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!!!!

Well I just posted my before pics- they could have been worse- but I hate seeing myself in photos- really enforces to me how fat I am- without out the pictures- I know I am, but i feel prettier. oh well- at least i'll have something to compare with latter. I also posted a few family pics--enjoy!

Kinney- I had a personal trainer, a long time ago- and I think it did help me- I wasn't at all committed, was eating horribly (ex: finish workout and go to mcdonalds for a big mac meal) so I didn't really lose weight, but I did maintain- they can be good at teaching you techniques- i personally get bored on machines- i need classes to keep from getting bored. They are definetly worth a try- but I wouldn't commit to a lot of sessions until you know how you feel about it, they are different for everyone! Good luck!

Claire-I'm glad you are getting answers to why your body hasn't been responding the way it is supposed to. I think it's a wonderful idea to try supplements before going for the meds- i feel like docs always try to drug us up instead of getting to the root- good luck with everything!

Kate- Curves is great- and not to expensive like $31 a month- my problem was that after a couple months i got really bored- same thing every time- that might be good for you, to have a routine to push yourself with, but if you get bored easily I wouldn't go with it. How great about your debt- you guys are going to be in such good shape! I had some health trouble (had to do chemo and hormone shots) and they got so expensive that my debt just piled up- now I'm in bankruptcy- I would be so excited to be in your shoes- congrats!

Katt- Oh- i hope you post pics of the lambs- how adorable, i've always thought they were the cutest!! don't feel too bad about the digestive cookies, seeing as you are still down. I did worse yesterday ( 2 cookies and half bag of m&ms)- and I'm down 3.5 pounds this morning- I guess it goes to show we shouldn't beat ourselves over the little mistakes, in the big picture it doesn't make that big of a difference.

Melissa- I'm sure your family will notice the weight loss- I look at the pictures and it would be impossible not to! As for DELL- I wish I'd had the same experience as you- half the people I talk to have had a wonderful experience and the other half dreadful like me- I loved that laptop too- if only they'd helped me out a bit! I'm glad you got the good treatment. I wondrerful if they profile their clients and determine who has decent money and who doesnt- cause I would have fallen in the second- and treat accordingly LOL who knows--I'm just not lucky!
Good luck with the new plan- It sounds like it will work fine!!

Ammi- I knew I had heard of the gazelle rider- I always saw that and figured I would snap it in half. what's the weight limit? It looks kind of scary too- although I don't think it is too different from the elliptical riders I use- just a little less sturdy. Have a good time in London!!!

Misit- wow- what wonderful NSV's!!! I'm also very competetive so I completely understand what you mean about being able to keep up. I thnk that is why classes are good for me- i refuse to give up in a class setting- I want to be one of the best!! Thanks for al the pool tips- I'll have to try them out on friday- that's going to be my pool day!!

Sue- Sorry, hon, about the sleep apnea- but it really isn't as bad as you would expect. my brother has sleep apnea and once they found out he started feeling so much better. He sleeps with one of those machines, and now he gets a full nights sleep- not as tired, plus he stoped snoring ridiculously loud, so the rest of the family can sleep better too!! I hope it helps you feel better and have more energy!

well- I'm down another 3 1/2 pounds- although I wonder if that is the difference between weighing at 7pm and 11am. I just had to make sure those cookies hadn't set me back- but I'm not going to count that as official weight loss, just in case- don't want to get my hopes up. Gotta go put in my excercise minutes. TTFN!

Ayana- So excited to have you join us!! It sounds like you've got a head start on me- at least you like healthy foods- learning to control when and how much to eat of them, although will be a battle, is at least half of the battle I have- i need to learn to like them first !!

emotional eating has to be one of my biggest struggles as well- i'm learning to not let those moments get to me, when i fall apart and eat when I'm not supposed to- but look back and figure out what triggered it.

look forward to getting to know you!!

Back and forth I go with a lot of things. I'm pretty good at slipping away from here, but it seems I always come back with more randomness.

I accidentally locked myself out of the house for several hours last night (hadn't done that since last summer). I sat huddled on the porch after it started pouring rain. Lucky for me it died quickly and I managed to walk down to Burger King and bought myself a huge iced tea, so yay, I got exercise! I later got picked up by a friend while I waited for Jeff to get off work and rescue me. I hadn't seen her mom in a few months, and when we stopped by she said she could tell I've lost weight. That made me happy, of course. I also hit a bar last night with my friend a few others and was proud that I mostly stayed away from the empty calories by having only one drink.

I could be eating better, but I'm not back to my old, careless habits either.

And speaking of eating, yikes!!! I'm out of everything and need to hit the store before I get tempted to buy something I shouldn't.

It's great to see everyone! I hope you're all doing well.

Ammi – I remember loving London when we visited there when I was young. I don’t remember too much of it, but I remember loving Madame Tussaud’s and getting really sick at the Tower of London. Just remember that we will want to see some pics!

