Hi Ladies, just got home from work we have storms brewing in. Wish me luck I just applied for a better paying job at something I love to do...so hopefully I'll get it I worked for the company before, but left as they were laying off in one area and didn't want to relocate to another state , but now they are putting the area of the job I want here in my hometown.

I'm just going to do one big personal message, Good Job everyone, keep up the good work, Things will get better. Sorry I had to do it this way but have a ton of things to do before work tomorrow.

Worked the AC/DC concert last night. Last count I heard was 65,000 in attendance, all of who ate in my concession stand. Almost 8 hours of non-stop cooking. I left before the main band took the stage, and we had already sold $20,000 worth. We sold every french fry in the place. 30 big sacks. 18 cases of burgers. When we left, it had started to rain a little out, so the concourse was packed with drunks. The amount of beer spilled was mind boggling. I haven't seen anything like that since college. I may never want to eat another hot dog as long as I live. Himself was so tired, he is still asleep. I'd check to see if he was awake, but I can hear him snoring.

Evening all,

Kayley: I have always been interested in water sports but since I gained so much weight I let my body stop me dead in my tracks from getting involved. I finally decided to just do it. I love it and need to be around it so I am just going for it.

Cyn: Glad that things are okay for now on the health front. Congrats on signing the lease on your home.

Beth: Hang in there and take one day at a time. Believe me I gave up more times than I can cont just feeling like I didn't have the will power but somthing slipped and here it came. Hang in there honey.

Rat: Hugs. So glad to see you. Sorry about the stress levels.

Heather HB: happy anniversary. Glad that you had a lovely day.

Brandnewme: Keep on pluggin away and keep on coming back here hon. I miss you when you are gone seriously.

Well, I went to get my Bod Pod reading today and I was soooo upset. My fat content went up but my weight went down. I cried and said how is that possible and my Dr explained to me that as I continue to lose the weight the bod pod can't differenciate between extra skin and fat so it says it is fat in reality it is probably extra skin. I felt a bit better but honestly there is not much I can do about all this extra skin except surgery that I can't afford so It kind of was a depressing day.

I then went to my regular Dr. She was very firm with me about my believe that I can make my panic disorder/agoraphobia/social anxiety go away just be being stronger. She said I wouldn't expect a diabetic to be strong enough to make diabetes to go away and I certainly shouldn't expect my disorder to magically go away because I am a strong person. She put me on some different medication to help deal with it and is writing a letter of reasonalble accomadation for my work to lower my working hours until the meds get into my system and my coping skills build that I am learning at therapy. I will see what they say about it. Who knows. I need the job but I can't be at work passing out from stress. Hopefully they will be able to accomodate me some.

That is about all the news from here for now.

Blessings all,
Annie

Today, Andrew & I went down to Stay Fit 24, and looked into a membership; they’re giving us a free week trial, and they will also let us join under the spouse membership, so I would only have to pay an extra $20 a month, instead of the $35 a month for a single membership. We’re doing the free membership for the week, because why not? And then we’ll make our decision. I really like the fact that it’s open 24 hours. Big draw to me, as when I was a member of a gym before, sometimes I couldn’t make it during their regular business hours. Got in 90 mins today; got on the elliptical, treadmill, and strength training for 30 mins a piece. Feeling good!

Annie – Have you been on anxiety meds before at all? I know a couple of different meds that have really helped some friends of mine with their horrible anxiety. I hope that you are able to overcome this, though. I wouldn’t wish those kinds of episodes on anybody.

evening ladies...

I went to the cardiologist today. he said everything looks good with my heart. He said since I am big breasted that I have something..sorry cant remember but basically where the camera has a hard time getting a clear picture. He wants to see me in 6 months just as a follow up. I am staying on the beta blockers beause they ahve helped lower my blood pressure. He said that once i loose weight and my blood pressure is normal..I can go off them. I told him about my gallbladder. He said that if they remove it, it should make me feel better.

Hubby replaced my battery and starter in my car today. that was $160 bucks we werent planning on spending. But that is the way it goes.

I did get 5 more boxes packed up this weekend. I am getting excited to move.

