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.
The challenges start every other Monday. There will be a sign-up started by someone on the thread and then you report in 2 weeks later with your losses!
Once the one challenge ends, a new one begins the same day.
We have a long term goal of losing 300+ lbs within our 300+ group in 2005.
(NOTE: We DID IT, We DID IT....and it's only the end of May!!!)

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!

Sigh… well I got my paper in. No problem there… I’m a bit depressed about my calculus exam tho… I completely spaced out. Then after I turned the exam in I remember everything. I feel like a dork! I studied soo hard for that exam :’(

I think I’m going to go in and talk with my instructor personally. See if he do something for me, like maybe test me person to person or by visually watching me… cause I can do the work… I just think with all the stress at work and then getting behind… BLAH!

Mertz – check out my avatar That’s my Heidi Monster in her Mummy disguise heheheh…she got into the toilet paper… OY what a mess… and then the kid thought it was funny to wrap her up. She walked around the house like that for a while til she started to eat it off her LOL. She’s a teacup, 6 months old and is about 2.5-3 lbs

Thanks for all the well wishes on my exam and paper… I gonna go to bed… I’m exhausted emotionally, physically and spiritually. It’s amazing how much praying you can get done in 2 hours… I think that’s all I did during my exam… ICK!

Take care everyone…
Sue…

P.S. ooh did I mention I gained this week... :-P I can't wait til after summer school... I'll have two months off to de-stress...

Hi everybody! Just checking in from the great beyond.

After taking a couple of weeks off working for Fling, I've just not been able to get back in the groove.....of anything. I have slowly gotten myself back to a full schedule of jobs and it's wiping me out. I've been up every night this week past 1:00 and as you will be able to see from my time stamp, tonight is no exception.

I've read everyones posts and my thoughts are here with you all, but I'm just not even going to try and do responses.

Thanks Iwillbe for missing me. I appreciate that.

My Honey still has not heard about whether he got the promotion or not. It's been more than 6 weeks and we're about tired of the wait. The BIG boss told him the candidates would know "soon" and that was 2 weeks ago. We thought when he phone interviewed with the guy and it was Honey's birthday that that was a sign. Yeah, the sign said "you'll have to wait forever to find out". Then the local big boss told him Monday that they would know by the end of the week. Then today, Honey was talking to another guy about them supposed to be knowing by tomorrow and he got back to his desk to find an email saying they would be announcing the middle of next week. Argh!!! We're both so sick of the waiting. Just get it over with, either he got it or he didn't. Let's move on already!

My weight was up just a tad on Monday for the final in that last 2x2. I'm awaiting Mother Nature to show up, but alas I think she skipped me this month. Ahhhh, the joys of getting older.....no way to plan for anything.

Last weekend we did manage to get my front garden cleaned out. I planted a few more perennials and bought some flowers to do pots with. I love Dragon Leaf Begonias and they really do well on my porch so I have two hanging baskets that I did up with them and some trailing vine. I bought some other big leafed Begonias and some Gerbera Daisies for other pots that I put in with some cool looking Coleus. They make a nice combination.

Today I found this years Mosquito (Citronella) Plant so I put that out on my porch and now I won't have any mosquitoes to contend with this Summer.

I'm going to be a "showgirl" again this weekend so I probably won't be around for a while again. I'm glad everyone seems to be doing well.

Try to be good this weekend. Lot's of bar-b-ques, I imagine. If you're cooking at home you have more control because you're fixin' it yourself. But if you've been invited out, just be sure to offer to take an OP dish that you like and share it. You'll be surprised at how many people won't even know that what you've brought is healthy!

Gotta run, after 1:00. Love ya bunches!

Happy Friday!

I ended up not having to work job #2 last night--someone not scheduled to work came in to pick up a shift, so I gave her mine. Which meant--I got to go to my TOPS meeting--yay! It's only the fourth one I have been to, and I joined in the beginning of March. I keep having to work on Thursday nights, and there aren't any groups here who meet on weekends (not that I blame them). But anyway, since I thought I had to work, I had already eaten dinner before the meeting (I usually don't eat before my weigh-in), so I only registered a 1/4 pound loss. Still a loss, so I'll take it!

I wish I ad the time and $$ for plants. I live in an apartment, so no yard or garden or anything, but I do have a balcony with hooks that I could hang plants on. However, I'm almost never home, so I don't think I'd be able to take care of them properly and they would die. Same reason I don't have kids

I think the job interview yesterday went well, and they only interviewed 3 people for the position, so we'll see I could REALLY use the increase in $$ so I wouldn't have to work 2 jobs anymore...
Well, hope everyone has a great start to their long weekends! I don't have any picnicing or cooking out planned, so I should be on a normal weekend plan food-wise. Make it a safe and happy holiday!

