This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This is a group of friends dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

Good morning ladies,

Friday! Friday! It has been a busy week at work. Year end in the financial world. Blech.

Only one more night of double walking the dogs. The hard part is being up at 5 am and having to stay awake until 9:30 to go let her out for the night shift. Makes it hard to get up again the next day.

Joeanne - We miss you over here! Lilion is correct. There were so many ladies over on the other thread that it was impossible to keep up with all the new folks and old. Come back sooner!

2Cute - I am SOOOOO with you about having time alone in the house. With DH off on disability now, I NEVER get the house to myself. I was so excited on Monday when he went to wash a vehicle. I thought he'd be gone about 2 hours and was back in 30 minutes. I was so disappointed when I heard the garage door up. He's home when I get home. He's in bed when I leave. I have also found it highly annoying when he gets up before I leave. Which is funny because it bothers me less to have to go to work and leave him in bed asleep than to have him get up.

Imabrit - Welcome to the group!

Valerie - Ouchy about the fall! However, it does happen and it might have been good for the girl to see that it can happen and how quickly. I know I used to get complacent about riding like a bump on a log assuming nothing could happen. Until I got tossed off. A healthy respect that no matter how good the rider or the horse, things can happen. Good going for getting back to Curves.

Kat - I've been wondering how you're doing. Happy New Year to you too! Thanks for dropping a quick hello!

Ruth - If there was a kicking boot I'd give it to you this morning! You can do this and you have to make the decision that you really want to do this and quit sabotaging yourself!

to everyone else. Just ran out of time. Ooppers, really running late now.

See ya!

Good Morning Ladies!

Well, weigh-in was worse than expected...but not so bad as to make me give up the ghost! Up 8 lbs...from 256 to 264! But it's still 64 lbs lighter than last February. I would have liked to have been 100 lbs down by Feb. 18, but that's not going to happen. Still, another day another goal! I'm putting down a new mini-goal for Feb 18th...time to break 250! Ready, set, GO!

(Of course, cookies and candy abound at the office today and there's a party tomorrow...so this won't really start until Sunday! )

Onward and Downward Ladies!

Lilion - I've been patting myself on the back for being down 40 pounds in the last year (...and I guess I'll keep doing that...) but WOW, 64 pounds is MUCH MORE GOODER!!! (Are there 2 "D's" in gooder?) BRAVO!

At this mornings WI I was down 1 1/2 for Dec, and now it's on to JANUARY. Off to a really quick lesson - just some quick groundwork - then on to my dad's in NY for a couple days. Talk to you all when I get back from there.

A VERY, VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!

I spent so much time redoing my siggy that I don't have time to post, but I don't have anything much to say anyway, so it works out. I did want to say hello to Joann and Kat, glad you two made it in to say hi. Come back often. Welcome to the new people. I'm a really oldie (in more ways than one) but I don't do individual replies very well, (also I don't type or spell that good either ) But I do drop by everyday to read and get my fix of motivation. Thankfully there are a lot of great gals here who are more "chatty" than I am.

I looked at the picture pages earlier, and the bio pages and there are so many I wonder about. And a few I actually worry about. Has anyone heard from Jenhari, the Jen that was in Germany? Well, I'm off to bed, even though it's early. I have to help sis do unpacking of her kitchen at the new house tomorrow.

It was so nice to see so many understand what it is like to want and NEED some "alone time". LOL
I actually got a quiet evening tonight. Unfortunately I got more bad news tonight too .. but at least I had some "quiet time" to cope with it.

My oldest daughter went back home today.
That is the other side of this "alone time"... my daughter went back home ... 1,000 miles away. I won't see her for at least 4-5 months.
I am happy that she is happy there ... but I sure will miss her. We had a GREAT visit together for the last week.

Okay...it is late. I am headed for bed. I am sure I will be babysitting tomorrow night even though I haven't been asked YET. LOL
Hubby bought himself a BIG SCREEN TV so he plans to pick it up tomorrow so the granddaughters will get a new movie for sure. LOL

Hi girls!

We had company until real late last night. I made dinner for them and then we jabbered for awhile before playing cards and munching some more. Had a wonderful time!

Tonight we are headed to some friends for a quiet night in, playing games and munching some more.

