Morning Everyone!
Sorry I havent been around much the past few days. Technically it is for all the right reasons *L* Yesterday Steve and I went to the city shopping. We started doing some of our Christmas shopping Today we need to make a list of people and what their gifts are going to be so we can cross it off once they are done. I am going to try to get most of them handmade by us as they mean so much more. After we got home I went and got a few things at Penningtons and then went to the pool after supper for AquaFit. The instructor said that I could stay for WaterRunning afterwards for free. AUGH. Before my body caught up with my brain I hear myself say OK. By the time I came home I was SO sore *L* I still am Great thing is that I got rid of the extra 3lbs water that I have been carrying around for the past few days.

While I was at the pool doing the running oprtion there was 2 other obese young girls that were participating. I am running my A$$ off (hopefully literally) and they weren't putting any effort into it at all. They asked me during one of the laps if I found any difference last winter when I was doing it. I told them that with the walking, eating right and putting 100% effort into these classes I was losing about 4lbs a week. They were all excited till that happened cause they knew I had lost quite a bit. Oh, they said, this wasnt all you were doing? yeah don't we all WISH that was all it took. I'd be a Victoria Secret Model right now. Anyhoo, sorry I kinda lost my way with this story. The End.

Nancy~ Did doing the JMS yoga increase your...errr.. sex drive?

Jilly~ Is there anything that you can use as a short term incentive to get that butt off the couch? I keep telling myself that I am taking the easy road and it doesnt lead me in the right weightloss direction. Sometimes it works, sometimes I turn off those people in my head

k, guys, its laundry time. I have to work at the store this afternoon. 4 glorious hrs of shopping and chatting with my group of co-workers and they pay me for it!!!


Brenda

Jill – I have had the same idea about eating high calorie to help jump start me when I go low again. It has worked a couple of times and have then used it as and excuse to let myself overeat. The problem is going over the top or making it into more then one meal.

Amy – I hope all goes well with the wedding. I have only been in one wedding party and since I wasn’t local I didn’t do much of the planning/helping – I just showed up and had to pay a bunch of money for a dress I would never wear again.

Luan – Pancakes sound good. I have gotten some of the Kashi go-lean waffles recently and really like those. Last week I had them with some frozen blueberries with a little added Splenda and a bit of fat free whipped cream and it felt so decadent, yet was totally reasonable.

Angie – I love your picture with your cat getting the water! That is too funny. It sounds like you had a lovely evening. That is so great that you felt good when you finished rather then totally wiped out. That is such a good feeling.

Katt – I have always had a very malleable speech pattern. Even though I grew up outside of Boston I have very little trace of that accent. I lived in the South and my accent totally changed, but I managed not to pick up the “eh?” when living in Canada. I had a group of friends in Atlanta that used to try round table accents – someone would pick an accent and then we would all try and speak like that. It was a lot of fun. Also, great NSV with the chicken! It’s hard enough to resist things when they aren’t right in your lap.

Sandy – I hope everything is ok with your leg. That is really scary! That is fantastic about the walking. Each time you do it it gets easier and easier!

Annie – Ugh! I hate when I lose a post! Now I mostly type mine up in Word and then paste it in. I hope you make it to your meeting today.

Kim – I am glad you finally got your food! Do you know why it took so long so that it won’t happen again? Definitely don’t give yourself a hard time about the past, but keep pushing ahead for the future. Those bears sound really cute.

Michelle – Congratulations on the loss! 19 degrees in September? I think Alaska is definitely going on my list of places I don’t want to live.

Zelma – Magazines and TV shows always seem to want some dramatic and sad story to catch readers’ attention. That is so cute about the little boy wondering about the autographs.

Brenda – I wish it helped with my sex drive. I have actually been having some trouble there lately, but I think it is still a part of the aftermath of my fibroid. I am also trying to get my head around something I realized recently which is that a large part of my attraction to my BF was wrapped up in the fact that he is so attracted to me. Since I have decided that I don’t want to be fat, I am less comfortable with his attraction to me and therefore I am finding that puts a damper on things. I still haven’t worked out what to do about it. Wow – I bet you didn’t expect all that from your question.


I was talking with this woman in my gym last night and she was saying how she has gone a whole year and has been going to the gym and she has basically maintained. I told her how much I had lost and she said she would give her left leg to have lost that. Then I said, well if you would give your left leg, would you journal your food? She didn’t have an answer for that. It is really interesting to see someone who is where I was before my click movement. I would have said I would give anything to lose weight, yet I wouldn’t do the basic work of being careful about what I eat and getting up and moving my butt. It’s an odd mentality, that one.

