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 and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

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.

OtherJen... Sounds like you had a great trip. I have been to Lamberts once. The roll thrower hit me in the CHEST three times.. and I could NOT catch that darn roll. It is soooo embarassing. They sure give you a lot of food.

Catherine .. you know what they say... Losing slowly is better than gaining at any speed.
You do great keeping your spirits up. BRAVO !!!

Futurediva... Congrats on your NSV !!! It amazes me how different we ALL are in our sizes. Some are top heavy.. some are bottom heavy .. some are like me and just BIG ALL OVER. LOL I am always jealous of you ladies with lovely legs. My sister's skinny legs could always stop traffic .... while mine.... ELEPHANT LEGS !!! She is a PLUS SIZE woman too... but none of it is in her legs. We are all soooo different.. yet can weigh the same.

Melissa ... I would have to challenge you to see which of us are the "CHEAPEST".
Did you see Oprah's show last week about weight loss.?? She has certainly found what works for her. She is looking great. EXERCISE ...EXERCISE...EXERCISE !!!!!

Angela ... {{{ HUGS }}} We are always here for you.
I know you don't think talking to a therapist will help... but let him/her try. {{{ HUGS }}}

Sara... we have a veggie stand less than a mile from me. I plan to stop there Monday myself and stock up. MMMMmmmm good !!!

Okay... I still owe lots of replys... but I am out of time.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I certainly did.

Let's all follow Sara's idea...
"Okay .. new week ... let's all start fresh"

Hi Girlies..

Some great updates on here! Here's mine: I had a melt down yesterday for 'only losing one pound' and now I feel silly! This morning I have updated my home made weight tracker charts lol and decided to list the things I should be (and am now) happy about. For example, I only began to get real three weeks ago and since then I am down 15 lbs. At this point, losing a pound a week is only normal (Can't lose 7lbs of water weight every week!!!! lol)

Anyway, hubby and I had a fantastic weekend starting with the Harlem Globetrotters on Friday, a WILL AND GRACE MARATHON Saturday morning, followed by some shopping! Visiting MIL on Sunday morning, followed by a nice nap, a beautiful on plan dinner (hubby filled his plate 3 X but I was good and stuck with my 'if you aint hungry, don't touch it' rule!!! lol Then we had a STAR WARS MARATHON in the evening! Yes! lovely!

As for you guys...

Sara, farmer's/markets are awesome! I got into them 4 years ago when I was living 'in the mountains' lol in State College, PA. The fruits and veg taste sooo much better, are much cheaper and REAL. I mean, you can tell they are not loaded with preservatives because the actually go bad in a normal period of time. Now that I live in England I have really embraced the market culture and try and grab most of my fruits in town whenever I run out.

Angela, what happened sweety? I think I missed something? anyway, whatever it is, you stay strong and don't feel pressured to speak with a therapist as long as you speak to someone and don't bottle it up! Try not to worry about the 7 lbs, focus on what you can do right now and tomorrow.

Joe Anne, CONGRATS on your decision to go back to school! What a big, lovely step!

MissMeliss, I'll follow your thread and if it sounds AWESOME enough, I'll get the books and join you. Hmmm... sometimes OPRAH turns me off. I was addicted to her when I was younger, but now sometimes she gets on my nerves... jealousy??? lol

theotherjen, I ADMIRE YOU FOR NOT STRESSING OUT ABOUT FOOD! GO GIRL!

hippievanlady, I feel the same about 'only losing a pound,' but I suppose we must look at the other side of things... we could be gaining a pound, eh? Just think, we are better off today than we were last week!

Future, congrats on your NSV!!!! I have been close to your weight as an adult only once (sad I know). Everybody said I definitely looked good, but girl, I KNOW I was shopping in the PLUS section, so KUDOS to you!!! Congrats... does this mean that when you hit goal, you'll be shopping in the teeny bopper section b/c the 2s and 3s will be far tooo large? hahhaaaa...

Keep smiling chicks!

Good morning chickies.

I have had a very good weekend although not very exciting. On Friday night my hubby ususally has to work but he had it off! We just relaxed and watched funniest home videos (I'm a sucker for falling people) It was very nice to just veg out with him because he is working two jobs right now and I miss him so much. . I went for my daily swim on Saturday and that was nice. After I got home and showered, we went out into our garage and worked together going through things and straightening stuff out getting ready for a garage sale in a few weeks. We took a nice short drive in the country Saturday night with our two dogs.