I decided to jump on the scale again this morning and it was showing a loss so we'll see what the official Monday morning WI (not Wisconsin) shows. I was very happy not to have gained over the holiday and I will be even more happy if Monday still shows even the tiniest loss.

JoeAnne: It's nice to see you again. Enjoy your semester break. How many more semesters before you're done??? Please stop in more often, I've really missed you.

Ruth: Hope all is well with your sister so that you get some reprieve from your mom. I can certainly understand you having to trade off with her. I'm an only child so I don't have even one sibling to "trade" with when the time comes for my mom. At least mom and I took turns when it came to caring for my dad.

Lilion: That's really nice that you pack up your leftovers and let DH take them to work. I bet the inmates really look forward to the day after holidays since you've been so kind to them. *I love that you're still friends with your old boyfriend. It's great if you can work that all out. I hate when fun people have to be left behind when relationships change. Oh well, sounds like you've been able to keep the best of both worlds. *"Of course, cookies and candy abound at the office today and there's a party tomorrow" Got any staircases around? You know what to do! *64 POUNDS in a year is fabulous! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

2cute: I'm sorry you didn't get more than 15 minutes to yourself! Sheesh, I get more than that just shutting myself up in the "john" to read. Take some time for yourself now that your daughter has returned to Michigan. I wish I was there so we could just hang out for a bit.

Imabrit: Welcome to our little corner of the boards! We're glad to have you joining us. Hope you'll stop by often. I think you'll find the motivation and encouragement that you need here.

Valerie: OMG! Thank goodness you're alright! Sure hope you feel better real soon. I'm sure a long drive isn't going to feel too good on those sore ribs and shoulder. Hope you get a chance to work out the kinks somewhere along the way. *Congrats on your 40 POUNDS! Good for you!

BarbG: I love the sand castle! Your new siggy is really cute. Hope you don't overdo unpacking your sister.

Kat: Happy Holidays to you too.

Michelle: Happy New Year, kiddo! Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas break. Did you get some time off or was the office open this week?

Terri: I'm glad your year end junk is over with as I'm sure you are. *Now that you won't have 2 dogs to walk, you'll just have to walk the old Bear even further every night to make up for it!

I'm only seeing a couple of Valentine trackers posted. Come on, girls, get with the next challenge. We can do this! I got that new George Forman just waiting in ready for me to start cooking. It's the ONLY WAY that I can lose weight....cooking more at home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A new year for:
new beginnings~
new goals~
new and old friends~
new choices~
and renewed commitments~

Happy New Year!

A new year for continued improved health, happiness and well-being.

I did my official weigh-in yesterday and it was 255.6. For the holidays it is only a 1.5 pound gain. That is up from where I began the beginning of the year but only by 10 pounds. I am still dumbfounded as to why but will blame it on age and changing hormores making what used to work not. So its time to quit pouting about it and find what works and do it.

We spent the day yesterday at a horse sale with Richard. Man of man, there were several that I would have loved to buy. Some sold for ridiculously low amounts and one went for $23,500. It was fun to watch and learned something too about what to look for in good confirmation. I need land! It makes me want to get out and ride even more. Maybe tomorrow if the weather is good.

We didn't go anything for New Years eve. As always, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to hear the fireworks. I was wiped out after the day so I was happy to be snuggled under the quilt.

Today is off to Sunday school and then down to have lunch with mom again. Today is her 75th birthday so her kids are meeting her at a good country family restaurant for a lunch party. Their specialty is fried chicken or chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with white gravy. I think I'll be looking for a grilled chicken or maybe even a salad. That trip will take up most of the day. Maybe I can get some ironing or something productive done tonight so that I won't feel like I've lost a three day weekend to getting nothing done around the place.

I did work on getting the new TV stand in place and the home theater system hooked up. I did that on Friday night and it was a two hour project. That dang TV weighs about 250 pounds or so it seems. DH and I had to lift it off old TV stand and slide it onto two big coolers. We could do that because the coolers were relatively the same height. I had trouble with the home theater thing because the instructions suck and I'm trying to hook up with a cable box and DVD player. I finally got everything into place and all the darn wires run through to the back of the stand. I almost cried at one point. I had to call the neighbor across the street to come help me lift the TV up onto the stand. Good thing I'm strong. We have TV and we can watch DVD's but the sound from the TV isn't coming out of the home theater. I can listen to radio out of it but not the TV. So I'm missing some connection between the TV and receiver. My brother called yesterday so I asked him to stop by one night next week to take a look. He's good with all the electronic stuff. Hey, but it looks so much better. I took a pic of the before and I'll have to take one of the after. I'll post them for grins.

to Lilion and Valerie! Those are awesome losses! Such inspiration.

