I want to thank all of you for giving me all of this great support. I really means alot to me to know that all of you are out there and that you really care.

I did have the talk and he siad that he would help in any way that he could. So, I am looking forward to 2003 and all of the things that it brings. I knwo with hubby's help I can do this (and also all of my friends at 3FC)!!!

I am going to go watch LSU play in the Cotton Bowl so I will check back in later. Geaux Tigers!! (sorry at little footbal mania just came out)

Kempy, You know we are all here for you whenever you need us!!I knew Joe would help you all he can. He loves you and from the way you talk about him he sounds like a great guy.PM me anytime you need to talk through anything. I am here for you.

Did everyone have a good New Years Eve? I hope so. I am actually looking forward to weighing in on Saturday. It will help me get back into my routine. in case you can't already tell, I like to have a routine. I am probably the most boring person on the planet. LOL

I had a very, very uneventful new year's. The big thing we were looking forward to is Art Bell's last night on the radio, and we ended up falling asleep after an hour after it started! Oh well.

Kempyd -- Good for you on finally having the talk with the hubby. I bet it feels like a huge weight off your shoulders! I'm glad you have a positive outlook for the new year.

Angie -- I, too, like some structure to my life as well! It can really make things a lot easier. Not that I am really looking forward to going back to work this Monday, but I will appreciate the routine to an extent. Also, I really enjoy going for walks on my lunch break at work: it's at a huge university, and you can walk for quite a while without ever going outside.

But! I am pleased to say that I cleaned up our downstairs rec room-style area, getting all set for the gazelle thingy my mom is handing down to me, as well as an aerobics/floorwork area where I can watch and workout to videos. The gazelle is coming on Sunday, and I hope to get our 2nd TV downstairs in the next few days, too. I need to get an exercise mat and some handweights -- and some videos! I'm been reseaching what to get, but does anyone have any suggestions? I'd like a good low impact aerobics workout, some stretching, and some strength training.

I'm really, really psyched for what the coming year holds. I hope you all are, too!

Hi all. I just went to an all-you-can-eat. My stomach actually hurts. It's been a while since I ate so much at one sitting that I was uncomfortable even an hour later. Can I just dump for a few minutes? I love being single, but I'm TIRED of being single. I like my own space and love the freedom, but I sometimes want so much to be held by a man (and more). I had a "special friend", but seems he got tired of me. Or else he's really been busy for 3 months! I guess I finally looked at the facts around that and I'm left feeling that old familiar "not good enough" feeling. Not even good enough for an occasional romp. That's about as low as it's possible to get, I think.
I will not allow these feelings to keep me down. I feel like I just need to cry for a while and get it over with. It's a new year, I have prospects for a new, better-paying job which is supposed to come about in 6 months or so. In the meantime, I'm taking a "leave of absence" from my current job (which I've grown to hate in the last couple of years). I'm going to stay home and care for my grandma who's not getting adequate care in the nursing home where she's staying now.
I know I'm rambling on. I guess I'd better get back to my journal so I can REALLY dump! Right now, though, I'm going to veg out in front of the TV and watch a couple of "star wars" episodes. Believe it or not, I have no desire to eat anything (more!) Thanks for reading.

Jen
238/231/140

Well...Happy New Year ! to everyone!
I had a nice party over here lastnight. TONS of food ,nothing was diet here ! Only water I guess lol I am so tired from cleaning . That is the only thing I hate about having a party at my house!!!
Today I didnt cook , I didnt even want to walk into the kitchen! After all the cooking I did! ugh!!! Ok anyway besides that I had lots of fun. I went and to one of my favorite little stores called DOTS, they have just my type of clothes and super affordable! I found the first Brazilian style jeans that I absolutley LOVE! they are hip huggers with a really nice leather belt that goes right on the hips.Yes I dressed like a Hootchie lastnight! lol I ate A LOT!
I havent been going as often to the Gym since my hubby has been onvacation and we've been busy. TOmorrow I start again going to the gym and gonna burn those calories! There were too many goodies like Creamcheese danishes a cheesecake my sis inlaw made called " Ultimate Cheesecake" so just imagine how good that was??? Donuts too. I am getting dead serious tomorrow with my eating and exercise. I havent weighed myself in the morning but tonight I heard my 10 yr old pulling out myscale and getting on it. I thought that was strange so I went to her room to see what she was doing. I think she is starting to worry about her weight. I saw her on the scale holding on to the wall so thescale wouldnt read her weight or something. I thought that was reason enough to have a talk with her. I wanted to know why she seemed concerned about her weight. And she told me that she had gained weight since being on Christmas vacation. I felt so bad for her but I let her know NOT to hide these worries from me. Girls her age start seeing themselves and not liking themselves. I've seen too many young teens get eating disorders and its a horrible thing. I dont know how but she's gained 10 lbs in about 3 weeks. I decided to weigh myself when I put the scale away and I freaked cause it said Ive gained like 5 lbs! I probably gained something but Idoubt its 5 lbs. Iwill let you guys know for sure on Saturday morning!!! I dont let her know that I get worried about my weight or anything like that cause I dont want her to feel like she has a problem because she doesnt! She's only 10 yrs old and weighs 110. That's a little overweight but not obese. I was just like her at her age . Well I better get going ,hubby just put on a movie and my kids are waiting for me!
ttyl,
Gen