Yesturday my parents came over and then about a hour later my sister and her new hubby came over. We bar b qued some burgers and had salad and beans. It was so nice to visit and I did so well on my eating. My dad told me that it looks like I have lost weight in my face. It made me smile knowing I had only lost 7 pounds (that I know of because weigh day is tomorrow for me) but he was sweet to say. When everyone went outside he pulled my into his arms and kissed my head and told me he was so proud of me and to keep up the good work. (Ahhhh. I am such a dadies girl and I love him so much)

I have tried to read the posts and keep up so if I forget anyone I'm sorry. I am keeping all of you in my prayers though.

Hippievanlady. You really made me ponder on what you said about it didn't seem to bother you when you gained 5 pounds. How true that is. We should rejoice in every 1/4 ounce we loose. Remember that 1 pound lost is a pound you will NEVER EVER see on your wonderful body again! I am rejoicing with you in your lost pound!

OtherJen: I don't know what Lamberts is because there are none here in Idaho and there were none in Northern CA up to 3 years ago. It does sound like fun though.

Sara: Sounds like fun picking through veggies etc. I will search for something like there here now that I am eating more veggies and fruit especially.

Angela: I don't know what happened other than it seems that you lost your dear dad recently. I am so sorry. It is so hard to loose people that we dearly love. When my mom passed away in 1999 I thought for about 3 years that I would never get over it. With help from a counselor for a short while and also time and support of brothers and sisters it gets a bit better. My prayers are with you. I want to tell you though, if you feel sad and like you want to cry, let it flow. Cry until you are finished crying. Don't stop yourself. That is such a release. Hang in there sweetie pie.

Joe Anne: I am in school, going back also, and I love it so much. I feel so happy for you to do something wonderful for yourself. Good luck and enjoy your school days!

If I didn't mention you I'm sorry. I love you all and as always I am praying for us to be successful on our journey to a healthier body. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Blessings,
dogpal

Hi, everyone.

I'm OP and glad to be OP.

I had a good OP day yesterday and it taught me how much I enjoy being in control of my eating. I am so miserable when I'm out of control. I'm just going to focus on how good I feel when I do what is healthy. I'm going to focus on how good being in control feels. Thanks for being so supportive during the bad times.

Speaking of work sucking, I'm having the same problem. In brief, I have worked for the same company for 10 years. I don't get compensated adequately, but decent jobs and work places are scarce where I live. So I have stayed.

My boss hires these sluts (they are basically here for T&A 'cause they certainly don't have anything else to offer) who are making about what I am -- even after I've been with the company for 10 years. The newest slut is a recovering alcoholic. She never comes to work on time. She does whatever the **** she wants and I get stuck with handling the slack (in addition to doing my job and the other jobs I inherited). OK -- I'm used to this given my long record at the company. However, I was due my evaluation and raise in March and the boss hasn't done it. I even asked him to do it and he is ignoring me, which is what's bothering me so much. It is degrading to be ignored and that's why he does it.

My work is extremely stressful and this just tops it off (and every new person he hires is the same way). I know this has contributed to my eating troubles. I also know the company is having some trouble so I've been afraid to push it.

Anyway, I have no choice but to do something about it. I can't keep going on like this. Wish me luck! I'm going to start working on my resume.

I hope everyone will have a good day, at work and at home.

Good Morning Ladies - and Gentleman?

Happy Monday Morning to you all! I see we may have a gentleman joining us...if so, Welcome Big Teddy Bear! Also Welcome Sara!

Well, the weekend flew by, as it always does! DH and I were supposed to go out of town to an SCA event, but decided not to because there was so much to do around the house...of which we accomplished practically nothing. Friday we went to my best friend's daughters 8th grade play. So cute! And the Saturday we slept in WAY later than intended. Got up just in time to talk with the landscaper we are thinking of hiring. That is, we were until we got the estimate. $7,000 to brick our existing patio and build a little raised bed! I think I'm going to learn bricklaying and do it myself at that price.

DH wanted steak on Saturday, so we went to Ryan's. Buffet's are SO bad! But I figure I did okay...I had salad and then I had a small steak, some grilled chicken and a roll. The bad part was the carrot cake...they had the BEST carrot cake and I did have a small piece. But all in all, I had a good food weekend! Sunday we had stirfry with chicken and shrimp. I have such a hard time with the oil control on stirfry - my teflon wok just doesn't do the trick without it.

I did get a little sewing done. I took up a skirt in the waist and I'm wearing it today. I also started a skirt in December or so and never finished it because after I cut it out I found it was too small in the hips. I bought more fabric, figuring I could make it a wrap-around to save the work I'd done, but I never got back to it. I slipped it on yesterday and it fit! No need for the extra anymore! I even had to dial down my dressmaker's dummy and take off over two inches each on my waist and hips!