Good morning everyone!
Oh my goodness, Sue Marie! I can't get over how much Heidi looks like my Bambi. At least what I can see of her! She is a cutie! Bambi loves to shred paper too. I come home lots of days to find paper shreded all over......When I read my mail, she loves to sneak up and steal an envelope when she thinks I'm not looking! I've even caught her with $1.00 bill that she had gotten out of my unzipped purse! She can get into as much as any mischievious kid!
Well, I feel I have done well with my eating plan this week. Although I haven't got in all my water every day and almost no exercise. Things I've got to work on! I know what I need to do, it's just the doing it!
My family is excited about our camping trip this weekend. Even my sleepy head daughter was up before I came to work this morning! I should get some exercise in this weekend. And I got my eating plan worked out so I can stay on plan.
Here's hoping everyone has a great weekend!
Happiness,
Mertz

Just stopping in quickly to share my strange little victory.

I was very busy at work today and didn't really get a chance to eat what I brought to work for meals. I ate a handful of this and that from my lunch bag to keep me going. At about 11 a.m., I could feel my sugar was starting to drop so I went into my desk drawer to find a mint. There laid Reese's Peanut Butter Cups I bought when I was on a binge last week. It is a miracle I didn't eat them in the time since I bought them. I was very proud of myself. I'm making progress!!!

Good afternoon all! I hope this Friday finds you all well and happy. I have been OP all week, but still have the "bloats" so not sure what WI will show tomorrow a.m. I did not walk last night, but started staining/sealing our deck after work. Got through half of it, so worked steady for almost 3 hours doing it all by hand. I figure that is exercise in itself because my butt cheeks and upper thighs are screaming at me today! Am going to go home from work today and finish the rest of it!

Can't quite remember everything in the previous threads, so if I miss someone, I'm sorry!

Lilion - We've all been there and done that. What's important is just getting right back on and I know you will! You already have your plan. I have found this time around that it has gone smoother for me because I have planned and cooked. I sit down every Saturday and plan what meals/recipes I will be making to last me through the week. Then on Sundays, I will usually try to make at least two of the recipes (I always pick ones that will last 3 to 4 days in the frig, or something I can freeze). It has really helped on those days when I've been short of time and it was a relief to have something on hand that I had cooked earlier. You go girl!

Mertz and Sue Marie - You're "babies" are adorable. My doxies are horrible paper shredders and purse snoopers. My male recently snooped in my purse when I wasn't looking and helped himself to a piece of Sugar Free bubble gum! I now make an effort not to put my purse anywhere near the floor!

Jillybean - I recently ordered some bras from Roaman's, which I think is a subsidiary of Lane Bryant, but they seem to be reasonablly priced and are a specialty line for bigger gals. Good luck.

Thinthinker - Good to hear from you again! Enjoy being a showgirl this weekend. You remind me that I need to get some potted flowers going for the deck myself. Where did you find the Citronella plant? I've never heard of it, but would love to have a pot on my deck as those pesky little bloodsuckers eat us up in the spring and summer.

Time for me to run. Everyone have a great Memorial Day weekend and keep going forward!!

Greetings ladies!!! Yeahh, its Friday at last. It was raining up a storm here on Monday and today its set to be 95 . YIKES!! I hate heat . Everything on me swells no matter what I do. I've cut way back on salts, I only have caffine early in the am, I drink way more than my sahers of water and take water medication. What more should I do?? I feel like I can't/don't want to move any part of me. SWEAT is yukky. I really don't like it when I'm getting dry from the shower and I'm already sweating. EEWWW. Well, its only been 2 real hot days and I'm already complaining. WHOA is me.

JILLYBEAN: you cracked me up with the plant/kids statement . But you never know. I kill every plant I bring in my house, (and I keep trying) but I have pretty great kids. Maybe its cause they can feed themselves. hahahaha. Well, they are 19 and 14 so I guess I did ok. Super good luck with the job. By the way 1/4 lb. is great. Hold on and you'll start seeing what you want from your hard work.

Well, short winded today I guess . Take care. Be safe. Stay strong and enjoy your life this weekend everyone.

Good Afternoon Ladies!

Incredibly busy and only a few minutes, but I had to pop by and post!

