Good Morning every one! well it's been a few days,more like 4 or 5 but who's counting? I think Wednesday was my last post, I got really busy with that loveseat,trying to get it finished to take back to that woman on Friday, so I was a little consumed I guess is a way to put it,Thought i'd just take today off,MIL had to go for a mammy today,actually it's her 2nd one since the 15th of this month,they saw something in her right breast so they want to take a look at it again,so since i can't watch DS and work at the same time, I decided to stay home,the house is a wreck anyway,and here I am sitting on my butt at the computer,LOL!! I've been thinking a lot too the past few days about my DH's gospel group,it's just a mess,they're having a meeting tonight, there's just some things that need to be brought up and nipped right now before it gets out of control, I just hope and pray everything goes well for them...
Just wondering how all are doing also?
DERRY~ I wonder if Barb may have been banned from the website by accident? Is that possible? It makes sense to me I think I read on here that you can be banned from the website, I'd find out,cause that seems like the only thing to me that would keep her off of here,because if she can get on any other website..
Any way Friday for me was a wreck..... still no weight loss for me, I think DH is starting to feel sorry for me, he actually told me and DD too that I looked like I had lost weight,he said "You might not have lost in lbs, but I believe you've lost in inches" and DD agreed with him which made me feel good and I thanked them,I love them for that and last night he seemed kinda stand offish from me,and it really hurt my feelings but later he told me that I was really beautiful yesterday and he said i looked really hot in church and he said I was just a really pretty girl, I think he sensed how invisible and uncomfortable i feel when I'm around my beautiful niece......we went to a baby shower yesterday(Sunday) she was there and the day before that we were out with my niece and her feller, she's so beautiful , I told DH that if you'd watch all the guys were checking her out,I love to be around her, she's so goofy and funny, we have alot of laughs like when we were kids,but I definitely feel like the good year blimp around her and here she is dieting too, calling her size 6 or 8 jeans her fat jeans,then tells me I"M not fat.....HELLO?, we used to be best friends when we were kids up until we were about 15 and 14 years old, I'm just like a year older than her.I really miss her sometimes, You know I haven't had a best friend since her I don't think,not close like her, and she's got this best friend who is like her sister, that's who's baby shower we went to,I just miss her. DH is my best friend, but it's just not like having a girlfriend even if she is related to you. I really hate mondays I'm sitting here blubbering like a baby feeling sorry for my self and hating myself too, i just wish some things could have been different in my life, that's all..I wish I had went to college,by now I could probably be a successful something making good money, I wish I had never met that boy in high school that ruined my life,with my help of course, I wish I met DH in high school instead,( I always tell him I probably would have taught him a thing or two!!) I wish my niece and I had never drifted apart, I wish I had been blessed with a body not a blubber and a front butt. and fat rolls and cellulite and everthing else ugly and bad, I am so ashamed of myself sometimes, that I can't look in the mirror because I know that I'm just gonna see myself and be disgusted and have an even worse day, I wish sometimes I could wake up and be skinny and beautiful, have perfect teeth, and sometimes i wish I could back about 16 years and kick both my butt and my niece for starting smoking, can you imagine seeing your older self preaching to you? I just wish sometimes, I guess I'm still a little at heart sometimes,ya know? whew I really hate Mondays...I'll talk to all later!

