go out for drinks- so hopefully won't hurt that I didn't go. Car should be fixed tomorrow, so I will have considerably more freedom again. I was so tired when I got home today that I sat on the couch to try and do homework and fell asleep sititng upright with my book on lap, and slept that way for 2 hours!! I have a bit of a pain in my neck now. I guess that was a sign that I need to get more sleep at night. The problem is I have a test on Tuesday for my online class, and I procrastanated so much that I'm terribly behind, and haven't even considered all the material, let alone studied it for understanding and comprehension enough to do well on a test! Anyway- off to bed now. Goodnight!

kim-- you're right -- I don't like to exercise! I am hoping my attitude is changing. Maybe if I can DO more, and have more variety, I'll like it more. I am kinda liking the yoga I'm doing. I kinda like having someone tell me what to do! On my own I'm just not challenging myself enough.

This is a 24 hour gym too, and I like the idea of being able to go for a swim anytime I want! It's about 4 miles or so from our house (more than 2ce as far as the old gym, but still very close!). I hope we find a trainer we like!

Hi everyone... just checking in to say hello. Haven't even posted my exercise in the thread lately but I am keeping track and will get over and post it before too long.

Glad to see you are all hanging in there... keep up the good work!

I have had a good week... lost 1 pound yesterday and two today... which put me past the halfway point yay! Also means I weigh a pound LESS than what my driver's license says.

im so excited. today we actually bought the tickets to orlando. and we put the deposit on the rooms. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!! lol its funny. i worked for disney for 5 years and never wanted to go when it would be cheaper for me to, and now im going. we are going with a friend that that does still work there, so were getting her discount. all in all we will only spend about 600.00 to go. 260 for air and a little over 350 for the rooms. she gets all our admission for free, so that is saving us a TON! i cant wait to go!!

he also wants to go to Montana with me in january to go snowboarding. he loves me

Hi all

Happy me today I went to the 1st birthday party of my adopted great niece (I adopted her granny so Im an honorary aunt to her mum ergo she is my great niece lol) and I didnt eat a single thing!! There wasnt a single healthy thing there, lots of pastry and processed and sweets ... and fizzy drinks or beer .. sooooo I was really happy I had a BIG bottle of water .. as it was such a hot day I wasnt really hungry anyway ... but we left before the birthday cake just in case that tempted me too much lol.

When we got home, Scoot and I went to get the ingredients for home-made Subway! I got the low fat chicken bacon, chicken breast, low fat cheese slices, gherkin (pickle?), lettuce and red onion ... popped all of that on a 9" roll (bigger than the 6" but smaller than the footlong) added a little low fat mayo and sweet chilli sauce and oooh yum. I didnt even think of the calories as I was naughty through the day and hadnt actually eaten anything .. the funny thing was I was so busy that I didnt even think of wanting to eat anything until dinner time too!

Tomorrow we are taking my "son" (my adopted sisters son .. but me nick off with him whenever I can lol .. as its the holidays I have kidnapped him again for a week and a half lol) to go and pick out a puppy ... hopefully by the time he goes home the puppy will be well on the way to being trained and I will have him registered and vaccinated etc .. so his mum cant say no ... and kill me .. although .. chances are she will maim me a little rofl .. but I have been threatening it for a couple of years .. so its not like she didnt have enough warning lol ... The puppies are Bearded Collies Will see if we can take a piccy when we get back home

Oh ... another thing that put me in a good mood today ... as you know I LOVE my baggy clothes .. but today I couldnt find my fave pants and so I thought I would see how badly the new ones I got (in 3 sizes down from my usual size that I buy) fit ... OMG .. THEY FIT ME!!! Usually even stretchy pants I buy 2-3XL ... but these ones are only an XL!! I thought I wouldnt be wearing them until Xmas! And the top is one I have had for about 3 years .. but it was always a little "tight" so I stopped wearing it .. and happy me it fits too!! I will see if Scoot will take a pic of it for me ... Im not completely comfortable in something that is so tight (pants) and formfitting ... but it definitely made a change and I felt great all day because of it ... may not feel the same when I see a pic and the bulges rofl .. but thats why I will wait til tomorrow to have him take a pic of me in it

Okee .. Time for Iron Chef America .. love watching that .. gotta go get dad cos he likes watching it too

Have a great weekend all

Lilion, I agree with everyone that you have lovely legs!!!! I went to self esteem/confidence classes and we had to practise accepting compliments- instead of 'Oh my left leg is loads bigger trhan my right' etc. You learn to say 'Thank you'!!!! Apparently you feel better just accepting the compliment, SO TRY IT!!!!lol xxxxx
Well I got new meds from the Doc's, they are the same as Ammi's so when we chatted the other day I said I'd better lose 70+ lbs pretty soon then !!!!! Still if I feel on an EVEN keel it has to help, doesn't it? I have GAINED 2lbs in one day, so sensible old me pigged out (a bit) and fresh start on Sunday.
Kim you are very pretty and I'm with you on the 'I'll stay fat' thing, thank goodness we are SO OVER THAT!!!!! xxxx
Heather, great on the gym, why not pay more if you get trainers & it fits in with your lifestyle, you will be getting your money's worth anyway.xxxxx
Sandy, sorry about you leg, I hope it gets better soon, don't be too hard on yourself, rest & eat healthy. A month or so without exercise won't kill you, a blood clot can!!! Love yourself and look at the big picture, in a few weeks, when everything is ok, you can knock yourself out with the exercise!xxxxx
I'm fed up and still feeling ill, so forgive my short post & moaning.
Katt, great on the smaller clothes. xxxx
Ammi, thanks for the chats, they really cheer me up, even though all we do is talk about food & kids & money, lol.
xxxsharon