Tomorrow we are going to a Renaissance Faire, so I know I will have a challenge eating wise. I just hope it doesn’t rain too much. I am also concerned that I will be tempted to spend money and I am trying to keep things pretty tight right now. It will be especially hard if my BF lets himself buy something because then I get really upset – why should I not buy something I want if he lets himself do it when his finances are in such worse shape then mine. Then I have to remember that that is the reason they are in worse shape, but it doesn’t help that much. It just doesn’t feel very fair. Maybe I will ask that we agree not to buy anything and just have a good time. I just don’t want to spend the day dreading him deciding to spend a bunch of money on something he doesn’t need. The thing is that I kind of wanted a practice sword to use in exercise. Maybe the better solution is to say we both have a budget of $25 and that is all we are allowed to spend. I’ll have to think about that.

Hello All,

Sorry I didn't get chance to post again yesterday. Don't know if it was my ISP, or 3FC, but I just couldn't get pages to load. I would get the list of threads up, but when I clicked on one nothing would happen. So I gave up and hoped today things would be ok, and they are. So here I am playing catch up again

Valerie - thanks for explaining about the jobs. Today's the day you go for the interview with the job closer to home with more hours. Sounds to me like you are a shoe in already especially as they told you they would offer you more money I don't think you need it, but for today.

I TOTALLY agree with you, it would be fabulous to see Zelma, or even one of the Biggest Loser winners to host the new Biggest Loser shows. Why DID they chose Aunt Hilda from Sabrina it's not like she's lost a lot of weight or anything is it?

Nancy - yes I guess it is a blessing to be able to get joy from little things. Sure beats being miserable all the time doesn't it!

Great news about your fitness levels, you really are rocking on those Eliptical machines aren't you

WOW that bloke you mentioned that lost all the weight, great that he did so well, but what a way to do it. I would get SOOOO bored eating what he did for even a week. 6 months I could never do. I wonder if he can keep the weight off now that he is eating normally again, or if he is still sticking to the same diet?

Hope you have fun at the renaissance fair tomorrow. I think its a brilliant idea to either agree with your BF to not spend at all, neither of you, or that you both get a budget of $25 like you said. Like you said, you don't want to spend the day fretting that he is going to buy stuff he shouldn't.

Patti - were you trying to put me into shock LOL, telling me that you actually put the game controller down I have been nagging Daren all week to do the same, our garden desperately needs a final cut before the really bad weather sets in. But he keeps saying he'll do it on the weekend. We have had a week of dry weather and what's the betting it will rain tonight or tomorrow so that the grass is too wet to cut I told him that if my friend Patti can put her controller down to do some chores so can he, but alas it didn't work Good for you for managing it though

Darn it, sorry to hear that you didn't have a loss today. Stupid scales, they better not be getting stuck again. Keep drinking your water and that green tea and hopefully next week you will have a good loss to make up for not having one today. BUT, if you had kept off the scales from last Friday you will have seen a loss of 1 lb that you had earlier in the week, so it's not bad news really when you think of it

Christine - sorry this is late coming, but you asked for tips on how to get past your constantly wanting to eat yesterday. When I am like that I either make a hot drink, or drink a pint of water, or have some low fat nibbly type snacks, like raisins or low fat pretzels etc. My fave actually is raw carrot. Eating one of them seems to satisfy both my urge to be physically eating something, and any hunger I have. Other than that, I go online, especially to this site, and keep busy reading or writing posts.

Jill - I didn't realise that you lived that high up, wow, good job you aren't scared of heights It must really suck not being able to hang your washing out to dry. I hate winter when I have to dry my stuff on my indoor line. If I had to do that year round it would be dreadful. Maybe if I had a decent drier it would be ok, but oh well, can't have everything

Sorry that you have had a couple of bad days with the diet. I know I have said this before, but I do honestly believe that as long as we feel bad about our bad days, and still want to get back on track, that's the most important thing. I don't think any of us here will ever get back to eating like pigs every day with no guilt and see the weight just get more and more. A few bad days here and there will slow our progress, but progress will still be made, and that's what counts I am sure you will be back on track even by the time you read this!

