good morning everyone! though i wasnt gonna weigh today i did and i lost a pound so now i am having a great day!

Happy Saturday!

princesspuffypants, I'm so sorry to hear about your guy. I hope everything works out.

I'm getting ready to start my day. Saturdays are often so busy for me. I think it's just that I save up all of my errands and stuff for saturday. So, I've got a million and one things to do.

violetswerve, your shopping/snack strategy caught my attention. This is such a great idea and honestly, I never would have thought of it. When I have a busy day like today, I usually do one of two things. Either I starve myself because I don't want to eat something coated in grease from a fast food place and end up over eating when dinner comes around, or I go ahead and eat the grease laden fast food and feel super guilty after. So, I'm gonna borrow your strategy and take my snacks with me.

--peal--

Hi guys

I have been busy the past few days and have been here reading for.... ugh over 2 hours now *L* Too bad now I have no time to catch up. Things have been good. Steve and I went hydrocycling yesterday. FUN!! I'll fill everyone in tonight on my day cause for now, I have to run. We are heading to the orchard and walking today.

Misti~ WD-40!! I love it! I needed that great laugh this morning!!! Great going on the cruise deal! I have never been on one but they sound so devine!

Sharon~ Your new avatar looks marvelous Another lb down too!! Keep it up!

Zelma~ Happy to hear that your procedure went fine.

Amanda~ thats great that you met someone on 3fc in your area AND that you can meet and walk, share, cook, and exercise with!!

Ammi~ Great news on your abs not being as sore! Yes, I am sleeping better with this machine than I was with the other one.

Nancy~ 4 lbs is 4 lbs! congrats! Good Heavens!!! What an awful thing to hear! Keep us posted

Luan~ You rule!!! Stay motivated chickie!!!
what did you do for yourself today??!!

Nice! and great words of wisdom!!! I like the one from the Biggest Loser too. I have it on my wall.
What have you done today to make you feel proud?


Kim~ Sorry you had a bad day

Amy~ Hubby doesnt seem to be too nervous. He has been wanting this for even longer than I have. I can't wait till we have no worries anymore. Happy to hear that your sis is going to take your precious Kitty Makes leaving him behind a little easier!

Katt~ Great on getting that lil house for your dad!! And its awesome that the lady wants to stay and pay rent for a bit!!

Angie~ Send that FFM my way will ya! I'm stuck again!!!! Good for you though

News~ Jogging.... I hate "thought" about it. Then decided it wasn't a good idea because of how others would see it. We have some trails in our town that hubby and I want to start doing because the foliage is changing. Maybe I too will jog! Congrats and thanks for giving me the momentum!

Valerie~ OUT OF EXERCISING!!! Hoooooly girl! You have made progress just realizing that! YOU LIKE TO EXERCISE!!!!!!! Thats AWESOME!!! Why does being bad feel so darned good????

Pearl~ Welcome!!

M ~ to you too!!

Annie~ Love the poochie's outfit

Later girls!!
Brenda

Amy, you're such a good planner and have great ideas. I'm confident you will stay OP all weekend.
Valerie, your theater dinner sounds like it was an awesome night out. You know the drill, get a good start on your water and back right OP and you'll be fine. Definitey don't beat yourself up. It sounds to me like you had nsv by leaving over half the pasta and no dressing on your salad. I love just a little red wine vinegar on my salads. It makes the taste of the veggies come alive!
Melissa, hang in there honey. I really believe this change of life style goes in cycles. It's about getting back in the right spot. Look at how much progress you've made and that has to be encouraging. Luan, OMG, I'm so sorry for your discovery. I know how it hurts. Been there. The important thing is now you know and can make positive decisions for just you! "The right guy" will come along when you least expect it. Just allow yourself enough time to heal emotionally and focus on your weight loss program just for you. It'll empower you!
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]toofatforuCONGRATS! on another loss. [ you're down 41 pounds! OUTSTANDING!!!/COLOR]
Well, Ladies, I WILL stay OP this weekend and will get back on the exercise ticker as soon as my leg can handle it. I think I'll use some free weights instead to work on my core and upper body. Better than nothin'!
Have a good day Ladies. I'll check in this evening if I can.
Sandy

