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!

Happy May Day! Where the heck did April go?

Thanks to all who commented on food memories. It helps to know that I'm not alone in having food memories, and I think that some really insightful comments were made that will help us with coping with them.

Fi Your observation about remembering your grandmother's rhubarb pie got me to thinking and remembering my own childhood memories. Thanks for the nudge in that direction. Now the testing -- I think that's called torture if the military does it! Can't imagine the pain associated with the testing nor the lingering pain. Fi, I just want to wrap you in a cocoon of healing power to get you past this. So very sorry that you have had such an ordeal with this. Hopefully these tests will at least point the doctors in the right direction.
Tootsie Ugh. No restful sleep is awful. Hope the nightmares abate soon. Great news on finding a dress and 2 sizes smaller! I loved the story about the singing and burning calories.
Sam Thanks for sharing your memories about the funky little places that you remember/visited. In terms of it appears that there will be an increase in your fat intake with lower carb eating......yep. It's pretty hard to keep the fat levels down with doing low carb. I will tell you that since I have to have blood work done every six months, that my cholesterol has actually dropped into the healthy range even with the higher fat intake.
Cindy So sorry that your food memories are of having to sneak food. Hope the fishing goes well.

We're to that time of year where I get up around 6:30 because that's when the sun comes shining in my window. I'm going to power wash the deck today and start getting the RV set up to leave on Sunday. I'm slowly getting all of the "house" stuff done and am getting ready to start on the outside.

Off to the gym. Have a wonderful day!

Been absent the past few days and missed the end of the month! I'm still grumping around and struggling to reach my vacation. Sounds like you're not quite off on yours, betsy, though I am still jealous just hearing about other people's planned vacation!

Tonight my weekly trivia night is canceled, people are busy, though I have another tea party on Sunday (this one Dontown Abbey themed). And I am going to cook something from my first (free week) of Blue Apron tonight. If you've not heard of it, it's a meal delivery service, sort of. They deliver ingredients for meals, and you prep and cook them at home. They're not for 'dieting', as they're 500-700 a serving, but they are reasonably healthy. Their 'gimmick' is that they're pseudo-gourmet sorts of meals, and they include some standard ingredients people will be familiar with but then add in some eclectic vegetables and spices and such that people don't normally cook with, to expose them to different foods.

So tonight is salmon, which I have a lot, in 'dukkah sauce' and with 'spring vegetables'. It uses fennel, and creme fraiche, and something called celeriac, and stem green garlic. Spices I've never heard of before, too, and some I don't commonly use. Should be interesting!

Happy Friday everyone.
rabid I have seen those advertised. Please do give details on your experience.
Betsy I looked up Hoh Rainforest. Breathtaking! Safe travels.
Fi so sorry you are going through all this. Sending you healing vibes.
Terra I am not seeing as many posts from you. Is everything OK?
tootsie glad you had fun burning calories while singing. Do you like to sing and dance at the same time?
Cindy sounds like you have a nice weekend planned. Do you practice catch and release?
Sam I woke up this morning to beautiful weather. My first thought was I wonder if Sam and her hubby are going to a park for a walk and BBQ this weekend? Well?
Hi to everyone else!
I have very good news. I was lurking in the Atkins forum at 3FC and I found Larry! He and his wife are still in the land of the living. I had been so worried about him because of all their serious health issues...
So it is 245 days until 2016. Right now I am going to focus on the 31 days of May. I am going to buckle down, get serious, stay on plan, for the 31 days and see how many pounds I can drop.
I am going to update my weight. This is going to hurt. I will be going from 267 up to 280.
Have a peaceful day.

Ubee: I can't dance very well normally. Never tried dancing while singing. I'm more of the stand there and focus on the artistry type singer.

Rapid: Too bad about the trivia night being cancelled. About those food boxes... Doesn't sound much like a deal here. If I'm going to spend $50-$60 on food for my family, I am not cooking it, no matter how exotic the cuisine is.

