WELCOME !!!

We are a group of individuals who many weigh or have weighed 300+.
This group was formed to provide a safe place for others like us to find support and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

There is no weight requirement to belong.
We can all learn from each other.
We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We often use a "Topic of the Day" for discussion.

Motivational Monday
Tuesday Tips
Wednesday Wish List .. and What you are doing to obtain it.
Thankful Thursday
FUN Friday ... don't wait until you lose your weight.
Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Share your Success Sunday

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share.
We often find them very helpful.
We also share heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations.

We have several extra threads going on simutaneously such as Monthly Challenges, Weekly Weigh-ins, Recipes, Bios, and more. Please feel free to check them all out.
We have a bi-weekly 2x2 Challenge.
Our goal is to lose 2 lbs in 2 weeks.
We have a long term goal of losing 300+ lbs within our 300+ group in 2005.

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.

WELCOME!

Phew....that was a job in itself!! I started the new thread then went back and found 2Cutes new intro suggestion so I went back and deleted and started over and tried to make it colorful but will have to work on that part!! The boy said he wants some lunch so I'm off to find him something to eat!

I'll be back!! Michelle

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

of the Rest of 2005! Hi all and thanks for the welcomes. Unfortunately my new recommitment is not starting out well. Somehow in the middle of the night I managed to pull a muscle in my side. I woke up with a terrible pain, thought I was having a heart attack, and then dropped back to sleep!! This morning I woke up discouraged when I realized what had happened, but as I move around a bit it is starting to feel better so I will do my exercises as planned and see what happens. This is not a good start!!

To those who have suffered a loss this holiday season I extend my sympathies and prayers.

It's going to take awhile for me to start remembering people, so I may not reply to posts, but I always read.

Best of the New Year to all -Ruby

Ruby: Ack, that sucks I know how that goes, though. I pulled something in my left shoulder way back in August, and it still gives me a hard time, especially after I exercise. There are some mornings I just stand in the shower, with hot water beating down over the area, so I can move it without worrying about the pain.

Hopefully yours is just a pull/strain on the tendon, and it'll go away in a day or two.

Sorry I have been so slack in posting... I got a cold/flu around Christmas Day and I have been just trying to keep up with the necessities of life, sleeping lots and drinking lots of water, and trying to get over it.

2Cute and Tina - so sorry to hear of your loss {{{hugs}}}

I haven't read all the threads to catch up yet - and I have so many emails (makes me wonder how I keep up with it usually?).

I thought I had finished my thesis 2 days before Christmas, and sent the last sections to my supervisor ... unbeknownst to me he sent to a couple of academic friends of his for advice, and they both told him they think its very good, but there was one statistical analysis that could have been done more elegantly (even though it won't change any of my results). So he wants me to do that in the next week and hand it in by Friday (2 weeks later than expected) ... as he says it could mean the difference between me getting a First and a Second .... no guarantees of course!
It was funny, until he said that, I would have been quite happy to just pass it considering all the things I have had on my proverbial plate this year, but when he said that, my perfectionist streak woke up, and now I would love to get a First
So I will be working hard for the next week, and then finally be finished ... then start looking for a fulltime job (to go with my other fulltime job of looking after 4 kids!)
I would so like a holiday, but I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon.

Anyway ... Happy New Year to everyone - I hope you have a wonderful 2005! (and that we are all 'losers'!!!! )

I watched the fireworks over the harbour here with my kids on a picnic blanket (rugged up in a heavy jumper considering my cold) and felt a bit surreal because of the huge tragedy that has just happened reasonably close to here. It makes me feel very very blessed that I have a healthy happy family and live in a place where we have so much.

Leanne

Michelle .. thanks for starting the new thread. I am glad the new greeting has recieved warm welcomes so far. You certainly did complicated the process with all of those C O L O R S . I am afraid I will be keeping mine more simple. LOL

My day has not gone ANYTHING like planned. NOTHING has gone right.
Hubby got xmas lights outside taken down. I on the other hand have not even begun to pack up my messes.

We are stepping out the door to go get a nice dinner so no work for me for awhile longer.

Hey everyone

Happy New Year!

I am so grateful for the fresh start that a new year provides! This last year had some rough moments and a lot of unexpected twists and turns. There was grief, sorrow, pain and joy beyond all expectation. All of those experiences offered opportunities for growth, and I feel like I have come so far from where I began the year.

I think I disaster-proofed my year first thing this morning. I was getting ready to cook some eggs and the pan overheated. I moved it to another burner on the stove, but it slid off and onto the floor, splashing hot oil on my foot and ankle. Thank goodness that little voice in my head told me to step back instead of reaching for the falling pan like my instincts told me! My eldest ran in and helped me to treat it quickly. Wow, she is such a good kid.

2cute & Tina, *HUGS* I'm so sorry for your losses. You and your families will be in my prayers.

Leanne, you sound really upbeat and ready to get back to that thesis. Congratulations on winning the December challenge!

Tony, I like your new avatar. Very fitting Have I told you thank you for all your help and support lately? You were a huge key to my weight loss success this last year. Your steady support and occasional helped me to do better than I had even dared to dream.

Ruby, welcome! Owie to the pulled muscle! Maybe you were just disaster-proofing your new year as well? Hoping you have a quick recovery.

