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.

We want to invite everyone (roosters as well as chicks!) to join us in our journey. We share laughter and tears, heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations. We also share what works for us and what doesn't.

We know the thread can move very quickly, and that people often make "personal" remarks and keep a number of conversations going. Please feel free to contribute even if you can't make personal comments all the time.

Finally, we also have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, Photos, Exercise, Info for Getting Started and more. Many of these threads are stickied at the top of the page. 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.

I know you'll all agree that we are really thankful for the free services here at 3FC. The sisters offer all of this support and information with no charges to us. There are a couple of ways though that we can help out.

If you are thinking about buying anything at Amazon, why not help out 3FC at the same time? You can do this by clicking on the button for the Amazon "store" in the upper right hand corner of the screen on the PURPLE tool bar. A portion of your purchase price will be given to 3FC by Amazon. It doesn't increase your price at all, but it does help out 3FC. You can use any of the Amazon.com links that you see on the site in order to help contribute to the site.

Also, BTW, in case you didn't know it, you can view the message boards "ad free" for a minimal charge. I think it's $15 for 6 months. A very small investment to be rid of the annoying ads and make your pages load quicker.

There have been some concerns expressed by the powers that be about copyright infringement. So please, if you are directly quoting someone else or printing an article in whole or in part, please give credit where credit is due!!!

Good morning, everyone! Here it is Monday already! Time to be up and at 'em! Move move move.

Heather, thanks for getting us going on a new thread! Oh and as for the bike helmet... the reason I didn't have it was because when I left home I didn't plan on riding but was just taking it in for repairs. But as cheap as helmets are I may just buy another one to leave in the car trunk just in case!

Catherine, glad you are feeling better and yah I can sure understand that having so much daylight would affect your sleep! And yah probably wise to learn how to fix the bike flats and stuff myself except I think I would really rather just pay someone to do it. And in this case they didn't charge me anything at all for the labor since I bought the stuff there.

Lisa congratulations on the 34.1 pounds! Sounds as if you are doing just great on your plan!! Way to go!

Debbie, LOL I wear myself out too! Tee hee... in fact yesterday afternoon I slept and read most of the day. Didn't do any exercise at all and it felt good to just crash. And I would love to get together with you sometime and go biking when you get your bike! It was definitely worth it for me spending the $$$ to buy it as I enjoy being out and it is something "new" to do for exercise. Not sure where you live but the Burke Gilman trail is not that far from me. I was going to try the Interurban but that is the one that said "Please Walk Bikes" LOL. I think they still have quite a way to go on finishing it, as it is supposed to eventually connect with BG and go north so a lot of it is still either walking or just riding on the roads. Oh and your "splurge" breakfast does not sound that bad... you kept the portions of stuff very small... LOL except of course yes the cinnamon roll was kind of "off" but still you did okay as long as you jump right back OP!!!

Sharon, LOL about your experimenting with your diet foods to make them a bit more palatable! We have to do what we have to do to keep this thing going, huh? And thanks for asking about Annie. She is continuing to improve but of course still has a long way to go. But she is beginning to eat stuff like graham cracker crumbs with her own hand, say stuff like "mo" for "more" etc. She completed a month in in-patient rehab and is now back at home with outpatient rehab. But we are thankful that she is continuing to make progress, slow as it seems at times.

Well, about time to go to work and I am not ready so have to rush around as usual!!

Blessings to everyone, and I look forward to reading more about each of your day!!

Sue

Hey everyone!

I'm feeling excellent this Monday morning. I went for my weekly "official" weigh in yesterday and I'm down another 3lbs! That's a total of 11. Now it's time to start getting active. I took my bike out Saturday and started dusting it off a little ... I just have to not be so lazy when I get home from work. Doesn't sound so hard, does it?

Things are sloooowing down a bit here. I've only lost 2.7 pounds in the last two weeks. I'm hoping it's water retention! If by the end of the week I've still only had a small loss again I'm going to reassess things. It could just be a semi-plateau. I don't specifically count calories, but I've done rough tallies and I think I'm eating between 1200 and 1500 a day. Perhaps this is one of those situations where I have to eat a little more for a while. Perhaps it's because I just turned 40 and have hit some sort of dreaded metabolic wall.

Then again, perhaps I should just quit whining and enjoy my 1.2 pound loss this week!

