WELCOME!!

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, inspiration, 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 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!

Ubee ~ Nope I havent folded and put away my clothes yet but I will today for sure

Shinesgirl ~ Thanks for comment about me being so organized about getting my housework done

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I woke up at 5 a.m.this morning and I ate breakfast and let Clyde outside and gave Clyde fresh food and water and then at 7 am I went for my morning walk and I found out that I was walking for 25 mins just 5 short of my goal of 30 for each morning so I think thats pretty good. Today my plans are to fold my clothes and put them away and go to Walmart with my mom, She's gonna be the one shopping Im just going with her so I can get out of the house, My walmart shopping day is Wed. and I cant wait because Im getting low on breakfast's,Lunch's and Fend For Your Self dinners.

I'll say this—these kittens may still have colds and ringworm, which entails the fuss of medications, but one thing that makes them easier to take care of than our last pair: they do not barf. Neither of them has barfed once since we got 'em, not even when they run around like maniacs right after eating. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed they will continue this way into adulthood.

And it's so great that Oscar, the runt, has fully caught up to his sister Nénu in size! When they first arrived, Oscar's fur was very fuzzy and thin, like that of a baby kitten, but now it's growing in smooth and thick like an adult oriental's. His eyes are likely to be a prettier color than Nénu's, too, because they still have hints of blue in them. Oriental shorthairs have blue eyes to begin with, but eventually they turn green. Nénu's are already the olive green hue they'll be all her life.

I really needed this down time to recover from months of stress getting the house ready for new cats. Whenever I feel a bit of depression pain, I just curl up around my sweeties and nod out. It's no big deal. I want to try to make a collage today, but I'm not pushing myself.

Tigerlilly— Welcome to the 300+ Chat thread! This may be a public forum, but your anonymity is protected, and besides, there are just a few of us here in this mini-community. I was nervous too at first, but the reason why I decided to start posting, last fall, is that studies have shown that whenever someone undertakes a big project, they need social support. Try to post every day if you possibly can, and gradually tell us more about yourself, as you feel comfortable with doing so.

shinesgirl— Whazzup? Please tell us how you're doing, even when—or especially when—the news isn't good. We have all been there, or are still there, with the emotional eating, so don't be ashamed.

Ubee— Good for you on no black squares! And staying away from those sweets was a BIG accomplishment.

I forget who asked me about the paint colors of my studio at the farm. It's a simple scheme: white-white for the walls to maximize the amount of light, medium-grey for the trim (including three casement windows!), and pale grey for the floor. (The floor was already painted, so there was no choice of natural wood.) The little bit of furniture is going to be very modernistic in style: I have a bright red smooth leather loveseat from Ikea, and a bright blue suede ottoman for it. I've already discovered I can take a nap there by bending my body into an "L" over the loveseat and ottoman. Unless I decide to put up a Kandinsky print or something like that, the loveseat and ottoman will be the main spots of color.

And now I need to go up to my studio here and make a collage. =smile=

Well today was a complete gym day fail....

I have today off so I let myself sleep in and then woke up with DH watched some tv and I guess we both were tired and fell asleep while watching tv.

I just got home from trying to go to the gym...it was a complete fail. I had to stop for gas on my way there and when I got out of the car I heard a snap but didn't think anything of it...I thought maybe the new work out pants I was wearing were just stretching out a bit or something. I get to the gym...sign in and go use the bathroom before I start. I go to pull up my pants and there is a HUGE rip in the side of them near my left butt cheek!! OMG I was so embarrassed!! Luckily my shirt was long enough to hide it, but I knew there'd be no way I'd be able to keep it covered during a whole entire work out...So I left...Came home and showed DH and he laughed at me of course lol...But he thinks maybe the pants got caught on the seat belt piece that sticks out in our car since it didn't rip at a seam...Man those pants were brand new, first time I got to wear them too....Maybe my grandma can do a sew job on them and fix them for me....So needless to say I'm not going to make the trek back to the gym today and waste gas...I am very short on funds until Wednesday when I get paid so I'm just going to have skip today. I'm either going to my cardio party video at home, or I'm going to go on a walk with DH this afternoon after it cools down some....But I'll be doing something!!!