Lilion - I'm going to back up what everyone else is saying, but I'm going to add that I think ALL of you looks fantastic in that dress!!! You DO have great legs, but the rest of you looks great too. I know that you will find that hard to believe, but I think you need to find somewhere to go and show yourself off in that dress. Please believe me that it really does look as good as you originally believed.
Your posts always leave me with something to think about. It was interesting to read that you never used to see the 'fat' you. I only recently realised how bad I had become at ignoring just how big I was. I see my 'before' photo (the one where I am sitting) and I KNOW that I never saw myself that big. I used to look at myself in the mirror daily, but I never saw this morbidly obese person. I'm not sure how I ignored it, but I did. I was the same as you, I could find other things about myself to criticise, but NOT my body size. Interesting concept. Ignorance is certainly bliss I suppose.

Sharon - I hope that the new meds work as well for you as they do for Ammi. I remember when she started taking them and she felt like a new woman. I can't remember how long it took for that to happen, but I hope you don't have to wait too long. Sorry to hear that you are feeling ill. I hope you feel better soon and that the boys are looking after you.

Melissa - 34 pounds in 4 months is wonderful! Well done!!!! And definitely get a photo of yourself in those 24 jeans. I would love to see it. I can 'feel' your excitement about fitting into them. Isn't it great when you can shop in the 'normal' stores. Even though you are still shopping in the larger sections, at least there is suddenly a lot more choice. I almost cried the day I was able to buy something in the larger section of a 'normal' store. Keep that feeling with you, as you deserve it.

Katt - It sounds as though you have had a beautiful day with your 'adopted' family. You sound very contented with life at the moment. Your home made sub sounds delicious. I haven't really thought of replicating a sub at home. I only ever think of them when I am too tired to make something of my own. I think it just tastes better when someone else does the hard work. I will look at making my own though. I always make my own meat and salad rolls in summer, so I suppose I just need to 'tweak' the ingredients a little.
Tell Scoot to get his act together, as I want to see the pics of you in your new outfit. I LOVE seeing pics of people.

Luan - OK... I'm just checking here. You said that he loves you. Have I missed something, and has he TOLD you he loves you? Or is that you just being 'cute' and saying it because he wants to spend time with you. If it is the latter, then good for you! I think it is wonderful that he wants to spend time with you. It shows that he has some common sense at least. If it is the former, and he has TOLD you he loves you, then how did I miss that piece of information!!!!! HUH????? I want all of the gossip about that event if I have missed it. I love hearing about a new romance. And if that IS the case, then it just shows that he has finally come to his senses and realised that he has something wonderful within his grasp. I hope you have a truly fantastic trip to Disney World.

Misti - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Over the half-way mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is awsome! You must be feeling wonderful. Are you doing anything to celebrate? I can highly recommend shopping! Mind you... I tend to do a little too much of that, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me.

Heather - I'm not a gym person, but if I wanted to try out a gym I think I would like the one you have described. It sounds as though it offers a lot of flexibility and a lot more choices. I hope you get a lot of value out of your membership. As one of the runner-up prizes I get 6 months gym membership, but the only gyms that fit the membership are too far away, so I am giving it away to another teacher at my school. She had a membership to one of these gyms and it just recently ran out. Good timing I think.

Kim - I know you are worried about the upcoming test, but I'm glad your body let you know that it needed a break. If you don't get enough sleep you won't do well on the test anyway, so you may as well rest up and try to do some more study afterwards. Good luck with the test!!
My motivation to lose weight was the same as yours. I just wanted to live longer to spend more time with my wonderful husband. It certainly makes for an effective incentive.
I am the same as you, I like eating the same foods over and over again. I keep getting told that I HAVE to vary what I eat, to keep my metabolism up, but I just love the same types of food. I could sometimes eat the same thing for dinner all week and it wouldn't bother me. I'm glad you will have some variety available to you, but I certainly understand that you don't need TOO much variety.

Brenda - You mentioned that you are sore, but you didn't say WHAT was sore. If it is your feet, do you have good shoes? I just recently got orthotics for my shoes and my feet feel better already. If it is your back, is there any way you can sit for a little while when you work. I can't remember what sort of work it is, but I know of some people over here who use a stool now and then to give their feet and backs a rest. I hope things get easier for you soon.