Annie-It was very difficult for me to acknowledge that I needed to be on the medication. Just about as hard as it was for me to accept that I needed to use my crutch for the rest of my life. I wasn't sad, so I didn't need an anti-depressant. The fact that I had panic attacks, and no energy was just something I needed to get over. That would be as likely to just get over having big feet. Not going to happen. I'm stuck with the big feet, the crutch, and the medication.

Hi everyone!! I just wanted to say that I'm going out of town for a few days, so you all need to behave while I'm gone!

I'll be out of town until Wednesday, so someone needs to start the new thread Monday (anyone is free to start it any week!). I may be able to peek in, but it's a vacation so I might not!!

Good Morning all...today was weigh in day and i lost 2.1 lbs so i was able to officially change my avatar to 25 lbs lost plus i was surprised when i came on this morning that i was able to put a ticker on here yippeee that made my day!

Well, hope everyone has a good friday i gotta go do my 5 mile walk now so i will be back later!

Heather

Hi gals - well I survived the trainer today. Actually he really just wanted to sit down and get to know me (free of charge), so there wasn't much in the way of work-out. We reviewed my exercise plan, my log of how long I worked out and what my heart rate was, my food log, my medical records, my body fat/lean body mass composition report that I had done when I first joined the gym 2 months ago, and just talked about my goals and what I hope to get out of a trainer. He gave me big kudos for all the work I had done (research, logs, etc.) and said that he was excited to work with someone as committed as me (of course I like him already). He's supposed to review my records and then get back to me next week with some times to meet with some changes to my strength training. He's going to push me, but I think in a good way. I feel like maybe I have a shot at avoiding at least some of the sagginess that comes with this kind of weight loss. He's also totally supportive of my need to see him only once a month - so that was a relief.. I can't really afford more than that, and I was afraid he might question my "dedication" to the training - but his philosophy is that unless you need someone to hold your hand thru the workout just to get you to do it, there's really no need to see a trainer more than once a month - just to review form and change up the routine.

Anyway - a successful week. 2.5 lbs down. I also did my measurements - and in the last 3 weeks my waist has decreased 1.5 inches. I feel like I should start seeing the difference in my clothes pretty soon - actually the pants I wore today were really baggy and I think they may need to be retired, so that's a good thing

Anyway - wanted to send out some personal messages


Jacquie- Thanks for the tip on the eggplant - sounds like you might have some great cooking tips for me! Sorry about the hormone war-zone, that just sucks alot.

hb - congratulations on moving to the next avatar! I'm waiting for my clothes to look baggy on me - they must've all been too tight before, because I'm not seeing the need to buy a new size yet.

Bazz - at least you're still here - remember it's only failure if you fail to pick yourself up when you fall down. You can get there, but it's a constant push. Let us help you stay motivated!

Kayley - I'm envious that you're in school mode. Even if it means living at home! I'm with you on the chef thing, If I won the powerball or something, I might go to culinary school - not to work in a restaurant but just to learn! Also - YAY on the gym thing - as much as you work out, I'm thinking you'll love it.

Ratkitten- That situation with your sister is super stressful - I don't know how well I'd do in the face of something like that. But like the other gals have said, be sure to take care of yourself - you won't be any use to anyone if you're run down. *hug*

Catherine - I'm new here, but do you normally work the concession stand at concerts, or was it one of those volunteer deals? I can only imagine what a zoo that was! I went to a Kid Rock & Lynrd Skynrd concert that was pure CHAOS of drunkenness.

dogpal - Hopefully the new meds will get things under control - I'm glad to hear that your doc is willing to try different things. I hope you can get back to your job quickly and calmly!

Cyn - when you get the word on the gallbladder? and WAY TO GO on the good 'ticker'. where are you moving to? (Sorry new here)

Ok, happy weekend everyone!

I’ve been having trouble the last couple of days getting in my calories. I’ve only been able to manage 1,100 both yesterday and today. I eat a good lunch & dinner, but I just don’t EAT a lot, and I don’t like to eat when I’m not hungry.