Betsy: I love this time if year, but not the sun shining right into my eyes in the morning.

Cindy: I never understood that. My parents were do as I say, not as I do parents. I remember them getting bags of treats and hiding them, yet we weren't allowed any. My sister snuck them out of my parents' room. I remember getting the blame because I was older and wider. One treat within reason does not make one fat. Just give them sparingly, and make sure that the kids get plenty of fruits and veggies instead of junk.

Terra: Repeat Ubee's comment here. Hopefully everything is going okay.

Fi: Take it easy. Hopefully you have answers and the help you need soon.

Sam: I wouldn't worry so much about the fat so long as you are getting the healthy fats and your body responds well to it.

Betsy Your RV trip sounds awesome. I want to get an RV one day and travel the country. Guess I'll have to wait until I'm retired and hope that I have money saved up so that I can retire

Rabid The meal sounds interesting. Celeriac is celery root Your tea time sounds neat too

Ubee We need to get a park pass for this year which I probably won't have the money for until next month, but it is on the summer to do list . Tomorrow we are planning on going to the farmer's market and maybe to the beach if the weather stays nice. I am so glad to hear you found Larry!! I was so worried there for a little while and hoped that his health issues hadn't worsened. Don't be embarrassed about updating your weight. Thing happen. What matters is you recognize it, dust yourself off, and move on

Tootsie Thanks for the advice doll

I'm going to keep this post short...I'm pooped and am still waiting on dinner to be finished. I made the turkey sloppy joes again since apparently DH liked it a lot more than I thought. I tweaked the recipe a little bit and it seems to taste better. I'm having it with a side of green beans and broccoli and of course I'll be wrapping the meat in a lettuce leaf.

I worked out for 2 hours today....That's the longest I've done a little while. Did my 45 minute cardio video and then lifted weights for an arm day.

Like I said I'm pooped but I'll be sure to post tomorrow. Have a great night everyone!

Good morning! Sorry I haven't been around much this past week, I've managed to stay off my computer when I got home from work (where I sit in front of a computer all day). Managed to lose weight this week, which is surprising given my carb-heavy diet on Tuesday. Gonna take my dogs for a walk in just a minute; it's too beautiful outside to sit in the house, especially when I have 3 hours of class this afternoon in a windowless room!

Good morning everyone. This will probably be my last post for a week as I'm staying in state parks and they don't have wi-fi. Some of you will miss me and some are probably breathing a sigh of relief!

Rabidstoat Wish I could take you with me on this trip as my part of the country is just plain gorgeous. Your social life sounds so interesting. Do you get dressed up for the tea parties? I would have to go buy a new outfit as I'm not sure I have anything other than casual clothes anymore. The Blue Apron meal sounds interesting, too. Hadn't heard of them but will look forward to seeing how you like them.
Ubee We can do this. Make that: WE WILL DO THIS! You'll notice that I never updated my weight after the last time I updated it. I've admitted to having gained 40 pounds back -- so your 13 is looking better -- but I just decided that I wasn't going to update my actual weight again. Hopefully by the time I get back from this trip I'll be able to change my signature downward. Have you set a weight loss goal for the month? Using any of the calorie trackers? Thanks for the update on Larry -- worried about him and wondered what happened to Dean as well.
Tootsie Out here the sun shining brightly in the morning is about a 50/50 event! I like to be able to look out at Mt. Rainier when I wake up. Every bedroom with a window facing the mountain (3 of the 4) has the bed situated so that you can see the mountain first thing in the morning.
Sam How do you even move after working out for 2 hours? Good for you -- means that you have got to be getting into really fabulous shape. Your turkey sloppy joes sound good!
MaeCrochet Glad to see you and hope you had a good walk with the doggies.
Terra Ditto everyone else -- you doing ok?
Fi Feeling any better from the tests? Did Grace get to come over yesterday?

