Hi Everyone!!

How was everyone's Pumpkin Day?! I hope good!

We had about 70 trick-or-treaters. My daughter came home with 6 pounds of candy!! Not good for me to see it here all the time but I have been good. SO far...I would really love to eat some M & M's but...I will refrain!! Ok 1 won't hurt but then 1 leads to 2 and so on...

Today it is colder and humid here. Not good for my arthritis. I have been in pain most of the day thanks to the humidity. Really sucks. Thank God it isn't like this here the whole year or I'd have to find an even drier climate to live in. How much drier can I get? I mean it only gets to be 110° or so here in the hot months...hehehe..



Well, have a good week! Feel free to post and pop-in. And remember...if you see my little egg lit up, I have the chat room going in the back. Come chat!!!

Pumpkin, I have the same idea as you about the candy. I can't eat a BITE. I see that now. I had that one square of peach cobbler a couple of weeks ago and I tasted sugar for quite a while. I had a seriously hard time refraining after that. Cody keeps forgetting that I am not able to eat it and has offered repeatedly to share his candy. Doh!

I was allowing myself a 'reward meal' every 5 pounds, but I am not doing that anymore. I think I might eat off plan for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but other than that, I am waiting until I get to goal. Ok, that's what I say now but who knows.

Here is my problem. I stick to a plan. I lose weight. I hit 5 pounds, have a carby meal, bloat up with water, get frustrated, feel like I am starting over, then I eat another carby meal because 'what's the point' and so on and so on...so I have to find a way to break that cycle. Right now you couldn't pay me to go off my plan. I've lost 17 pounds since July, which is a record for me. I have such a slow metabolism, I'm thrilled with my loss so far and I don't want to blow it! Hope this mentality lasts...

Are you calling me "Pumpkin"? OK.. "Strawberry". LOL!!


I know what you mean about the bloating up, frustration, etc. I do that too. Lately though, I have been able to practice more self control than I use to be able too. I have been craving a McDonalds Cheeseburger SO BAD...but..Alas, I have not stopped by McDonalds. MY HUBBY DID AND BROUGHT IT IN THE HOUSE! How dare he! But it was for him only...cause I had already ate a salad at home, but still!! I kept smelling those fries and burger and...WAHHH...I wanted a bite. But I did good! I didnt take a bite! So I must be doing something right.

I think the biggest motivation for me is my clothes getting loose and people commenting on how baggy they are. That just makes me jump up and down!! I have lost 42 pounds!! I keep thinking ok...only 15 to go until my favorite jeans..OOO only 12 to go now...etc. Heck with the M & Ms! I want to wear the jeans! I want to wear a bikini next summer!(which is only 5 months away for us)...I want to get family pictures which I have avoided since the kid was a baby...she's 10 now. Just so many positive things to look forward too that I try to pop in my mind when I am wanting that cheeseburger.

I never use to think like this though until the weight loss was noticable..bras got loose...shirts got loose...people noticed..people commented..I think it did something to my esteem...ya know? Ok I will shut up now...I could go on and on about this...Just keep going is my motto...You can do it!! if *I* can do it..anyone can. (I am the worlds biggest procrastinator!)

PS: I will add though...I am having Filet Mignon for my 10th annviersary dinner! I think thats OK...considering the whole trip I will have burned most of it off.

Hey there! I was reading your posts and I am the SAME WAY! I do much better if I don't even have a bite of sugar. Once I eat some - I have no resistance for the rest of the day. I try to think of it like I am allergic to sugar. I think of all the bad side effects that I experience - the sugar crash... the cravings... the bloating...the scale going up!!!

I get so frustrated because I will lose 5 pounds or so, then have one day where I don't eat like I should, and the next day the scale is up 2 or 3 pounds!! How do I gain that much in 1 day?

Oh well, at least I know you all know how I feel!!

Hi Everyone!!

Just wanted to let you know that I will not be around for about 5-7 days. Tis my 10th Wedding anniversary and so we're going out of town and I won't have access to a computer. I can see it now..SEVERE withdrawls!! I'm already getting the sweats and shakes!! KIDDING KIDDING! hehehehe I am actually looking forward to this trip...I am also hoping for a diamond anniversary ring. So..we shall see....

Take care everyone! I will pop in when I get back.

HAHAHA! Why did I call you Pumpkin??? I've lost my mind!

