My gym has been packed! School started on Monday and all the Moms are back in the morning classes. There has been someone else on MY bike the last two mornings in spin. Really, can't they see that my name is engraved on it?

DS went over last night and played with them for an hour and made sure they were well taken care of so I did sleep better not worrying! But I woke up rather sore from my workout. I had a hard time rolling over--perhaps some from the workout and some from my dog who decided to crowd my out of my side of the bed (he usually stays in the middle out of the way).

Not much going on here. DD is 1 week and counting to leave for college. She's terribly bored at home and can't wait to leave. It will be very different when she's gone.

Greetings, All!
Welcome back, Meg! I'm jealous of your beach vacation. I'm a sun worshipper and am dreading the end of summer. As the days get shorter, I know we're headed toward winter again. UGH! If I could crank out my dissertation quicker, I could look for employment in a warm area finally!

Lisa, CONGRATS on your new son! I have two "babies"--now 21 and 17. My youngest "baby" is 6'10" and a maniac about basketball. They do grow quickly, so enjoy every minute!

Anne, take care of yourself and that little one. Is this your first child? I remember worrying about every step of the way with our first son. By the time the second arrived, I was much more relaxed. I wouldn't worry, either, about the food thing just so you kind of keep it in check. I'm certain your lifestyle changes will help you return to your desired weight when the time is right for you and the baby.

My week, thus far, has been intense. With only a week to go til I start teaching, I haven't done a thing to get ready. I am still focusing on dissertation reading; either I'll be ready for classes, or I'll wing it for the first week--beyond my syllabus which is an easy item to create after 20 years doing it. If I wing it, labor day weekend will not be fun, though

As for food and exercise...my weight is maintaining. Last week, I lost 3 lbs and have kept them away, so that was cool. I am still struggling with an INTENSE DESIRE for chocolate....something ooey gooey sinful! Today, when I was buying a magazine, I picked up a caramel by the checkout. I tried to talk myself out of it...I bet the checkout woman thought I was nuts...finally, I threw the caramel back in the basket. HURRAY FOR ME! That was probably a hundred calories saved. I have been walking lots lately. Had to replace my walking shoes after only 4 months because the bottoms of my feet were getting sore--from what the shoe store told me, that means my shoes are toast. I hate spending so much for shoes when they only last 4 months!
Had a turkey melt for supper tonight. If you want to try something different, put dijon mustard on the bread before you grill it. It gives the sandwich a unique twang...pretty good.
Well, have a good week, everyone! Enjoy summer while it lasts!

Good morning! I apologize for being absent this week -- it's been a frantic scramble to get ready for my knee replacements today. I'm not sure how long I'll be in the hospital -- could be anywhere between 4 and 8 days or so. Mel and Amanda will be around to help out with anything you need and everyone should feel free to start the weekly threads. I'll miss you all and see you back here as soon as possible.

Lisa, congratulations to your family on Henry! He's simply adorable and of course I love the name since we have three Henrys in my family.

Meg, I hope all goes well and you have a quick recovery. Thinking of you!

Summer is winding down. Where did it go? Seems like it just got warm yesterday. No, wait, yesterday was cold. We got rain and it brought in a cold front with it. Been raining for 2 days now, but I won't complaine, we really need rain.

Silly question. Some times I still feel BIG. I know I must have gained weight. I get on the scales and they are the same. I try on clothes and they are still the same too. Anyone else have a hard time trusting the weigth loss? I never really feel thin, even though I know I am.

WardHog, The nerve of them, getting your bike!!

Allison, It's always sad to see our children grown up and go off on their own. But they grown up, get married, and bring home the grandkids!!! Worth it!!!

Goalsuccess, Congratulations for resisting temptation! Not sure I would have. But I budget a little chocolate in my daily calories. I am a major chocoholic and know I wouldn't do well with a diet with no chocolate at all. I have one piece (very carefully chosen) every day with my afternoon tea. It's something I look forward too and plan for. Wearing those Walking shoes out means you have been putting some major miles on them! Good going!!

Meg, Good luck today. I'll say a prayer that everything goes as planned.

make it a good day, Freda

Hi everyone,

We had some excitement here yesterday when severe storms rolled through. The power to almost the entire county was knocked out around 12:30 when a water spout snapped 4 power poles going across the bay. It's back on at work now, but will be off at my house for a few days until temporary generators are set up, and full power is restored. Oh, joy. The funny thing is this exact thing happened 2 years ago, water spout and all. You'd think they'd find a more secure way to put up those power lines!