Unfortunately, I'm finding my largest difference is on my chest! I'm not overly endowed to begin with and my bras are getting too big! I complained about this to DH recently. I said, "Look-my cups are 1/2 empty!" He responded, "Don't be a pessimist Dear, think of them as 1/2 full." You've gotta love him!

Joanne, Sue, Angela: I'm sorry you ladies are having such a hard time of it. I hope things get better soon!

Future Diva: Yea for the non-plus size! You must be tall like me...I almost remember being your weight! I probably wore about a 18, depending on how it was made.

Catherine: One pound is nothing to sneeze at! After all - that's 52 lbs a year - gone forever!

Ah summer...I just remembered our local Farmer's Market is open now thru October! Must buy produce!!! Yum!

Well all, I'm outta here! Howdy to anyone I missed! Much to do and less time to do it. Have a happy, healthy OP day!

Hello, all!

Not sure why I'm even at work today--I feel like garbage! Runny nose, sore throat, possible fever (I'm sweating even sitting still!), the whole nine yards. And I have to work at the restaurant tonight. Ooooh well. Woe is me, right? I've survived worse...

So, I maintained this past week. No weight loss to report, but no gain, either, so not all bad. I didn't pack any food for today (I normally pack ALL of my food to avoid eating out), but I don't have much of an appetite, so I'm not too worried I will go overboard. I haven't been working out AT ALL in the past few weeks, which is bad, I know. I need to get it back into my routine now that my toe is feeling better. No more excuses! Ha, I say no more excuses, and yet I know I won't go to the gym today because I feel like such crap At least I get exercise when I waitress or hostess at the restaurant 4 nights a week for about 7 hours at a time, so it's not like I'm just sitting on my big ol' butt all day, every day. Waitressing is even better than hostessing because in addition to the constant running around, I also have to carry drinks and plates and trays--I'm pretty sure my arms are already stronger because of the balancing acts we sometimes have to do

Well, sorry I don't have time to reply to everyone, but I do miss reading these posts every day. My time is just so much more restricted now, it's craziness! Hello to those of you I don't know (yet)! Hope everyone else's Mondays are getting off to a better start!

Good morning, ladies! Actually got a break in the work flow and thought I would drop in. Had a good weekend food wise, and all around. Hubby and I took the fur babies for walks both Saturday and Sunday. Still weak and not up to par health wise, but definitely getting there. Took me awhile to walk a mile, but the way I look at it is a 30 minute mile walk is sooo much better than sitting on my rump! The key this time around for me has been cooking. I will be the first to admit, I don't like to cook. I'm not a bad cook, I just don't like doing it. But I have been. I have been trying different recipes right and left and I have found that the variety of different foods has really made staying OP that much more easier for me.

Hippievanlady - Rejoice in that pound. Anytime you get frustrated over losing "only" a pound, do this: take four sticks of butter out of your fridge (or a pound tub) and think about just sitting there and eating that pound of butter by itself - YUK! But on the otherhand, YOU LOST FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER!!!

FutureDiva - All I can say is WOW! Way to go, good for you. I know you had to feel so good about yourself not having to shop in the "big girl" department! Keep it up!!

Tashabella - Shine that resume up and go for it. What do you have to lose???

Lilion - Good for you for having to take up inches in your clothes! (BTW - what part of Missouri are you from?)

To everyone else I didn't name, hang in there and take it day by day!

Hmm. . . no need to adjust my wieght tracker, I've stayed the same this week.

I went on a mini-trip to my old hometown this weekend to meet with friend I haven't seen in ages. I should have had that dinner, but it was at our old hang-out and my old favorite meal. Well, doing that once a year won't kill me, but I've been finding similar excuses all over the place lately and it needs to stop.

And why does my boyfriend keep bringing me fast food and pizza? I asked him if he'd wave a bottle of recovered alcoholic's favorite spirit in front of their face? I do great with avoiding it, but when I'm hungry and it's right in front of me I get weak.

I haven't posted in a few days. The weekend was a little nutty, but good. Friday night was a dinner with my youth group kids...I did well enough on the food, except for the sugar that was used in the salmon, but easily resisted dessert.

Saturday I tried to rest and relax. BF's great aunt (who I had never met) was in town and he had plans, so I wound up going to lunch with the family, which nice and stayed totally OP...but his mom started giving me grief about wanting a grandchild. She was kidding, but nonetheless...not really appropriate. Fortunately I know how to handle her and got her to stop without being really rude. Then Saturday night, we all got together for dinner..Thai food...yum. Again, picked the easy food, plain Thai BBQ chicken...so OP enough. Aunt Bev is a hoot though and I am glad I met her.

