This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This group is for those dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after age 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

Thanks for starting the thread, Terri! Good to have you around here more!!

Official weigh-in this morning and I think I weigh 199.5 -- hard to see on a dial scale. I'm hoping it's the last time I see the 200s! TOM comes this week and always throws me.

I am actually caught up on my grading. I've had to grade every night after work for the last month, and am wondering who the crazy woman is who assigns all these papers to my class! This week is the first one all term that looks a little...open. I'm hoping to both relax and get some things done around the house that have languished...

Hey girls! I'm finally home. Got in last night after a really long drive.

Yesterday was a huge day for me. It was the last day of the retreat and I did some pretty big work, emotionally speaking, in the morning. I talked about it in my blog from yesterday. I slept the sleep of exhausted people last night.

I just weighed in...last week, after returning from Southern CA I weighed 310. Then it was TOM and my weight popped back up to 316 (in one day!), but just five days later, I'm back down to 309 today. I exercised a lot and ate really wisely during the retreat.

Late yesterday afternoon, after spending the drive crying and getting the last of my sadness out of me (and that felt good), I took a wrong turn on the road, got turned around and had to find my way back. And I was hungry as well, so I stopped at the first place I saw, which was KFC. I mindlessly ordered. 2-piece extra-crispy meal with a Pepsi. As I bit into the chicken, I felt that nasty coating from the fat envelop my tongue. It was horrible! I took a bite of the coleslaw...it tasted bitter. So did the Pepsi. The only thing that tasted okay was the macaroni and cheese. I dumped it all when I got home and had the worst stomach ache for another two hours. There was something definitely wrong with the food, because I actually got sick and got it all out of my system. What a great reinforcement to keep me from wanting to EVER go back to KFC again!

Okay, I've got to get kids ready for school...I'll write more later.

Im trying something new this week.I always eat light at lunch and have a heavier dinner. Well this week Im trying to eat my heavier meal in the middle of the day and eat really light at dinner.
My scales are still yo-yo-ing in a few lb range.I am eating pretty good for the most part but have a few bad days thrown in.
Here is hoping for a week of perfect eating

Debbie - great idea to change it up a bit. I'm afraid I'd be too sleepy if I did that. I may try that over the weekend.

Georgia - nice to have you back. It's so nice to see all the positive changes you are making - taking care of yourself. Keep up the great work.

Heather - glad to hear the grading is current (for now). DH weighs on a dial scale - I use a doctors balance scale I bought at an estate sale several years ago - he doesn't understand my obsession with quarter pounds.

Terri - will we see you this week?

We've had a couple of strong reminders about taking care of ourselves (and those we love). Friday one of our best friends had a massive stroke - while driving. He will survive and hopefully therapy can bring him some independence - he is 56. My old trainers father died - he was 61 - obesity related health issues the cause. Not sure there could be much stronger reminders.

Just catching up since I've been out of the loop for a couple of weeks...

My congratulations to Carol, for breaking past a new weight level. And I'm so glad to read about everyone's constant re-commitment to themselves and our group and staying OP with food and exercise. I think that state of being is where our success is generated and maintained. You're all very inspiring to me. Thank you!

Hello my peeps,

I had my upper GI today. All is well and am cleared for WLS. Now is the insurance wait.

Unfortunately, my head cold has turned into a sinus infection. bleh.

Hugs to all!
Ratkity

Rat - its so fantastic your insurance will help you with your surgery. Now - get some rest and take care of you!

Georgia - thanks!

Big kick in the seat tonight at the visitation for my trainers dad. Obesity related illnesses were everywhere. I think I was actually one of the smallest people in the room. This group of people seemed accepting that people die at 61 because of obesity. I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS. I hope none of you see the sadness and depair I saw tonight. Please take care of yourselves.

And on the opposite side of the coin - Amanda my gymmate that is being shadowed by Dr Oz has now lost 26 lbs in 5 weeks. Dr Oz was here this weekend working with her again. She will be on in a few weeks. I'm so proud of her - it's like watching a flower starting to bloom.

So I've seen both the high and low of this journey in just a few short hours. I'm reminded by my signature - SUCCESS IS A CHOICE - I CHOOSE IT.

Hi ladies,

A quickie post before heading to bed. I'm wiped out. It was a rather stressful day at work which left me very drained. Tonight, I worked for over two hours on the family cookbook. I can honestly say that I'm a little burned out on this dumb thing. Too bad it was my brilliant idea a couple of years ago. My sister and I have been inputting family recipes into MasterCook with the intention of printing it out for all family members. So far, we have over 320 recipes a lot of which are untried recipes - we women tend to save recipes and intend to try. It has been kind of fun to see old recipes that I had forgotten about and want to try again. But we've been doing a big push to get done with phase one by this weekend. I'm going down to Springfield on Friday for a "sister's weekend". We're going to be doing editing and finishing up. I've spent a lot of time trying to print the silly thing out of MC. I don't want to print a recipe a page because then it would be huge but when I get it to more than one recipe per page; it doesn't page break in between recipes. I don't like having the recipe cover more than one page. Those kind of things are annoying. So I'll be working like a fool on that for the rest of the week.

