Hi guys, I am cristi, just going to jump in. I have been a member here for a while, fell off the wagon when my son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but I need to worry about me now and jump back on. When I was here before I was down to 330 lbs, now.. back up to my all time high of 380. :'( So.. no more tears, its time.

WELCOME BACK Cristi, I understand how you feel, I lost lots of weight after having my middle son, but put it all back + some more when I fought the Drs to get him diagnosed. He has Autism, so the shock and worry of having a child who's ill/different is something I know well, and food was my comfort. BUT we have to be fit & well to care for our kids, no matter what's wrong/different about them, maybe we need to be more fit than if they were ok! So realise you are not on your own, everyone here is great and supports you through good & bad, so make yourself at home!xxxxx
I exercised again today, I force myself, but once I get my wrist weights & the dvd on I love it, though Aiden resents me stopping him watching children's tv!lol but he does enjoy watching me & tries to join in! I was OP yesterday and plan to be 'good' until Saturday when my parents come for a visit & we get to go out! Sunday is Philip's 20th birthday and everyone is going for a meal, though I aim to be good all day Sunday and to NOT be greedy when eating out! Hopefully it will minimise any damage!
I hope everyone is well, there are some great losses, especially considering the time of year!
xxxsharon

Hello All,

Phew, I finally get chance to post, and am I way behind or what. I haven’t been particularly busy with any one thing, it’s just exercising, house work, emailing, shopping, Christmas preparations, and some relaxation time all conspire to keep me from writing here, especially as I like to write nice long posts. Today is a bonus for time though because we should have been going to the doctors but couldn’t get an appt. So I find myself with time I hadn’t allocated lol and here I am finally playing catch up as best I can

Patti - I forgot to say before that it’s good that you had planned to get totally back OP after a weekend of not being an OP angel I see you have been doing great this week, so hopefully the FFM will be paying you a visit tomorrow.

Heather - I think perhaps you are right and that the reason you are seeing ‘spotting’ is because of your weight loss. I think that’s definitely something we can both put down to not one of the good things about slimming down

Glad to hear that your eating is getting better now, you are keeping things under control and I am sure that when the holiday eating is all over and done with you will find it easy to get back OP with a vengeance

Colleen - sorry this is a bit slow coming, but on the NSV fitting into those jeans you bought in October that were a bit snug at the time. I love those kinds of NSVs, they mean far more than just numbers on the scales

Sue - oh I am so envious. I wish I could just cook something by throwing together some ingredients! I am definitely one of these people that need to have a recipe to follow, well except for making stew, and heck anybody can do that Your meatloaf does sound lovely, and it sure has got me fancying some, so I guess I will just have to check out my many recipe books!

Katt - do you have to take iron tablets for your anaemia? I used to be anaemic from the loss of blood when I had UC. I hated taking iron tablets, so if you are on them you have my sympathies.

That’s great that you put up Christmas lights outside this year. Can’t wait to see the photos

Valerie - inspired by Andie and written by somebody with a definite way with words I really do love what you wrote and I am going to keep that in mind right throughout the holiday season

Thank you too for your input on TOM and how it effects you on the scales. I have been ‘on’ all week since my WI, so I guess I’ll see at my next WI if I have a normal amount of weight loss. If it’s higher or lower than I expect then I will assume TOM is possibly the reason behind it.

ErikaLeigh - sorry you are feeling so down. I am glad you have Amanda to give you lots of cuddles and help you through this tough time. Don’t worry too much about any gain you have had since you were last here, you have so much else on your plate right now. Take it one thing and one day at a time

Lilion - did you find any recipes for low fat Christmas goodies to bake? If you found anything that sounds really delicious please do pass on the recipes because I would love to choose the better option this year too if I can help it.

Lori - lol about Tony’s idea of motivational footage in his videos. I think that would make me want to puke, not feel motivated. It seems I am much better off working out listening to music. These last couple of days I have worked out while watching a good film on the TV. It sure does make the time go faster and I get some good viewing too

Shadie - you are a card You always make me smile. I am sure Santa will definitely be stopping at your house this year and I hope he will not only bring lots of things for the kids, but some treats for YOU too

Nancy - oh it’s ok, I am not concerned about my TOM, it does feel ok, just a real shame I had to start having it again.