Saturday night...OY. My high school youth group kids had planned an all-night event with another group of kids from a nearby synagogue. So I was at the synagogue at 8:40 to let people in. The bus was supposed to be there at 9...so at 9:15 when we had no bus, I called the company, who caled me back to say that the driver was about 20-25 minutes away, but didn't explain what happened.

LOng story short...the driver who was assigned to drive our trip for the whole night QUIT at the last minute and they had to get another driver to come and get us...but she had to get from her house to the bus yard to us. The bus finally got to us cloe to 11pm. By then we had missed our first stop of where we were supposed to go, but we made up for it by going to the local Wendy's where they were giving away free Junior Frosty's. The dining room was closed, but whe we showed up with a bus full of 45 kids, they let us in. No Frosty for Julee though.

So THEN we go to the next stop...we were supposed to go to an ice rink for a private activity...closed and locked...OY what else can go wrong??? Then the other bus that was going to be with us for the rest of the night showed up and we switched busses. So we took them to the 24-hour bowling alley, but by the time they were able to help us and we got them on lanes with shoes, we had about 40 minutes to bowl. So we rush the kids out of there and go back to the next stop which was a private show at an improv comedy club...that actually went really well, and we were able to surprise one of the kids with a little birthday surprise party.

From there (mind you it is now 4:00 am) we went to a hotel meeting room to do games and ice breakers.and eat birthday cake. But one of my other kids has been on a serious weight loss kick as well and while everyone else ate cake and cookies, we ate kiwi, grapes and carrots. Finally 6:30 rolls around, and we head to breakfast. IHOP gave us a great deal and I still stayed OP...skipped the hashbrowns and pancakes, had the eggs scrambled dry and got extra fruit.

I finally got home at 10am (always a kid who gets picked up late), and fell into bed, so Jason woukd wake me up at 1pm...I had to get up and shower and eat lunch so I could be at the subway station on time to meet the parents and kids from my 4-6 grade group to take them into Hollywood to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I managed to stay awake through the whole movie...amazing. We got back and BF took me to dinner. Protein helped as did the subsequent caffeine...we went to our normal Karaoke place and somehow I managed to stay awake till 12:30 am.

I got a nice 8 hours last night, although I am feeling a little sluggish, but the owner of the ice rink already called to apoplogize and give us a refund.

I am starting to feel though like I have been eating too much lately, though it's ben OP...and I haven't ben stuffing myself. I am worried that I am slipping. On the other hand, had TOM last week and it was back to normal...short and sweet...so I feel good about that.

The next 2 weeks are crazy, so I hope I make it through without incident.

Have a good week...

2cute2Bfat
I told a woman on another wl board that was stressed out about sleeping because she had a bunch of things to do that there was nothing her worrying could do to help her, since she won't be the same person tomorrow. I told her to leave a note for her tomorrowself and leave it to THAT person to do, since we're not the same people day to day. I think the same should apply to our weight loss efforts week to week. I had a good week last week, and this week might be even better or even more horrible - I can't stress about it.

BIGGIRL27
OoOoOh.. I wanna live in the UK! *lil cry*
Good for the 1 lb weight loss there chick! And 15 lbs in three weeks? Whoa!

dogpal
Oh it's soso much fun. Especially since it's an Asian supermarket that there's tons of exotic fruits and vegetables that I've never tried before. It's nice living on the outskirts of Chinatown!
Your dad sounds so sweet! My dad would do the same thing, except he's on the other side of the country. He started out the year last year as 525 lbs, and now is down to 400. SO INSPIRING!

Tashabella
ohohoh. I hope your boss realizes soon that it's actually worse for the company to be hiring these girls that have all their brains surgically added in the form of silicone. Congrats on staying OP though! That's awesome. It's always such a great accomplishment to eat properly when faced with stress. Good for you!

Lilion

Fitting into smaller clothing is a huge success!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. I did . I went to a wedding for my nephew and wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but I was plesantly suprised. It was very nice and I enjoyed it a lot. Did good with the food too. I ate shrimp, ham and barbeque beef, and veggies instead of a lot of chips, dips, and cheeses. I won't talk about the wedding cake!

I'm sure those of you who know me are getting tired of hearing me say that I am STARTING OVER yet again, but guess what??? I am. I feel motivated right now and I haven't had any motivation at all since the first of the year. Maybe it's the warmer weather kicking in. Who knows, anyway, I have a good food weekend, and so far today has been good.

Sorry for no time for replies, but I'm at work, so I guess I should get busy!