Kate – You are definitely welcome here. I bet your husband is telling you the truth – that he thinks you are beautiful for who you are and what you mean to him. I am sure he will be happy for you to feel better about yourself, but I am sure he loves you just as you are. Good for you to be almost debt free. That is a very rare thing.

Michelle – Welcome back! I remember you from awhile ago. You were having some medical issues, as I remember. Did you get those sorted out? Regarding the question on processed foods, that is not a simple answer. First off – yes – the over processing of foods in our culture most definitely adds to our society’s weigh problems. Mostly that is because manufacturers are only trying to make things taste good with little or no consideration of using highly processed flours, trans fat and hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and overall calorie content. However, in dieting the bottom line is calories in calories out. Something like Lean Cuisine is designed to have fewer calories and so fits into a calorie counting plan. However, the question arises of whether or not you could get better overall nutrition from making things yourself – and of course the answer is yes. However, many of us find that in our busy lives there doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for cooking so convenience foods can be very helpful. Personally I look on it as a continuum. I certainly eat better than I did before, but I am nowhere near eating totally natural. I hope to move down that road further and further as I progress, but there is no way for me to jump from where I am now to only eating home cooked whole natural foods almost all the time. If you are interested in a more whole foods lifestyle there is a forum under Diet Central called Whole Foods Lifestyle which you might want to check out.

Patti – I am glad you getting back on track. That is the important part – always coming back to keep on trying. Figuring out why we sabotage ourselves is a big thing.

Sabrosaindia – I don’t think missing an occasional meal is a big deal. Especially if you didn’t eat it because you a) really weren’t hungry, b) weren’t conscious or c) weren’t feeling well. I think where people get into trouble is when they are doing it all the time and especially when they are using it as a weight loss tool.

Kinney – I have a personal trainer who I have been seeing once a week for 30 minutes since January. I wouldn’t say it is necessary, but it has been helpful for me and I was lucky enough to have the cost subsidized by my company. It might be a good idea to get someone for a few sessions to show you the ropes on how to use the machines and for your form with weights, but you don’t need one. The other thing is that trainers can be SO different from one another. My trainer is very low key and specializes in helping people build muscle to deal with medical issues such as back problems. He is always very attentive on how I am doing and asking if something hurts. He never discusses my weight loss unless I bring it up. He is not aggressive and all loud and pushy (which several of the other trainers are – some people like that). Remember, the person works for you and if you don’t like their style, you can find someone else that you would click better with. Also don’t be afraid to tell the people at the gym exactly what you are looking for in a trainer and they can help match you with someone who would best suit you.

Claire – Welcome back! That is rough being diagnosed with PCOS, but I am sure it is partially a relief to know what has been going on with your body. I was going to recommend checking out the PCOS forum, but I see you just posted there.

Sue – I know Brenda has one of those machines and so does my father. I hope it really helps you. Sleep is an important factor in both your overall well being and your ability to lose weight. If you are tired all the time it is hard enough to just function, never mind working out! Also when you are tired you will be hungrier to balance out the lack of energy from sleep. That must be frustrating not having groceries you want, but hang in there.

Melissa – Just beware of the scale directly after eating Chinese because it has so much sodium that you might look like you have gained weight from the water retention. I LOVE Chinese food and it is something I will never give up, I just try and stay away from the fried stuff as much as possible.

Misti – That is very cool about your NSV’s. Those are the things that really bring us through when the scale isn’t moving because this is about making our whole lives better – from our health to our stamina to take on the world. I had a dream like that once, when I saw myself thin. It was such a weird experience, but I clung to it for the longest time. One day you will definitely be in that red swimsuit!

Ayanna – Welcome! Yeah, you don’t have to eat junk food to get fat. Too much of anything will do it. Getting a handle on emotional eating can be tough. I think the biggest thing for me has been to give myself the allowance to make mistakes and then to rationally try and learn from them rather than berating myself after turning to food for comfort. It takes time to build alternate coping mechanisms – it doesn’t happen overnight.

Kim – First of all, you are beautiful!!!!! Don’t fret about the chocolate. Defeintely don’t beat yourself up about it. Do you know why you ate it? Were you bored and it was just there or were you upset about something? The best thing you can do now is not punish yourself for what happened but to try and discover something about why you overeat so that next time it might be easier to not have it happen.

Esmaurade – That must have been frustrating to be locked out. But, it sounds like you made the best of it.

Yesterday we had a bit of an adventure. We wanted breakfast and there are few good breakfast places around here so we decided to go down to the Original Pancake House in New Jersey. Of course, the directions were bad so we ended up being forced over the George Washington Bridge and then trying to turn around in New York City. It was pretty crazy, but a good adventure. But it got me thinking –

Tracey – Where have you gotten to? Hope you are doing ok.

Speaking of missing people, I sent an email to Kayley and she is doing well. She is just really busy with work and going back to school. Also Andrew changed work shifts so they have more time together and she isn’t online as much.

I feel like a total teenager today. My BF had to work last night (he does data migrations bank and was lucky enough to be able to do them from home)and ended up staying up til after 4am playing Neverwinter Nights. I slept until about 2pm! I haven’t done that in I don’t know how long.