Amy - I'm 38 years old and I am in a financial hole and struggle to stop myself spending even now. So at 26 you still have plenty of time to sort yourself out I have been strong twice this week, once when hubby wanted to buy something from the Net and I told him no, then today when I wanted to have a day out I knew we would want lunch out, and our usual Starbucks coffee too, so I said NO. It did put me in a bit of a mood because I REALLY wanted to go out and hate that I can't afford it. But I got over it and feel better now for not going

Pogo badges are on a site called Pogo.com It's a game site where you can play all sorts of games like card games, backgammon, bowling, and some other really silly yet fun games. If you aren't a member you can't play some of the games and you can't try for badges. Badges pretty much are a little reward for completing challenges they set, like win 10 games of Gin this week, or whatever I am a member and I can send friends free 5 day passes, so if you are interested in checking out the site and want access to all the games PM me your email address and I can send you a pass

That's great news about you finding Curves easier and that your heart rate was where it should be at when you last worked out there. It's things like that which you have to remember when you may have weeks when you don't lose as much weight as you had hoped for.

Brilliant news too about food tasting much better now that you have given up smoking. I bet you have a lot more money in your pocket too now that you don't have the expense of buying ciggies

Have fun decorating the hall for your sister's wedding, I am keeping my that your sis doesn't turn into 'bridezilla' like you expect she might

Angie - I just loved your photo of your cat at the water cooler. I wonder what it is with cat's and those things. I have seen a few clips on those home video shows where the cats have been flooding the floor like your cat did. I thought cats were supposed to hate water, but it seems not all of them do

on the 4.5 lbs lost, that is really great. It sure makes up for the 0 loss the week before doesn't it!! I love how you have smaller smiley faces for your half lb losses on your chart. I can't wait til it's full and you can put a photo here again of it

I hear you on the winter coat NSV. I did the same. I bought a coat in the sale last year, at the time it barely did up, but it was too good a bargain not to buy it. I tried it on, not because it was cold, but just to see how it fits now, and it's loose I tell you NSVs are so much better than SVs, at least I think so I am happy for you that your coat fits much better now too! Great news about the loose wedding ring too. Am looking forward to seeing your new pictures with your 25 lbs lost progress showing

That watercolour painting class sounds great, I hope enough people are interested enough that it goes ahead. Well I never knew you were supposed to sketch your picture first either, you learn something new everyday!

You asked about whether or not people change their tickers if they have a weight gain. I haven't had one yet, though I probably just jinxed myself saying that but when I do have one I will change my ticker, yes! It will suck to have to put the ticker UP, but it will be even nicer when it comes back down again.

Luan - sorry to hear that you are having terrible pain with TOM this month. I am SO GLAD I don't have periods anymore!! I hope you will feel better soon, do you have a heat wrap or hot water bottle to use when the pain is really bad. Do you believe in alternate remedies? A friend of mine bought a M8 magnet thingy, sorry forgot the proper name. It comes in two parts, you open it and put it either side of your underwear and clip it together again via the magnet. My friend used to have severe cramping and really heavy periods but since using the magnet treatment, she has been SO much better. I can find out more info about it from her if you want to know.

Nope I haven't heard from Catherine I am hoping that married life is just keeping her busy and that she hasn't fallen off the diet wagon. I can't see her doing that because she was so focused, so motivated.

Katt - WOW I am IMPRESSED!!!!! You did the whole of the Richard Simmons DVD Well done I can just manage watching the whole thing lol, don't think I could actually DO it all too Seriously a long time back I tried to do it and only managed one and a half songs. I may give it a go again in a week or two when I fancy a change from the two DVDs I do now. I will let you know how I get on. Doubley IMPRESSED too that you managed to say NO to the KFC food, even after it was sitting on your lap probably screaming at you EAT ME That's what I call determination with a capital D!!!

Have you managed to put your dad's mind at ease about his concern for you? I am sure action's speak louder than words though, so keep showing him that you are stressing out less, and have more of those naps in the afternoon, that will prove to him he is worrying too much It's lovely how close you two are though, I wish I had that kind of relationship with my dad. He's dead now, but he wasn't a very nice person and I didn't have much to do with him when he was alive.