I lost 1.4 lbs this week so that puts me at 72 lbs lost....Took my measurements and weight today because I completely forgot to do it yesterday...I lost 1.5 inches in my bust, 1 inch in my waist and 1 inch in my hips...My legs and arms have gone up but I'm guessing that's from the muscle build up...I'm definitely not complaining...

Well I'm gonna go try and eat something...Hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day!

Happy September!
Sam that was so nice of your hubby to point out that if your pants would have ripped from your size it would have been in the seam. Good job working out even thought the gym was a bust.
Fi I had to look up Kandinsky. Nice. What does your piece look like?
Terra why can't you wait to be low on your breakfast's, lunches and fend for yourself dinners?
Shinesgirl thanks for the reminder to spruce my plate/surroundings up when I start to eat less. How are you doing today?
Well tomorrow starts my portion control commitment. Not sure of my plan of action. What else is there besides calorie counting???

Ubee ~ I meant to say I cant wait until I go shopping on Wed cause Im getting low on breakfast's,Lunches, and Fend For Your Self dinners.

Morning all!

Doughnut Shop blend this morning...

Had family in all weekend and took them to one of my favorite places-Hot Rod's 50s Diner... They have about 50 types of hamburgers. Eeeek. I opted for one of their chicken burgers, a really good ground chicken burger with decent spice, grilled with just a little bit of crunch on the outside, and I had the slaw burger. REALLY good, and slightly better some of the other options.

Have a great week!

Dean

Ubee— What meal(s) are you having trouble with in terms of portion control? If it's dinner, in addition to using a small (like salad-size, or buy yourself a luncheon-size) plate, I'd recommend having a healthy snack 20 minutes before dinner: that way you won't be so hungry you can't make rational decisions. And that's what the slow breathing technique is all about—priming your brain to make rational decisions—so you might want to do that before dinner as well.

As for my Kandinsky, I don't have one picked out. I was just thinking of him because he painted abstracts in bright colors. We have one of the more soothing Kandinskys in our bedroom (along with about ten other prints): this one.

Or maybe you were asking about my collage piece. Sorry, haven't made it yet. When I do, I'll show it to y'all.

Good Morning!
Fi I was asking about the Kandinsky. Thanks for linking the one you already have. My favorites are the circles and the ones with houses. As for portion control, I always struggle. If I have a snack it turns into a meal. I think I am going to cut out all snacks and only eat from 8am-5pm.
Dean good job choosing the best option. Are you getting your strength back?
Terra thanks for explaining. Have you worked out a healthy list and planned your meals?
School started today and I have my routine back! I already have my exercise in and meals planned. I've logged my food on MFP and decided I am just going to do it for a month and see how it goes.
Have a peaceful day.

Morning Everyone!

I have some free time since the boss is out this morning for a meeting lol...So I figured I'd check in..

Ubee I hope the start of your portion control trials are going well today...Portion control is the hardest thing I think to get down pat, but once you do, it really helps with your body telling you if you are full or stuffed. I haven't been able to tell whether I was really full or not for the longest time, but now that I have control of my portions it really helped me.

Dean The burger sounds amazing!! I haven't had a good burger in a few months. DH and I got some grass fed beef from the butcher shop at the beginning of summer that was really good and I didn't feel bad about eating it...I almost had no fat, it was so lean. I usually only eat chicken or turkey so it was a nice treat. Hope you enjoyed your time with the fam this weekend

Terra I'm doing well, hope you are!!

Fi Hope you and the kitties are having a good day...I can't wait to see the next collage but be sure to give yourself plenty of rest time...after all the work with the BERP you deserve it!! You have really inspired me to do my own BERP at my house. It really needs to be done but I'm having a hard time getting motivated. With all the work and exercise time I put in during the week and even the weekend I get too tired to do any house work...DH is kind of lazy and I know that's due to his depression and anxiety so I don't try to be so harsh on him about keeping the house clean, but I know if I don't motivate myself to do it, then he won't chip in either...Do you have any pointers on getting started?