Hey guys!

to all the new ladies! We are happy that you have chosen to join us.

Sue~ I have Apnea as well. If you can get used to wearing the blasted machine you are smiling. Some nights I rip it off during the night without realizing it but for the most part it is wonderful! And you certainly will be able to tell it is working. There are days when I sit at work and "know" that I didn't have it on long the night before and there are days that I am really alert and awake and feel rested. Thankfully those nights now are most common than the other non-restful ones. If you have any questions, please pm me and I will fill you in on whatever you would like to know!

Kim~ yeah!! You are doing so well!!! Keep up the good work!!

Ammi~ Hope you have a great time in London!

Nancy ~ Staying up with you bf and sleeping all day sounds marvelous!! I need one of those weekends soon

Thinking I may cook a bunch of "weight watcher" type meals this week. My big thing is portion and I thought when I was reading someones post earlier that if I cooked 3-4 meals and portioned everything up and ate out of tupperwear for the week than I wouldn't have the "seconds" to eat or at least pick at. It would all be frozen. I may try that this week. I don't mind the extra cooking. In fact, I think I will go and look in my cookbooks right now and find a nice chicken casserole type recipe to make. Its Steve's day to do the dishes

Have a great night everyone. Going to cook something and sit and watch Big Brother.

Brenda

I think tomorrow will be a very busy day- as I have work from 8a to 6:30p, yoga class from 7p-8p. Then I have to get logged on to my online classes- which official open tomorrow at ten am. I'm feeling really excited about my classes- wishing I could get on now. Evening classes will be tuesday & thursday from 6p-8p. I hope I haven't gotten myself in over my head.

Thank you everyone for the nice comments about my pics and in general kind of down day...I'm feeling much better now- and I don't think I've done any damage today- surprisingly I didn't let the mistakes yesterday effect what I chose to do/eat today!!

Melissa- wow on the inches!!! I can't wait to see results like. LOL about DELL that's how I got mine too- I really loved my computer too- i think it was just a dud, powersupply kept going bad- and if I'd taken the time, I might have found someone who'd really work with me and help-but I have no patience. It's probably my fault anyway- I have lously luck with electronics. How's the alarm clock?

Going to get to bed early today- need to get myself back into the pattern of waking up early, after having had four days off I won't do to well tomorrow- thankfully it's a late day- tuesday is work at 5am- that will be the tough one !

TTFN!

Boy-o-boy this forum is quick at the keyboard!
For thos e who have asked "The washing machine": An exercise in the water in which you twist your upper body from side to side mimicking the motion of the washer machine. It targest your waist. I hope I explained it good enough...? Let me know if I didnt and I will try again.
I had a bad day today =0(
I ate two Pastelles and a piece of Morcilla (Hispanic cuisine) and have no clue how many points they are. I searched WW web site and nothing.
See you all soon and thank you akll for the warm welcome.
Jamila

I need everyone's opinion. My BF really wants me to bleach my hair blond. He is willing to pay for me to have it done in a salon. I'm still not sure about it. What does everyone think? Do you think I would look ok as a blond? Here are some pics from my last trip for people who haven't seen them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62939246@N00/

I also have some pics on the pics page, here:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...4&postcount=27

My eyes are kind of blue/hazel - they appear to change colors at different times.

Has anyone bleached blond? Do you do your eyebrows too? I don't have to worry TOO much about maintenance, because one of the reasons he wants me to bleach it is because he really like it when it grows out and the hair is two tone. I don't know how professional that looks for my job though. I don't have to really dress up or anything, but I should have a semblance of looking professional. Anyway, I was just looking for some opinions. Of course I still need to make the decision for myself.

Actually one thing that is making me consider it is being able to change my view of myself. It is really hard for me to imagine myself blond. It is also really hard for me to imagine myself thin. Maybe by doing something drastic like that and getting used to the change, it will be like practicing for looking so different when I lose the weight (if that makes any sense).

Just a quick message during recess.

Nancy - I'm not sure I would ever bleach ALL of my hair blonde, but I certainly love it when I get highlights/foils done in a lighter colour. This makes the world of difference, but is better than the whole change for a couple of reasons. I feel that it is a much 'softer' look, and you can't notice the regrowth as much. I know you said that your BF likes the regrowth, but I'm not sure that you will like it that much. I always think that it looks as though people don't 'care' about their looks enough to maintain the new colour. That is just my opinion, and others may see it differently.

I have quite dark brown hair and I TOTALLY love the new 'caramel' highlights I had put in mine recently. Most of the lighter colour is framing my face, so it has made an enormous difference, but the bulk of my hair is a rich brown/chocolate colour, so I don't think I'll notice the regrowth much at all. I'm going to post a new pic of DH and I that was taken at the weekend (just have to wait for hubby to make it smaller and upload it for me) and you can see the highlights quite nicely in that.

So, just a suggestion that you may want to go with highlights first, then if you like the look, you can go for a wider coverage later.

Take care,

Zelma