We are a group of individuals who weigh or have weighed 300+, or near there. This group was formed to provide a place for others like us to find support and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

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Motivational Monday
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Thankful Thursday
FUN Friday ... don't wait until you lose your weight.
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We have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, and more. Please feel free to check them all out.

We have found this thread to be more than just a support group...
we have found it to become a home. We invite you to join us.

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Morning and welcome to the day after , My house is a disaster from the holidays. It is going to be a good day
Anna

Good morning, everyone! WHEW!!! Christmas is over and now I can get back to normal! I weigh in tomorrow and it's going to be ugly. I pretty much gave up these past couple of weeks. That is OK. I am ready to get back into the swing of things now. I am off work today but have a busy day planned. I've got to get my bills paid, have a doctor's appointment, an appointment for my little pooch to get his shots and his nails trimmed, go to the bookstore to buy what I need for my calculus class starting 1/16 , go to the scrapbook store to check out the sales and sign up for a card-making class I want to do, come home and do laundry and clean house a little bit. Tomorrow should be a lazier day and then it's back to work on Thursday where I will be busy busy busy til March or so.


OK, I hate to do it because I always seem to fail at these, but I have decided to do New Year's resolutions this year. Here they are:


1. Lose 75 pounds in 2007 - Being the accounting numbers nerd that I am, I have graphed out some minigoals throughout the year to get me to that 75 pounds (like losing 10 pounds by Valentine's Day, etc.) I know setting specific weight goals can sometimes lead to disappointment, but as my screenname indicates, I have been here since 2005 and really have gotten nowhere except a little bit heavier. I really need to take this seriously and make is a project of importance in my life. Anytime I have done important long term projects for work, I have always done it with interim goals layed out along the way to keep me on track to the final goal. So I am going take the same tact with this project of getting to a healthier weight. My specific plan for losing the weight is to focus on my WW plan one day at a time. I bought a giant wall calendar that I can use to track what I did each day that was a step toward my ultimate goal, like exercise and staying with my my points for the day. Once I weigh in tomorrow I'll know my "official" starting weight for 2007.


2. Read the entire New Testament - I bought a Bible several years ago that breaks the NT down into manageable daily readings with the goal being to have read the entire thing in 365 days. I always seem to stop and start and this year I want to finish it.


3. Finish 8 credits towards my master's degree - There are some things I need to accomplish before I can even start this (do well on the GMAT and complete my calculus class with at least a B). But I wanted to set a goal for myself for the year otherwise I could totally see this MBA thing getting strung out over a very long period of time or maybe even never finishing.


4. Make more of a concerted effort to get together with friends I don't see as often as I would like. My goal is to try to plan one get together a month. I have really seen myself turn into an all work and no play sort of gal (as evidenced by resolutions 1,2, and 3 ) and life is just too darned short for that.



OK, that's it. Only 4 things but all pretty challenging things, well I guess #4 should be fun, not challenging.


I am off now. Got to get cracking on today's to-do list!

Quiet on here...hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!!

My office is soooo quiet. I have to come in all week since I refuse to use any of my paid time off (I hoard it like no one's business ). It will be a really easy week since no one else is around--I like to save my vacation time for when I really need a break, but this week is pretty much a break anyway. There are literally only 5 of us here today for my group (out of our usual 15-20). But hey, it gives me time to post on here

I didn't do too badly over the long weekend. I was super-stressed, though. Of course, doesn't it figure that I ended up working late on Friday when I had a long drive to do that evening and was actually hoping to leave a little early, so that started things off on the wrong foot right there. So, as Iwas hoping to be on the road with JEff by about 3, we didn't leave until about 4. I knew traffic would be atrocious, but add to the normal holiday traffic the fact that it was raining, and you would think every car in the country was on I-95 that evening, it was so slow! Without traffic, this trip normally takes us about 3 hours (that's how long it took us to get home on Sunday). On Friday evening, it took us more than 6 hours. We even stopped for dinner at one point (that's not included in the 6 hours--it was 7 hours total, with maybe an hour for dinner), hoping the traffic might ease up a bit while we were eating, but no such luck. We got to my sister's around 11pm, tired and cranky. We open the trunk to get our luggage and gifts and such only to find that, yes, we left our big bag at home. Said big bag contained all of my clothes, shoes, and our toiletries. I, therefore, had no pajamas, no clean socks/underwear, no toothbrush--nothing. So, yes, at 11:30pm, Jeff and I went to the 24-hour Walmart Supercenter (thank goodness we were visiting Va Beach and not any of our relatives that live in small towns where everything shuts down at 9pm). And ya know what? IT WAS PACKED! We bought me a few clothing items, some socks and underwear, and toiletries, and we literally waited more than half an hour in line. AT MIDNIGHT! Don't these people sleep?! And it's not like they only had a couple registers open--there were 12 open registers that I saw. INSANE!

