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 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!

I know you'll all agree that we are really thankful for the free services here at 3FC. The sisters offer all of this support and information with no charges to us. There are a couple of ways though that we can help out.

If you are thinking about buying anything at Amazon, why not help out 3FC at the same time? You can do this by clicking on the button for Amazon on any page in the forum, or by clicking on the button on the main 3FC page at www.3fatchicks.com . A portion of your purchase price will be given to 3FC by Amazon. It doesn't increase your price at all, but it does help out 3FC. You can use any of the Amazon.com links that you see on the site in order to help contribute to the site.

Also, BTW, in case you didn't know it, you can view the message boards "ad free" for a minimal charge. I think it's like $15 for 6 months. A very small investment to be rid of the annoying ads and make your pages load quicker.

There have been some concerns expressed by the powers that be about copyright infringement. So please, if you are directly quoting someone else or printing an article in whole or in part, please give credit where credit is due!!!!

Julee - I'm sorry that you feel like people aren't noticing you or noticing your absence in that case.... Don't leave us! You've done such a great job with your weight loss, and I DO look forward to your posts!

Amy - Everyone that I've talked to has liked their psych class...but I'm just hating it! BLAH!! Sorry to hear you are still feeling cruddy....hope you get to feeling better SOON!

Valerie -

Quote:
If she's not gonna do a curve, then maybe she should do Curves - it would improve her attitude and self-image so she wouldn't hafta pick on defenseless undergrads!

LOL! I always love your remarks! Did the "kids" let you get a decent night's sleep last night?

Vicki - My b/f used to ride me about being online all the time, too...until he got a computer! LOL!

Ammi - You posted! Don't let it get you TOO down, hun. I hope all goes well, if you go to the doctor's!

Luan - I've been thinking a lot lately about once I get my degree to get a cosmetology license (certificate?), just because it would be so much FUN! More of a personal interest thing than career...I'd be able to make everyone all purty! No advice on the plateau, as I've been STUCK at 300 for 3 weeks!

LAnne - I went to your website, and your whole ordeal was just CRAZY! I really hope they are able to do the Lapband for ya!

Melanie - Good luck at WI tomorrow!!!

Garnet - I get my results back tomorrow....gah! Your entire post=SO TRUE! You hit it right on the head!

Well, had Criminal Justice tonight, and I think I did alright on the test. Luckily, we don't have one next week, as he didn't get through all of the lecture material. As for individual posts, as you all know, I try to do them whenever I can, and I feel bad when I have to do a drive-by post...and granted, I usually don't get to EVERYONE, but please don't take it to heart. Half the time, I'd be repeating someone else, or I frankly just don't know WHAT to say...

Andrew called my cell phone, and it seems his car was SMOKING, so I'm going to go and pick him up from work in about an hour...probably will end up having to take him and pick him up tomorrow, too...but he's my honey, so I won't complain.

Valerie--I agree, a good vet is hard to find! Definetly keep this guy, he sounds like pure gold. I finally found a good vet but mine, like yours, is clear on the other side of town . Why cant the crappy vet be the one across town???

Voodoo--I completely feel you on family that likes to wait till last minute to tell you things! I always say "I'm always the last to know" and my mom teases me about that, but the sad part is that its true !! BTW--I dont think any one blames you for that comment you made about being down driving Tasha away. To be honest, when I first read it I didnt even think about it being construed in a negative way--I completely thought you were just saying that a lot of us have been feeling down. I thinks amends have been made, but there must be something else stopping her from coming back .

Jill--I agree w/you, when I think someone is having a hard time I dont want to bring attention to it. That logic completely makes sense to me.

Vicki--Good for you for realizing what was getting in the way of your excercise goals early on so you can work on changing it . I'm sure having a buddy to excercise with helps you be more accountable, etc.

Lillion--Congrats on maintaining and, most of all, for being able to accentuate the positive. As you say, at least you didnt gain! I agree w/you that maybe we all need to be thicker skinned (MYSELF included!!). I have worked on that my entire life and am getting a little better...

Ammi--I'm sorry you're having such a rough go of it right now. Hopefully your Dr can offer some consolation and help . BTW--I've always wanted to ask you how your name is pronounced. Is it like my name, Amy, or differently?