Hello All,

Gee a girl has a day off the boards and comes back to find she’s like 60 posts behind Good job I have a lot of free time so I can attempt to catch up

Not much news here really, except maybe to say that 5 days into doing my Richard Simmons DVD, I have finally pretty much mastered the steps. Shame it’s time to alternate the DVDs now. I bet by the time its Richard’s turn again I will have forgotten most of it I am definitely going to ask Santa (aka Daren) to buy me some more Richard Simmons work out DVDs for Christmas

One thing that made me a bit sad today was to do with those new t-shirts I bought in the week. They fit me lovely, though I am not used to wearing ones that aren’t baggy. I am also not sure I will be able to wear the new t-shirts Without putting anybody off their food or anything My ostomy has the same functions as when I had my bowel, only instead of doing things out of my butt, it happens out of the stoma on my belly. When the bag fills up, it’s like a balloon on my front, especially if there’s a lot of wind in there too, and very obvious. Ok people might not know what it is, but seeing a huge lump sticking out of somebody’s t-shirt is bound to get people wondering. So anyway having tighter fitting t-shirts emphasises when the bag is even half empty. So there I am feeling all lovely because I am not in my tent clothes anymore, then I know the bag is sticking out like a sore thumb. It’s a nightmare. How will I ever be able to wear fitting clothes with this stupid thing on my stomach? I don’t normally have too many I hate my ostomy days, but today is one of them

Patti - I am so glad that you were naughty getting on the scales today and that you saw a lb loss The FFM must have got her days wrong and was just a day late visiting It’s lovely that you have moved your ticker down yet another lb, good for you

Luan – oh my goodness, what a terrible shock and a let down for you about that guy. Do you think he deliberately left the email open knowing you would see it? How could he make all those plans with you and have a girlfriend on the go. Even if it’s a long distance thing with her surely she can’t be happy knowing how much time he spends with you. Or perhaps you are a secret from her too. I am really sorry that the budding romance hasn’t got to bloom What a stupid man. I think I would have preferred it if he was gay

Amy – nothing wrong with feeling cool for starting the new thread, you did a great job. I always worry when I do a new one that people will post after I have closed the old one, or they will have to wait while I am starting the new one The silly things we stress over huh?

I am sorry I had any doubt about your sister, she sounds wonderful especially as she got you onto this website And of course she did ring to apologise about not bringing you your work out clothes, AND she is going to take on your darling little Kitty cat, that’s fantastic news. You must be so relieved. Big hugs for your sister

I am ok with seeing any blood, though once I had the upset of seeing an old lady collapse on the street. She fell backwards and her head hit the edge of a raised drain cover. I have never seen so much blood in my entire life, and it made me feel really ill. I was out Christmas shopping at the time, and after I saw that some people were helping her and ringing an ambulance I had to go home. I can’t pass that spot without thinking about her and wondering if she survived. Gee, even writing about it now is making me feel all teary eyed. Silly woman I am

You know you were saying that you think perhaps you have a touch of S.A.D? Have you seen those light boxes that you can buy to sit in front which are supposed to help replace whatever it is you lose from the bright sunny days? Oh I know I am not very technical, but I do know that the boxes have been proven to work.

Loved your pic on the pic page of you and your sister, boy oh boy you both look gorgeous and you can tell you are sisters. Such a beautiful photo! Also loved the pic of your kitty and the Halloween lights. Wow you put them up early. I don’t even use my Halloween emails until October 1st, not that we really celebrate it here

Katt – wow you had Glandular Fever all this time and didn’t know it. Wasn’t you neck even the slightest bit sore? You could very well find that you don’t need to Prozac. But keep it handy just in case it was a mix of Glandular Fever and Depression that was making you feel so bad

You did Richard Simmon’s DVD TWICE in ONE DAY. Well after just managing it once a day all I can say is I am VERY impressed. Did you even do all the crunches twice too??? You must have abs of steel

12 weeks left to lost 20 lbs, I think you will reach that goal no problem!