Kenya - How frustrating that you have to wait even longer for hubby to arrive. You must have the patience of a saint to not be climbing on the ceiling. Although I suppose that won't help one little bit and you have to be a little stronger for the kids, so that they don't stress out too much. I hope you have a wonderful time together over the weekend.

Sandy - NEVER feel bad about where you have to start out with exercising. At least you are doing something! Many people out there are doing NOTHING to improve their health and fitness. Many of them don't have a weight problem, but they are not healthy or fit. So you just go ahead and think of EVERY thing you are doing at the moment to improve your lifestyle and be glad that you are taking control of your life. There are so many people out there who would envy you for that if they only knew.
Sorry to hear that your leg isn't better. Hopefully the doc is right and it will show some kind of improvement soon. It must be difficult in the meantime though. Are there things you can do to improve the situation, or do you just have to put up with it?
Oh, and WELL DONE for resisting that donut! Doesn't it make you feel SO powerful when you do that?

Ammi - Thank you for the comments about the competition. I am kinda over the whole thing now, which is a little sad, as it should have been an experience that I would savour for a long time. It has just left a bitter taste in my mouth and I need to move on I think. I know it sounds as though I have 'sour grapes' about not winning, but there is a lot more to it than that. I have just lost my interest in the magazine in general. I had to laugh when we got 'bags' of promotional stuff at the luncheon and inside there were 'diet' pills. WHAT????!!!!! We had all lost weight without the help of pills, but the sponsor of the luncheon, who produces a LOT of health products, chose to give us DIET PILLS! Not a lot of thought went into that one! I also saw an add in the magazine for Hoodia, which I am sure I have read somewhere isn't too good for you. I will have to do a little research I think. I am not too keen on some of the 'gimmicks' they promote in the magazine, but at least they haven't been dangerous before. I'm not sure about Hoodia. I could be wrong though, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

Nancy - Good luck on keeping a reign on your finances over the weekend. It sounds as though you need to find a compromise point with your partner, but he may find this a little difficult.
You are right about magazines wanting the dramatic story. I have tried and tried to find a more 'exciting' slant on my story, but it just boils down to me wanting to save my life. Full stop. Nothing outstanding, or tear jerking etc. I'm just glad that there are some TV shows and magazines who see the value in what I have done. Not everyone is going to have a 'story' behind their weight loss. They need to see that it can simply be part of your everyday lifestyle. Nothing showy.

Oh well, I had better head off to bed now. I may have a phone interview for a national magazine in the morning, so I suppose I should be a little awake when I do that. The magazine is kind of half and half human interest (REAL people, not stars) and competitions. Not a very big publication, but the lady who called said they had a million readers, so my face would be getting out there to a fair few people. This is a paying gig, so that would be a treat.

Take care all,

Zelma

Hi Zelma

Hey would you mind sharing the link again where I can hear and see your article. It is SO frustrating to try to follow all these threads back and find anything I thought I would just ask again. I would love to hear/see it. I am so proud of you for going as far as you did!!

As for the celebrating... no I have kind of stopped $$$ celebrating because I have a BIG reward I want when I hit my target weight! I do need to do some thrift store shopping for blouses especially... I am SO hard to fit now, as plus sizes are mostly too big and still not really into regular sizes. The pants I bought not long ago are getting baggy too LOL. I will buy what I really need/have to but not much as I just can't wear it very long any more.. .and that is NOT a complaint LOL.

I am up at 5:15 this morning... going to pick up a friend for our early morning lap swim and then water aerobics classes.

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Zelma -- I can exactly understand why you'd feel that way about the diet pills and whatnot. I remember when you were first nominated and I went to that site to vote, I remember seeing banners or ads for pills and such, and I remember thinking it odd, given your focus and the focus of "slimmer of the year".

I'm glad you found someone who can use the gym membership!

Misti -- Congrats on getting over the 1/2 way point! You are working HARD and it shows.

Kenya-- I wonder how long you'll be away from us, now that your hubby is back!!! I'm guessing he did get home or you would have popped back in! I hope you had a great reunion!

Vilandra -- 34 pounds in 4 months -- wow! It doesn't seem like that much when we want the scale to move so quickly, but it really does add up!!

As part of explaining why we wanted to switch gyms, we told the guy who showed us around the gym and from whom we bought the membership our weight loss stories. Poor hubby, who has lost over 50 pounds since November, got sort of ignored. Gym Guy seemed totally astounded that I lost 100 pounds, in about a year, without trainers and nutritionists and whatnot. He just couldn't believe it! I didn't discuss 3fc with him, but I know this place is a big part of my success, from information to support!

I am very behind with reading. I hope to catch up over the weekend. But i wanted to jump in. I lost about two pounds over the last two weeks. That brings me to about 5 pounds so far this month! I was suprised to see a loss as i went to the funeral last weekend and all this week struggled with making good food choices. i almost did not wiegh but as i had missed last weeks wiegh in i thought I better see where I was. I will take some time later to update my ticker. i am looking forward to a good week both food and exersize wise to end the month on a good note.

Sorry no personals. i will read more later and hope to post personals.