WOOHOO!! thanks for the welcomes. can't wait to get to know you all.
In regards to the water challenge.....I need a challenge, I can't seem to get my water in.

Hi there, just poking my head in. I finally figured out that this is where the chit chat happens.

I'm looking forward to getting to know people. (I never thought I'd say that, and yet I've said that in almost every post here today).

Cuckoomimi, I'm having problems with my water too.

*crawling in with my tail between my legs*

hi all. i know i havent been here in forever. my life has been crazy. i have been working a lot and going to school, so i havent had much time to be here. i havent been good with my eating and i weigh in on the 20th, so i will have a weight update then.

i will try to keep up *grin*
Luan

Good morning Peeps

Catherine - that is wonderful. I think we all need to give back as we think on our blessings. I know you will get as much enjoyment out of "doing" for all of your fellow parishoners as they will from the bright sparkling wood. Thanks for sharing with us.

Luan - Hi girl - great to see you!

Welcome Mimi and EarthShaker - this is a great group - you will find so much support here. Keep posting. I have learned so much from this group and 3FC is what has made the difference in my weight loss journey this time - I am doing it but with much support from my friends here - it also keeps me accountable because the one promise I made to myself was that I would post, even when struggling, and I have. I've plateaued previously and with this groups help worked through it and started losing again - they had to tell me to eat more - go figure. OK - WELCOME.

Hi to everyone else - time to get to the office. Anyone have trouble accessing the site last night?

Move your bodies, drink your water and SMILE.

Hugs,
Carol

ok I posted the water challenge with some really good info about where our water goes through our day! Lets try to fill that olympic sized pool!

I posted my water for yesterday so if you all want to add yours for yesterday as well with the format I have there

then we will be subtracting from the grand total of ounces needed to fill the pool and we can all jump in when we reach 0!!!!!

thanks guys for joining in!
Gotta run off to work!
Have a good day!

Luan! It's wonderful to see you again!!

Catherine, that's so cool what you are doing for your church. You rock!!

Luv,
Ratkity

good morning ladies,

Welcome to everyone new or returning.
I did really good yesterday considering everything. I run an inhome daycare and one of my littles ones had fever and I held him for hours . His granny ended up coming to get him. I didnt have time to eat breakfast so i grabbed a slimfast. Then at lunch he was crying and my other 2 were wired so i grabbed another slimfast. Last night for dinner I met my daughter who is in college at the halfway point and we had dinner and i chose to eat at applebees because they have a weight watchers menu. I chose the steak and veggies it was 360 calories. SO i came in really low yesterday. I weigh daily and the scales didnt like that i went to low on calories. I was up a little bit. This morning i started the day out with eggbeaters omlette and whole wheat toast.
I cant loose by drinking slimfast...and cutting my calories to low.
I only have 2 kidos today because the one that got sick yesterday has the flu.
OH NO hope we all dont get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My daughter is back at school today. She still feels bad but with it being her senior year she jsut cant miss.
Still waiting on the mono test results.
Looks like we are finally going to warm up. I cant wait to get outside.
Maybe by tommorow I can take my little ones out to play.

dmpls_ I joined the water challlenge..thanks for starting it!!

Catherine- thats an awesome thing to do for your church.

lost track of who was having sleep problems hope they work out quickly.
everyone have a wonderful day
debi

Angie: Sorry that the news is pre-diabetic but that is also good because you still have time to stop it! Hugs.

DMPLS: Congrats on the -1. You are doing so well. Thanks for posting the water challenge. I actually try to track my water now because I have to get in a certain amount each day. Thanks for the info on the no sugar cranberry juice too.

Debbie: I hope with all my heart you get to start a business selling your goodies. What a great idea.

Anne: Keep after it and soon you won't be feeling so much pain.

Cuckoo and Eathshaker: Welcome to you both. Glad you are here.

Carol: Congrats on loosing another .25 You are doing so great sweetie. All that working out is paying off.

Catherine: You are so sweet and a true picture of a servant! Thanks for sharing with us.