Great NSV being able to do your laces up without being out of breath. I used to suffer with my back, and squashing my ostomy when I was at my heaviest weight. Both are much better now, so I can really appreciate what a great NSV it was for you

Amanda – I never thought to look on eBay for Jane Green books. But like you, after reading Jemima J I went on a search for more of her books, Life Swap being one of my faves. I had to buy them all in book shops though, but got some on sale, so it wasn’t too bad

Please never think of 1 lb lost as JUST 1 lb. You pick up anything that weighs that much and you realise that it’s a good amount to lose. Each of those lbs add up too!

That’s brilliant that you met somebody via this site that you are going to be a real life diet buddy to/with. I bet you will be a great help to each other. Sharon (voodoo) is the closest to me, but she’s all the way in England and I am in Wales, so not quite close enough to be exercise buddies etc Though we do talk about it often enough on MSN

Missy – I am sorry you are finding things a bit tougher with the diet and exercise the longer you are on it. I don’t think it’s unusual though. We all go through times when we just feel fed up especially if the weight isn’t coming off as quickly as we want it to. Hang in there though and remember the saying – slow and steady wins the race. Plus keep looking at your progress pics. Seeing your latest ones today was great. Like you said, seeing them side by side you can tell how much weight you have lost and how much better you are looking. You should be proud of yourself with your WI on Tuesday, but don’t let yourself get too down if it isn’t what you expect!

As for QQ on Pogo, I played it for about 20 minutes, got NO JP spins, so thought, blah, no way. So am not even bothering. I’ll leave that one

Newsnerd - that is awesome that you RAN today. I can’t remember the last time I ran, not even on the spot. What a brilliant NSV

Sharon – GREAT NEWS on the lb down. I bet it feels good to say you are 17 stone something. I can’t wait to be able to say it myself, and hopefully will do on Monday You have been doing so brilliantly since you decided to get back on track, I am really proud of you

Hope you enjoyed the curry, do you like the really hot ones. I think I remember you saying you don’t like the coconut ones?

OOOOH it’s illegal now to dock dogs’ tails. Hmm interesting. I knew that vets weren’t allowed to do it anymore, but I thought that dog owners could do it themselves without getting in trouble. My ex breeds Springer Spaniels, and he docks the tails himself. One year, when I was working, he took 8 puppies and got Beth (aged 5) to hold them one at a time while he cut their tails off in front of her I was less than amused when I found out. He’s a pig! I wonder how the police could enforce the no dock rule though. I mean my ex goes to dog meets and all the dogs without exception have docked tails, even the little ones, so it’s obvious it’s still happening

Loved that you changed your avatar photo by the way. Red hair really suits you!

Sue – the FFM is having an off week I think. I mean she got the dates wrong for Patti’s WI, so maybe she has forgotten you weigh daily and don’t want to be seeing any gains? If she visits on Monday I will give her a note with the right directions on them

I wish I found it hard to lose weight from the boob area Seriously, the first thing I lose from is my boobs, in fact they are shrinking so much that my stomach if anything now seems bigger!! The place that I am not losing it fast enough for my liking is my butt and legs. That’s one of the reasons I love having my Gazelle Rider, plus I am doing some work out DVDs these days too. Got to try and get those legs and butt much smaller

Nelie – I bet by now you have met your exercise goal, so in advance of that confirmation Good for you for doing so well.

Thanks for explaining about the cruises. I guess where I went, all around the islands near Australia, they were less busy ports etc. I mean I don’t ever remember seeing another ship when we were at each place. Perhaps if the places were as crowded with tourists like where you have been I might not have been too keen myself. Did you let that shop keeper in Mexico know that you understood what he said? I would love to know his reaction if you did? Over here a lot of the older generation speak Welsh. Kids are taught it in school, but not enough to really understand more than the basics. Anyway one day I was on the bus with a friend of mine, she was 30 at the time, and there were these two old ladies in front of us yapping away in Welsh, not realising that my friend was fluent in it!! They talked about the FAT one (me) and how I should be ashamed of myself letting myself get in that state. So when we were getting off the bus, my friend leaned over to them and told them not to be so ignorant as to think that they are the only ones that can speak Welsh. And that they should be the ones ashamed of themselves, not me She said it all in Welsh too and you should have seen their faces