So yeah, stress quickly became a factor in my weekend. We exchanged gifts with my family on Saturday morning, and luckily my mother got me a few new shirts, so I had something normal to wear. Saturday was fine as far as food and whatnot. I even went for good walks both Saturday and Sunday while in Va Beach to get my exercise in. I was very much in control for the big meals and even made my own smoothies for breakfast while everyone else had pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, etc. The one thing I did allow myself to splurge on was fudge. The rest of the stuff (ham, turkey, breakfast foods, mashed potatoes, etc.) I can have any time of the year, but my mother only makes her fudge for Christmas, so I allowed myself to have some.

Sunday, we drove back up to our apartment (only 3 hours, thank goodness), switched out the luggage, packed all the new stuff into Jeff's car, and drove up to his cousins' in MD (only about an hour drive). They were not yet home from Christmas Eve at their family's, so Jeff and I went out for dinner. Now, I ate out 2 times over the weekend, and I think I did well, considering. Each time, I got a grilled chicken sandwich (most condiments on the side so it wouldn't be slathered with honey mustard or whatever) and did not have any fries. I did have 3 fried mozzarella sticks on Sunday, but I had planned to have them, so I didn't feel guilty.

Christmas Day was my biggest downfall. Because of all the packing and unpacking and switching and blah blah blah, I hadn't brought any of my own food. I had their fatty breakfast with them and the high-calorie dinner and some crackers with *gasp* Easy Cheese (yeah, the kind in the squirt can). I should have known better because I know myself well enough to know that eating poorly at all can set off a very bad domino effect, and sure enough, when we got home last night, I ate the rest of the ice cream in our freezer It had been there for about 2 weeks, and I hadn't touched it at all, but last night, I caved.

But, nothing I can do but move on, right? I got on the scale this morning to tally my damage, and it was still below 290 (not by much, but still below!). Now, I must mention that while in Va Beach, having only the black casual shoes on my feet, I did go buy some sneakers at Payless so I could go walking both days. However, those sneakers for just those two 30-minute walks caused me a HUGE blister on the bottom of the ball of my right foot. It KILLED! I didn't do any exercise yesterday in the hopes that it would heal, but then last night, I noticed it had popped and was peeling, and now it's all that new pink skin underneath, and it hurts all over again. It hurts to walk, to go down stairs, to drive...to do just about anything that puts pressure on the ball of my foot. grr...

Luckily, I did get a set of adjustable hand weights for Christmas! So maybe I can still get in some exercise that way by doing mostly upper body exercises today. Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow.

Alright, time to end this novel--I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday and will have a safe and happy new year's as well!

Annie -- WTG on exercising over the break!

Hi all - I'm back from my holiday too. I didn't too so great on the eating. For the first time since July of 05, I really let myself relax more around food. I didn't go nuts, but I did eat quite a bit! The scale this morning only shows about a pound or two of damage (hard to tell, since the scale had been up already, and then dipped a little). All I know is that I'm over 180 again. We'll see over the next few days if that goes up or down.

If this is for life, I need to know I can step back for a few days and then step back in again, so the relaxing part was deliberate. However, I do know that I ate more than I wanted too, sometimes reflexively. Clearly, still things to work on. Let's see if I get back on track today!

Hope you all had great holidays if you celebrate!

Hi ladies. I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful! We haven't had our "Christmas" yet, because DH and I both had to work. His family is 8 hours away, and my family is an hour away, so we spent a quiet evening at home together. We didn't even decorate this year, because we have an almost 6-month old kitten who enjoys terrorizing our house.

We actually had a white Christmas for a change. We've had blizzarding conditions off and on for a week now. It's been nasty! The roads leading out of here have been closed on and off for the last few days. Unfortunately that means I can't go see my family, but I'd rather be safe and sound at home than attempt to drive through the blowing snow.

I'm getting exercise in here and there, but lately I haven't done nearly what I'd hoped. Eating hasn't been the best either. I intend to start again after the 1st, because we're going to be pretty much broke until then and won't be able to go grocery shopping so it's a matter of eating what's available.

Anyway, just wanted to drop in and wish all of you the best!

Morning Chickies!

Jilly, you did SO WELL over the holiday! You should be very proud of yourself. All the posts I've seen where you went to a party and ate NOTHING or ate out and had grilled chicken - Just amazing! I wish I could say the same. I really hope your foot heals up quick.
'
Xena sounds like you have busy times planned. Hope you get to relax on one of your days off. I go back to work tomorrow and am going to wait for a few days before I do my shopping/returning. I like your resolutions, especially 1 and 4. Those are two of mine as well.

Heather I'm sure that you'll get back under 180 in no time. I'm sure you have this down and will do well.

I'm not even going to pretend I did well over Christmas. I ate what I wanted and did not exercise either Christmas eve or Christmas day. However, yesterday I made some 1 pt WW bran muffins so I have something reasonably healthy to eat when I'm feeling snacky or for a quick breakfast. We're out of sweet potatoes (which wouldn't have been bad if I hadn't covered them with butter, brown sugar and pecans!) and pie so all that's left is the turkey and a bit of stuffing. I'm such a roast turkey junkie. Literally, I could eat it at every meal and not in moderation. Thank God it's somewhat low-cal/low-fat, now that all the skin is gone! Yep, ate that too.