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.....Three of the most evil words in the english language (well the slang book anyway!!). I am a firm believer that these words are complete damage to the psychy. Trysh, You need to look at what you want for your life ahead, and less at what you have done in the past to make you what you are today. Yes we can learn lessons from our past, but if we simply wallo in the past and don't take and live the lessons, we get nothing from it. You are here at 3Cs to make changes in your health and meet your goal of loosing weight. What is your plan for that? Are you following it? What do you need to do differently if you aren't? Does it help you to beat yourself up by comparing yourself to your neice? My best friend is a couple of sizes smaller than me. I too sometimes get crazy when she says how fat she is and how much she needs to loose weight, yet me in my size 16s are not fat at all. I agree, PA-LEESE!! However, she loves me.... she doesn't see the fat on me, she sees her best friend. And visa-versa! But for her, she is heavier than she knows she should be and wants to be. Our bodies are different and how we carry our weight is different, genetics etc, etc. We just need to be supportive of the people in our lives to help them to meet the goals and desires in their lives and not judge them for it based on our own. Further, if you miss your neice and wish you can get your friendship back on-line, why not do it. You didn't say why your friendship pulled away to begin with, but if it is something that can be reconciled, why not give it a shot. I agree that husbands are not the same as girlfriends. My DH is the best around, but without my girlfriends, I would be a lonely mess. The are just certain "buckets" that best girlfriends fill that even the most wonderful hubby can't. Tell her how you feel, tell her of your wish, find out from her what she is thinking. Yeah, she has a best friend..... maybe she would like two. Maybe she doesn't think that she has anything in common anymore since you have a husband and baby. She could be sitting back wishing for your friendship too, but doesn't know how to ask for it. Life requires hard work. And not everyone has to work hard at the same things. But one thing that we all have to work hard at is believing that we are strong, good, capable women and that whatever we want for ourselves we can get. We just have to be willing to do the work.

We talked a lot about relationships over the weekend. I have come to the realization that there are certain relationships in my life that I have make sure that I actually put effort into them. I have been married for 16 years and every now and then I realize that I haven't paid much attention to my husband. I mean really focused on him and what he needs. It is easy to begin living my life and letting him live his life and we start to be just to people who just bump into each other on our way to bed. Yuck! I am another person that I tend to neglect. I let other people, work, kids, get in my way of doing what I need for myself. I stop listening to myself and paying attention to my needs. I start focusing on the things about myself that I don't like instead of the things I do. I am a much better person when I like myself than when I don't. We need to think about what makes us great people instead of making our size be our most important quality. When I was in college, I had really bad self-esteem and it was recommended by a friend that every morning when I got up I should go to the mirror and say three things about myself that were good or that I liked. Some mornings it is really hard to find those three things! So then the rest of the day you need to remmeber those things and praise yourself for them. It was a great way to start the day, and if no one else said anything great to me the rest of the day, I at least had those things rolling in my head all the day. I was recently thinking that I needed to go back to that exercise again. Remind myself of all the great things that I am instead of waking up every morning and telling myself that I am still fat!

Ok, this therapy session is over!! (can you tell that I am social worker/personal coach!!) I feel really motivated and ready to tackle today. I am facing my life one day at a time this week and working on making each day a good one. The weekend was a blast with my girlfriends and I came home last night to a completely cleaned upstairs (the kitchen was a mess, but I can live with that!!) and dinner on the stove. My husband and kids were excited to have me home and I was happy to return. I have my plan for the week and I am ready to rock and roll. I almost feel like I took a happy pill this morning, so I am going to make the most of it. Everyone have a really happy day, and don't forget to say those three good things!!!

Hello there ladies,

I would like to join you guys. But I must admit that I am in desperate need of lots of support. Why do you ask? I am the type of person that after one day of going off points or off schedule, im ready to call it quits. I have recently moved across the country with my daughter and away from my closest family members and it's starting to take a toll on me. I have just become a little lazy and I easily come up with excuses because I don't really know a lot about my surroundings. My weight has crept back up to 218 pounds as of this morning and that is so depressing to me. I need help, support, and for you guys to hold me accountable. If you don't see me post for a couple of days, PM me and tell me to get my butt back here.

I look forward to talking to you ladies and sharing laughter and maybe a few tears (of joy of course)

Trysh, You know, I think you are lucky. Your husband sounds like a great guy who loves you. Don't be so down on yourself. You're doing great. We can't all have the fashion model body, teeth, hair and our society seems to make us all feel terrible when we don't all look like Cindy Crawford clones, or Tara Banks, whatever.... I know you know it's not all about looks. You are beautiful inside, a good wife and mom. You are working now to make yourself the best you can be. Keep at it and you will be proud of yourself. Losing weight and sticking with a program like this is the hardest thing to do, it takes commitment, self denial, exercise, and long-term loyalty.