Valerie – you said that your NSV with the exercising wasn’t as big perhaps as when you fit into something that was too small before, well I beg to differ Trying to talk yourself OUT of exercising is fantastic To actually want to exercise and not be just thankful it’s over is going to get you to see those lbs come off even quicker. I think if we could all love exercise we would do far more of it. I enjoy my Gazelle, but by the time I am half way through the work out and my feet are killing, I start to clock watch. The day I forget the clock is going to be a huge NSV for me

Glad you didn’t damage your tendon and that it’s ok again now

You know that gorgeous meal you had when you went out to the Murder Mystery Dinner, I think it’s great you intended to go out and make good food choices. You weren’t able to, so don’t worry about what you did eat, it sounded DELICIOUS I know I wouldn’t have left a bite


Michelle – good to see you post. Sorry that you haven’t been able to get into an exercise routine yet. If you are having too much pain when you walk perhaps you could just start with crossing the living room. Anything is better than nothing especially if doing nothing gets you down I do think you ought to see the doctor though, even just for confirmation that it’s a weight issue rather than something like sciatic etc. I suffered terribly with my back, still do, but not half as bad now the weight is going. But I still wanted my doctor to rule out anything else, plus she gave me some awesome pain killers

Nancy – how are you feeling now? I don’t blame you for indulging in a bit of comfort eating, nor for the ‘why me’ feelings. Do they think the prolapse is in any way connected to the operation you had, or the weight lifting you have been doing? Or is it just one of those things? What happens next, have you been given those exercises you mentioned? As for that guy you know who said he got around being injured and still weight training by doing things more slowly. Well I am sure being a guy his problem wasn’t a womb prolapse. Don’t listen to him, listen to your doctor, and please be very very careful with what work out you do. Yes it’s important to you to lose the weight and tone up, but letting yourself heal is far more important

Angie – how are you? I am glad those tired feelings etc only lasted a day, perhaps they weren’t PMT related after all. Maybe you just hadn’t slept well, who knows. I am just glad you are feeling so much better now.

Jilted for a golf game huh, well I think that would be a perfect opportunity to go to town anyway and SPEND BIG Hubby won’t be there to moan, and if he says anything you can say that you might have been a little more thrifty had he been there

Sandy – oh boy it never rains but it pours huh How dreadful that you had a fall and ended up hurting your ‘bad’ leg even more. How is it now?

Great news on losing that 5 lbs. I bet you had a huge smile on your face when you saw that loss

My Gazelle is the BEST thing I have ever bought, and over the years I think I have bought a LOT of the ‘in’ exercise machines at the time. What I liked about the Gazelle when I saw the ad was the fact it took my weight, that it could fold down when not in use, and most importantly that it doesn’t put strain on your joints. What I have found is that it does KILL my feet. Or rather it did in the beginning, now it’s not as bad thank goodness. I don’t know what would happen but it was like the circulation wasn’t working right and I would end up in with a ‘hot’ foot, which then would get pins and needles in it. It was painful but not enough to stop mind you I think Brenda has had a similar experience too, but am not sure if we are just weird Anyway apart from the feet, which are much better the more weight I lose, I love going on the rider. You can start up moving as slowly and as little a glide as you want, and as you get fitter you can get faster, or glide longer. I am sure you saw Tony doing all the moves on the thing. It is fun, it is as easy or as hard as you want to make it. Today I tried a new step, for my arms. I didn’t use my legs at all to move and just made my arms pull and push the handles which in turn make the feet move. That was HARD work, so I didn’t do it for long I suffer with my back, yet using the rider doesn’t hurt it. I would really really recommend that you get your machine put together and give it a go. You will also have to let me know how you get on with it

Pearl – Hello and One of the best things about a support group like this is that it is SO EASY to be open about your personal feelings, and to share them here. I put things here that not even my sister knows about, one of my friends doesn’t even KNOW that I am dieting. She lives in Australia by the way, so won’t know from looking at me either I hope you will feel ok about posting how you are feeling, and asking for help when you need it etc, because this is the best place for it. I hope you will post often so that we can all get to know you better

M (Lavendel)- Hello You said you use English rarely? Where are you from then, what is your first language? Don’t worry about spelling mistakes or anything. I can’t speak for everybody, but personally I don’t care how things are spelled, it’s just nice to hear from people

I hope you don’t mind me asking, and if you don’t want to answer just don’t But you were saying to Luan about the ‘virtual’ relationship you have with a guy and that you have a boyfriend. I am just wondering how you met the ‘virtual’ guy, and doesn’t it make you doubt the strength of your feelings for your BF if you can have ‘feelings’ for your ‘virtual’ guy. I know everything isn’t black and white and I am in no way judging you, I just wonder why you would want to bother with a ‘virtual’ guy when you have a BF at home?