Hi ladies, I'm still alive... survived the manic weekend. I am going to the gym today. My plans over the weekend for the gym sorta got squeezed out of my schedule because there was no time to do anything. I have nothing planned today, except some calculus, so I am going to put the gym back in!!

I've been yelled at a few times about posting links, mainly because they sold products. But this one doesn't sell any products. Its something I got from WebMD as a newsletter. It's an article on Consumer Reports "Rates Diet Plans" It's talks about a lot of the popular diets that many people are using....

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/105/107889.htm

Hopefully there will be no problem with this link.

Take care everyone...
Sue...

Hey Guys,
How is everyone? wow eyerybody is doing great, way to go!
me,I'm good in fact my mind is cystral clear and my motivation is at a all time high!!! it's amazeing what support will do so let me stop and take time to give you guys a heart felt "thank-you" for being here and giving of your self, for this I am truely grateful and thankful!!!
so let us cont. on this jounary knowing that WE WILL reach the end,stronger for strengh is in numbers!
Audrey

Hi all! Busy weekend being a "showgirl". All day Saturday and Sunday were taken up with that. We did get a chance to see Monster-In-Law with Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez. It was really a hoot! Great fun!

I went out this morning and bought a bunch of plants. Now I'm wondering if I'll be sorry if I actually plant them this early. The weather has been soooo unpredictable! Geez, one day in the 70's, the next in the 40's.

I've had terrible sinus troubles this past week. I think the echinecea and vitamin C are finally kicking it. I hope so. I'm tired of feeling crappy!

SueMarie: WOW, I'm sorry if you felt as if I "yelled" at you about posting links. I try terribly hard to be nice about it. I didn't mean to offend you.

Audrey: Glad to see that your motivation is up and you're on program.

Barbg: Glad to see you peeking in. I haven't been here much myself lately.

Sara: It's nice to have you joining us. I love meeting people from all over.

Julee: WOW, what a busy weekend you had! I bet it was alot of fun. Honey and I planned the All Night Party for both of our boy's senior classes. We had a great time, almost more fun than they had, I think.

Esmaraude: Seeing old friends is always so much fun. I have let my weight stop me from getting together with old elementary and high school buddies that I still keep in contact with at Christmastime. I guess I'm just embarassed at how I've let myself get this big.

Doxiemom: I do best when I cook as well. I'm not crazy about cleaning up the mess afterwards is probably why I don't do it more often. But I shall get back to it, as that's the only way I can get the pounds to come off.

Jill: Sorry you've been sick! [[[hugs]]] I think you're probably running yourself ragged trying to work all the time. *How is that sweet niece of yours?

Lilion: Bless your DH for his optimistic point of view! Congrats on the skirt, BTW! That's awsome!

Tasha: Go For It!!! Polish that resume and send it out to all that will listen and then some. You're not being treated with any respect and that's terrible.

Dogpal: How great to have an evening at home together! I love those!

Biggirl: WOW, 15 pounds in 3 weeks is GREAT! You're doing wonderful and it's only natural to be a bit disappointed when the losses start slowing down. But "losses" is the key here. Anything in a downward direction is progress.

2cute: I had to read your post over and over. I couldn't figure out what a "roll thrower" was. Since we don't have a Lambert's (whatever that is) I'm guessing it's a restaurant and you meant dinner rolls. Am I close????

Angela: [[[HUGS]]] Honey!! This is a tough time for you, I know. You just have to remember that your friend would not want you to undo all of the good work you've put into weightloss on account of him. Maybe a counselor is exactly what you need, but know that we're here if/when you need to vent.

JoeAnne: It's nice to see you here a little more often. Sorry work stuff has been getting you down. Sounds like you have a great plan for the Fall. I'm sure it will be nice to have the Summer off of school.

Melissa: Sounds like you got yourself all spruced up. I bet that was a really nice day with your mom. I'll bet she enjoyed spending the time with you.

Theotherjen: Glad you had a nice time on your trip. Don't stress over letting go for a couple of days. You're focussed and back to the plan so go for it!!!

Catherine: You've got to stop thinking about the BIG picture and concentrate on the little accomplishments....like being down a pound! You're doing sooooo GREAT! Keep your chin up!

Diva: Great going!!! I can't remember the last time I shopped in a "regular" department. I was extremely happy when I could just get into the plus clothes at Fashion Bug and Walmart.

Iwillbe: Geez, now I want to change my mantra to GOOD GOING, but if You Can't Do This! works better for you.......ey! I'm sooooo confused!!!!

Well, my dears, I went back two threads to try and catch up. If I missed you, I'm truly sorry.

Honey will be home in just a few minutes and I think I better at least "look" like I'm starting something for dinner! You all take care. Love ya bunches.