Ok, carefully typing...


Amy, I share your scale woes! I can gain and lose 5 pounds in a night. Very frustrating. I have problems with water retention. My doctor said as I got to a normal weight, the water retention would ease up. Apparently a bigger problem in overweight people.

NOODLES- (hehe) Have a great trip! I hope you get the ring. Congratulations on 10 years, and for passing up that cheeseburger.

Hi. I'm going to join you here. I've been away from 3FC for quite awhile this year has been very busy for me and I've put back on 15 lbs and had problems with my PCOS (no period since March) so I thought I'd join back up with 3FC and get that daily accountability that helped me get rid of 45 lbs last year.

I've had PCOS for 8 plus years.
Had son #1 on clomid
Had son #2 as a bonus (the boys are 11 1/2 mts apart)
Stayed on Birth Control Pills to have periods untill 2002 when the BCPs gave me too many headaches and I worry about strokes.
Tried Met up to 1500 got hives
Tried Gluc and Gluc XR - got hives
Quit everything - gained 15
Finally went back to DR last week and I'm trying ACTOS now (just on day 3 today)

Anyway, thats my intro of sorts.

- jul
highest 217/was at 171/back to 187/first goal 180/ big goal 165

Good luck, Jul! I worry about blood clots also. I would feel a lot better if I didn't have to take them. I had a hysterectomy 5 years ago, but am taking them anyway to prevent/shrink cysts. I've had some large ones!

Good luck on the Actos. I had problems with Met also, so I am trying Alpha Lipoic Acid right now. Hopefully it will do some good.

Jennifer,
I haven't heard much about ALA that you are trying. Just read a little about it in my PCOS book last night.
I will probably be having a hysterectomy but need to wait at least a year to see if my insurance will pay for it. When we had to get our own insurance (self-employeed) my ovaries were rejected for 2 years due to the PCOS. Wasn't that nice???

I need to get out and walk the pups this morning before the day gets started. I have a pretty busy life between running our business and homeschooling the boys. If you want to read a little about what we do for a living we have a short bio page at http://www.bestofmissourihands.com/riversidestudio.htm . My husband is a glassblower and most of our business is wholesale sales to galleries across the US. We're in crunch time right now trying to get all the orders made and out the door for the christmas rush. I think part of my weight gain the last couple months has been induced by stress from trying to keep up....we've had a busy year.

- jul

We went to have our whole family picture made on Saturday. Grandparents, my family, my sister's family, all the grandkids. They show you the pictures on the computer so you can choose which ones you want. I LOOKED HUGE! I always avoid having my picture made for this very reason. My face just looked big and bloated. It is so depressing.

But here's the crazy part. Last week I ate perfectly - low carb, lots of water, etc. and the scale didn't budge! But then I blew it Saturday and Sunday (emotional eating from seeing how awful I looked I guess) and this morning I weighed myself and I had finally lost! What's up with that?

It did make me wonder - what kind of eating plan are you all following? I have tried Atkins and Sugar Busters. Does everyone follow some sort of low-carb plan?

Jul - I just looked at your bio. Your husband's work is beautiful!!! Does he sell anywhere in Georgia?

Hi Amy, Mole Hole in Atlanta used to carry our items but they only order at the Mole Hole conventions and we didn't go this year. I'm not sure if they'd have anything left. We sell to alot of places in FL.
I may be in Atlanta in January. We're looking into a wholesale show there.

As far as diet plans I'm not good a following anything strict. I have a hard time eatting alot of meat and some of those plans are hard to jump into.

When I lost 45 lbs last year (2001-2002) it was by small steps. Mainly decreasing the amount of food, getting away from sugar and breads. I've decided this time that I need to get off sugar substitutes as well. I can eat honey and my dad has bees so I get the good stuff that still has enzymes (the stuff from the store doesn't have the enzymes).

Last year I made tiny goals. 3 lbs a month and every third month a maintain. It was so easy. It took a few years to get to 217 so I figured the slower I took it off the more likely it would stay off. And even this year with gaining I only gained 15 lbs (over 11 mts) not 55lbs. So I'm not upset just getting back on track and refocused.

- jul

Amy,
Don't get discouraged. Sometimes the body is slow to respond becuase of all the changes we put it thru when we try different ways of eatting. Forget the mess-up and keep at it. Congrats that you showed a loss today!!!!