Too funny what you said about the American's thinking you were Aussie, and how you turned around and said they must be Canadian Everything you said about the accents and how different they are really brought a smile to my face. It's kind of the same in Wales, depending on which part you are from everybody sounds different and Wales is tiny

Good luck when you take the Prozac. If you do find it makes you too sleepy, go straight back to the docs and ask for something different. They aren't all the same, and I am sure you will get one that suits you if Prozac doesn't

Sandy - I think you were expecting that gain, which hopefully made it easier to see. Sounds to me like a lot of that weight would have been in your very swollen leg, and if that effects the circulation throughout the body then it's all probably water weight. Try not to be too bummed about it. Concentrate on getting your leg better, and then you can focus on your weight loss. You are staying OP, you are doing so well, you will soon reap the rewards

Annie - I hate it when I lose a post, especially if I have spent AGES writing it. I do what Katt does and I make sure I copy what I have written all the time. I have lost too many posts by not doing that, so I learned the hard way!

I hope you feel well enough to go to WW today for your WI, I cannot wait to hear what you lost!!!

Kimberly - so happy for you that the Nutrisystem food has arrived. Put it behind you how things went pear shaped when you ran out of the food, and just focus on doing well now AND making sure you don't run out again As for those teddy bears, I WANT ONE They sound so adorable, and so much cuter than the magnets you get from WW. Not that I get them, but I have heard all about them. I would much prefer bears When you have a big collection of them you will have to take a photo and post it here for all of us to see!

Michelle - oh my goodness, $500 plus on shipping charges alone No wonder you don't want to order a treadmill!!! I see now why it's so important for you to be able to exercise in the house by walking until you are feeling up to doing some kind of work out DVD.

on the 2 lbs lost. What do you mean it's not much?? It's a LOT. Think of how much that weighs if you were picking up 2 lbs of butter, or sugar. It's heavy!! Be proud of yourself losing that much, especially as you haven't been well

Zelma - I am guessing that the people who emailed you and said they were surprised you got back in touch, they probably thought you would be inundated with letters and that you wouldn't have time to answer them all. But they don't know you I am SO happy that you have had the exposure you needed so that you can 'be there' for all these people who want your advice

As for the competition. See I said it was a fix. If all that info had been available about the winner when it was voting time I bet she wouldn't have got half the votes she did. You should have won, and that's all there is to it!!!

Brenda - good for you for doing aquafit AND the water running. Had to laugh at those two girls who assumed you had lost your weight purely through working out in the pool

Great news on losing the 3lbs, see that's the thing with you, whenever you gain it, it doesn't take long until you have lost it again

Ok well I guess I better make a move now, I have emails to write and stuff. Take care all, and it's FRIDAY, so hope everybody has a great weekend.

Hugs,

Ammi

Hello everyone!

I don't have a ton of time for posting today. I am putting a photo on the picture thread. It both is and isn't a good photo. It's good, because I literally haven't been able to fit into that little black dress since 1997 and the only time I ever WORE it anywhere was in 1992 or so. Between those two years and after I was too fat for it. Technically I still am...but it zips and with the proper foundations it wouldn't be too bad now...but I wouldn't want to have to sit too long in it! It's bad because it shows how much I still need to lose! It's bad because it shows what I consider my "slim" size of years past to be pretty darn tubby! It's bad because I always thought that dress was a lot more flattering than that!

Most of all though, I think it's good because it does show progress and because I made DH promise that if it fits very well by Christmas - which should very do-able, he will take me somewhere really nice! (You can't really tell from the photo - but it's embroidered and beaded and a very nice dress.

I found a paper from a couple of years ago that had my measurments from dress-making. I have lost 9" off my hips and waist and 6" off my chest.

Jill- My only reply here is to you! YOU CAN DO THIS! I know you can! Anyone who can work as hard as you at jobs...putting in the kind of dedication and work I've seen you talk about on here...can do ANYTHING you put your mind to! It can be really, REALLY hard when you stumble and fall - but the only way you will fail at this is if you quit trying! Hang in there and it WILL be okay!

Nancy -- wow, what a great response to that woman (tho maybe she didn't think so...)! And while I hadn't really thought about it that way, you are SOOOO right that before the 'click' I also had times when I would give anything to lose and yet, didn't do what was needed... Then there was the period when I just gave up and decided to be fat, do others have that too? That period was freeing -- I just ate whatever I wanted! But man, did I pay for it!

Anyway, you are right about the odd mentality. And this is just such a "mental" game, isnt' it...

I have been so busy at work that I just don't have time for personals, but I'm reading and thinking about all of you!

Ammi you are so right i should have stayed off those scales lol!so its back to my water and green tea today. and i mainly put my game controller down yesterday and did my chores so i could be free today lol. i am off now to do my last set of exercise for the week!