I know I've suffered, myself, lately on that long term loyalty and sticking with it thing. Have to admit that I've been just floundering and sick of it all. I want to be ME and eat what I want and not be tied to this program. For me, it's been YEARS of this and I am still not at goal. But, life happens and I have to find what works for me and learn to find a way to relax.

Kim, good attitude! Let's all vow that for today we will do something nice for and pay a bit more attention to the special people in our lives, including us! One thing that I am always doing is putting my own needs to the back burner. Exercise is essential and if I am to ever reach goal and be seriously back doing what I know (and have been fighting with) I need to do, it's going to have to be part of my life. I have been tired and worn out and not wanting it, but usually when you are working out regularly, you feel better.
I am going to send my DH a special e-mail later on, I think, and tell him how much I love him. Thanks for reminding me that I need to do that. He travels every week and we are separated 3 or 4 days a week, on average, it's hard to be appreciative when he's out of town.
Jailyn's mom, you are most welcome here! I know what it's like to move away and be along. I did that several years ago and was very depressed afterwards. We can be a place for you to come to and know there is a person there who understands and listens.

Today's meal plan:

Breakfast:
oatmeal made with ff milk, banana

Lunch:
Lentil soup
ff cottage cheese
orange

snack: popcorn

Dinner:
Boneless chicken breast cooked with diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onion and peppers (a quick stir fry kind of thing), whole wheat pasta, salad with lite dressing

Dessert:
SF/FF chocolate pudding

Exercise: ???? An effort needs to be made and I have no clue what or when, but I will try today

Happy Tuesday!

Good Morning All.....Well I feel a little better today.... TOM stopped in yesterday, and I think that's why I'm coming apart at the seems this month,it's never really been this bad before,and last night I went off on DH,and he didn't really do anything..we were watching Deal or No Deal and after the show went off he asked me did I want the remote so he gave it to me, got up and went in his music room and left me sitting in there with DS asleep in my arms, so when I got up to out DS to bed he started waking up,and by the time I got to his room with him, he was awake and crying at me, I had a really long day with him yesterday and last night was about the last straw with him, I didn't feel good anyway and so I come back through the music room and DH said "I'll take him" I just went off..PMS SUCKS So anyway he followed me in the living room to fuss at me,that's one thing, he doesn't usually take any crap,especially when he knows he's not done anything wrong,LOL. I just told him to leave me alone,I started crying and told him I didn't feel good anyway,and that's when he realized what was going on with me I think. He is bad about wanting me to watch TV with him, but he doesn't want to watch TV with me,he'd rather play his guitar,and I guess last night was a bad night to get up and leave me..PMS for me is like being drunk for anybody else..... the truth comes out......it's the only time of the month I have the guts to say anything about what's bothering me,except it comes out like a bomb going off!
Kim~ Thanks for the advice, I try not to compare my self to my niece, sometimes I feel like I do have it better as far as a family and stuff,she is a single mom,her ex is a real butt, nobody can understand why she married him in the first place, but I think I know why though and she does too,it's just never brought up.. but she got a beautiful little boy out of all of it, and that keeps her grounded I think.
I'll try the positiveness,it's just hard sometimes, but I know I deserve to be thin, it's just getting there, you know when you're asleep and you're having a night mare and you try to move and you can't even shake your head to wake yourself up, that's the way I feel on this weightloss journey, I'm trying to shake some of this weight off and move foward,or back on the scales and they just won't budge, but I do have to say this that kinda is keeping my hopes up,when I weighed Friday I was still 208,well I always go up a few lbs before TOM, like a week before, I start Monday so that could be good news I think, so this Friday when I weigh,hopefully I've lost, I can't wait.....
Linda~Thanks for you support, I know we all have our ups and downs and some times I just need a good swift kick, I don't know about anybody else, but I do!!
Welcome Mccoy, that'll be easy to remember, that's my DD's teacher's name!!
Any way gotta go,DS is tired and he's been in here trying to help me type again, then I found him in my fireplace AGAIN getting all the little rocks out..he's climbing on things now and I have our coffee table across in front of the fireplace to keep him out.....that doesn't work any more..lol!! Talk to you guys later...........