That is a scary feeling Gennel. I am starting to wonder if my trying to lose weight has an influence on our children, especially our girls. I know my littlest one, 6yrs, sometimes will rather not eat too much because "she doesn't want to get fat." But of course if it's McDonald's she doesn't hold out. Alot of times even though we don't mention things kids pick up on our everyday things that we do. If you eat something or don't eat something they take notice and they percieve as to why and encourage that into their world. I don't know how to protect my daughter from my dieting and I don't think that I can. But I always have to tell her as long as you keep active you are just fine. On the other hand my son he eats as if there is no tomorrow and figures as long as he sucks it (his gut) in it's okay. I try not to laugh out loud but I find myself holding back my smiles at him.

Anyhow. I am miserable. I have a very bad throat infection and it hurts so bad that I can't turn my neck without it hurting. I can't swallow even water without it feeling like if something is stabbing my tounsils. It is the worst thing in the world. But it didn't keep me from going out to the ranch and bringing in the New Year. On the bright side I don't have much of an appetite because I know it will hurt so much. I have been forcing water only because I don't want to become dehydrated.

Well I am out of here. I am going to take my medicine and get to bed.
Kina

Gen, My daughter is 11 and she is the same way. She is always talking about being fat but she only weighs like 85 pounds and is the smallest kid in her class.She worries me more because she is ALWAYS eating. She bribes the extra food the twins have away from them and she hides food to eat later. The last one is what scares me the most.I have know idea how to handle her with the food hiding. It isn't like they aren't aloud to eat when they want but she is so afraid the twins are going to eat something before she can get back to it.I do not want to see my kids dael with the same issues I have but I also feel powerless to stop them. I mean how do you stop a kid from stealing food and hiding it for later?

I am glad your pig roast went well. I have always wanted to try one of those.Yummy.

Kina, I hope your throat feels better soon. I used to get tonsilitis all the time until they finally removed them in 9th grade.

Hi buddies. This is a tough time of year - winter depression can be a silent killer when you're trying to diet and look to a future, thinner, happier you. I think part of it is the disorder the holidays throw at you. The last two weeks have been bedlam as far as my nice neat eating and exercise plan goes. Two days ago I was asking myself why I was dieting - I'm me whether I'm heavy or not. Then I remembered that I was VERY unhappy last summer when I couldn't fit into most of my tank tops and jeans. When I did squeeze into my fave sleeveless shirts I felt like ten pounds of sausage in a five pound bag.

Jen - Kempy - keep your skinny you in your mind all the time. Keep thinking "this too shall pass" and focus on spring and renewal. The only way we can get there and feel satisfied with ourselves is to follow our hearts and not our stomachs! LOL

Just two days of keeping my mouth under control in the kitchen and I'm back into the routine of watching my portions and substituting fruit and vegetables and fish and chicken for the fat foods. Hot tea seems to be helping me right now - when I want to chow down - I make a BIG mug of tea with a little skim milk and sweetener and sip that. It satisfies!

The days are starting to get longer - that means more sunshine - brighter outlooks!

Choci I bet it is great to have your own workout room.

Jen please don't get depressed about the man thing. You have a new year to look forward to and I have always heard that you will find the right person when you aren't looking for them. I am sure that when you are working on yourself and helping your grandmother mister right will come walking into your like. You are a wonderful woman and I know that you will find someone that sees what I see.

Gen I bet that pig was good. I wouldn't worry about the gain I bet it is just water from the pig. Was it pretty well salted?

Kina I am sending healing thoughts your way.

Angie thanks for being there. You know I will keep pming you especially now that I have told Joe. I will need all of the help I can get.

Rusty I like what you said "this too shall pass" I really need to remember that.

I gave Joe my book that I was reading to show him the eating plan that it has and he thinks it is a good one. (he used to be a personal trainer so I trust him with the food advice) I never really asked what he thought of cetain ones that I tried I just did them. Now I see that they didn't work. He is going to buy me a scale for the food so it will be easier for me to make sure that I have the correct amount.

I wish I could give you guys advice about your kids but I don;t have any experiecne with that.

Ciao ladies,

Kina, I hope you feel better soon A sore throat is the worst

Jen, Keep your spirits up. I hope things get better for you as the year progresses.

Like Kempyd, I have no kids ( At times I still feel like one myself) So I'm kinda short on advise, They don't come with instructions but they need to

I've been out for the last few days because of a glich that took away my phone and internet service. I'm back now, whew.

I'm trying to stay motivated for the new year but after a good hard workout at the gym earlier today, I am so sore. No pain no gain, right.