Time to start on loading the RV. I need to run to the drug store today and get a Mother's Day card for my niece since that will be coming up shortly after I get back home. Hopefully I'll be able to get the house straightened up today as well so I can come home to a clean house.

Still having a fairly easy time of sticking with the low carbs. I know that with fruit season approaching that it's going to be more difficult to stick with the 50g of carbs, but I may allow myself to go to 75 for the summer so I can have some fruit each day. Haven't had any bread in a couple of weeks, and I'm not even packing any for the trip. Grocery packing for this trip has been interesting -- lots more frozen stuff (meats and veggies) and a lot less of the boxed meals/potatoes/pasta than for past trips.

Hope everyone has a great day!

betsy we do dress up, this one is 1940s England themed. Though I only own two dresses, so I'm wearing the same vintage one I wore to the 1920s murder mystery party I went to. I do have a fun group of friends!

tootsieroll: Yeah, the food box places are generally $10-$12 per serving, so I suppose it's cheaper than a restaurant meal but you have to do all the prep, cooking, and cleaning yourself. So they definitely are not economical, there are much, much cheaper ways to cook and eat. (Well, this week was economical, as I got a free week from a friend.) But, my experience below....

So Blue Apron cooking night #1 was interesting. I'm not much of a cook so I am not used to chopping and there was a lot of chopping and dicing involved which took me forever. I was a bit wary of the meal as it used a lot of vegetables I wasn't familiar with (like the aforementioned celeriac, and fennel which I've eaten maybe once or twice in my life, and green garlic which actually looked a lot like a green onion) or just plain didn't like (the mushrooms).

But! It all turned out really, really well. It was a ton of work but kind of fun and the end result was great! Tastes and flavors I wasn't used to but they worked really well together. I have one leftover meal of the dukkah-spiced salmon that I'll eat probably tomorrow, and tonight I am making the Laotian Garb Gai.

Hi everyone.
rabid your meal sounds fun and fabulous. I love trying new foods. Thank you for taking the time to share.
Betsy have a wonderful time. I am going to miss you and your warped sense of humor.
Mae congrats on the loss and freeing yourself from the claws of technology.
Sam I am really glad you are staying so dedicated. Your positive energy is helpful and right now I need all the help I can get. The beach sounds so relaxing.
tootsie did you mean to say older and wider or had you meant older and wiser? Either way it gave me a chuckle. My much smaller older sister always enjoys introducing me as her little sister.
244 days until 2016. May is off to a bad start.
My daughter came home from college today for the summer. She brought with her her freshman 15+. We both gave each other that ugh we NEED to do something look. Maybe if we start caring about how we dress it might help. I don't enjoy shopping plus I feel I am not worth the expense. I know we are and my husband is always encouraging me maybe it is a necessary change we need to make.
Have a peaceful day.

Mandy I feel you on not wanting to be around a computer when you've been on one all day. The weather has been beautiful here too. Hope you got to enjoy a nice walk!

Betsy When I was really focused on doing my work outs and losing before Christmas I would usually go to the gym and do a high incline on the treadmill for an hour then go lift weights for an hour so it was something I was sort of used to. I am feeling quite sore today though but still managed to do DOUBLE cardio today Your trip sound awesome and I'll miss you when you're gone...safe travels!!

Rabid Those meals sound so interesting! I love food from all over the world and my DH was a cook for a fine dining restaurant for a few years so he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve and always gets me to try things I haven't before. Hope it's all working out well and you get to enjoy your tea party!