Hi Ladies

Thanks for letting me join you in the weight loss journey.I was following WW 5 years ago,but then with the help of my doctor thinking that I couldn't lose because of being sensitive to grain carbs put me on low carbing.I didn't succeed there so now I back to following WW again,as I was missing my bread grains, from cereal to all rice & pasta dishes.

I noticed that some of you ladies are posting for your menu for the day I will do the same.

my menu todaytotal points[24]

b-1/2 apple sauce in H/F cold cereal,soy milk.[7]

d-Broiled Chicken with GREEN RICE along with BROCOLLI [5]

sn-PB blended into protein shake[3]

supper-Brown Bag pita[salami,provolone, LETTUCE tomato onion stuffed in a pita bread.[7]

des-1c grapefruit sections[2]

80 oz water-----------------30 Min exercise



Had a good nights sleep,only woke up once,and I rearing to go. Having all, this energy I think I will get going on my house cleaning.

Have a great day,and I be back some time this afternoon

Hugs BB

Welcome BB!!! What is green rice?
Just checking in quickly and then getting off line, a very long day for me.

Good morning everyone.
Welcome to the new posters and where is everyone else.
I do hope you are all out exercising and eating healthy...
Not much new with me. I can't wait for nice weather. Spring if you are out there I miss you....
Well I am off for a busy day as there is snow and many toboggan hills to slide down. Oh to be 5 and enjoy the snow.
I do hope you all have a great day and I will post more later.
Take Care
Ann

Good Morning Ann and everyone! Welcome to our new thread posters!

I think I'm having real seasonal issues this year. The weather has been HORRIBLE here in the Midwest this year. I have been white knuckle commuting for 2-3 times a week for months now and it is so stressful.

I was doing so well for 2 weeks and then something snapped and my eating went out of control! I am happy to report that I have faithfully been working out though. My heart rate has gone to a much better place on the treadmill and I find it easier to do and I love pushing myself at the gym. It helps to have a workout buddy. I have done a much better job of eating this week - not totally on program but much better than before. I sometimes am my own best friend and worst enemy.

Trysh - I wanted to say that I read your post a few days ago and felt your anguish. I just couldn't find any positive words to help you out.

Kim - WOW - your words were great! Part of it you were speaking directly to me and I'm sure you didn't even know it. It makes me wonder how many other "lurkers" there out there in 3fatchicks land gathering strength from our posts.

Beach Bum - your name rings a bell - I've probably followed your posts in years past. Like Linda, I've been at this a LONG time and I get so discouraged but in my heart of hearts, I know I NEVER want to go back to where I was at on August 26, 2006. I tell myself that it took a lifetime of learning these bad habits and I just need to keep pulling out Week 3 book and following the guidelines. It will click and it will stay in place so I can live it day to day. This isn't temporary change of life, it's a forever change. That's what I like about WW. They are trying to teach us not to deprive ourselves but to learn to have everything is moderation.

Just waving at everyone and wanted to say THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE even when I'm not posting and being active. I'm still coming back for your advice and wisdom and friendships.

I hope some of our regulars are having some of the same issues and will return to say hello

Good Morning Ladies

Cloudy over cast day.,going to stay indoors this morning.I have a choir rehearsal this afternoon at 3 PM.

Watched the Biggest Loser last night and I can't believe Mark was voted off.He was the one who exercised and ate the right foods,while the other men just didn't care.He other lost big number and poor Mark lost 1 lb.

It that what our body's do,devoting our time to what we eat & exercise and no weight loss,and other go off the deep end and loss a great deal. WHERES THE FAIRNESS IN THAT???Wish I had the answer.

my menu

b-1/3 c cottage cheese on 1 sl toasted raisin bread,1c soy milk

d-Baked Ham with sweet potato,1tsp marg, BRUSSEL SPROUTS & cauliflower

sn-apple sauce with WW yogurt

supper-Salsa pizza SALAD GREENS & vingarette

80 oz water--------------------30 Min exercise

=============================================

SHELBEYMOM-Happy that TOM is not around anymore.I know that was the worst time in my life. Hope that you'll find some thank that will relieve the PMSing.