Congrats on the 3 pounds inadreem. Hoping you have another great week this week!

Good Morning My Chickies!!

Nancy: on finally finding your apt!!
3 months is a way loooong time, but I knew when the right one came along you would find it!!! I am really happy for you...the place looks so nice...I love the blue in the bathroom!!!


Kayley: I am so glad you are feeling better, and like the other ladies, hope you don't mind all the extra Mommy-ing!! My boys are going to the "Warped Tour" and are seeing other local bands this summer...I used to do it alot too, so I know how much FUN it is!!!


cdncatlover: It is getting really hot here too. I am not a big fan of extreme heat...85 is the most I like! And crazy enough...we are most likely going to move to Florida in about 3-5 years!


Zelma: I LOVE that outfit!! And there is no need to worry about the "mutton/lamb" thing...you look awesome and should show it off every chance you get!!! I always tell my kids that if I was skinny I would be walking around with very little clothing on!!! Which always leads to major and someone always handing me a -type food!!


Catherine: I am SO happy to see you are feeling better my friend!!
Those rotten hormones always screw everything up!! Too bad science hasn't come up with a pill that when you fell that you are done with having kids you can just be through with the whole thing!! Why should we have to suffer for so long afterwards? I would have taken it 10 years ago!!!! I am so done with the whole mess!!!(yep...it's my turn to PMS!!!)And oh man, chinese is a hard thing to pass up even if it makes me swell like a balloon!!


Debbie: Sorry you aren't getting much sleep, and I hope your cough gets better soon! I was reading that it is important to have proper sleep or whatever program you are doing might not work as well. If you can (even with all those people!) try to take a short nap.


Cris: on your daughter's awards!! You must have been one proud mama!!! It's funny, when someone notices and actually says something, I find myself feeling great for the moment, but I always wind up going off-point the rest of the day. I know it should make me focus more, but I can't figure out why I go the other way. I must have some real bigtime issues I don't know about!!


Sue: Just reading your posts make me tired!! I am so proud of you for all the exercising you are doing...even if you already blew out your tire!!! I'm glad it wasn't too expensive to fix. And those 3 lbs have to be muscle!!!!


Lisa: Glad you are finding some easier ways to have your meals. I find it hard to believe that grilled chicken and lettuce is a "bad" thing!!


Sharon: OMG!!! That sounds so scary!!! (Is that why you had the toilet accident, cause I sure would have!!) You are lucky you didn't get hurt! I am always shutting down the computer and stuff when it is stormy.


As for me, a busy weekend is over, even though a busier one is ahead!! My parents are comming from Florida on Sat (I love them to death, but it's still slightly stressful ), and Scott's graduation and party is Sunday. My "boys" have redone the deck, put up the gazebo and lights, even built some benches and a small table!! I have been running around looking for a patio set~I have found a million but none that I actually like the table AND the chairs at the same time! Either the chairs are too flimsy or the table is ugly. {{{sigh}}}
I have cheated this am and got on the scale and lost another lb, but I can't count that until Thurs. But it still made me feel good...I think the jumping in and out of the car really CAN count as exercise!!!

Have a Great OP Day!

Hey congrats on 50 Story! That's awesome, and a huge accomplishment.

Lisa-I hope your foot is feeling better. I know you must feel great to be back on track with just a detour. I hope you enjoyed your Father’s Day dinner. My husband wasn’t able to be with his dad, but sent things and talked to him several times. His two sisters sent nothing, and didn’t bother to call. I told him that his sisters are so stupid. My dad died when I was in my early 20’s, and I’d give anything to be able to call him and talk to him on his birthday or Father’s Day. I envy you.

Debbie-I’ve always found that the day after a big slip, I actually have lots of extra energy. Who knew that cutting calories might affect something like how much energy you have. Did you get your breakfast in bed? That would have made it doubly decadent.

Sharon-I’m so glad you guys are okay, to **** with the electronics. We had seven people hit here yesterday, and one died, and his wife lost the baby she was carrying. I was struck once through a phone line. Why I was on a pay phone outside in the middle of a lightening storm is another story. When you wake up in a puddle in the middle of a parking lot, that’s never good. At least your house didn’t catch fire either. We used to have so much lightening in St. Pete that that’s why I started using laptops. That way I can run with it unplugged. Surge protectors don’t stop lightening.