Julee--I'm glad you're feeling better . Sometimes all we need is to just vocalize our feelings (or in this case, type them out).

Luann--Once I become Queen of All Creation (which I fully intend on doing by, say, 2020 ) I'll have to take you up on that offer . There are a bunch of good recipes in the low fat recipe section of 3FC, and they all have the points values indicated on them. My favorite so far is the Black Bean and Tortilla Bake (under "Meatless Entrees"). Totally delish and only 4 pts!!

Sherry--I'm sorry you didnt lose anything, but congrats on at least maintaining. I'm sure you're just really muscular now from excercising and that must be what is causing it . I wish you the best next week!

Leanne--What is the difference between the LAP band and gastric bypass? Good to hear you are coping w/your medical condition the best you can .

2losinit--I actually pictured you w/your hand over your heart when you made that oath ! Good luck on your weigh in. I feel like I feel nervous about weigh-in every time, even though I've excercised and stayed OP. Its like a small part of me just expects to fail all the same. I dont claim to know anything about the female phyche--we are all so weird!

Garnet--That sounds like a really piss-poor excuse they gave you! "Cant find the instructions"? What, are they running the shop out of someone's basement? And I wanted to comment on this "did it come from that evil little voice inside you that always tries to make you feel inadequate and unwanted???" and this "But dont be too surprised if the answer to your question comes from inside yourself rather than from us". I think that speaks volumes to a lot of us. I feel this is right on the mark. Sometimes we get upset about things that have nothing to do w/why we are feeling this or that way inside. Thank you for articulating what, I believe, was hard for some of us to say. And PLEASE dont ever put yourself in pain just to do personal responses !


Well, I took a nap around 5pm and woke up at 7:40 feeling like I was burning up. I took my temp and I dont have a fever so I dunno . I still felt like crap but I thought maybe I just needed to get out and do something as I've pretty much just been laying on the couch all day. I was going to go grocery shopping tonight because I'm out of produce, but I left the house and started to feel 10 times worse the second I pulled out of the driveway. So I just went and got a sub for dinner and brought it back. As I was driving I was cursing myself for not staying home, I felt that crappy .

I think I may have to miss work tomorrow but I am afraid I might get into trouble . I talked to Nat and told him that I'm 99.9% sure they wont fire me or anything, but its that .1% that's bothering me. I think because we are Union they have to take certain steps in the disciplinary process before they can just fire someone for absences. And I dont know of ANYONE that has been fired for absences at my work.

Dont get me wrong, I'm a good employee and I dont just call in for no reason, but I was sick a lot last year. I had pnuemonia and strep really bad and had to miss 3 days for both of those. I had a leg infection, numerous ear infections, and just miscellaneous colds and bronchitis a few times, each bad enough to miss work. And already this year my TMJ flared up and I couldnt move my jaw so I had to go miss for that, too (I cant work if I cant talk as talking is my job). My supervisor tells us he doesnt want us working when we are sick, but then turns around and tells us they are changing the attendance policy April 1st to be more strict . Basically they are changing it so if you miss 9 days in a rolling 12 mos you are fired. Period.

I told him I think its a process of "weeding-out" because our company is selling 1/3 of its utility assets so a lot of us will end up being laid off. I told him that no company wants to show a high number of lay-offs, so if they can weed us out first they wont have to include us in those numbers. I've been through a lay-off before (at my last job, ironically enough ) and they offered us "voluntary severance" so we'd just quit so they wouldnt have to include so many in the number of people they laid off so they wouldnt look so bad. And so we couldnt draw unemployment . At this point it sincerely feels like they are pissing down our backs and telling us its raining.

I do have a hefty sum in 401k at this point and will be 60% vested in July, so I guess if I get fired I can cash that out and live off that for a while and draw unemployment....but hopefully it wont come to that. Maybe I just hate my job so much that in the back of my mind I kinda wish it would.

I'm too exhasted to post much, but I thought I would say -

Kayley - Tell your boyfriend's car to stop smoking. It is a bad habit and really hard to quit once your start.

Amy - The accountant in me cringed when you mentioned living off your 401k. I hope you don't need to do it! With penalties and taxes you lose so much by taking a disbursement. You will kick yourself later in life. There is a good reason to be putting money away for retirement - we are going to need it! Also, if you are union I am sure they will check, but that new sick policy sounds illegal to me. Does it take into consideration having a doctor's note?