But there is a bubbler providing oxygen to my fish tank, my food has been moved to a working fridge/freezer, and BF's house has power so I'll just stay there for a few days. And I went to the gym yesterday in the blackout. Even without power I could at least lift weights, if the cardio machines weren't working.

Good luck Meg!!!

Freda, I know what you mean. I can stand in a room with people who are my size, even a few (pants) sizes larger, and feel like a giant. My mental image of myself is still catching up with my body - I don't know when it's going get there.

goal, I hope you get through your dissertation reading and your class prep. Way to wear out those shoes! I think it's ok to let myself have chocolate once in a while ("once in a while" being the key phrase there!). I'm a chocoholic, I'd go crazy without it!

Wardhog, I know, obviously these people don't understand whose bike that is! I often have similar problems with people on my elliptical machine and squat rack.

I'm glad it's not supposed to rain again here, though my garden has been loving the deluge over the last 2 days. I need to get outside! Have a great day everyone!

Meg--
We will be thinking of you and praying for a quick recovery and successful surgery.

I totally agree about still not seeing the "new me". I bought pants last night in a size 2. But I still feel fat. What is up with that?!? I look at my old size (10-12) and they look huge to me now. Weird....

I'm *almost* back to work. Not really ready for my summer to be over. I have to work registration today (all day). I'm going to pack plenty of food/snacks. I'm already grumbling because I really don't think I'll fit the gym in today. Oh well..... Then, Monday, I'm back to work full time. My daughter leaves for college a week from Sunday. She is so grouchy that we are ready to see her go (almost!). She injured her knee a month ago when a horse kicked her. It still bothered her so I took her to the doctor yesterday. We are going to have it checked out Friday by an orthopedic surgeon. I pray that it isn't something serious!

Meg - I wish you the very best of luck with your surgery and I hope you have a speedy, healthy recovery!

I hope to be able to eventually settle into some sort of normal life with the baby! When I do, I may be able to address everyone eventually. At this point, I'm skimming the thread sometimes and trying to keep up. I think it's important to keep up with 3FC so I can get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm going to confess to how much weight I gained with the baby. It's insane! I gained about 78 pounds! I knew I would gain a lot even if I tried not to, because I'm the world recordholder on speedy weight gain. But I did eat too much, that's for sure, and not always the best stuff. I've lost 17 pounds since the birth, though, so that's a start. It's pretty frustrating to lose 115 pounds and then gain so much of it back. I was up to about 167 when I got pregnant, so I got up to 245 or so and am now at 228. Ack!! It's worth it to have my little one, but I do have a lot of work ahead of me. Right now I'm trying to make sure I get breastfeeding going well and it's tough. It makes me VERY hungry -- after each feeding I feel like I just ran 8 miles. Who knows when or how I'll be able to exercise? But I'll figure it out, because I'm determined to get to at least a healthy weight again. I don't have any of my old fat clothes to wear, so it's basically maternity clothes or old T-shirts until I can fit in the smaller ones!!!

Sorry for the long ramble, and thanks if you read it all!

Thanks for all the congratulatory messages about little Henry! He's a sweetie and I'm soooo happy even on about three hours of sleep a night!

Meg , praying that your surgery will be successful and your recovery time well be quick.

They bury them here because of the high winds. The year after we built our house our entire neighborhood was torn up all summer long as they "undergrounded" all the utilities. It is nice--no power lines or poles to have to look at.

Megan and Allison - the utilities are buried in my neighborhood too, since we get severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are a possibility. Of course, on the main road near my house they are above ground. :P One actually got downed a while ago, it was kind of scary to drive past.

Meg - Best wishes for your knee replacements!

Lisa - You are such a dedicated athlete that I'm sure you will get back into exercise as soon as you are able and those pounds will melt away.

Hi everyone else!

I have a victory - I DID NOT SNACK yesterday. At least, all my snacks were planned. Amazing. This is the first time I haven't snacked in a loooooong time. Of course my weight is still at 139.2 but oh well.

