Hi ladies
Well i had a sucky day and had to come here to whine about it. today was my weigh in and the scale didnt move i am so p***d off, i have been totally on plan with food and excersise. the only thing i can figure is the good old TOM is coming next week. anyway, sorry to whine, i know some of you are going through the same thing.
I was going to do personals, but no time tonight. I will tommorrow though.
Welcome back to all the people who have been missing.
Thanks for letting me whine, thats one of the things i love about this place,i know you all totally understand what im going through.
Have a good night and im looking for a good tommorrow

Thanks so much Charlene! Annie has 5 brothers and 1 sister and they are taking this really hard of course.

Hey y'all!! Thanks for starting this topic, its fantastic!
I just realized now that 140 kg (in australia) means 308lbs.. which is what I started at. I am now 294lbs...This is a huge (literally) shock to me right now!!! I definately don't feel 300lb. When I look in the mirror I don't see 300 lbs. This is some serious motivation for me... i do work out and eat well which is how i lost the first 14... although a bit worried how its all gonna come off Wondering what you all think of when you see the long long road ahead to keep you going...

Good Evening my dear sweet Chickies,

I had a good day today. It was a very low key and relaxing day. I stayed op all day again so that is 3 in a row that I have been a perfect I have counted every single thing that goes into my mouth. I just took my measurments just out of curiosity. I shouldn't have because it is way too early since I just did it a couple of weeks ago but boy oh boy did it feel wonderful to see smaller numbers! I talked to my Dad on the telephone tonight and told him how hard I was trying to loose weight. He was really supportive and gave me some advice that cracked me up. He said just remember, the key is to try your hardest to not eat too much sweets and things that will make you gain weight. I just love my dad. He is so sweet and he was trying so hard to give me some good advice without hurting my feelings. lol. I wish I could've climbed through the phone and hugged him. lol. I am so lucky to have had two special and wonderful darling men in my life. My daddy and my hubby. I wish for all of you to have the same as me. I truly do. Or at least a momma that is a doll. I didn't have that but I did get a great Daddy. Oooo I'm sappy tonight. lol.

Lori: Congrats on the WI. You can do it Lori. Keep on going. Come here for support when you are feeling low and tell us about it. I did last Saturday after my weigh in and I felt so much better after ward. These ladies are so sweet and caring. You couldn't have a better place to come to when you are needing a good, cry, laugh, grip... you name it.

Brenda: So glad that your back is better. Don't over do things because you are feeling better!

Brandnewme: I am praying for you to not have to drop school sweetie. I am considered disabled from my panic disorder and agoraphobia. I pray you don't get to this point. If you aren't taking meds for it there is a super one that has been helping me called "Cymbalta" Just a thought. I know how much your schooling means to you and I have watched you talk about going to school and getting your degree. If it is at all possible, get some meds and keep going! Big to you. I just don't want anyone else dropping out of life like I have for the past 7 years or so. I am slowly trying to come back but the longer you are away from things the harder it is to come back.

Shadie: Happy, Happy Anniversary to you my friend. How long have you been married? Sounds like you had a great time and it didn't cost too much. The best kind of night out! I hear you on not making a big deal out of being op or exercising. I have failed so many times but I am dragging my hubby into this time because I want him to help me. lol. I have thought about trying to get a part time job and not tell my hubby about it until I can stay at it without getting a panic attack and keep the job for more than a couple of days. I know what you mean about keeping things at first.

Sabrina: Yippee! Congrats on another -4. Great job.

Xena: Hi girl. Wondering where you have been at. Now, this is not to condem you or make you feel bad in any way. I just was wondering where you are with your Resolution to read the bible every day? I ask because I had that for one of my Resolutions too and I wanted to see how you are doing at it. I have missed a day here or there but I have made up for them the next day. I am on a bible reading plan put out by the Navigater. This will be the third year in a row that I have read the bible daily from Genesis to Revelation but the first year I am doing it without my Dear hubby. He and I are doing another bible study together each night on the Character of Christ. Wherever you are on your goal, good luck.

Shiffysmom: Hi there.

Misti: I am praying for Annie and her family. I will ask my hubby to pray as well.

Elaine: Wahoo. Congrats on -4. You are doing great!

Kymberly: Sorry that you had a scale today. I'm sure it is just that TOM is comming! How did the rest of your team do? I'm sure next week you will have a good weigh in !

Chimichanga: I hope that you come often and share and encourage as we all travel this long road to health. I myself handle the long road by taking smaller goals. I have my first goal set at -10% of my body weight right now. I will then set another goal that isn't too scarry! Just taking one day at a time.

If I didn't mention you by name I am thinking of you and praying for you.

