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!!

Kayley - Congrats on the new job!

I am very happy to report that today I weighed in at 301. That still means I am only down 1 pound in 2 weeks, but having been 307 only a few days ago I'm fine with that. I think I may still be retaining some water, but nothing like I was.

Nothing much to report really, still not OP, tummy still not 'right' (lots of wind and running to the loo!) feeling down, blah blah. no more moaning!!!
Glad that Violet is ok, Kayley send her big hugs from me xxxxx BRILL on getting that job, it sounded the best one anyway!!!!!
I have to go & tidy up as bro-in-law is babysitting on Friday, we're out for Steve's birthday (on Sunday)and I don't want him thinking we're pigs!!!!! When Steve's on nights it's so hard to tidy up as the house is open plan and any noise travels upstairs, luckily we have a separate dining room! Well I hope you are all keeping well and happy
xxxsharon

Hi All,

Wow it didn't take long for me to fall a whole thread behind. I was busy yesterday and then spent time catching up on emails so didn't get chance to post here. Today I feel like I am coming down with a cold. I went back to bed this morning for the first time in just over 7 weeks. It was weird to do, but nice to realise I only did it because of not feeling well. I took some tablets and am not feeling quite so bad now, so am finally here able to catch up on some posts.

Annie - your visitors arrive today, I hope you got all your cleaning done in plenty of time Enjoy their stay, and I look forward to hearing all about it, and your birthday next time you have the chance to post/write. Happy Birthday for Saturday

Crock - I am really sorry to hear that you are so unwell with bronchitis. That's bad enough for your average person, but on top of asthma, you must be feeling terrible. I am guessing you aren't able to smoke much right about now, so this may be the perfect time to try to give up You are making yourself fit and healthy through doing such a great job of losing weight, if you could give up the smokes too you really would be doing yourself the biggest favour!

Good luck for the 22nd when you see yet another specialist about your knee. A diagnosis and hopefully something to sort it out would be fantastic and worth every penny you have to pay for it, so

Ingrid - hi I could be totally wrong, and I am certainly no expert, but I wonder if subconciously your mind is saying something like 'well you lost all that weight before, and just put it on, so what's the point of doing it again'. That could be why you are hungry all the time, it's like sabotage so that you don't risk losing the weight again only to hate yourself for putting it back on? I am sorry that you are feeling hungry all the time and I wish I could offer some good advice. If I am feeling hungry, especially at the start of a diet I just make sure I eat lots of zero point veges, and sugar free, also zero point jelly (jello). I am doing the WW diet and it is the best for me. In diets of old when I would eat things like a tiny breakfast, lunch and evening meal with no snacks etc I wouldn't last a week, not even the day sometimes. Then I discovered WW and realised I could eat a LOT of the right stuff, and still lose weight. Good luck with the willpower you need to hang in there through this really tough time!! Patti had a great suggestion too, keeping busy. It's one of the reasons I love 3FC so much. While I am typing here and getting constant reminders of dieting and how great people are doing etc, it keeps me from thinking of or wanting food!

Patti - I am glad that you didn't see any gain after your hubby was home for the long weekend. You obviously made some good food choices even if you didn't realise it. By the next time you officially weigh you will have had a good week of WW and I am sure you will see a good loss, perhaps even getting you into Twotown, what a thrill that would be, both breaking the plateau AND being in the 200s

Sassy - how are you doing?

SueMarie - glad to hear you are feeling a bit better, but sorry you have such a sore nose. Do you have those special tissues over there that are enriched with aloe vera? They are wonderful for stopping the sore nose of colds. I won't use any other tissue now when I have a cold Oh and I think you were wrong about not being able to catch colds from your post because I think I am well on the way to having one myself

Elaine - thanks for the congrats on my 3 lbs lost, yep just 1 more little lb and I am away from the 300s FOREVER! I see that you are just 3 little lbs away from being 299 yourself, it's pretty exciting isn't it!! I hope we will make it to Twotown together

Melissa - well done on all the swimming you have been able to do, and that's great that your fiance is going along to your water aerobics class too. It must make all the difference having him there supporting you. I am sure you will see a good loss on the scales, but don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat and you are undoubtedly building some muscle up with all that swimming. So if you ever see a smaller loss than you hope for, remember the fat loss will still be great, you just might not see the numbers due to muscle build up!

Gonnabefit - Hello and sorry that you are suffering with heel spurs. Could you go swimming, that is good exercise without putting any strain on your heels?

I hear you on how you feel about having to watch every morsel you eat where others around you can eat so much more and not gain any weight. My hubby can eat lots of treats while I watch him and stick to my 'good' food, and although he doesn't necessarily gain weight and I do see a loss myself, it just amazes me that he stays the same. Also when he really puts effort into dieting the weight falls off him. Within a week he is tightening his belt buckle. I am kind of glad he isn't dieting right now, it's giving me time to catch up to him with what he weighs. It's horrible knowing you weigh more than your husband especially when he is over 6 foot and you are only 5 foot 6

Anyway, stay strong, the weight will come off!

Misti - glad to hear you managed to do a bit of walking and are going to an aqau aerobics class too. Sounds like your knee is definitely on the mend.

3 lbs lost this week, that is fantastic,

Oh yes I am teetering on the edge of Twotown now, and can't wait to fall over that cliff

Sharon - I know you aren't feeling great and that you probably hate that you aren't fully OP. But try to keep positive, the pill will start working for you hopefully without making you feel as moody as you were when you really were pregnant, and when you get to grips with the SB diet I bet those lbs will come flying off again. And if you do need to take anti depressants for a while, provided you get a good one that suits you, it isn't that bad a thing. If your moods improve and you start feeling great again then dieting will be so much easier, I know, I am proof of that

Nancy - you are so spot on with what you said about taking years to build up our eating habits and love for certain foods. Just because we realise we need to lose weight doesn't mean that love of food is going to go. We just need to learn to reign it in. I think sometimes we can be way too hard on ourselves, and we need to learn to stop it.