Annie – well, I am waiting for the good news…….come on, what were your WI results. Though with the time dif you probably haven’t even weighed yet Well when you do, hurry up and tell me PLEASE

Heather – that’s great that you and hubby now have a personal trainer. It makes you sound so Hollywood

Brenda – that’s awesome that you are sleeping much better now, though I guess the mask and all that are taking some getting used to

Hydrocycling sounds good fun, please tell us more about it when you can.

Have you updated your blog lately Last time I looked you were still on the long road post. I updated mine last week, but won’t do it again now until after my WI on Monday.

Ok all, it’s time for me to go, hope everybody is having a good weekend. Take care and bye for now,

Hugs,

Ammi

I think it's time to start a new thread-but I don't know how, so I'm going to just keep this one going...sorry

I'm hopelessly behind again- I just have way too much going on. Because of work schedule I didn't make it to the gym yesterday, which means I didn't weigh, and have no idea if I made it back to where my tracker is (and maybe dropped that extra pound?) I highly doubt I will be happy by what I see as I still haven't been behaving- I just seem to have a really hard time latley sticking to my plan- today has started good (but they all start good). My plan for this week is to stick to plan, but if for some reason I eat something off plan- I'm going to figure out how many calories it was and excercise that many extra calories on a machine. It's like punishment to myself-much better punishment than the scale not moving, because then I not only have not done well but get all frustrated. I hope this works!

Sandy- you are right- I need to go to doctor, i'm just so scared that I actually will have something wrong. Good side is- i really haven't had any of those symptoms latley- I think my improved lifestyle is making me feel better. next time I have sympotoms I will run to dr-promise! I think it would be easier if i had a dr that was a supportive as Misti's. Maybe I need a new dr?

well- got lots to do since I'm off today. Going to stay OP!

Angie – I should be able to keep it in using my own muscle strength, but it will never be normal again without surgery. She said it is an option, but I should try on my own first.

Sandy – Wow, you sound like an amazing woman! Keeping it together with 4 kids with no job after a marriage break up? If you could get yourself through that, you have what it takes to do anything you set your mind to. It is definitely easier to make changes when you are single. So far I am staying where I am, but I know that if I choose to leave I can figure it out. Also, congratulations on losing 5 pounds! That is fantastic!

Luan – I am so sorry that things with your guy aren’t what they had seemed. Can you talk to him about it? Guys can be so clueless at times.

Pearl – Glad you found your way over here. It can be really hard to open up, but then that is one of the blessings of the internet. No one knows who you really are, so it is easier sometimes to say things here then to people you know in real life. Plus we all know what it is like to be 300 pounds or close to it, and so we often can understand things that other people just don’t get.

Amy – I wouldn’t think the carrots would cause a problem, but you might try experimenting with different things. Try eating your snack a little earlier (like around 4) to see if the extra digestion time helps. I think we are going to have a fairly quiet weekend too, but I need to get in some shopping. This is a great opportunity for you to learn how to not let yourself fall into boredom eating.

Lavandel – Welcome! Don’t worry about the English part. It seemed perfectly fine to me. What is your native language? Things clicked for me this time, and the best part is that even when things haven’t felt like they were going that well I have managed to keep moving (even if very slowly) in the right direction.

Annie – As much as I miss seeing your face in your pic, that yoda dog is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Do you check out Cute Overload? It always puts a smile on my face. I loved the seal from yesterday.

Heather – Don’t worry, I’m not offended at all! In fact laughing about things is how I best deal with them. I am still amazed at the difference a year makes and the fact that the thing that bothers me the most about the diagnosis relates to exercise. It just goes to show how much you can change in year. Oh – and losing over a hundred pounds in your case goes a long way as well! I hope you like your trainer. I really like mine, but he is the only one in my gym I would want.