Blessings all,
Annie

Hi Everyone,

Sorry about the lack of posts from me. When I'm at Mum's I don't have an Internet connection and when I have been home I have been rushed off my feet catching up on everything I've missed while I've been away and trying to get something organised for the start of our new school year next week. Neil and I are off again tomorrow to visit Mum. We stay overnight at her house tomorrow night (tomorrow is Australia Day here) and then we head down to another country town for a family reunion on Saturday. We'll stay overnight there and drive back fairly early Sunday to try to avoid traffic. I think I will be looking forward to getting back to work for the break! We have professional development days Mon and Tues, and the kids start back Wednesday. At least with me having most of the same kids I had last year I won't have as many hassles with start of the year settling in.

My weight went up a little this week and I was puzzled until TOM arrived... WITH A VENGEANCE!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!! I don't think I have EVER had one quite like this (thank you for sharing Zelma). I was told to expect differences like this with menopause heading my way, but that doesn't mean that I have to LIKE it! Yuck!!!!! Gross!!!!! I've had enough!!!!!! (Do you get my point yet?... I could keep going on if you still haven't worked it out... OK... I'll stop now)

I've been in at school a couple of days, and everyone asks how the holidays have been. I've battled with just saying "Fine" or telling them the truth. I end up just telling them the truth, no matter how hard it is to talk about Dad passing away, because they will find out sooner or later and then they will feel bad. It is getting easier to talk about it, so hopefully by the time I face everyone on Monday, and then the kids Wednesday, I will be able to talk about it without getting upset at all.

Neil and I had a lovely lunch today. We went to a resort/casino in the city. They have a buffet which is VERY well stocked and covers a wide variety of dishes. I KNOW I had too much, and I KNOW that I didn't make all of the best choices, and I KNOW I didn't really need to have dessert, and I KNOW I was more full than I have been in three years, but I also know that I wanted to do this and that I DESERVED to do this. I don't mean that I deserved to pig out, as that isn't what I did. I deserved to give myself a break. I deserved to give myself a short rest from the stresses of life and just to sit back and relax and enjoy some delicious food that I didn't have to prepare. I deserved to spend some time with my husband without being surrounded by other people. We went for a wander around the casino afterwards. We didn't do any gambling, as we aren't really into that sort of thing. I just like watching other people throw their money away... and there was a LOT of money passing hands. I suppose I did have a couple of moments of 'guilt' about eating so much for lunch, but I can live with those. I had a smaller morning tea and afternoon tea, and may have a lighter dinner. I also know for a fact that I made pretty good choices all round and my plate was mostly covered in salad/vegetables for the main meal and fruit for dessert. There were a few 'added extras', but even they were minimal. I can only imagine the damage I could have done to that buffet 3 years ago. I was also impressed, because the full feeling didn't actually last that long, so obviously the vegetables weren't hanging around too long, so I wasn't actually 'uncomfortable' at any time. I suppose it was just a surprise to actually have that 'full' feeling. I haven't really needed to feel that since I started my journey to lose weight, because I have known that another meal is just a few hours away, so I don't have to be overly full after any meal.

Anyway... there was a lot of rambling there, but I just wanted to let you know about my lovely lunch with my lovely husband. He may drive me crazy at times (even more so when TOM is around) but I wouldn't swap him for ANYTHING, and that is the honest truth.

Sorry I won't be getting any personals done today. I still have to email some school stuff to a friend who just got her first permanent teaching position, then I have to sort out my paperwork for Monday, then I have to decide what I want to pack for the weekend... then... Oh... I'll worry about the rest later.

I hope you all have a lovely end to the week and a wonderful weekend. Catch you on Sunday.

Take care,

Zelma

Good Morning All,

It's official, I HATE Phishers and I joined MySpace purely so that I would be able to view a couple of my friends photos and videos on there. Some swine got a hold of my login details from phishing and I was stupid enough to use the same password for my email address too I am not sure exactly what they can do using that information, so I have had to go to all the important online sites that I use and change all my passwords. How frustrating. It's one of the very few times on this weight loss journey of mine that I have really really wanted to stuff my face for comfort. I wouldn't give the phishers that power though, they took enough already by stealing my details. So I didn't pig out, but I did have a sleepless night. But anyway, that's that, everything else in my world is fine

Patti - I understand about you wanting to keep using your treadmill if possible. I don't see the attraction myself lol, doesn't it get boring? As for my new DVD it is fun, but it will be far more fun when I am as skinny as the girl on the DVD. Some of those steps are just impossible for a 'big girl' like me

Annie - ditto to you on the encouragment compliment. You were one of the first people I noticed on this site because of how friendly and caring you were/are

So how did you enjoy slipping into those new PJs. I love when I get new ones and I am getting into a nice freshly made bed too. Bliss

Well done you for staying so OP this week, I KNOW that FFM won't be mean to you this week. I think she spat out all her negativity at poor Lilion, it's about time she started being nice now

Your daddy sounds like a real treasure, I too wish you could have done a 'Matrix' and gone through the phone to give him a cuddle

Loriette - I am not sure what you weighed before, but on being 288 now. From you excitement I just know you had a good loss You are sounding so motivated and committed to losing the weight, I know you will do it.