Ciao Ladies,

Wow! I feel like I can hardly keep up with reading all of the posts, let alone adding my own! I did renew my dedication to my weightloss plan yesterday. So far so good! My sister bought a weight watchers kit off ebay and we are doing that. This is going to be much easier now that she's not pregnant and is trying to lose with me. Of course it is still annoying because I'd be perfectly happy to be where she is now!! But it is easier to eat right with someone else. All of this translating everything into points is a workout in and of itself. I think that that part will get easier though.
It has taken me over 1/2 an hour just to post this much with all of the interuptions in this house, so I'm going to sign off now. TTFN,

Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone saw Oprah today. She had Bob Greene on and women who had lost a great deal of weight. She talked about her customized weight loss plan and the changes she had made. It kind of made me feel good to here her say some of the changes she has made, because those are some of the things I've been doing since I began. The main one was stopping your eating at least 2-4 hours before you go to bed. I usually don't eat anything after 5pm, because I'm in bed by 9pm to get up at 4am. Just nice to know that that actually works at helping me lose! She also mentioned her water intake. I upped my water by a few ounces this week, plus intensified my workout this has helped me off the plateau. Hopefully weigh in on Saturday will be better than I expect. Kina- I hope your throat feels better soon. Kempyd- I'm glad your talk with hubby went well. It must help knowing how much support you have in him. He sounds like a great guy. Well I hope everyone is doing well. Jen- don't worry about the man thing, you're a beautiful person and the right one will come along, just wait and see Well gotta run. Take care all. Di

Wow guys, I feel like I have been so out of touch... the entries have been just flying. I weighed in today and I was UP 1.6 lbs from last week. *yikes* Of course, I actually thought last week's loss was a big fluke. Overall I am only up .8 of a .lb over the entire Christmas season, so I'm pretty psyched to have done this well considering that I got to have some of my favourite foods.

How many of you have put on massive amounts over other holiday seasons? I know I have. So maybe we aren't perfect yet but we are doing better. I might have to adopt this as a new motto *L*

Kina, hope you feel better soon. My mom would say gargle with salt water... but I say Ewwwww. Rest and get better.

Gennel and Angie, you both are faced with a scary thing... How do you keep your daughters from having all the issues with food and weight that we do? I don't envy you the job. I wish there was a magic pill that could make everything work out.

Kempy, I am glad your talk with your husband went well. It's good to have someone in your corner.

Jen, I agree with Kempy... good stuff will happen when you least expect it. Keep your chin up and look after youself.

Glad to hear everyone had a good holiday! Mine was a tad weird... but for reasons I would rather not go into. But this is a good start anyway. We can only get better as the year gets on.

Hi everyone, just wanted to say hi and "be accountable"! Oh god... I am actually watching "Saturday Night Fever" and I am marvelling over John Travolta and how effortlessly he seems to move on the dance floor, how sleek he is... hahahaha! I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true -- and it is pretty inspiring! *I* wanna dance like that! *giggle*

Anyway... I had an interesting day... I am not sure how it went. On one hand, I did have a full-sized pizza sub today (usually I have a half, if at all), and it took up nearly all my allowances for the day. I mean, I had a normal breakfast and a snack before our late lunch, so everything was higher than I've been doing the past couple weeks, but still under what I have been doing since I started. (I hope that makes sense!)

I'm abstaining from eating for the rest of the day. I don't know how it will show up on the scale, and I feel funny about it even though I managed to stay relatively OP. I don't exactly feel guilty, but... I guess the sad thing is that the sub wasn't that good and I still went ahead and ate the whole thing. I hate wasting my time on sub-par food anymore! *sigh*

Well, I've lost quite a lot since last week and even with the past two days having been at a standstill, I should be pleased with where I am at... I'm going to stay absolutely OP tomorrow and see how I feel about having a naughty day like I have planned for Saturday after weigh-in. Sometimes, even when I have one planned, when the day arrives it just doesn't seem worth it!

You know, some days I feel like an absolute powerhouse, and others I find myself wondering if any of this is doing any good... it's frustrating. I want to feel and look "normal" *now*!

Thanks for letting me vent,

Amy, PMSing

Ciao Ladies,

Choci, I feel your pain. One thing you must learn during this experience is patience. We are of a new generation that want things to happen right away, which is why we often by into the qiuck slim fads. But just hang in there, it will get easier.

Madcast- I am on of the guilty ones who put on a few pounds over the holidays, but I new I would so I'm okay with it.

Our military base has suffered the loss of two soldiers in a car accident. one of the soldiers lived in my barracks, he was 19. The other was a young female soldier, she was 19 as well. I don't know if alcohol was involved. It's still being investigated. We held a memorial service for them yesterday. Makes you realize how precious life is. So I'm definately going to do the best I can to stay healthy and happy.

Hope all is well with you girls, let's not loose focus, I want to see all of us have success.

TTYL,
-Dips-