I was shocked down to my toes at WI! I really expected a gain or at least no loss, but I was a pound down. And down is down...I'll take what I can get! I celebrated by having a OP WW menu lunch at Applebee's with DH and DS who is off for the 1st day of summer vacation.

I am NOT going to ease up this weekend like I usually do! I normally use that good WI on Friday as an excuse to be a little "bad" on the weekends...but DH and I both know we can't keep being "bad" if we want any more significant losses. I for one won't make that July 4 goal without some serious work!

So...no more !!!

Good luck to everyone this weekend! Those of you in the US, enjoy the holiday! Get out in the sun, take a walk, play some ball, BBQ a chicken breast and have some fun!

I just woke up from a serious nap. One of those where you can't remember what day it is when you wake up. I had a kind of crash in the pool today. By the time I got through regular water aerobics and into the deep water aerobics, my muscles felt like either rubber or iron. I guess it was kind of lactic acid thing. I remember having similar episodes in high school after running wind sprints. I think I am going to have to eat a bigger breakfast and drink more water before class. I have been scrimping on water before, because running to the bathroom is such a pain when I'm in the pool. I just came home and crashed. I have to remind myself, that for now, getting is shape is my full-time job. I heard a guy who does that ultimate fighting stuff say that all he does is eat, sleep, and train. That's how I feel sometimes. I'm burning more calories than I am taking in, so I've got to expect crashes sometimes.

I had a thought about how hard a time some of you are having getting back on the horse after falling off. I worked at a mental health center for a couple of years that had a contract with the city to do DUI school. The instructor was a recovering alcoholic, and she said the worst part of drinking was the hangover and the cravings/shakes when first trying to sober up. She said she finally figured out that if she never took another drink, she'd never have a another hangover. Sometimes I think I stay OP out of fear at how hard getting back on the wagon would be. Everytime I am tempted to celebrate something by going out to eat, I try to remember how hard that first month was going without pizza and burgers. I swear that I even started to hallucinate and get the shakes at one point. Sometimes I think I have an advantage because of how far I fell down a hole. I'm too scared to go near the hole again. When I had my high blood pressure crisis, the incident that originally convinced me that I had to lose weight, before they determined that I was having an angina attack, and not a heart attack, I was laying on the ER gurney, feeling like a boulder was crushing my chest. I was thinking about what my father said about the heart attack he had when I was 10 years old. That when you feel your life slipping away, in that last minute, he wanted to be thinking about us kids, and not thinking about regrets, what he had or hadn't done with his life. He died of a heart attack when I was in college. I know what he was thinking at that moment because the last thing he said was that he loved me. As I was laying in the hospital, thinking I was dying, all I had were regrets. I couldn't help thinking how disappointed he would have been. Not in me, but that I hadn't died with the same sence of peace that he had. When I come to that point again, hopefully decades from now, I am determined to go without regrets. If that means having to tell myself no a hundred times a day, then so be it.

Hello girls,
I hope you are all having a better week than I am!! Gotta take it in strides though...I did my exercises this week, so that's something I guess. anyone notice how much harder it is to diet when you work overtime? >

Hmm, today was a nice day off, even IF i had to spend some of it doing a mystery shop. I gave my cat a haircut today, I'm afraid she looks a bit dreadful, but she doesn't seem to care much!! haha.

Catherine, I know exactly what you mean about the nap thing...I absolutely hate the feeling of falling asleep for a long time during the day. You wake up all confused thinking that it's time to get up for the day or something, when really it's like 5 or 6 in the afternoon

Jillybean – my :fingerscrossed: for you as well!

Thinthinker – ahh!! A fellow gardner… well a fellow worker in the garden I’m renting a bob cat next weekend… wanna come over for a plow party? Hehehehe you could help me play out my garden as well… oooh which reminds me, I should post what my backyard looks like and post my after pictures of it lol.

Mertz – ahh yes, that sounds like my Heidi. We’ve learned not to have anything hanging over the edge of our coffee table. Matter of fact, don’t have anything near the edge hehehe, other wise it’s as good as mulch. I’ve learned that the hard way when I had a long night of homework and I left my book and paper out. I woke up to find teeth marks in my calculus paper… good thing it wasn’t torn up badly. Guess that gives new meaning to “The dog ate my paper” excuse huh? Good job with the eating well! I put in a new avatar of Heidi… she looks like an anorexic in this picture tho… I think the picture got stretched.