So a while ago I was getting these terrible headaches. After a while I decided they were probably from sinus pressure, but I didn't have a runny or stuffy nose because I use Flonase daily. So I stopped the Flonase so that it could drain (hopefully) and my headaches and dizzy spells are pretty much gone. Weird! (I suppose it is also possible that the improvement is due to my thyroid med change, but still.)

Here's hoping I won't snack today. I really think the trick is that I have to eat 1000 calories by 5pm. If I don't I'm just so hungry all afternoon and night. I need to remember that!!

Lisa, huge congrat's on your beautiful baby boy.

Meg, sending out prayers that your surgery and recovery will go very well.

I have been missing for a couple days. Had Lacy's Dr. appt's Tuesday in OK City. Not good news. Both the cardiac and GI surgeon's feel that Lacy needs extensive surgery. She will be sent to Kansas City for more testing first. Manometrics? It's where they use balloons down the throat to test the pressures in the esophagus. The cardiac surgeon feels Lacy needs to have the major blood vessels that are impinging on her esophagus and trachea re-routed. The other surgeon thinks she needs to make an incision the entire length of the esophagus and create a new stomach pouch. Both of these proposed surgeries are very scary to us. We're praying for the best and hoping that the other testing will show to be more positive and less invasive techniques may be needed.

I have been able to talk to my son 2-3 times a week now. He's doing very well. Can't wait for his visit in September.

I played golf yesterday . It was fun although I wasn't playing very good. Last night I felt guilty about skipping the gym so went ahead and went and worked out at 8PM. Eating and exercise are both OP, although both were totally off on Tuesday while running around to the Dr.'s. (On Tuesday I had a pancake for BF, ice cream for lunch and chinese food for dinner). So totally not a LC day!

The slim me--I totally know what you mean. A few weeks ago I was so convinced that I was gaining, though the scale didn't show it, that I had someone at my weight loss program take my measurements! I thought maybe I really was getting bigger--weight can shift even if it doesn't show up on the scale. My measurements were exactly the same as last April. I think its my mind playing tricks on me.
I am working hard to realize that I have lost almost a hundred pounds and that it's really gone. Now, instead of being the largest in our family; I'm the smallest. It's mind boggling! (and fabulous When my youngest son calls me a "fat a--" (yes, he's rude; but it's when he's mad at me), I now remind him that I wear clothes 3 sizes smaller than him, so it's doubtful that I have a fat tail end--I offer to let him try to squeeze into a pair of my pants. That shuts him up.
Yet, there is definitely that fat person inside me that's fighting like heck to get out and eat, eat, eat. Like somone on this site once wrote (something to the effect) that the fat woman is there inside but the slim woman I am can kick the heck out of her
I wonder how long it will be, if ever, before I see the slim woman every time I look in the mirror. I must admit that I am seeing her more often in the mirror, but I think part of not seeing a slim me is my protection. If I see the slim me all the time, I might decide that the slim me can eat what she wants and still stay slim (and I know way better than that!).

Tomorrow I get my temporary crowns off and the permanent ones put on! What a relief! <--me with my new crowns!

My exercise is all screwed up this week because my trainer decided to take a short vacation. I don't understand how he could do this to me--now I have to work out on my own. :trantrum: I hate that! So I did a spin class yesterday and swimming today and I'll do my normal Thursday workout tomorrow (Friday). Thankfully, my trainer is back on Monday. The change in exercise routine is probably good for me, although I know my trainer would prefer it if I'd do some strength training instead of all cardio. But I hate strength training on my own; cardio is just so much easier.

The slim me: I know exactly what you mean! When I look down at my stomach and thighs, I swear that they do not look any smaller to me than when I was at my highest weight. How can that be? Rationally, I know they are smaller, but somehow my brain just can seem to process that information. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, my stomach just looks huge to me. I wonder how my stomach can look so big after losing 35 lbs! I don't know how my image of myself can be so distorted.

Wardhog: I know exactly what you mean too! I hate it when people are using my TM at the gym (which I picked out to be mine after careful analysis of the air currents--this one is near an emergency exit and under an A/C vent, so it gets max air flow). I especially hate it when they sweat all over it and don't wipe it off. I don't mind if people use it when I'm not using it, but, folks, please wipe off your sweat when you're done!

Lillybelle: Those surgeries sound really serious and scary. You are smart to be concerned and to be getting second opinions. I hope you get better news with the additional tests.

Hi to everyone else!