How did those meals go that your BF cooked, did he manage to make them not so fattening by at least missing out on using so much butter?

Annie - did you find out if there was room in that rehab swimming pool. A whole hour in the pool, knowing how much you love the water I am sure you will love every minute of that time

Zelma - have you had chance to come up for air yet? You sure have a busy schedule leading right up to your 7 weeks off. I bet you can’t wait for the holidays to start.

It’s weird to learn that day light savings hasn’t always been a regular thing in different parts of Australia. In NSW we always had it, and then I moved here and over here has always had it. It would be quite a novelty to live somewhere that doesn’t have it

Thanks for the compliments on the photo, I agree with you, it’s definitely a keeper. I am going to put it in a frame.

Beth’s nose is fine, still a bit tender to touch, but it doesn’t look broken. She has an ice skating trip tomorrow and although she will go along because there is lunch and some shopping afterwards, she isn’t allowed on the ice. She normally doesn’t fall, but it will be just her luck that she would tomorrow, so the teachers would rather her be safe than sorry.

Jill - it’s funny what kind of things make us see that we have gained weight, or are losing it, be it fluid weight or just plain fat. I had a watch I couldn’t wear for ages because I got too fat for it. It’s lovely to be able to wear it now, though weird to think of losing weight off my wrists

EmilyMay - I know I sent you a PM, but just wanted to say again back

Sharon - sorry I haven’t had chance to chat lately. Thanks for the email though and for letting people know that I haven’t fallen off the planet

How is Aiden doing now, is he hobbling around a bit more, or is he enjoying having you run around after him too much to show he’s more capable of doing stuff I broke my toe next to the little toe a couple of years ago and although the break itself didn’t hurt, the recovery time was a nightmare. I couldn’t walk without crutches because I was in so much pain. I hope Aiden isn’t in that kind of pain!

Kymberly - glad to see the post from you, hope you can write a longer one when you have the time so you can let us know how you are doing.

Toni - hi and 1 lb up after Thanksgiving doesn’t sound too bad, I hope the official WI at the gym won’t show a bigger gain than that

Brenda - congrats on being back to 339, it’s great to see those numbers going down isn’t it

Jen - that’s fabulous that you had a 4 lb weight loss, and I bet since posting that news you have lost the last lb you needed so that you had totally lost what you had gained previously You are doing so great, well done

Terry - that’s fantabulous news about the 5 lbs loss. I bet you were grinning from ear to ear when you saw that. You should be so proud of yourself

Michelle - so glad you are feeling better now, and WOOHOO that is brilliant news that your hubby got the job I was so happy to hear that you will be moving in February, but even more so when I realised the kinds of temps you will be leaving behind! How could you possibly stay warm in weather like that!!

Xena - that’s great about the 1 lb off Just goes to show that the Gazelle is a keeper

Luan - I think you should give the dieting or guilt from not doing it until the New Year. Try to do some baby steps now, like drinking more water, but leave it until January 1st before you try to totally commit again A fresh start for a fresh year

Cristi - hi and You have definitely come to the right place for all the support and encouragement you need to lose the weight. A few of us here have got disabled kids, and I think we can definitely relate to the comfort eating involved with dealing with their diagnosis. We are taking control now, and we will shift that weight that’s the main thing

Crystal, MariaLucia, Brandnewme, Neurotica, Sandy and Sandy2 Nelie, Kenya, Amanda, JuleeC, Dusty, Kimberly, Tashabelle, Lavandel, Missy, Kayley, Andie and all the other ladies I have missed Hope you are all doing ok and that you write soon.

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi everyone-

Well I for sure am feeling a lot better now! I think I *may* try to get some exercise in. I think it might make me feel a little better. My body is feeling so BLAH after being sick for so long. I know I mentioned this before but since I started buying bottled water I am drinking so much more water! I can easily drink 2 liters of water a day. Much better than two liters of soda! I still can't get over how much soda I used to drink a day...and it wasn't diet soda either!

I have got so much to do for the move. We have to ship our car off a whole month ahead of time so it can be flown down to Seattle in time. Thank God the National Weather Service is paying for ALL of our move. If they didn't we couldn't afford to get out of here! It is 5000 alone to ship our car down!!