Tashbella – good job with curbing that possible sugar craving with the reeses!! That’s my weakness… peanut butter, and reeses peanut butter cups are even worse! I don’t like chocolate but I like the peanut butter cups… heheh GOOD JOB!

Doxie - Your two “babies” are adorable as well… it’s amazing how well they’ve got us trained!

Lilion – Hey congrats on the pound gone! You are right, down is down! WOOHOO!

Hippievanlady – Motivating story! I think about the same things at times. I had a friend who was heavy like me. We worked at one of the Indian casinos out here in Cali. He died on the way home. Had a heart attack in the car and drove off the road Sometimes I’m scared that even that is not enough motivation. But I’m trying, that’s what is most important. And most important for you and any of the ladies here. It’s a hard road… but together we can help each other just a little

Well ladies… Tomorrow is the first day of our new yard… it’s gonna be a lot of work. We have a 65ft long and 50ftwide yard, so it’s a really big yard. Tomorrow, the first thing we are going to do is lay out an 18x26 ft frame for where we are going to put the pool at. We bought an above ground pool. Was cheaper than an in ground one… but it’s a big pool… I think a standard in ground pool is 15 x 30, this is 13x21 and is 4.5 feet deep. So I’m gonna get some good laps going. Anyways we have to lay a frame out because we want the pool to lay in a sand box. Essentially to protect the bottom of it from anything sharp on the bare ground. So we’re gonna build a frame and fill it with about 2 inches thick of sand (give or take). Then once the frame is built, we have to go through the whole yard and pull up the sprinklers and the pipes. We’re going to redo the sprinkler system. So that’s another job for us. Then on Tuesday they are going to deliver a dumpster and we’ll get the Kubota (a tractor) on Saturday next week.

I have some many layouts of what I want my back yard to look like. So if we can get things laid out, we can get an idea of how much of our backyard is going to be taken up. We’ll go from there. But I’m proud of myself… I designed the whole backyard, so we’ll see what it looks like when its done LOL! EEK!

Take care everyone!
Sue…

Iwillbe ... Thanks for missing me. {{ HUGS}}
I have been MIA for quite some time.
I too have been working in the yard and planting TREES and flowers. I think it is paying off. Tonight a neighbor walking in our area stopped and told us how great our yard looks. He said ... "In fact, you have the best looking yard in the whole neighborhood" It sure made us feel good. I did all the buying and my dear dear husband did all the planting. We are focusing on perninals so we NEVER have to plant so much ever again. LOL The only annual I bought were my beloved begonias. I love them.
Thin... I too bought 4 mosquito plants. I want one near my front door... and three in the back. I sure hope they work.
I cannot imagine our water bill this month. We planted 5 trees !!! They need a LOT of water. 3 of those trees were Trinity Pears. They bloom beautiful foilage in the spring like the bartlett pear trees... but are much heartier. They do not bear fruit. We have had fruit bearing trees at our old house. Although the fruit taste great.... they made a mess at the same time. We would give fruit away and still have tons fall on the ground and rot. And they really attract the bees and wasps.

Speaking of bees. While swimming a week ago ... a bee STUNG ME !!!
Man did that hurt !!! It made a HARD KNOT in my neck for 4 days the size of a golf ball. Then it was weird... deep into my neck the hard knot stayed big .. but got softer... but then I had a HARD KNOT the size of a marble for another 4 days on top of it. I have been stung by a bee before and it NEVER hurt this bad for this long before. I still have a trace of it.

I am happy to share that I am exercsing DAILY !!!
I have lost 6 lbs this month. The sad part ... I gained it first.
But ... It does not matter how many times I lost it.... I have to keep losing it to get to virgin fat. I am DETERMINED TO LOSE IT AGAIN until I quit gaining it back.

My daughter got home tonight from Michigan. She is home for an entire week !!!
I will be busy with her so I don't know when I will be back again until she goes home.
I will try.

2Cute2be – OOOH another hard worker… hey as I told Thinkthinker, you can come over for the plow party I’m having next week for my backyard ;-) congrats on the weightloss… even if you gained it first, it’s still a loss… I’m waiting for mine to do something… I go up and down, so I dunno if that’s a lot of success or not hehehe.

Synn – Oh wow! I hope your FIL is healing well and no problems! No worries about the excuses, it’s a good one!

Wow everyone is gone for holiday weekend? And to think I was gonna invite everyone for a plow party!

I hope everyone is doing well and hope for everyone to have a good and SAFE holiday weekend.

Take care everyone!
Sue…