I have to admit yesterday I ended up not working out at all. I've been having some pain in my nether region so when I got home from trying to work out at the gym I was embarrassed and upset with everything that happened and with my pain I just went and lied on my bed and relaxed for the evening. DH and I played some old games from an emulator on our wii that we have that has any old game for any old system on it. It's really cool. I had rotisserie chicken with steamed green beans and corn on the cob for dinner. I've got left overs for lunch today.

I'm supposed to go to the gym tonight with my friend. I'm still in pain but I'm going to push through it. If it doesn't get better I may have to go see a doctor. I'm going to try and up my water intake this week and see if I don't get a better loss this week. I think I haven't been having as big of losses in the past weeks due to my lack of cardio...I'm just not doing near as much cardio as I was when I was solely working out at home so maybe I'll figure out ways to up the cardio this week too.

Tomorrow I get paid and will be going dress shopping for an upcoming wedding. I really shouldn't spend the money but I want to treat myself dang it!! Most of my dresses are way too big for me now but I may look through my closet to see if I can find something before I opt to buy something new. I just have my eyes on this dress at Target lol...I can't stop thinking about it! We'll see what happens. I'll definitely share a photo in the dress if I end up buying it *smile*

I hope everyone has a great day!!! I'm going to get back to work now

I had a sudden flash of inspiration and remembered how much I like the rectangle compositions of Kasimir Malevich. I looked around and found one I will never grow tired of looking at, and which I hope will inspire me in my work: here it is. It may not look like much in that little image, but I got the largest size I could find, in a kind of giclée print where you can actually see (& feel) the texture of the paint. I'm going to get the white around it chopped off, so it's just the painting, and have it mounted on a foam board. I'm so excited!

As for the kitties, they are proving endlessly photogenic, especially in the morning light. One thing that's hard to capture is how much they are in perpetual motion—washing, tussling, etc. I lucked out today and got a freeze frame. And here's a more static shot. Oscar is the one who's more cream-colored, and Nénu is more orange.

I'm afraid I'm turning into one of those doting moms who can't stop taking pictures of her babies. It's so easy to do with the iPad, which is my computer, so it's often in my hands. I always have trouble holding a camera still, but I just rest the iPad on my ample belly, and it's a piece of cake. =laugh= If y'all ever get tired of my cat photos, please let me know. And please do post some of your own cats!

Ubee ~ No Problem Yes my shopping list is healthy but no I havent planned out my meals yet, I dont do that until after I go shopping, I do it while Im putting my food away.

Sam ~ Im glad you doing good. Im doing good too.

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I woke up at 6:30 this morning. I usually dont go for my morning walk on Tuesday mornings cause we are usually always busy but I'll be sure to get up early tomorrow so I can walk outside. Im currently at school, I have a meeting to go to at 12:30 until 2:30 pm. So I didnt get my noon 2 mile in today but I will Friday for sure and I'll still get my 2 mile in the evening in today and for the rest of the week too. So Im still gonna get my walks in, It just wont be as many as it is on Monday's,Friday's,Saturday's and Sunday's. I cant wait to get home today though cause we're having White Chicken Chili for dinner tonight. Thats always a good meal. I dont have any plans today but to get my walks in and I STILL have to fold and put away my clothes, I know I should of done it already but anyway those are all of my plans for today. Oh Im also gonna fold and put away the towels when I get home too.

Energy is coming back, but its sloooow going. I'll be doing something that I think should be no sweat, and all of a sudden I'll be out of breath. I've read different things, some people are back to normal in a few months and for some it takes a year! Yikes...

Oh well. Thankful to be on the mend, no matter how long it takes.

Dean

FionaW - thanks for mentioning the fact that a big project requires social support. It definitely *does* help, but the really hard part for me is joining in - "real life" rejections have hurt me badly.

Your studio sounds lovely in the colors you chose - so serene! My studio is basically white, but having supplies stored everywhere pretty much hides the walls, lol.

Good morning!

Carrot Cake coffee this morning.

Got a loooong walk in yesterday afternoon and picked up a new bike, as well. Nothing elaborate, just one of those beach cruiser types, but with gears since we have a few hills here. Should be nice for fall since we've got a nice system of greenways here.

Have a great day,

Dean