WYLLENN~Thanks! I hope to be adding to the exercise thread soon! Even if it is just 5 mintues! Better than none right?

XENA~Congrats on you loss!! WTG! I really want to get a Gazelle. Especially since we are moving now I can buy one a lot easier. I think I would work out more if I had some equipment. Thanks! I can't wait to leave the frozen tundra!

LUAN~Glad you are back! You are right every day is a new day! Just don't stop trying!

CRISTI~ I am glad you joined in! Good for you making the decision to try again!

JILL~Thanks! Yeah I figure I can handle winter just about anywhere since I lived up here! Congrats on your loss! I hope everything goes well with you going back to TOPS. Sounds like good support! I am not sure about the Splenda aftertaste...but that stuff and other sugar substitues always give me a really bad headache.

AMMI~Thanks! I am excited to get back to civilization! No one should live in this cold of weather! I will be happy to get back to a normal city with a little bit normal weather for sure!

OK well I am going to go. I will be back later hopefully. I think I may go do some leg lifts and maybe dance to a song. I have to sort of start out slow again. I need to build stamina! I hope you all are having a wonderful day!

DOGPAL – Good for you, being more creative with your time. This is such a challenge that you’re going thru, but you can do it! I’m cheering for ya! BRAVO on the exercise – YES! Every bit does help, both the exercise thread, and YOU! I’m looking forward to your Sat WI!

JILLY – Great job on your dinner choice a few days back! AND your milk run! Good job staying SO OP! …Wow, you were talking about me, too, when you made the brilliant observation: “,For so long, I told myself that I needed to allow myself these frequent treats, just in moderation, but it's become clear to me that with most junk, I can't handle moderation--it's an all or nothing type of deal, and the time has come to choose nothing.” That should be my Mantra of the Month!

EMILY MAY – Welcome! Glad you’ve joined us. The ‘ride’ is so much more fun (& more doable) with the team here.

MARIA LUCIA? Where are U?

ZELMA – What a busy woman! At least a lot of what you’re up to is fun! I hope your hair turns out lovely, even if different.

TONI, Welcome! Hang in there! TOM can be really discouraging, and being sick hasn’t helped. This is a tough time of year to start, but you obviously aren’t letting that deter you! BRAVO!

BRENDA – WHOOP, WHOOP! On the loss!!!

JEN – I LOVE LOVE LOVE your puppy dog avatar! What’s his/her story??

HEATHER, I’m glad to see that you’re back to eating more OP and breaking thru your plateau.

SHARON, Woo-HOO! On the 4 more pounds gone! You’ll be riding Gabe before me at this rate!

LILION, Great that the scale is down 5 pounds! Even if you’re just looking to maintain for the month, that loss is a great boost to keep you on track. The 1st is just 3 ˝ weeks away. I have NO doubt that after that you’ll grab the bull by the horns and kiss the two’s goodbye!

KATT, You’re right. Where ever you started, you aren’t there anymore. You’ve just accomplished more than you even thought! Which is only more proof that you’ll keep doing well in the future! Hey, where’s your 5 for the day??

TERRY, WTG on the 5 pounds!!!!!!!!! That had to make you do a little dance getting off the scale!

Sure, NANCY. It’s a great idea to have a party in January, when everyone is trying to get back OP! A real resolution buster! – HA!! Just kidding… but glad you won’t be inviting us.

MICHELLE! YEE-HAW! I’m SO happy to hear that you’ll be coming down to the lower 48! And I’m delighted that you’re feeling better, too. Bummer to be sick thru the holidays! Admit it tho – won’t you miss being so close the Northern Lights? WOW – expensive to ship the car! If they weren’t taking care of it, it’d be easier to sell it and buy another when you get to Spokane. Glad to hear you’re even getting back to dancing a little!

XENA, Congrats on the loss! I’m glad you’ve found such a great leader. The people we surround ourselves with have such an impact on our success. I look forward to seeing your ‘countdown’ continue next WI! Looks like you’re going to blow your exercise goal out of the water, too!