MC COY-Know how you feel about being alone I moved 10 years ago with my DH and leaving my kids and family behind. But i lucky I have such good friends,that I adopted as my family so I'm not alone here anymore. You'll make friends where you are,as long as your friendly,and treat people nicely,thats the secret,at least for me anyway.

DERRYDAUGHTER-Thanks for the welcome.Green rice is brown rice with chopped green onion & green peppers.I found that in a old WW menu planner.


ANN-Thanks for the welcome also.I did the Biggest loser Cardo last night and that was some workout. They have a exercise tv on the cable provider that I use. They not the full videos,as its a promotion for you to buy the tape. But I got a good workout for 25 mins.anyway. I'm doing the 1991 exchange program with points since Presidents Day,and I think its working for me.Lost 1 lb last week,and hoping for another this Friday. Sorry that you have so much snow???Where do you live????I'm in the Northeast and we have more rain this last month that snow. Its seems that the world in up side down.

LAURA-We're you on the Atkins/low carb board??????????That where I came from,and before that I was on the South Beach ,both on the 3 fat chicks forum.
The beach after a while didn't work for me anymore. My doctor suggested that I try the low carbing as he thought I was carb sensitive,but after a while I start stalling again,but this time for a long period of time.

Now I back to Weight Watchers after following them for 10 years,since 1990 to 2000,at meetings and than on my own [message boards] for 3.

Currently I using the 1991 exchange plan when I lost 35 lbs. along with that I follow the points.
That how I fell about the WOE and I shouldn't have left it in the first place.




Have a great morning

Hugs BB

Nope BB. I've never been a South Beach or Atkins poster. I've always been WW because it's the only diet I felt I could actually do without feeling deprived. I hate dieting. So I tell myself that this is a way of life. I must learn to quit eating for all the wrong reasons. I know what's good for me and what isn't. It's just not easy to give up life long habits.

Welcome to the thread. You'll make a great positive addition!

Hello everyone....
Well, here I am and I've had this epiphany. Dictionary definition: the intuitive perception of, or insight, into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

What is this epiphany? It is that I can't torture myself about weight watchers and weight loss. I have actually not been to a meeting in about three weeks. I feel good about myself. I feel relaxed. I've not been weighing myself several times a day like some sort of madwoman, but I am not going completely nuts eating us out of house and home without those meetings.

I am not saying that WW is bad and that I will not be going anymore, just to clarify that!

I haven't been sure of what I was doing, these last few weeks, but I started to be unhappy and I was failing in my weight loss efforts. I feel that failure is not an option for me. I have been at this for SO long and though I have lost more than the initial 10%, I'm not at goal and it's been YEARS. I'm sick of the journals, the worry, the weigh ins and all that goes with it.

Do I hate WW? No, I love WW. They taught me many things about that healthy lifestyle that I needed to learn. Will I go back to meetings? YES, but probably not as frequently. Will I re-gain my weight? Well, that is a difficult question for me. I hope not and if I see it all packing back on, I'll be right back there doing it with a very serious attitude.

What have I learned?

I have learned that I need a break from this. I have learned how to live a healthy lifestyle, they taught me that and they taught me WELL. I think it's time for me to try to put into practice what they have been trying to get through my very thick skull for the last several years.

I am not perfect and I have not been following 100% of those guidelines, especially as far as exercise goes. I have been drinking my water. I have been eating fairly well. I have not been on 100% CORE but I have not been on FLEX for sure, either. I have had a few treats (especially last weekend, the 16th) when we had two birthdays in one weekend. I accepted that we had two family birthdays in one weekend and I was OK with enjoying family, food and a bit of wine. But, I went right back in control afterwards. So, what I have learned is that I do have a healthy lifestyle. I can participate in family celebrations but I can bounce right back into my eating plan. I think the CORE plan has taught me that. If I use that as my base for healthy eating and try to be low fat, eat the right fruits and veggies and not so much junk, that I can maintain and I can be healthy.

I still need to improve, but I am sick to death of it all. I need to focus on some form of exercise as well, and stick with it. WW has tried to drum that into my head for years, yet I still don't do that.
So, where does that leave me?