Sharon: Sorry about your computer. Mine has a virus. It is so annoying. Hugs.

Sandi: Have a super day.

Luan: Welcome back, we missed you.

Well, My supervisor is gone today!!!!! I gave my 2 week notice yesterday. I got a call from another company yesterday that is 98% going to hire me and I am so miserable at my current work that I am taking the chance on it. Pray that I made a good decision giving notice before I actually have a job. I jumped on the scale and I am down 2 pounds. My official weigh in is on Friday and I have to say I am soooo hoping to get out of the 280's. I only need to loose 1 more to accomplish that.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day and keep moving your bodies.

Blessings,
Annie

carol....i'm so excited for u....you are 2 amazing...just 2 sweet 2 put in2 words...i just wanted u 2 know i am up2 sending u a subliminal message here! just 2 u! i want 2 support u! cheerioooo 2u.
hugs
rainbowsmiles

Just another quickie, we went to a craft day at the local adult education centre on Saturday, we made pots & tiles in air-drying clay, an Easter box and printed tshirts, which were all provided free of charge! I did Steve a RED DWARF one, Gareth a THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE one with his name underneath and Aiden chose an OOD one (from Dr Who) with 'Aiden rules ok?' at the bottom. I laughed as he wanted Dr Who an even though he's scared of The Ood that was what he chose, I did a lovely barn owl one for my mum as I sent my Mother's Day card & it got there late, so it will be a nice suprise for her to open when I post it off.
I've been a bit off/on with dieting, but nothing too bad. I'm still not up to really doing personals but...
Valerie WOWEE, sounds like you're having a great time with Gabe, I'm so jealous.xxxxxx
Carol thanks for the kind words, I'm just not up to doing much at the moment but I will look into publishing once I'm feeling more 'able to cope'.xxxxxx
Hugs to you all, I think about you all & hope you are happy, healthy & staying OP.
xxxxxsharon

Luan!! Welcome back I took a break for a while as well and have only recently come back. You're still here in LA?

I spent a lot of the day yesterday sitting on the floor helping with a big project and then last night during my meetings I was having back spasms. I am still in pain. I keep thinking that I can ignore my back pain. I was in a car accident in October and was supposed to to go PT for the back pain. I never went because getting an appointment was insanity, the PT department at Kaiser has a small staff and bad hours and my schedule stinks. They unfortunately do not outsource and they also don't have appointments at 7pm when I would likely need to go. DH wants me to get my act together and go. I am tired of being sore all the time.

I know I tracked this week but I feel like I have no idea what I ate and what WI tonight holds for me.

Catherine...that is truly a yeoman's task but what a wonderful gesture. So few people would even consider taking on such a task in the name of altruism.

Is is April yet?

Annie- I'll keep my fingers crossed that the new job will come through for you!

Dmpls-Good to hear about the water challenge. I am going to try. Thanks for starting it.

Well I thought I would check in over lunch break. Young daughter and I went swimming last night so I got a little exercise in. I have been taking a lot of steps today at work back and forth, so I guess every little bit helps. Supposed to be in the 50's today so maybe I can get a walk in this evening after work. I am trying to figure out when I can schedule exercise in. I am doing better. Hubby got me some walking DVD's to try in g the morning or evenings at home. So will start them. I am ready for camping weather now. We got our older daughter a new bicycle this month so we all have bikes to take with us. We just have to get a hitch for the truck! Always something. Well, I gotta go back to work, check in later.

Hey Julee Claire:

I never had back spasms until I met my husband -- so I blame him They totally SUCK, don't they? I get mine in my lumbar area (I dislocated my pelvis in 1995 and left it in the wrong location for 2.5 years...ooops), which leaves me totally incapacitated -- even breathing hurts! It will differ for everyone, of course, but I've found two things that help. The first, which I've used when I've gotten that tightening and twinging and I-can't-move-because-then-I'll-go-into-full-spasm-ing, is icing my back -- I just tuck a freezer pack in a towel behind me as I sit on the sofa, and it seems to work! The other thing that helped me was acupuncture. It's not in my budget right now, but it was honestly the only thing that let me walk normally again after my giant spasm a couple years ago. Even with Vicodin and muscle relaxants, I was really unable to move until I started the acupuncture...now I wish I were going again!