Oh, LUAN, I’m so sorry that you’ve gained, but you stopped before they brought all their friends on board as well, right?? I’m so glad you’re back with us. It IS a tough season, but we can hang together and get thru this. You lost it before and you can lose is all again! Onward!

CRISTI, I’m sorry that you’ve gained again, too! I hope that you’re dear little ones are doing well now. CP is a challenge, but he has a loving mom, and the world is still a glorious place for him to have a wonderful life. I’m glad you’ve joined us again. We’re all in this long haul together! WELCOME Back!

AMMI, Glad to see you on the board! These holidays keep us hopping, don’t they? I must have missed what happened to Beth. I hope her nose is better every day!

KENYA, You’ve been gone forever! BRANDNEW, NELIE, ANDIE, LAVANDEL, Miss KAYLEY? We’re missing LOTS of lovely ladies. I hope you’re all back as soon as you’re done scraping the snow off your cars, putting up your trees, or (heaven forbid) baking holiday cookies! WE MISS U!

As for me, today is my day off. I finally finished getting the up last night, and it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Today I have banking to do & some errands, and then lots of studying. OK, and I better decide what kind of exercise I’m going to do, too, so I have something to report on the E.T. (Exercise Thread.)

I don’t know if it’s hormonal or what, but 2 days ago I lost my mind. I didn’t even realize how much garbage I was packing into my poor self until I was talking to my housemate that night and going thru the long, ugly list. Yesterday was no where near as bad, but it was bad. Cookies and a pc of pizza were both still on the menu.

TODAY, I’m going back to logging my chow. I started the day with a piece of a yam and some green tea… oh yeah, and two 15-calorie candy canes. That’s where that “all-or-nothing” thing that JILL was talking about starts to work on me. It’s not those first two, it’s everything that follows afterwards that destroys me. Well, I’m off to a better start, and I AM going to stick with it. For the rest of today it’s chicken and chores, veggies and sweat. I AM going to be a good girl today!

Michelle - I bet now that you have cut out the soda all together you will see some great weight loss from that alone. Your teeth will thank you for it too

Did you do your bit of exercise today, dancing to a song is the best kind of exercise, it's fun, lifts your mood and burns calories. Kenya swore by it, I wonder where she is these days?

WOW that move sure is going to be expensive, but like you said, it's a good job that the Weather Service is covering the costs

Valerie - Beth fell in school and landed flat on her face It was likely that she had broken her nose, there's a pic on the photo page showing how swollen it was. Thankfully it seems fine now, and if it did break it stayed in place

Glad you got your tree up, I hope we get to see a pic of it, I love seeing Christmas trees especially American ones because you guys can get such HUGE trees and still have loads of room in the room that you put it up in

Sorry you had a couple of bad days with your eating, sounds like you are well and truly on track again now. Try to focus on just being good until Christmas and then you can have some yummy treats and appreciate them more then

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi guys!
Just checking in. Playing hooky from work for a couple of hours. I had a dr appt that went really quickly so I thought I would come home for a bit before I go back in. I have to pick up steve's computer after work...(christmas gift) then its off to the store to work. GRRR! I will be happy when it is slow at the store after christmas! Oh well, money is money!!

Talk to you all soon!
Brenda

Michelle – Congratulations to you and your husband on your move and new job!!! That is so exciting. Life will be so much easier for you in Spokane. Also, that is great that you are finally over the cold. I am just now feeling one coming on and I don’t want it!!!

Deb – That is fantastic about the pound down just with the Gazelle. It is definitely doing its job. I am glad you found another WW meeting you like better too. Just like in school with teachers, a good one that you like can make such a difference. Our fiscal end is 12/31, so it will be crunch time soon. Our auditor (coming all the way from Australia!) will be here the week of January 22, so it will all need to be done by then. I will work over the Christmas week and it is so quiet then (almost no one else is here and the phone never rings) that I can get a lot done then.

Luan – It is good to see you again. It is never too late to start again.

Cristi – It sounds like you have had a really stressful time, and it is not easy to lose weight when life is pulling you in other directions. The thing is, it is so much easier to deal with everyday life without so much of the weight, that is really a Catch-22. Hopefully you can make yourself more of a priority so that you can make sure you a

Sharon – It sounds like you have a challenging eating weekend. That is so cute that Aiden tries to join in with your exercise dvds.