Ubee We all have trying times, and everyone here knows I went through my own bout of depression a little while ago but just knowing I have you guys here for support has helped me a lot. Please know I'm always here!! I want to be there for everyone as they have been here for me and when I'm up I want to help those that are down. Like Betsy said you WILL do this!! Now that your daughter is home maybe she is just the person you need to help you along the way when we're not here on the thread I didn't go to the beach today, but maybe tomorrow

I have no idea what got into me this morning. I went to bed around 1 am last night and some how woke up at 7 am!! The weekends are usually my time to sleep in and get caught up on sleep especially if I have any restless nights which can be common sometimes when DH stays up so late. We are still working on getting him on a better sleeping schedule but it'll take time. I made an egg bowl for breakfast with ham and peppers and broccoli that I had left over in the fridge and topped it with sour cream and cheese. I'm glad I had such a big breakfast because it definitely helped fueled me for the day.

DH and I went to two farmer's markets today. We got some really pretty tri colored carrots that DH wanted for juicing. I might steal one or two for my meal prep tomorrow. I also got some strawberries, some zucchini, kale, sweet potatoes, white potatoes (DH wanted the potatoes lol), cucumbers, green beans and some local honey. It was nice to catch up with the lady that runs our favorite stall after not seeing her for quite awhile when the market is closed down. She's always so nice and always seems happy that we come back every year. She has the most amazing tasting vegetables and I'd much rather support someone locally then shop at a grocery store if I can help it.

After we went to the market we drover over to a place I've always passed by driving, Lake Busbee, but had never been there before to walk. DH thought it would be a cool place to check out, he hadn't been there since he was a kid. So we walked and saw turtles and all different kids of birds...it was really nice. We walked a total of about 3 miles or so and I was so proud that DH made the choice to go on a walk for once and not me . By the time we came home I made myself a little snack of some smoked turkey and a few strawberries and had to take a nap. I was so pooped from the walk. So needless to say I didn't eat lunch today but have some chicken thawing that I was hoping to be thawed by the time I awoke from my nap but it wasn't so I'm helping it thaw with some warm water in the sink. No idea what to make tonight with it but at least we have some yummy veggies to eat with it I just got done doing more cardio lol....I felt like I really needed to get a sweat on and since I didn't walk my normal fast pace because DH can't walk as fast as me I did a Chalene Cardio Party. I'm kinda proud of myself that I took the initiative to do a double workout today...what is wrong with me?!?! LOL!! I guess those little extra steps I'm taking though will pay off in a big way when I shed some pounds. It's still my TOM but for once I don't feel bloated while going through it. I guess that's a good thing but don't know if I'm holding on to any extra water weight from it or not, but I am really surprised to see my weigh in tomorrow since I've been tweaking my diet some this week.

Well DH has been napping I think I'm gonna go wake him up. Maybe we cant watch an episode of Twin Peaks tonight on Hulu...I can't believe I didn't get into that show when I was younger...We only have a few episodes left until the series is done but it is awesome if you haven't ever watched it. Enjoy your evening everyone and look forward to checking in tomorrow

Sam ~ Yeah its being to look like summer here too.

Cindy,Betsy,Tootsie ~ Thanks ladies for saying its good to hear from me again. Its good to be here again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woke up at 6:00 a.m. and we left the house to take my aunt back home at 8:30 a.m. and then we got back into town around 11:30 a.m. We didnt go eat dinner until 3:00 p.m. and then after dinner we went to the village flea market that was the 1st time we had ever been in one. It was pretty neat. We got done with dinner around 4:00 p.m. and we got done with the flea market at almost 6 p.m. Now its almost 7 p.m. and we're all about to head to bed. I hope everyone had a great day.

Ubee, yes I do practice catch and release. The lovely lake we often fish is polluted with PCBs from years ago and the fish there are not safe to eat. There are some big fish there, though. I hope having your daughter home will help you with losing weight. Maybe it's something you can do together. Shopping for new clothes sounds like fun too.

Tootsie, my mom baked most of the treats we had as kids. She was a stay at home Mom and could stretch a dollar farther than I can stretch $100. I was allowed an occasional dessert or treat but I always wanted more. Neither of my parents or sisters had issues with their weight and I think I was a mystery as much as anything. Childhood obesity wasn't a thing back in the sixties, and I think she was doing what she thought was the best thing for me at the time, probably following advice from our family doctor who probably didn't have a clue either.