I’ve exercised everyday for the past three weeks, and today, I just woke up incredibly sore. I think the gym took it out of me. I’m not used to going to a gym, since I haven’t had a membership at one since back in March of this year. So, I took today off, and hopefully my calves will be up for a workout tomorrow after class.

Susannah – That’s great news about the trainer. I’ve always wanted to get a few sessions with a trainer, because I’m sure it would help. Strength/Weight training will definitely help with the saggy skin issue. I’m kind of worried about that myself. With 200 lbs to lose, there will be a lot of skin left over! I’m just hoping that since I do weight training & I’m still young (23), that I can maybe not have quite as much.

And congrats on the weight lost & inches, too! I do my measurements every month, because even if the scale doesn’t move, the inches keep coming off (at least in my experience). You seem pretty prepared, so I’m sure you already have, but do you have your before pictures, so that you can compare down the road, to see your progress?

I’m so OVER school. lol. I’ve been going for so long, I just want my degree already! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, so I just have to keep chugging along…

Dog my prayers are with you I too sometimes have anxiety attacks and there I times I do not want to leave the house, I have just been diagnosed with depression...

Kayle yes it does seem as if getting the degree will never get there but it will.

Susanna , the trainer sounds like it might work for you.

HB way to go girl

Baz hang in there.

Cyn good job on the report.

As for me I didn't considered for the job as I worked there before but in a different department and had quit ah well. I figured as much I lost a inch off my waist and one off my bust, the scale is stuck on 298 am trying to figure out if it's TOM which as I thought it was, and I haven't changed my eating at all....so I'm blaming TOM LOL

Good Moring all... well last night my husband and i went shopping at walmart i told him since he bought me a food scale for our anniversary that he could pick something out and since his mom and dad gave us a gift card for groceries i had a little bit extra so i decided to reward myself for almost 30 lbs lost ( i never ever buy myself anything i dont remember the last time i bought myself anything because i usually have to use my money to buy groceries and pay bills) well the bills were paid and we had the grocery card so ryan said that i should get myself a treat for losing almost 30 lbs so i said ok well i was gonna buy a couple of tops in a smaller size but i couldnt really find any that i liked so to make a long story short i bought myself an exercise ball and it comes with a 30 minute workout dvd.

Sorry to ramble but now i am going to go do a 3 mile walk and then do my new 30 min exercise ball workout so i will be back later to let you know how it went.

talk to you soon
Heather

Happy Saturday all...

Today is my cousin Jordie (real name Jordan but we call him Jordie cause his dad's name is also Jordan) turns 3 today. So this afternoon we are heading to his party. Before that I am going to do some major packing. I brought home about 15 boxes from work. That should cover my hopechest things and my walk in closet.

Kayley: I can't wait to get my quilt done as well. I have 2 others I have started but this one I am finishing first.

Heather: Have a great vacation..we will behave!

Susanna: We are moving on September 9th. We are moving to Scottsdale. We live in Peoria..which is about 35 miles from my job. Most of my family lives in the "east valley" and we live way over on the westside. It really sucks living so far from them. It takes me atleast an hour to get to work and home unless I am carpooling. So on the weekends I usually am a hermit because the gas and time it takes to go anywhere. Thiscity is just so darn crowded from when I was a kid. My brother lives in a big ole house with his boss. His boss is moving out and we are moving in and renting from him. My brother will stay there as well. He has a roomo up above the garage that has everything he needs. My oldest son starts college right down the street from my brother in a week. So that wil be nice. Also our youngest son will go to a new high school..which scares me BUT it is an awesome high school. They don't have the "gang" problems that we currently have on the westside. If you listen to the news here all the shooting. crime take place where I live! I HATE IT. The house is more $$ then we pay now. BUT I will be 15 min from work...and I dont have to even get on the freeway! Also I am 15 min from my sister and niece and nephew. We plan to stay there atleast 3 years til my youngest is out of highschool. Then we would like to move to Colorado. Also my sons girlfriend is pregnant and she lives that way..so I will get to see my first grandchild more!! All in all its the best choice for us.

Annie: thinking of you today..(HUGS)