Thin - Great job on not gaining anything over the holidays. And yes ma'am, I will be lengthening my walks with Bear now to try to get in a 2 mile walk each night. Or at least 45 minutes.

2Cute - Did you babysit? I know how close you and your daughter are. That is good that you had the chance to have such a good visit with her over the holidays.

Valerie - Congrats on a loss for December as well. Have a good trip!

Barb.G - Don't work too hard and get your SJS flared up again. (or made worse).

I guess I should get up and take a shower. I said I would make blueberry pancakes for breakfast so I need to get DH up too.

Have a good day!

Okay, it's time to get really serious.. I just weighted at I'm at an all time high!!! I have gained about 15 pounds this year, but that's better than the 50 or so I gained for my other reunions!!! Some of you know what I am talking about, for those who don't it seems like every 10 years 1975, 1985 and 2005 were tramatic years and I gained lots of weight from stress eating and it was all when I had bought tickets to my class reunions. In 1995 I didn't buy one and things went smoothly, so I thought it was safe to buy one to the 40th reunion in 2005!!! WRONG!!! Seriously I'm not that superstetitous, but that just seems to be the way things worked out. This was a very bad, stressful year for me, but it is over!!! As Joel Osteen said on his program this morning, Don't hold on to the past, let it go, you can't change anything, and all you do by dwelling on it is to make yourself crazy. OKAY It's over.

Terri and Thin, thanks for thinking about me, but I was very careful not to overdo it with the unpacking. Hopefully they will finish up the moving tomorrow. I'm not sure which is the best way to move, just load everything up and move it and have the next month to try to arrange things and put things up, or the way they are doing it, by moving a little bit at a time and having everything up and in place before they bring in another load. It seems like it's taking forever, but everything at the new place it cleaned, and in place and ready to go. No boxes to unpack etc. Who know which is best?

Tonight we are having a special service at our church. It is a combined singing service with about 5 or 6 other congreations of Church of Christ's in the area. We do this every year, and rotate the sites of the service, and this year it will be at our church. I really enjoy it because it gives us a chance to see other that we don't see every week. The only thing that will be hard is that so many of the people I will see will be friends of my parents, and the last time I ran in to some of them, I couldn't stop crying, It will be hard to sing and cry at the same time.

Now that I've poured my heart out, I'll say "Hope everyone else has a great day an hopefully a productive day off tomorrow"

BTW: If Kat or BarbPA happen to read this, I'll be pulling for your Eagles to wind today so the Cowboys might have a chance at the playoffs. Not very often I root for the Eagles!!!

Happy New Year Ladies!

Well, it was a not-so-long and very do-nothing sort of New Years Day. Went to the NYE party last night and it was a lot of fun. Very laid back, just us and three other couples. We played Scene It. We split up men against the women and boy did the ladies kick butt! We beat the men the first time and they wanted a rematch. The second time we won with them less than 1/2 way across the board. We told them to just stay there and we'd see if we could lap them! And we did, winning handily the third time after giving them a huge head start! It was sooo funny. We stayed up way too late, going to bed about 2 a.m.

I had to get up at 7 with the puppies and left DH to sleep. When he got up at 10:30, I went back to bed. It took some time to get back to sleep, but then I slept until 2!!! Talk about sleeping the day away!

I didn't drink too much last night, but for me even a couple of beers make me STARVE the next day. So I admitedly ate like a PIG today! I spent the entire day sleeping, eating or sitting on my butt watching TV. And I'm still tired. As for the food, I'll worry about that tomorrow.

My New Years resolutions are 3 - 1. Get back OP and lose the rest of this weight! 2. Spend more time working on obedience training with these dogs. and 3. Stick to my budget!

Well Ladies, I'm beat! So off I go to be even more slug-like.

Hope you all had a great holiday and wishing you all a wonderful 2006.