Jill – That is great that you are going back to TOPS. I have thought about going to one here, but there are none convenient. I haven’t noticed any Splenda problems yet. Maybe if you stop for awhile you can go back to it later? That is rough though because so many of the sugar free things are being made with it these days.

Ammi – Congrats on another 3 pounds! Thanks for asking about the dinners. They were both very good, although last night I know I went over my calorie limit because I had seconds and part of the meal was chapattis, which seemed a bit oily. It was really good though – one of my favorites actually. The filling is spiced lamb and vegetables and it is rolled in the chapatti. The first night was red peppers stuffed with chicken, rice and spices, which I believe fit in my calorie totals (although I didn’t so the math of figuring out the recipe to find out – I did a bit of guesstimating).

Valerie – I definitely find my hormones play a part in my eating habits. I almost always have really strong cravings when I am PMSing. I keep going back to logging too. When I log, I do well, when I don’t, I don’t.


Speaking of doing well, this morning I was down to 278! That means 5 pounds down from last week, or 3 more after I made up for the two I had gained. I knew I was retaining a lot of water that wasn’t going to leave until my period (which started a few days ago) so I feel better now with some progress.

For some reason I am so hungry this morning! I ate a tangerine as a snack at 10:30 and I am feeling starving now. At least it is only a few minutes until I can get out my lunch, but this is weird. Normally I only feel like this if I ate something sugary the night before, but last night I had a sugar-free ice cream bar, so no sugar. Weird.

hello everyone. not much going on here today .. nursing a very painful foot and sore leg today also defroasting deep freezer.. does that count as exercise? anyways hoepfully if my foot eases up i can do some exercise tonight.. am thinking about a new regimen for awhile.

Good Morning ladies

Nancy: GOod for you on your -5. Way to go.

Jilly: I am so impressed by all of the exercise you are doing. Wonderful. Keep it up.

Emilymay: You will do it. You are only 6 more pounds away from being out of the 3's forever!

Mechelle: Yea! moving to Spokane. I will love to have you as a neighbor! Glad you are feeling a bit better too.

Xena: Oh boy! Another Gazelle Girl already loosing Weight on her Gazelle! I can't wait. My hubby Rides the Gazelle Every night and he just started on Monday and today has lost 5 pounds! Go gazelle Girls.

Luan: Welcome back sweetie. So good to see you back. Hang in there.

Cristi: Back. You can do it. No more tears. We will get healthy go us.

Sharon: I hope you have a lovely time with your parents going out. You are so sweet. How is Aiden doing?

Ammi: I haven't been to check out the yet because of this cold. I will go though cause you are right I love, love to swim. So proud of you for loosing another 3. What an inspiration you are to all of us.

VAl: Glad you put up your Now, when you first came here didn't you say that you still had your tree up when you moved out of your last house in like March or something? I just wanted to remind you of the person that you used to be. USED TO BE! You have changed so very much. Such a go getter! (if you are not the person who had her tree up so long, please forgive me) you have changed so much though since I have met you. You are doing so well! I am so happy for you.

Brenda: Sorry that you have to go back to work today. Hopefully the day will go by fast though.

Patty: Hope you heal quickly!

Everyone that I didn't mention by name, hope you are all doing well and are op. Blessings to you all,
Annie

thanks dogpal... my leg hurts from the knee on down! i hope it is better tomorrow so i can hit the treadmill... i am thinking though of doing some different kind of exercise to take some pressure off my foot. any suggestions?

Hey guys...I'm going to warn in advance, I'm going through a temporary moment of insanity. I've probably crossed a major line into starting to become obessessed. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO EAT THAT WILL HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT! I'm freaking out! I've been reading about EVERY diet under the sun and I'll read something good and I'll be like this is for me and then the SECOND something discouraging about the plan comes along, I freak out and decide it's not going to work EVEN BEFORE I TRY! I know the missing component is my eating and the problem is that I need something VERY structured (i.e. I need to be told eat 1 egg, plus 1 carb and a fruit for breakfast, 2 oz protein for 1st snack, etc.) with a list of healthy choices or else I get too frustrated and throw my arms up in disgust saying THIS ISN'T FOR ME! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!