Well, I think I just blew my weigh in tomorrow. My BF really wanted Indian food and I was actually really craving a dosha (large chickpea pancake thing, usually filled with something), so I agreed to go out. He has been working REALLY hard (like 12 - 14 hour days) and didn't want to worry about cooking, etc. Unfortunately the place we went was Northern, so no doshas and there was so much ghee (butter) in the rice it was shiny. Tons of salt too, which is where I will blow the weigh in. Oh well - there is always next week.

garnetfairy--I'm freezing right now lol. I did enjoy the warmth we had over the past couple of weeks though....right now I am soooo cold though.

I've always wanted to go to Houston...or rather the coast in general, only time I have seen a beach was in Chicago LOL.

Valerie--ROFL No No No LOL, I teach preschool so I have a class of 11 two year olds. yikes is it a difficult age....and some of them I would gladly sell you if I could...sometimes.... No, I don't have any children of my own. I'm an "old-maid" LOL. But I am raising my brothers two girls. Long story there...but I'm the one mostly responsible for them all the time. And, although they are spoiled rotten and have a tendency not to mind at all most of the time LOL I couldn't sell them. But your post really did have me in stitches.

Amy--Nods, I get pretty tired of reading labels and mostly I miss yogurt. Sounds strange probably, but...I love yogurt and it has soooo many carbs. I've tried the low carb version and it's hideous...so I just have to do without.

I'm sorry you are sick, and your niece as well. I hope you both are okay?? And I hope you both get to feeling better soon.

thinthinker--Thank you. I didn't know how to PM so thank you for explaining it.

Honi: No problem. That's what I'm here for....to answer the tough questions.

Amy – Teaching psych at college is a lot of fun, but if you think you want to really do it full time, there are lots of things you should know. Most professors do have Ph.Ds, and really many of those are highly involved in research. Even at small teaching colleges you usually have to be engaged in research to be in a tenure track position. What it boils down to is that being a professor isn’t the job most people think it is. There’s lots of committee work, and research in addition to teaching. Community colleges are a different story… more teaching, and more people without Ph.D.s

And then specialities! I am not a therapist of any flavor. My degree is in social/cultural psychology. Most people get drawn to psych because of interests in clinical/counseling psych, and wouldn’t you know… those Ph.D programs are the toughest to get into! However, there are lots of opportunities for people with masters degrees in psych, and many times those people can also get adjunct jobs at colleges… meaning teaching on a course-by-course basis. The pay isn’t good and you are sort of low man on the totem pole…

Anyway, lots to think about!

BTW, Amy, when you do become the Queen of All Creation, I have some issues I’d like to discuss with you. We can start with TOM and go from there…

GarnetFairy—(on a related note): psychiatrists are medical doctors and can prescribe meds. Psychologists do not have medical training and cannot prescribe medication, they usually specialize in one or another form of therapy (and there are many forms)… so when you see one psychologist who is trained in, say, Freudian psychoanalysis (lying on the couch and saying what comes to mind, often to find a very old root to a problem), the experience is very different than going to a behavioral therapist whose job is to change your behavior. And, to make it more complicated, many licensed therapists are not necessarily psychologists… they may be social workers, for instance.


Valerie – I agree that overall this is SUCH a supportive group! I am strictly a lurker in any other forum, but 3fc drew me in!

Ammi – great to see you back! I owe you an email but am having trouble with that account. I need to do something about it… but I’ve missed you! And you of all people do not need to apologize for not responding personally to everyone!

Julee—I understand about not getting noticed. I bet most of us feel we aren’t noticed enough on these boards! I hope you don’t really quit – you are an inspiration, you know!!

I think the people who get noticed more when they don’t post are the ones who answer personally to many other people, but I might be wrong about that.

Many of the issues brought up by you and Zelma and even Tasha get me wondering what we all expect from this forum … a number of you have addressed this issue already.

I know that we get to come to a place where we feel comfortable talking about our issues, but isn’t it more than that? I bet a lot of us feel let down by how little others follow up on what we say, or notice us when we’re gone. We’re like a family, but it’s a BIG family, and many of us come and go so fast, and the threads zoom by, it’s amazing we’re coherent at all.