Thank you all for the wonderful welcome, I feel loved and it's just the encouragement I needed.

I just wanted to let you all know the stuff I have planned/goals for January
They are:

(A) 24 Days of exercise for January
(B) Drink 1488 (6 per day) cups of water by 1/31/06
(C) Eat 62 fruit/veggie (2 per day) by 1/31/06
(D) 6 pounds lose by Tuesday January 31
(E) Read 1 new book by 1/31/06

I also have daily goals that are a part of A, B, and C.

Well ladies, I pray for your continued success in 2006. I'll talk to ya'll lighter

I went cross-country skiing for the first time today! A local ski area has a special "learn to ski" -- you get the rental, track fee, and lesson for $35. I was like the first one there this a.m. . I love to downhill ski -- I haven't done that since 1992 -- so it had been quite some time since I had been on skis and cross-country is quite a bit different. I had a great time. I lucked out because there was no one else taking a lesson -- I essentially got a 1 hour private lesson. It turns out that skiing is kind of like riding a bicycle in that you don't forget. I did pretty well -- my instructor said that she thought I could take on both the beginner and intermediate trails. After my lesson, I skiied about a 2 km loop and then turned the gear in. I spent about 3-3.5 hours total between trying to do it on my own before the lesson, taking the lesson, and skiing afterward. I am beat! I fell quite a few times -- fortunately it is a lot easier to get up on cross-country skis . I had a good time and I'm planning on going again. It is so quiet and peaceful out there.

I hope everyone else had a great new year's eve and that 2006 is your best year ever!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday week. I realize that not everyone got the whole week off, but Honey and I did and it was WONDERFUL!!!

Yesterday was spent in bed, then on the couch, watching the movies that we had gotten for Christmas. What a lazy day!!!! We finished up the evening with the recap of Desperate Housewives that was on and that new show, Injustice.

I have the Rose Parade on in the background as I'm typing. What a shame that they couldn't play it yesterday, on New Year's Day, like it's supposed to be. Not everyone is off today to be home to watch it. It's pouring down rain in Pasadena and all those costumes are just soaked. It's really a shame.

I'm back to work today. I have a couple of gas stations to audit. It's a slow week, but that's because I have some returns that I need to do and I really wanted to get all that stuff done. Next week is a little busier.

Michelle: Good to see you. Are you working today or do you get some time off?

Terri: I hear you on the TV connections. We got a new TV for the bedroom over the holiday because ours died. Well we went in there to watch DVDs yesterday and the video connection was screwed up. We got audio too, but no video. The connection is loose so I guess we need a new output cable.

BarbG: The combined church service sounds lovely. I hope you made it through alright.

Lilion: I love when the women beat the men!!!! We played Euchre with our company on Friday night and unfortuneatly that was not the case! Glad you had a nice time.

JoeAnne: I like your list, actually doable! I think so many times we try to accomplish the MAX all at one time and that's how things go haywire. Your goals are easily attainable which should make all the difference when it comes to motivation.

Elaine: Good going on the cross country skiing! It must have been nice to have your private lesson! What a treat! I'm sure that was quite a workout. Now you'll just have to go back more often and enjoy the solitude of the trails.

Well, girls, my cold/sinus infection has not gone away. I have been sniffing and snorting all week long. I'm still trying to avoid anti-biotics. I'm not really a "pill" person and I'd just as soon try and fight this off on my own. So Vitamin C and Echinecea are my choices and hopefully I can get rid of this bug soon.

I think I better be outta here. It's 11:30 and if I don't get going I won't get anything done. Hope to talk to you all again soon. Love ya bunches!

Oh hey, if you haven't seen the announcement, here it is again:
3 Fat Chicks is starting a new weekly newsletter by email. It will be packed full of diet tips, weight loss news, and keep you updated on any changes with 3FC. The newsletter will begin January 1, so sign up now! Your email address will not be shared with anyone, and you can unsubscribe at any time. You will find the link to sign up when you first log into the site. Or here it is if you'd like to go from here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/newsletter.php

I found a neat article today on MSN Diet and Nutrition. It had some interesting pointers.



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12 tips that will help you drop pounds
by Selene Yeager, Prevention magazine

Many people struggling with their weight are what Stephen P. Gullo, Ph.D., a prominent weight-loss expert in New York City, calls food therapists—people who use food to deal with stress and the problems of life.