Anne, thank you so much for all the info. It really has helped. I'm pretty sure it's the same for most counties here and I'll look up for Skagit, where I live. Thanks so much.

Sandy, I always had such a good time selling at the festivals and farmers markets. We were even asked to be an extra on "Judging Amy" when we used to sell and even got paid for it. We met so many fun and wonderful people. I really miss it and I think that's why I want to get back into it again. Really consider it, cuz it's tons of fun. Hard work, but it's rewarding.

Catherine, what a sweet idea. You're such a giving person. I'm glad you found the equipment you needed to do it.

EarthShaker, love the name!! Welcome!

Luan!! Hey girl, how's it going? So glad you're back again. I was wondering what happened to you. Let us know how the weigh in goes.

Debi, have you seen the slimfast with protein? I'm going to get some and try it this week. I've been wanting to have more protien so that will be like killing two birds with one stone.

Annie, I don't blame ya for giving notice. It's way to stressful to try and work in an environment like that. I'm hoping the new job pans out for ya!

I joined in the water challenge too. What a great idea! I actually got my 4 liters in yesterday. For some reason I'm up a couple pounds. Do you think it could be from the little bit of weight lifting I'm doing and the treadmill? I'm at a loss to why I'm up. I just hope it's gone by WI time.
have a great day!
Debbie

Hi Everybody!

I keep promising myself that I will post more religiously, but this time I have a good excuse. I have been home with the flu since Saturday, which really impacted every activity I engage in. However, I managed to read through everyones' posts, and MY do WE chat a lot.

Annie, GOOD LUCK on the job possibility!

Debi, I have the same problem if I don't get in enough calories. Sometimes I have to just eat a much bigger dinner if I don't get them in during the day. I try not to do this, but sometimes it is inevitable and I DO tend to be hungrier in the evening.

Catherine, that is such a wonderful gesture. The act of giving back can be so much more rewarding than receiving...don't you think?

BattleAx, I totally understand where you are coming from. I have had a really difficult week. I don't know how much being sick played into it, but today I am feeling a renewed sense of commitment!

Welcome to all of the newbies and those returning. I am a sporadic poster but do enjoy all of the stories.

I saw that several of you brought up the issue of stability balls and excess skin. I have been using a stability ball for over a year and I love it. One of the most important things it helps a person with is their balance. One good easy exercise to start with is to sit on the ball and to pick up one leg at a time and keep it up for as long as you can. One way to get used to the ball is to sit on it while watching tv at home. I currently sit on a ball while at work. It works your core the whole day. I can do an entire workout with just a ball. Let me know if any of you want some good basic ball exercises.

With regards to excess skin I have found that I have a lot less than I thought I would. My trainer and doctor credit my weight training with minimal sagging skin. I am not saying I won't have any, but right now everything is still in it's orginal place but just smaller.

I also saw someone mention being afraid of getting too bulky if they started lifting weights. (Like women/men in bodybuilding competitions) Just to let you know it is VERY DIFFICULT to get big like that. Bodybuilders take lots of extra supplements and have to shock their muscles quite often to get results like that. They also have very minimal body fat (women >15%). Women just don't have the right hormones to get big muscles naturally. So lift away ladies, and don't be afraid to start with higher weights and lower reps. Just be aware of what your body can do, and maybe push it just a little bit farther and you will be amazed by the results. I can actually begin to see my ab muscles under all of this bulk! Crazy, huh?

Anyway, this week has been difficult for me to get any kind of workout in. I managed to swim on Saturday and go for 2.5 mile walk on Sunday and yesterday, even with the flu, but I haven't really pushed myself in a while and I am feeling a bit guilty about that. Well, I don't really need to worry about gaining weight as I hardly ate, but I think my electrolytes are all out of wack so I will have to get them back in order. I am not looking forward to WI this week, but que sera sera. I hope everybody has a good day!

~Wendy