OOOH well done on losing some more weight and being just 2 little lbs away from being in the 200s There are so many of us so close to Twotown now, I think we should have a cyber party when we all get there

Hpnotq - how is your husband today? I hope that whatever is wrong that he won't need to stay in hospital and that with your TLC and some meds he will soon be feeling better.

Redhotmamma - of course you can join us here, the more the merrier. I think we have all been in the same boat as you, getting on the scales and seeing ourselves at a horrid weight higher than ever before, and it has spurred us on to wanting to lose weight, and coming here for support. My heaviest weight always used to be 301 lbs, so when I got on the scales last summer and saw that I was 329 I couldn't believe how much I had gained. I dieted for a couple of months, and got to 307 lbs, but then I gave up again and put it all back on. This time I have a new outlook on everything, including the determination to lose the weight again and this time KEEP IT OFF. I am now 300 lbs and am going to keep seeing those numbers go down. I am sure you will do the same, we are all here for you to support and encourage you!

Sue - good on you for being able to give up smoking all those years ago and reaping the rewards of not being hospitalised with your asthma since then!

Kayely - congratulations on getting the newspaper job, I hope you will be really happy there!!

Thanks for letting us know that you spoke to Amy and that she is ok. Please pass on my best to her and that I hope the move goes well. Also that I look forward to when she can post here again.

As for MY SPACE, don't talk to me about them I have a friend who uses it and she has photos and music on there that to access I need to be a My Space user too. I have tried and tried to register and keep getting the message that there was an error processing my request and to try again later. Well try and try and try again later, and I still can't register. I even wrote to them about it and they said clear my cookies and temp internet files. I did that, but still no joy. So I give up, My Space will never be MINE

Jniniffer - brilliant news on the weight loss and inches lost in just 6 weeks You are definitley doing something right and you should be so proud of yourself. Keep up the excellent results

Valerie - only 500 posts behind come on you can catch up and do individual replies surely NOT

Glad to see you posting and I am so glad to hear that a couple of the financial issues you had with your hubby have been sorted out and that prospects look far more promising. You must be very relieved

Well I am sneezing a lot now, so even as I type this cold is taking hold. Think I might get hubby to make me a herbal tea and then I might try to get some more sleep Take care all and have a great day.

Hugs,

Ammi

Ammi dont think i will break into the 2s next week but i will before long. cutting back on my exercise i cant til if its hurt or helped me. my next official WW weigh in will betuesday but i will weigh tomorrow too,. i weighed today still 306 but at least its not 306.8 and going up and down

So..since I am newbie, where do I start? What has worked for you all? I am thinking of going the old-fashioned way of counting calories and exercising.

How many calories do you eat a day?

How the heck am I going to start exercising? I am thinking just walking and building myself up. How did you start?

Thanks for the welcomes!!!

So..since I am newbie, where do I start? What has worked for you all? I am thinking of going the old-fashioned way of counting calories and exercising.

How many calories do you eat a day?

How the heck am I going to start exercising? I am thinking just walking and building myself up. How did you start?

Patti - you never know, you might be really surprised at your weight loss even though you aren't able to exercise too much. Remember muscle weighs more than fat!!

Redhotmama - I don't follow calorie counting, but on the WW diet I have 30 points. Exercise, well I am not doing any regimented stuff yet, but I am walking a lot more than I used to and as housework makes me sweat I consider that as exercise too. It IS hard to exercise at our size, but next month if I can manage to buy one, I want a Gazelle Rider for my birthday. That will be my first proper exercise in ages, and it's low impact too. Should be great.

Hugs,

Ammi

what a day . vinyl sidng people got my sateliite dish out of whack... grrr ! cant wait for my routine again. in the meantime this little break so far has seemed to help my foot and leg. we shall see how it goes when life gets back to normal!

redhotmama.. i would go for WW Points like AMMI she is doing terrific on it and it seems to be easier than counting calories. i just started to go by it myself on tuesday.

Ammi-My hubby wasn't in the hospital. Did I say he was? My mistake if I did. He's having jaw pain (and has been for several weeks now) and on top of that he's got an infection in his throat that's got him on antibiotics. He's a mess right now lol.

It's been a crazy week with our boss outta town. There are only 3 of us to run the store and that means alot of overtime. WOOHOO but at the same time woah! Keeping my busy all the time lol. Hope everyone's doing well. And of course congrats to everyone who has posted losses

redhotmama -- I do calorie counting and exercise. I started last summer -- slowly. Just portion control and more moving. After about a month I started writing down everything I ate and that led to calorie counting (writing things down is a BIG eye-opener!).

When I started calorie counting I weighed 280+ and started with 2000 calories. I picked that number kind of at random but it was a great starting place. I had plenty to eat and lost weight -- when I started it was around 2 pounds/week. Now I keep it a little over 1800 calories/day on average -- and a lot more exercise.

As I went along I started paying more attention to nutrition -- a lot from info I learned here.

As for exercise, I started slow and have been building -- now doing cardio and strength training. I urge you (and everyone! Ammi too! ) to join us on the 300+ exercise thread. We set a goal of minutes to exercise a month (start with something reasonable for you) and then track our progress. We also keep track of the group's exercise. We're nearing 6000 minutes for the month (100 hours) and are working on our year goal of 100,000 minutes -- we're over halfway there.

There are tons of other good resources here at 3fc, like the exercise and calorie counting forums... check them out too!

AMMI i am kinda looking at the elipticals but i always see a weight limit on the ones i think i can afford!i havent looked at the gazelle riders yet but will do so now.