Michelle and Thin, I'm trying to be good and not send you both badges reading something like "Official Mattress Tester"!

Kat, a line of this post really stood out for me, "No regrets, clean slate time!" That is such a huge part of my belief system. There are times in your life when a slate cleaning opportunity arises and a fresh start is right there, waiting for you to forgive, forget and MOVE ON. Thanks for the reminder. I've been hanging on to a few things that have been holding my weight loss efforts back.

There are sososo many more replies to be done, but I'm writing on a serious sleep deficit here, and it is taking longer and longer to put words together. Take care all, and have a great first new day!

Andria

I have been surfing this forum in an attempt to get to know you all, and I clicked on most of your pictures on the pics thread. Everybody (almost) is smiling! I am so glad to see that. I myself have not been happy in a long time. Here's my question (which I stole from an entirely different website): Are/were you happy at over 300 pounds?

I am happy. I'm not happy that I weigh over 300 lbs, but I'm happy. I choose to be. I look at the wonderful things in my life and all I've learned and all that I'm still learning. I'm healthy and I have lots of love in my life.

So, when I lose weight, I will still be happy, but it won't have anything to do with how much I weigh.

Good question!

Ruby, I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, I had to be happy with myself before I could begin to face losing my weight.

Andria

P.S. Oooh, just saw Qadira's response. Way to say it! I can tell I'm going to like having you around here.

Hey everyone! I'm sick again, this time with strept throat I know it's been forrreever since I've caught up - but I've been popping in once in a while to check on you all.

My condolences go to everyone, and welcomes to all the new comers, and a Happy New Years to everyone as well

I really just popped in to say that I've posted pictures of myself from New Years Eve (Friday) in the picture thread to make up for my lack of picture in my christmas cards. Hope you guys enjoy..

Major hugs and love to all of you..

This is a new year, a new year to make a difference in your life (and others!) and I'm going to start either tomorrow or Monday (starting weekends throws me off).. and I swear to myself that this year will be different.

Take care everyone, Ill be back in after much needed rest and medicine

Oh, and I want to answer Ruby's Question too!

I am.. very unhappy with my body and weight. It has been really hard to realize that my weight is the root factor in many of my self esteem issues. I'm afraid to conquer the world and my life because of my weight. I've never been remotely "in shape" and it upsets me a lot. I'm an optimistic person though - I can shove my problem of my weight to the back burner and live my life very "happily" but it is a delusional state for me, and I have to realize that. I often avoid anything that shows me that I'm not happy this way..

Hope that answers

Hi Ruby,
I have to say that I have been very unhappy over a long time, and blamed a lot of that on my weight. Then at the end of 2003 I sat down and thought "what if this is it - what if I never reach the pot of gold, what if I never lose weight to a point where I want to be?" and realised that I needed to start being happy and living life now - I couldn't put it off any longer!
So at the beginning of 2004 I decided to participate in life - do a lot of things I had let my unhappiness with my weight/body stop me doing. I started swimming again (well, working out in the pool anyway - because I -love- the water) and spent more time with my kids, took time out just for me, stopped feeling guilty everytime I did something nice for myself ... and generally just decided to be nice to myself and be happy! So yes, I am still over 300 (quite a bit over it!) but Ive lost 40+ lbs this last 12 months and I have done a lot of things I couldn't imagine doing in 2003.
But ... I sat in the car tonite and just really hated my body .... for about 5 minutes. Its frustrating that I can't just drop off this excess weight and become the thin person that is trapped inside me. But then I gave myself a mental shake and reminded myself that I'm building a new me bit by bit, and that I don't have to wait to this magical number to be happy, then I was fine.

I read somewhere "happiness is a journey, not a destination" and I stick with that as my motto - so yeah mostly I am happy even being 300+ !! (sorry to be long-winded)

Good morning all
This is the first day of a new year for me. Someone asked if we were happy. I am happy in my life but not my weight. I have lost in the past and I know I can lose the rest it is just keeping my mind on the goal.
I hope all of you had a good New Years day. I am off tomorrow hubby goes back to work. The kids are coming over though.
Hope all of you have a great day I'll stop by later

Good Morning Everyone! This 'happiness journey' talk (which I LOVE) has reminded me of a piece out of a book I'm reading that I felt directly relates to my own weight loss journey. I'd like to share it with you.

The book is Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas. At one point a man is trying to convince his girlfriend to take a day off work at the ice cream shop and go have fun. It's her dream own her own shop in 4 years.

She says, "I've got a life to live - and no time to waste if I'm going to have my own shop within 4 years."

He says, "Get real. One day off work isn't going to destroy your chances of fulfilling the dream."

She replies, "Every day I work toward it is the dream. The process, not the final achievement, is what it's all about."

This struck me as so profound, even though I've heard the idea many times before. Every day when I wake up, I am living the dream of losing weight. Being in the process. Not having lost it, but actively losing it. That's the dream! Once I lose it, I will have the acheivement (the fruit of the dream), but not the dream. Right now I have the dream and it's important for me that every day I live the dream of losing.

I'm laughing at myself now. Please join in! I don't know if anyone can relate to this, but I wanted to put it out there, just in case.

Have a wonderful day!