Sue-Well, if you can talk anyone out of charging for labor, then that is definitely the way to go. Now if you could find a car mechanic who would do the same thing.

Inadreem-Congrats on the loss. Now of this is “hard” exactly. I often say that this diet is very simple, just not easy. Eat less, move more is just so simple isn’t it? If it makes you feel any better, they have actually found couch potato genes that make certain people adverse to exercise. So it could be that it isn’t your fault, blame it on you ancestors.

Meta-As many plateaus as I have had, I have broken more of them with eating more that eating less. They usually happen to me when I start some kind of new exercise program, so my body just shuts down practically. I think out of protest.

Donna-I former roommate is an alcoholic, and she would literally have a binge once a month. She finally had a hysterectomy, and had a lot easier time. She said that most of the women at her AA are post menopausal. I guess that if you had a problem with drinking, those hormones would make it harder. I know that if I’m going to have a big binge, that it happens then. I had the same problem when I was buying a new dining table. I finally found what I wanted at a used business furniture place. It had been a conference table. I like stackable chairs. We need to be able to seat a couple of dozen at a time during parties, but this is a small condo. Between parties I stack them next to the wall behind the table. They are also stronger than the average chair if you know what I mean. The table with 12 stacking chairs cost less than $100. I liked that too.

Peggy-That makes complete sense about having to eat more. That has happened to me repeatedly. When I could barely get out of bed, I ate 1200. When I started walking, I had to go up to 1500, and when I started swimming, I had to go up to 1800, and even at that I had to have some fruit in the locker room to have enough strength to drive home. That’s pretty much where I am at now. At my weight, an hour of shoveling snow or yard work can burn 1500 calories.

The Story-Congratulations on reaching 50 pounds. I know that has got to make you feel great. Watch out for those injuries. I’m nursing several right now, and have decided to just rest until they heal. Our bodies haven’t been used to doing this kind of stuff in years, or maybe ever, so you have to treat your body like a pro athletes at time.

I’m off to do some sewing and laundry. After that I’m going to get my big backpack and hit the grocery store. It’s a big internal frame one like I used to use for backpacking trips. I do have fun with my husband sometimes with it. When we have a spat, and I decide to go for a walk, I’ll tell him I’m going to the mall, and I’m taking my big bag. The look of sheer terror on his face is priceless. I rarely buy anything because I’m a horrible skin flint, but I like for him to worry about it. I did once buy a couple of pillows on sale for $5, and when I came in the door with my bag stuffed, I put it down hard like it was really heavy. His eyes got to be the size of saucers. As an example of how big a tight wad I can be, we bought some balloons with Canadian flags on them for my party after I became a permanent resident. After the party, I untied them carefully, and put them back in the package for the next party. That just blew himself away. He said he’s seen people reuse birthday cake candles, but never balloons.

Well Obviously I am feeling good that exercising is finally working for me.. I do feel guilty I am not doing it as much as I think I should be. I figured out I have lost at least 15 lbs if not more since beginning of May. A few while I was traveling cross country but most since I have been home and turning over a "New Leaf". I think everyone is doing a great job.. I think just loggin in here and being accountable is a great feat for people like us.

Well off to fix the washer ( hubby told me how to.. lets see if I can..lol) then change into exercise cloths and planning on getting my 2 miles in. Tomorrow will be another town day so not sure how much I will get done. But after this loss I am gung ho to get busier.. I bought a beautiful halter dress from holyclothing.com and I would like to wear it on my anniversary August 17th. Looking at the measurements and my current ones it will fit but not sure if it will look right if u know what i mean.. So my goal is to have it look sexy rather than fat chick in a skinny chicks type dress..lol Wish me luck!

Is there something where the group counts like how many lbs as a group is lost each month? I have dial up so I only look at certain titles.. ( i know me bad..lol) Anywas.. Great work and lets keep loosing these lbs and inches.. We can do it!

Peggy-I have to tinker all the time with the amount of calories. You might have to experiment to see what works best for you.

Debbie-I'm the same way about wanting to take care of stuff myself. Himself will offer to do dishes, but I just prefer to do this stuff myself because I like it done just so.

Stormie-I can't wait until I can wear something sexy.