Carol - I did get out to Dr Oz page and saw your friend Amanda. I take it she's enjoying this process? I can hardly wait to see her at the end! I'm so sorry about all the sadness that is happening around you. That is such a wake up call but so few of us really grasp ahold of that. Hopefully someone will have learned from his passing.

Georgia - Read your blog. Wow, what a weekend. Good for you for taking care of yourself and tackling all that you have going on around and inside you. You deserve it!

Okay, I better get off to bed. to all!

My scales are not really changing much..the reason..im on plan most of the time...not all of the time!! I picked up a peice of candy corn the other day and that lead to many handfuls of the stupid stuff.I am going back to the no bites rules..dont even taste it!!
I also have been informed by my daughter that i dont drink enough while eating. So starting today I will drink 16 ounces of water before my meal and then take more sips during my meal. I drink alot 128 ounces every day. I didnt realize that I wasnt drinking with my meals. My daughter is a nursing student and they just did the nutrient section.
Carol- its really a wake up call to see what being overweight can do to the body.
geo- glad your back with us!
Teri- your cookbook sounds fun...enjoy your weekend
heather- my family is full of teachers and they all say grading is never ending.
rat- hi and great that your test came back good so you can have WLS. My sister in law is looking into it also. My brother has lost about 140lbs since dec. He looks amazing!!

I did great yesterday but got a slap in the face at the drs office.I am up 16lbs from my lowest on her scales.My scales just showed me up 9. I am so upset over it. I bought new scales last night and will be going by them. I had a long heart to heart with the nurse pratictioner. She wants me to try 1200 calories for 2 weeks and make those calories of whole foods.She told me NO crystal light or diet drinks.I dont do diet drinks but i do drink a packet of crystal light daily..really really watered down. She told me to chose sugar over sweetners. It felt weird reaching for the sugar this morning instead of the splenda.
She also said to stay away from processed foods...went into a rant on how bad we eat and why we gain weight even though our calories are close to what they should be.
I go in next week for some labs and then go in to weigh in the following week. She also told me to stay off the scales till then...but we know that isnt going to happen!!

Debi, scales are never consistent from one scale to another. My mother's scale weighs me about 15 lb heavier than my doctor's scale, which weighs me about 5 lb heavier than my own scale. If you're weighing at home, then it's the differences in your own scale that count, right?

But I do understand how that number would be shocking to see. I'm cringing with you!

I've let some processed foods sneak back in to my diet recently, and it hasn't had a favorable effect on me. It's really difficult not to go with processed food when our lives are so full. My mornings are busy with getting the house in order, starting the laundry, getting the marketing and other errands done. Then the boys come home and I take on the role of homework support, taekwondo shuttle driver, and my house has become a waystation for a variety of kids in the neighborhood. Mealtimes are more about getting the troups together for some quality time rather than quality food that takes time to prepare during the week. I find myself taking shortcuts and so some less-favorable ingredients are slipping in.

I have one good thing to report, that makes me happy today. I paid off one more of my credit cards. That feels so good! Two left to chip away at.

Have a lovely day!

Scales, scales, scales. Gotta hate them. Gotta love them. Mine is about 6 or 7 lbs. lighter than the one at WW, even if I weigh at home and go directly to the meeting. I like mine better.

I've tried not weighing. It doesn't work for me. It's my warning that I'm getting ready to give up ..... again. I try to weigh twice a week. Thurs. @ WW and Sunday or Mon. as a reminder.

Debi, I'm trying to eat whole foods at home but it's still, in my mind, too much work to pack a lunch so it's usually a L.C. from the freezer. I'm a grab and go person on work mornings.

Good week last week. Down .8 lb. I think I'm back into my regularweight loss pattern: a big loss, a small gain, one or two small losses then another big loss.

I'm off work starting tomorrow thru Tuesday. Hope to get a lot of the little things on my "To Do" done.

Thanks for all the encouragment. My scales have been slowly inching up at home but also not weighing the same weight when you get on and off them. Hubby had already said he thought our scales were messed up. We have new scales and my weight is close to what it was in the drs office.
Being a daycare worker in my own home I should be able to find time to eat healthy...but with 3 kids age 3 running around its hard. If i dont plan my lunches the day before then they dont happen and i eat whatever or skip it.
On sunday Im taking Carols advice and making a pot of healthy soup for lunches and also baking a chicken to have for wraps and stuff. TIme to get it back undercontrol...before I gain more of what i have lost back.
If you look at the bright side Im still over 80lbs lighter than 2 yrs ago!!

And that is quite an accomplishment! Be very PROUD of how far you've come.