Valerie – Don’t worry too much about the dinner. You never know – sometimes I find that having one higher calorie day keeps the metabolism guessing and helps overall (at least that is what I keep telling myself).

Misti – I am so sorry the FFM is being so difficult. I am wondering what kind of peace offering she might accept.

Melissa –Are you journaling your food? I am pretty sure one of the biggest contributing factors to my stall was that I was eating more then I thought I was because I had stopped journaling. I am not sure why the walking feels like it is getting harder. Perhaps it is because you are doing less than you were before? Just keep on plugging – I know you will find your inspiration again. It is great seeing your pics side by side – you can definitely see a difference!

Patti – Congratulations on being down a pound!

Brenda – That is great that you are getting out with your DH and getting active. Hydrocycling sounds fun. Fall is definitely in the air here and it would be a great weekend to walk in an orchard. Hope you have a great time!

Ammi – I am sorry you have having trouble with the t-shirts. I know this probably won’t work and it is a bit impish of me to suggest, but what it made me think of are Scottish men’s outfits. You know how they have those little fur purses they always wear with the kilts – it is part of the whole outfit. Like in this picture:
http://www.house-of-tartan.scotland....g/PCharlie.jpg
Maybe you could get a really fashionable outside bag like that? Or is that the reason all those Scottish men have those little purses (actually called sporran)? Either way I am sure you will look great, but the most important thing is how you feel.


Last night the woman I met in the gym who I helped with her car took me out to dinner. We went to Legal Seafood – definitely a diet friendly restaurant. I had rare tuna with some brown rice and seaweed salad. It was so good and I came in way under my calorie limit for the day. She has really ramped up her attention to eating in the past month and was THRILLED that she could be totally satisfied with a piece of grilled fish and two veggies. It was so cool to be around someone having a click moment.

I took measurements this morning. The best part – my hips are finally under 60”! I also finally lost an inch off my arms, which I am very happy about. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Ammi, you are Queen of the replies!!!!!! Glad that you are ok, I was worried that you were ill or something when I hadn't seen you on here earlier. I wil look out for you on msn later. I'm really sorry about the tshirts, though I'm sure in another few pounds they will look lots better, slightly fitted tshirts should still show your figure without showing your 'bag' I suppose it will be a matter of finding the right one. Don't get too down about it.xxxx
Patti, glad you lost that pound! I hope you're not going hungry, it seems strange that you're struggling, yet I look at your ticker & see you've lost 41lbs, quite a lot more than me! Have you thought of changing your foods or exercise routine? I know I often get in a 'food rut' and have to start trying new recipes & foods which always kick-starts my loss and keeps me from getting bored & going off=plan.xxxxx
Welcome Pearl.xxxxx
Brenda, so glad that your new machine is working well & suiting you. Do you mind me asking how you knew that you needed one? Did you keep waking up gasping for air or were you really tired even after sleeping all night? Hope you don't mind me asking, I'm JUST SO NOSEY!!!!xxxx
Sandy, so sorry that you hurt your bad leg, YOU REST IT NOW!!!!! There's plenty of time to exercise & you want to be fir for the wedding don't you? Hope it heals soon & the clot goes without trouble.xxxxx
Well I loved the curry though as I tried a new one it was a bit too hot,I like the mild, creamy coconut ones best. I wore a new top last night too, got Steve to take some pics but they were all blurry, something to do with al the wine he had with dinner, lol.
xxxxxxsharon.

Hi everyone... just rushing through again!

Princesspuffypants, sorry about the relationship; bummer. Been there, done that, know how devastating it can be.

Ammi, sorry the ostomy is causing you embarrassment. I had a close friend who had one of those so am aware of how difficult the adjustment can be.

And actually I do lose a lot in my boobs fast... but they were SO huge before and I have lost so much that am wondering if it is going to slow down some. But I did lose 6 pounds in September so it's not so bad. I am spoiled to usually get 10 or so.

I am disappointed in my water aerobics class. Just tooooooo wimpy. I decided to switch over in the middle to the shallow water one but it was wimpy too. The woman teaching it must have weighed close to 400 pounds... now I am NOT anti fat people... I ARE one... But in teaching water aerobics there was NO WAY she could even DO strenuous aerobics. Oh well... Plan B.