Do you live in a small house? I do, and my two girls share a bedroom, not a very big one at that. When I used to buy them toys rather than the smaller stuff like CDs and jewllery etc now that they are older I had to have a major sort out of stuff to make room for their Christmas gifts. The local charity shop used to do well from those sort outs lol. I hope you managed to get yours all done and your kids presents finally put away

Brenda - glad that your back is feeling a bit better and that you managed some time on your and did some cleaning as well. I have to say it does sound funny how you cleaned when the cleaner is due on Friday. She will have a easy job this week

Brandnewme - panic attacks are the pits and I am so sorry you have started suffering so badly with them. I know some people can take meds that help keep them under control without making them dopey or anything. Maybe you could look into that before having to withdraw from school. It would be such a shame if you had to do that.

Well done on still sticking to your healthier eating and reaching for the water instead of the soda You are doing great even at 50% OP.

Shadie - I am so happy to hear what a wonderful anniversary you had. Hubby sure did make up for all those anniversaries he couldn't be with you

I can't believe what a horrible kid that was to whack you on the head like that. Was it a random act and you didn't know who the kid was? I hope they got their come uppance whoever they were. Bells Palsey for you must have been a nightmare, but a lifetime of migraines as bad as you get them, all because of some rotten kid, it's just unforgivable I can't stand a migraine that lasts 24 hours, I think I would be suicidal if I had to deal with one for a month

Sabrina - on being 4 lbs down on your scales, that's brilliant I hope you see a similar loss at your WW WI

Xena - so glad you checked in, I was starting to worry. Sorry you have been so busy, I hope things will calm down a bit for you so you feel more in control. I find it's so hard to stay motivated when I diet if I lose that feeling of control, eating at the right times and getting my exercise done etc.

Charlene - for the compliments. I love posting here, but it's always nice when somebody says something like that I wish they did a smiling blushing emoticon rather than that shocked one

Misti - glad to see you are still about, how are you doing with the FFM, is she being kind this year?

I am sorry to hear about that little girl. I hope she will make a full recovery, I am sure there will be no shortage of prayers for her including mine!

Elaine - that's fantastic that you lost 4 lbs, well done

Kymberly - when you know you have been OP and have exercised and done everything right, then you should also know that to not have a loss on the scales is going to be down to something like fluid retention, or possibly in your case the imminent arrival of TOM. Try not to let it get you down. Just look towards your next WI when you should have a nice loss to make up for the not so nice one

Chimichanga - Hi and Well done on your weight loss so far, it's a great start. My advice to you is to NOT look towards your end goal, don't think of how far you have to go. Always make mini goals for yourself and before long all those mini goals will have added up and you will be shocked to find you are close to the end goal. And as you reach each mini goal you feel so great because you have achieved something. A lot of us here give ourselves rewards when they reach a goal, it doesn't have to be anything expensive, just a little something for our efforts. I get a lovely foot massage from my husband as a reward sometimes, or I might buy some lovely bath salts and have a nice long soak in the bath while I read a new book. So, yes, mini goals, and rewards for them is my advice

Zelma - it was so lovely to see your post and to hear how you are doing. You seem to be coping ok, but I know of course that you will have your down times. I just hope when all the kids at school start showing you some concern about your sad news that you can hold it together Just keep remembering the happy times, hopefully that will help.

Well, hubby just got in so it's time to get breakfast now. Take care all and I will post more later.

Hugs,

Ammi

Zelma -- I am soooo glad to hear from you hon!!! *hugs*

Ammi- -- Getting closer to that WI? I'm gonna try today and bust my butt and see if between now and the end of the month, I can't get closer. I'm gonna keep the same goal for FEB though.

Girls, things here have been doing well. House situation is getting better, and school is smoothing out.

I have a question for those of you who go to the gym about prices. (Anyone else feel free to chime in!!)
Our college has certain days a week that students can go and use the facilities ( they have classes there too) and you can pay $35 for 4 months. Is this a good price? We will have an instructor too!

Amanda says hi to all!! (Ammi she thinks you are very funny!!!)