I’d be interested in hearing whether others are satisfied or disappointed by their experiences here, esp regarding the issues Zelma raised (people not commenting on what we DO write) and Julee raised (people not noticing us when we’re missing)… and I hope I didn’t miss anyone in that group myself!

As for me, I sometimes wish more people would continue a conversation I started, but I really try to understand the realities of our lives and this board, and try not to have my feelings be hurt when no one comments to me. I agree with Lilion that we have all probably slighted and been slighted. Overall, I think I really get more than I could ever dream from a group of people I don’t know IRL. This place is a saving grace!

Okay, now I’m caught up on the LAST thread… Not even any time to talk about my day and the eating of the cheesecake…

Weigh-In tonight was GOOD!!! Down 2.6 so I am now down a total of 89.6...a new low! So I treated myself toa yummy dinner..that was still pretty healthy all things considered....I went and got a turkey pastrami and muenster sandwich on whole wheat with lots of veggies and mustard. I actually ate cheese and bread. I also treated myself to fro-yo...but it was Skinnie Minnie which I think is only 11 calories an ounce...so for the 4 oz. kiddie cup..not too shabby..and soooooo yummy!

The show....each year for the last 35 years our Senior Rabbi has been doing a full scale musical with the kids in the Youth Department. As a function of my job I am the executive producer. It is a very major deal...we rehearse 3 times a week from October-March and we have 3 shows. I'm not taking about sets painted by parents either. We take advantage of being in LA and use real costumes from a costume house, we have the sets professionally designed and painted, and we get the props from History for Hire so that everything is authentic. This has been dress rehearsal week and I have been at work until 10:30 every night this week...and exhausted. I love the show but I am always glad when it is over. Luan..thanks for the offer...but we've got all our bases covered. This year we are doing "Guys & Dolls". Our kids are SOOOOO talented..they just amaze me.

I know that after all my kvetching I should do some personal responses...but again...I'm behind about a full thread and it seems like a lot of the postings were about the entire topic of being left out, ignored, missing, neglected, etc.

Yeah...it's really easy to get carried away with a bulletin board like this and you forget where the boundaries are between on-line and IRL. When you talk to the same people day after day you do tend to start expecting them to behave like real people with whom you interact face-to-face on a daily basis...especially when your on-line friends are nicer people that you actually like better. We all came here for support of some sort or another...so our expectations probably are relative to what we came here for.

All that being said...I am not going anywhere..you are all wonderful and I really do enjoy reading all about you adn what you do and go through. It gives me wonderful perspective on my own life and helps me to better understand my struggles and battles. If any of you ever come to LA I would be thrilled and honored to spend time with you!

It's late and I am sleepy girl.

Buenos Nachos!

kayley - you totally should. it only takes a year and a half if you do it full time, and if you specialize in color you can do fun funly stuff. im going to go back when im done with makeup and do it. its totally worth it.

amy - im totally voting for ya!

julee - i did that show in high school. let me know the dates and i will try to come support!!

zelma - where does one purchase concert tickets for australia concerts? i am planning on being in sydney from dec 13-21 and melbourne dec 21-27. then who knows, but i wanted to see if anyone good was gonna be there...

eyelashes was FUN. we did the individuals and the strip ones. the strip ones suck, but the individuals look so cute. i look so girly. i will post a pic soon.

Amy/violet, so sorry that work/union is useless/horrible, my hubby's union wouldn't let them strike even though the company wanted them to take a 20% pay cut and much lower overtime rate AND force those who did lots of overtime to carry on doing it!!!!! Some unions want a good kicking or worse!! I hope things pick up for you soon.
Julee, you have your hands full don't you!!! wedding, shows, how do you find the time to post?!!
Luan, I tried those single false eyelashes, I looked like a drag queen, but worse, I couldn't get them to line up with my real ones so I gave up. I used to wear the strips on special occasions though, they look great.
Speaking of people missing where's DOGPAL??? I hope all is well for her. There are so many posts but I forget who said what, so forgive me for being a bit dim and not having the time to reply to everyone.
I have not been OP properly all of this month, nor much of last month either, there's always something, illness, stress just being a pig !! I MUST get myself sorted out and LOSE THE FAT!!!!!
xxxxsharon