So today, I'm resolving to be back on track. I'm still lazing about in my new robe and slippers, but I'm ready to get dressed and hit the eliptical in a bit and later on I'm going to do one of my new yoga dvd's. I'm also going to start journalling my food again today and drinking water like I should. Back on track! That's me! It's been nearly two years since I started this journey. 'bout time I finished it.

hello everyone i hope all had a great christmas1 it has been extremely busy here for the past 2 weeks. i left with my hubby on the 17th for a big rig ride to Las VEGAS.we ended up snowbound in New Mexico for awhile .. about 10 ours stuck at a truck stop lol1 it was really pretty though. didnt do great on my eating these holidays so i know the scale will be bad on friday.not gonna worry about it though!

Deb: You have some great New Years Resolutions. I love this time of year it feels so fresh and bright to me. I always make some goals about now. Good luck achieving yours. I'm sure you will do well.

Jilly: I think you did really well. I'm proud of you.

Wyllen: Hope you had a great time. I know you will be back where you should be in no time at all.

Brandnewme: We had a very quite Christmas too. It was nice but we did miss family. Hope you have a wonderful Year in 2007

Patty: Glad you are back safe and sound. Sounds like you had a nice trip.

Lilion: Don't worry about how you did. Just take a step in the right direction this new year and you will continue to do well.

I did fine myself. Ate only when I was hungry and didn't endulge in many treats at all. As a matter of fact I passed by even one of my favorite candies tonight, resees peanut butter cups. I gave them both to my dh. I did exercise every single day and am so excited to be over my goal for the month by so much. I can't wait to post it all. I may post some of it tomorrow. I have to get ready for one of my sister in laws to come for a visit now. She will be here on Thursday until Christmas Day she leaves back to CA. It should be fun. Well, off to the bike now. I have done my tummy exercises and the weights already for the day just missing the 2 miles on the bike.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

MOrning Ladies,
Although I am glad xmas is over I think the day should last a bit longer. My BF and I had 3 homes in 3 different towns to go to and I feel like we just exchanged gifts and ran all day though it helped not being able to walk by grandma's goodies all day. Great part is I was able to turn down desert at his sisters without guilt, turtle cheese cake yummy though I am lactose intolerant and really didn't want to pay for that for an entire day. It smelled wonderful .
His mother made us about 5 pounds of homemade fudge which most of it promptly went into the freezer along with 4 dozen cookies and all the candy that my uncle gave us. I ate a little too much fudge though now I can look at it and choose something else.
Be nice to get back on track today, moving the exercise bike in the house today and moving out some furniture to accomodate it. Have a great day ladies
Anna
Will do personals later, and try and see who is all here still. Might take me awhile to catch up to speed.

Good morning ladies, just a quick post to say hi!!! Glad everyone had a good xmas, mine was great!! i am now the proud owner of a Gazelle, thats right, im oficially a Gazelle Girl my friend got one for xmas, and while i was discussing with her that i was going to buy one after work, another friend told me she had one for sale. it was bought this year and basically never used, so i got a like new Gazelle for 40 dollars less than new!! You gotta love that anyway i tried it out last night, and OMG, you really get a workout, i love it!!
As i mentioned in a previous post, next week is the beginning of the wt loss contest at work. i found out that the cash prize will actually be more than 1,000!! it is 60% of the fees paid, and a quick math test showed that right now, that is almost 5,000!!
i hope everyone has a great day, my motivation is good now, i hope it stays that way.
see ya later

Kymberly ,
THat is awesome on the gazelle, I love mine though it has been collecting dust for way too long. One of my new years resolutions Have fun with it, I usually place mine in front of the tv and a half hour goes by pretty quickly. $5000, talk about incentive. either way you will come out a winner

Okay so I have been updating my fitday foods and customizing in prep for the new year so it doesn't take as much time. really have to get this fudge under lock and key though it being frozen now makes it less appealing. I wish i could give some of it away though my bf would be heart broken. So that is not an option. Have a great day ladies.
ANna

Hi everyone!

Annie - You did so well over the holiday! Good for you!

Kymberly - Talk about an incentive! I think I could definately get on that eliptical for Five Grand! Good luck to you!

Well, I did my eliptical yesterday, then my good intentions went down the road they are paving! I ate way too much and never got to the yoga dvd's. Ah well. Try, try again. I got up this morning and did 15 minutes or so instead of the usual 10 and brought a healthy snack and lunch with me. And today starts my "diet week" anyway. It's also WI too - NOT something I'm looking forward to - but I suppose it has to be done!

**********************
Hey! I just realized something! I set a goal of getting up in the a.m. and doing the eliptical at least 10 out of 14 days - and I DID IT! Can you believe that?!? Lilion met an exercise goal! And...ready for a bigger shock? I don't plan on quitting! In fact, since I upped to 15 today I plan on trying to keep it there for a couple weeks!

What's come over me?