Love y ou all chickies!!

Erika

Good morning everyone. Ammie no i dont get bored on my treadmill i just put on good music and sing ... rather badly... right along with the music.. it goes prett fast on most days.i did weigh one day early this week becase i will be busy tomorrow and i Finally saw a loss.

Ammi -- I will let her read more of them. She likes to look as I talk on here. she thinks that it's interesting. But to answer the surgery part, no we don't know when it will be -- or how we are going to pay for it.
She has to see another Dr Friday Morning.
Did you read my thing about the Gym thing here at school. Is that a good deal? I really don't know but could use some advice.

Anyone ever told you that you look really happy in your AVY picture? You do!!


Jill -- CONGRATS!! Wish sister and the baby well!! That is very awesome!

As for me, I'm at school typing a paper that has to be checked in a few hours. (It's due with no mistakes on Tuesday!) Wish me luck LOL!!

Love you girls --

Erika Leigh

Morning Chickies!

Catherine- a good friend of mine said recently that the last of the weight is the hardest to get off because it's been around so long it's made itself at home...kind of like unwanted houseguests. The longer they stay the harder they are to get rid of!

Kymberly - BOY do I know how frustrated you are! I've decided my GAIN of a pound has to be either (1) PMS or (2) muscle. I haven't been visited by TOM since my procedure in June so I've totally lost track of any cycle…but I still have the PMS without it. AND I measured last night and have lost 1" on the waist and hips, although all the other fat refuses to shrink…so maybe I built a lb of muscle? Either way, I'm sure something of the sort is going on with you too!

Annie – You are just the sweetest woman ever! You know that? And did I see you say you lost some inches? Well there you go – you may have been gaining a bit on the scale, but all that exercise is definitely working nonetheless! WHY do we become such slaves to the scale? No doubt I'm the worst!

Chimichanga - First of all, don't look at losing 100 lbs! It's just too daunting. But you lost 14, right? Then lose another 14. Then another. As other's repeatedly tell me…this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. The rest will come off just like that first 14, slow and steady. You get the idea.

Shady – Happy Anniversary! I love the casinos! Black Jack is my game!

CONGRATULATIONS AUNTIE JILL!

Well all, got to run. No rest for me these days – sorry I didn't do more personals….I'm just out of time!

Morning. Been a while, just busy with visiting distant friends etc. Okay, an hour away isn't distant but that particular destination has always felt very far away! Also, Sun. my (last) uncle died; it was a shock but in retrospect it wasn't a surprise. He had heart disease and my aunt died 3 mo. ago. It's hard on my mom because she's the last left now of five kids, and additionally it throws her mortality in her and all of our faces. Sis died of blood clot at 39? Check. Brother died of heart attack at 70? Check. Brother died of heart condition at 70? Check. Everyone's thinking, "well, looks like we have about ten years left with mom."

On a less morbid note, still having the delightfully odd experience of no cravings like, ever. And on another note, I swear, I've become a freaking hothouse flower. Going to the funeral home last night shifted me off my feeding schedule and when I got home I was grumpy grumpy grumpy! All because I was hungry.

Mentally, I've been trying to listen for the 20-pound monster. I talked about it a lot in one of my boring rambling thread topics, how I'll do great to 20 pounds and then mysteriously plummet down a mountainside. I hadn't heard the monster yet, which was a double-edged sword: it was comforting to suppose it wasn't there, but it was also unnerving to think it might be lurking there quietly. In the past I never listened to it, so I suppose that is an acquired skill. Whatever it was it whispered, I unthinkingly obeyed.

Every day or so I've bent my ear curiously, hoping to catch the breath of the beast.

THIS MORNING I'VE HEARD IT!

It said, "Just who the **** do you think you are? What. Do you think. You're doing."

Just that. Nothing more.

Curiouser and curiouser. It seems distressed by my efforts. It seems to think I must fail, that success is beyond my station.

I haven't decided on a plan of action. Do I answer it? Do I ignore it? Do I deflect its presumptuous attitude with some attitude of my own? Do I visualize punting it? Do I visualize hugging it? So many options. I'm just going to sit for a bit and let the options stew, all the while relishing the fact that I've heard the Beast, and the Beast doesn't know that yet.

Good Morning everyone.I am new to the web site, and I am so glad to have found it. Some history for me: 2 years ago I weighed 336. Now I am 299. I've been battling with the 300-290 range for almost a year and a half. I get down to 292, plateau, give up, and catch myself again around 300. Argh. I could really use the help and motivation that I'm finding on this web site. If you don't mind, I would like to join this thread, and maybe get and give any needed help. Hope to talk to you all later.

ps: what is OP?