"They have developed a one-word response to any and all problems: Eat!" says Dr. Gullo, author of Thin Tastes Better (Carol Southern Books, 1995).

It's not surprising that so many people use food as a tranquilizer, says Dori Winchell, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice specializing in eating disorders in Encinitas, CA. "From the time you're a baby through childhood, whenever you're unhappy, someone soothes you with a cookie. We've been pairing emotions with eating for so long that it's little wonder we know anything else." What's more, admits Dr. Winchell, food works. "Food can create soothing changes in brain chemistry, and even the simple act of chewing will increase endorphins and ease your pain."

To top it off, the stress you feel when you're upset actually makes you feel hungry and creates body fat. Chronic stress from deadline pressures at work to painful baggage from your past triggers your body to increase the production of cortisol, the hormone that encourages fat storage, particularly around the belly. Your body also pumps increased adrenaline into your bloodstream, which makes your pancreas churn out insulin. That leads to incessant hunger, explains Pamela M. Peeke, M.D., M.PH., assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and author of the best-selling book Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000).

You eat for relief, which, unfortunately, lasts only as long as the last bite. Then the problems you were trying to solve with food suddenly reappear. (Surprise: They never went away.) And you feel like a failure: Not only didn't you solve your problems, you created a new one, right there around your waist!

The solution? Find tools besides a fork to attack emotional angst. In the time it takes to forage for your favorite quick-fix food, you can take steps to break the cycle, beat stress, eliminate emotional eating and yes, finally drop that excess weight for good without even trying.

Feed your real hunger. Sometimes food cravings mean you want food, but often, especially for emotional eaters, they're saying you want something else: It could be creative stimulation, companionship, or more satisfaction in life. That was true for Karen Jones (not her real name) of Rockville, MD, who shed 70 lb from her 210-lb frame when she identified her eating triggers as boredom, frustration, and loneliness. "I'd tried, and ultimately failed, countless diets," says Jones. "But once I understood why I was eating and started confronting those issues head-on, the weight came off without any diet at all." Not sure what you're actually "hungry" for? Here's how to figure it out and "feed" it.

Play detective. Keep a food journal, suggests eating expert Joan Chrisler, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Connecticut College in New London. "Every time you reach for food, write down what you eat and how you were feeling. Bored? Frustrated? Happy? Before long, you'll see a pattern. Then you can start to break it."

Shop for some stimulants. Do you eat when you're bored? Time to make a new "grocery" list, says Dr. Chrisler. Buy inexpensive, accessible things such as books, CDs, and tapes or DVDs of favorite films that provide the emotional lift you're seeking from food. Keep them handy, and turn to them when you're down.

Make a human connection. "For some people, food is love," says Prevention columnist Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., psychiatry instructor at Harvard Medical School. "You may be hungry for feeling, closeness and companionship." Or, like Karen, you eat to escape painful feelings. "Make a human connection instead," suggests Dr. Hallowell. "Call your best friend." Make sure you pick someone who makes you feel good. If you have issues with a parent or friend, calling them could lead you to finish off an entire row of cookies.

Create new habits. Many people eat every time there's a lull, such as during TV commercials, says eating disorders expert Sandra Haber, Ph.D., adjunct associate clinical professor at Adelphi University's Derner Institute in New York City. Be prepared for those lulls. "Keep manicure supplies, stacks of empty photo albums, or a cross-stitch project by the TV for something to do," she suggests. Even better, find a hobby. When you're engrossed in something you love, you forget all about eating, especially if you're active. Falling in love with bicycling, for instance, has helped Karen Jones maintain her new 140-lb figure.

Head toward your dreams. Maybe you're hungering for a big change, such as a more satisfying career. Go for it, one little step at a time. "Take a class at a community college, or just start talking to people in that field. Moving toward goals is exhilarating," says Dr. Peeke, who saw one client drop 60 lb once she left a safe but unfulfilling job and pursued her dreams to be a caterer.

Rethink your rewards. Like most people, you probably eat to celebrate happiness too. (Don't most happy occasions involve eating?) Find new, affordable rewards such as earrings or tickets to a play or movie.


I hope all of you have been doing something fun today because you sure haven't been HERE!!!