That leaves me here with all of you and posting as regularly as I can post. That does not leave me thinking that this number on the scale is the be all and end all to make my life happy and that if I don't, somehow, make it to 140 (the ever-elusive goal) that my life will not be a happy life.

I don't feel like a failure. In fact, I feel the opposite, I feel like a WW graduate student or something. I've been through grammar school (reached lifetime 16 years ago after having my youngest child), then let it all go and thought I could return to my old life, and stay thin. That was stupid, those bad eating habits that are truly no longer part of my life are gone for good. I have proven that to myself these last few weeks.

I then went to high school and re-learned all the stuff that I had supposedly learned and had forgotten. I then took time off, my parents both died and I went through an emotional **** on earth. I entered the land of chocolate doughnuts with was part of my emotional nightmare. I learned from that as well. No chocolate doughnut or big bowl of macaroni and cheese was going to make me feel better or bring mom and dad back. So, back I went again.

So, then I went back to college, another session of endless WW meetings and efforts, dropping about 20 pounds in 2 1/2 years. I've had my ups and downs. Yet, all along, I was not happy with myself and happy with the results.

In the last few weeks, I have begun to realize that I am not perfect, WW is not perfect, and just because that one special number isn't achieved, I have not been a failure. I am a success!

My body mass index number went from over 30 to 26. You supposedly need to be at 18 - 25 in order to be considered "normal". Well, I am one point above normal and lots better than I was 2 1/2 years ago. According to this chart:
http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm

I am still considered "overweight" but just by ONE point. So, I congratulate myself. My waist is not measuring over 35 inches which is a huge health risk for women (men over 40"). So, I am truly successful.
I went from being categorized as "obese" to "overweight". I'm glad, and I know I still need to lose a few more pounds. But, I don't think I can go on torturing myself any more with the endless journals, charts, weigh ins and fretting about this. Life could be lots happier if I just live the lifestyle changes for awhile and see if I can make it happen. Can I????

I will still be working on all of this and I am still here with you all, applauding your efforts. But, I really felt a need to post to you all today about the difference in who I am today vs. who I was a few weeks, or even months, ago.

I'm really happy with what I have achieved. I feel good and I feel glad that I have this place to come to and chat. I feel glad to continue, but I feel different. I feel better and I want to be beating up on myself MUCH less.

So, that is my epiphany. Maybe that is truly what I needed to learn all along, just like Dorothy learned in Ozz... she had the power to return to Kansas all along. I have the power to make this lifestyle change all along.

Dorothy
Oh - will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda
You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy
I have?
Scarecrow
Then why didn't you tell her before?
Glinda
Because she wouldn't have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.
Tin Man
What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy
Well, I - I think that it - that it wasn't enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And that it's
that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard,
because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?
Glinda
That's all it is!
Scarecrow
But that's so easy! I should have thought of it for you.
Tin Man
I should have felt it in my heart.
Glinda
No. She had to find it out for herself. Now those magic slippers will take you home in two seconds!
Dorothy
Oh! Toto, too?
Glinda
Toto, too.
Dorothy
Oh, now?
Glinda
Whenever you wish.


So, the morale of this story, for me, is that my magic ruby slippers need to take me right smack to the lifestyle changes that WW has told me that I need to implement. I need to do them, work it out for myself and be at peace. I need to find time to exercise and make it work! I need to continue to do the CORE plan, but not stress of points, points, points.... I need to live it awhile and relax. I love myself and it's time to show ME what I have learned.

Gosh, it felt so good to type all of this. Hope you enjoyed my little visit to the Land of Oz...
Linda, back in Kansas on her own for a little while and we'll see how things go

Bravo Linda and welcome home....
You should be so proud of yourself!

Ann

Laura, welcome back. I do hope you are doing well.
Trysh, It is great that TOM is over and your feelings were due to that.
Kim, I too that was an awesome post to Trysh.
Linda, way to go, you finally discovered you are so worth it.
BeachBum welcome and I hope you enjoy this site.
E.McCoy, welcome.
Barb, I do hope all is well with you.
Donna, Sandra, Erica,Emma, Janelle, and Paige, I do hope all is well you all.
Sorry If I missed anyone.
I am off again, talk to you all soon.