For example, I met someone at the gym the other night who is doing the 6 week body makeover, she lost 14 lbs in a week, wow, I really want those results, I can barely fit in my clothes...anyway...I can't afford a 130 dollar program right now with xmas coming up, so I learn that there is a book, the 6 day makeover. I went on the message board and asked some questions and everyone FREAKED saying that I have too much to lose to do that and it will put me on starvation mode and won't allow my body to lose weight for a few weeks.

Okay, well, that totally changed my mind and the worse thing is I BOUGHT THE BOOK LAST NIGHT AND ALREADY READ HALF OF IT!

Not doing this plan doesn't bother me, per se...it's WAY to restrictive (no dairy?!). Anyway, I need guidance and I don't know what to do and it's making me very depressed. I want to start, I've been ready to start so WHY HAVEN'T I?!?

Okay, temporary moment gone...continue

OH yes, ANNIE, that was me. One year, like 20 years back, I moved out of an apartment at the end of May, and yes, I had to take the tree down... and yes, it had at one point been live. I actually moved it in the truck to the new house hoping to sneak it into the burn pile, but my new landlord (an old friend) insisted on helping me unload the truck. He asked in shock "What in the world are you doing with that CHRISTMAS TREE?!" I just stared at him totally deadpan and said "What tree?" Another friend of mine who was helping me move will still, to this day, just about collapse in hysterics gasping for air at the mere words "What tree?"
Many years ago I used to go until February before taking it down. In recent years I have been good and had it down by the first week of January. Lately I've been doing so good around the house with housework and organizing that Barb checked my head for a temperature the other night. She's usually the fanatic cleaner around here, but something had splattered in the microwave and I was all fussy about cleaning it up right away, on top of several other things. I have the wreath on the front door and I even refilled the bird feeder when it was only half empty. I've sorted old clothes and have a stack ready for goodwill, and I even paid my credit cards BEFORE the due date this month. Freaky. It's just plain freaky! Now if I could just zip my lips shut!

PATTI, I'd suggest leg lifts and that bicycle in the air on your back move, except I hate that move. It's very hard to do! I just hope your leg is better soon.

Hiya everyone ... okee I was gonna come in last night after work but I was soooo tired I had just enough energy to talk to my hunny on the phone and eat my dinner that my daughter had cooked for me lol .. then I lay down and fell asleep ... my ankles are sooo sore! Tomorrow when Scoot is home we are going into town and he is going to buy me a pair of shoes that will give me better support to stand in for the day.

Okee ... so weigh in today was good ... esp now that TOM has FINALLY gone! down to my original Xmas Goal Weight of 275! So down just under 4 pounds! Happy me

Right I see we have a newbie or two .. HIII and welcome on in ... Im the one that challenges you to laugh! Thats right .. gotta move that belly and exercise that face Its also good for your digestion and emotional state .. so LAUGH ... add it to your exercise plan .. and if you cant think of something to laugh about .. then get online and look up jokes and keep lookin until you find one that really tickles you

Right ... oh .. and there is also a WELCOME BACK to Cristi .. its lovely to see you on the boards and this is definitely the place to come to for all the support you would need

I will try to catch up on personals later when I get home from work .. have some cleaning to do before I go to work tho so better get moving ... or hobbling lol ..

Huggies

Ohh .. 5 positives ...

1 - Dad is here and concreting our bbq area
2 - Its lovely coming home from work and seeing the outside Xmas lights on the trellis ... can understand why some people get carried away with Xmas decorations in lights outside lol .. makes me want to add more
3 - I was busy almost the whole time at work yesterday which made it go a little faster and didnt keep me focused on the pain in my ankles and lower back lol ..
4 - I found Labyrinth the dvd on special yesterday! I had been looking for it for ages, but kept missing it and then when I do find it .. its on special Just need to find The Princess Bride next
5 - I was really craving chocolate last night .. but forced myself to just stay in bed lol .. so happily avoided that craving lol .. esp as I knew I had my weigh in this morning lol ..

Okee .. gotta get working .. hunny is on the phone so gonna go talk to him for a bit .. yay he be home when I get home tonight

TTYL

Huggies

Love & Laughter!