Mandy, congrats on the weight loss. Glad to see you popping in.

Betsy, I will miss you, but your vacation plans sound wonderful. Enjoy your trip and stay safe.

Rabdstoat, thanks for sharing you experience with Blue Apron. I have heard of them but the dishes and recipes seem a bit more gourmet than what I'm used to.

Sam, it sounds like you had a great day and kudos on the double workout. The weather was beautiful here today too.

I had a good day today too. It ended up being longer than I thought it was going to be. We found out yesterday that our 10 year old grandson decided at the last minute that he wanted to play baseball this year and his first game was today at 4:00. So we went to the little league opening day parade at noon, which both boys and their Dad marched in. He is an assistant coach for the 7 year olds team. After the parade and the opening ceremonies, DH and I went to do some fishing until it was time to go to the 10 year olds game at 4:00, DH caught one but I had no luck today. Tomorrow we get to watch our 7 year old play.

I got sunburned, even with sunscreen, and we are thinking about just going to the game tomorrow and then coming back home, rather than fish again. I didn't do too well with food today - think concession stand folks. It seems to be really tough for me to be away from home and still eat healthy or to wait until I get home to eat. I need to work on that. I did do a little more walking than usual but I was holding my 18 month old great grandson's hand and he walks even slower than I do, so I don't think that counts as exercise

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Very frustrated today about the spasms in my legs, and about the fact that I can't walk or climb the stairs...

Yes, Betsy, Grace was able to come over and go upstairs to work on collage in my studio, even though I could not get there myself. We read some Sherlock Holmes to each other, and played with the cats.

I still can't stand, can't drive, can't walk, can't climb the stairs. Bob and I are still convinced it's serotonin toxicity, so we're touching base with my shrink on a weekly basis about decreasing/discontinuing some of my meds. I don't see the neurologist again until the 11th of June, but I'll be able to get the results of those awful tests before then. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great trip, Betsy! Everyone else: thanks so much for keeping me in your thoughts.

Cindy Sounds like you had a really good day. I haven't been fishing in forever. My in laws have a boat that they used to take us out on the river here but we only do catch and release here too...I wouldn't eat fish out of that river lol...But it is fun to do every so often. Hope your day today is as good as it was yesterday!

Fi I hope the awful tests shed some light on what's going on but I think you're going in the right direction with the medicines...Waiting until June to see the doctor again can be torture especially if you have to go that long without getting better or knowing what to do to get better. Sending hugs and love your way dear

Well....I have good news....I am only .2 pounds away from losing 100 pounds!!!!!!!! I lost 6 pounds this week!! So my weight is 240.2!!! I guess making the adjustments this week has helped me a lot and focusing more on what I should eat and control the portions on stuff I shouldn't eat too much. I love cheese and I know the fat in that probably stalled my weight when I wasn't paying attention to how much I was using. But now things like that I am measuring out so that way I know exactly how much I'm using and where to count it in my food intake log. I can't believe I am so close to losing 100 pounds!! The feeling is unreal, and I never thought I would ever do something like that. I'm so hoping next week is as good as this week was with my loss...I really feel like I'm getting back into the groove of things and being really focused. I'm drinking more water too..making sure I get at least a gallon in a day and I know that probably helped with flushing my system too.

Not sure what my plans are today. I'm getting ready to go over to my grandmas house to get a muffin pan from her my mom said I could have so I don't have to buy a new one and maybe some other odds and ends that my mom needs to get rid of after she cleared out her storage unit. I'd really like to go to the beach today but I have a lot of meal prep to do and need to go pay my rent. We'll see what happens time permitting. Either way I am going to enjoy this rest that that I earned!!!

Always thinking of you all as my day goes along...Thanks everyone for being here. I love this group and don't know where I'd be without the support of others who are right there with me with this battle/journey. Hope everyone enjoys their day!