I'll be off-line til at least Sat night and don't have more than a few minutes today, so I'll just have to play catch up when I can. I did read one thing I wanted to share:

"If I could pay you $100 for every day that you exercized for an hour, how many of you would find the time to do it? You see, it's not a matter of time, it's simply a matter of priorities."

Sorry, I couldn't read the fine print with the author's name.

Have a healthful day my friends.

Zelma~Thanks for sharing about your experience with just starting out with excercise. At times its tough but I know I will build up my strength and be able to do a lot more. I for sure had to come up with something in the house in this kind of weather!

Kim~Thanks so much for the suggestion. I will look into the WATP tapes. Thanks for the congrats on the 2 pounds!

Nancy~Thanks! Yes Alaska is really cold! But you know Anchorage is really not at all as cold as some would think. Beautiful city! Have fun at the Renaissance Faire! That sounds like fun!

Ammi~Thanks for the congrats! 2 pounds at times doesn't feel like much I guess because of how much I have to lose. But I should be happy with every pound! lol

Lilion~Congrats on fitting in the dress! you look great! I can see the details on the dress...its really pretty! I have a few clothes I hold onto. I hope to fit in them again!

Valerie~I like that qoute!


Well not much going on here this weekend. Really not much to do up here if I wanted to! lol I do miss being in a big city at times. But this for sure is a experience! I can see the Arctic ocean from my front window! Guess that is a pay off!

Well I hope all of you enjoy your weekend! Take care!

Michelle

Well, so far so good today! Having the food has really helped, and it's recommited me to everything. When I wasn't eating well, I seemed to ignore this page more- I think because I was so upset at myself, and now that I'm on track, i'm here again. I really hope weight starts to fall off fast

Lilion- great pics- you know you have great calves!! I’ve always hated my calves- so it’s one of the first things I notice!

Zelma- you are right – a couple pounds isn’t that much- and I’m hoping since I haven’t been completely OP that my body will respond they way it typically does when I start a diet and I’ll lose a lot quickly

I do think I’ll try new foods, but now I am aware of the types of foods that I don’t like, so I won’t try some. For example they have some foods that come in a container and you add boiling water and stir and let sit for 8 minutes. I didn’t like even 1 of them (I think I tried 5) so I know for sure that I won’t get any that come in that form. I’m someone who tends to eat the same basic foods over and over anyway, so I don’t think I have to worry about getting bored…I hope.

I do feel good about only missing 2 workouts- although it shows me how far off I got. I’ve always struggled with dieting, but typically exercise is my strong point. So when I miss a workout, I know I’m way off track!

Brenda- good for you staying for the free class! I know it sucks to be sore, but at least you know it worked . Its funny how people seem to think that this should be easy, not to say I wish it was, but if you think about it, how would it be? If it was, everyone would be thin! Well, hopefully you motivated those others to work for it, because looking at you they know it can be done, with some hard work!

Nancy- yeah, I’m the reason the food took so long. The first thing that happened is that I shipped back food that I didn’t like, so I ran out faster than I was supposed to. I really thought that the food would be replaced faster. Well, before I had known I would be sending food back I set the date for re-order as (4) weeks out, seeing as I had (5) weeks of food. In reality I didn’t so between the two I ran out early…it’s my fault, I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ve learned my lesson.

Ammi- I do love the bears!! I was thinking they very same thing- I can’t wait to have a full collection: they are so cute. It’s funny how much they motivate me, I’m competitive, and I can’t help but think I want to get the most bears ever or something like that silly, but whatever works

Wyllen- It’s funny to hear you say that about deciding to stay fat. I reached that point about a year ago for about 3 or 4 months. I decided that I just would give up, and I paid for it, but thankfully that didn’t last too long. I’ve always been dangerously close to that attitude. Mostly because I do have really decent self-esteem, and have never let the fact that I am fat affect that I feel pretty. But every now and then I hit a moment and go “wo- you really aren’t as pretty as you could be…” I guess that’s still positive, in that I don’t think that I’m ugly (I’m a glass half full kind of girl)


I'm hoping to hit the gym tonight, although I might also be going for some drinks with the girls. My car broke down on Tuesday, and I still don't have it fixed so I dependent on others to get me to the gym, to work, to school, etc. So gym might be a miss tonight, because no one wants to go friday night- the drinks probably will happen, but I'll be good

Have a good evening!

Lilion - I know I PMd you, but just had to write here again how great I think you look in those photos. Oh and I totally agree with Kimberly, you have great lets, now where's the wolf whistle smiley when you need it

Heather - I wonder if we have all have a moment in our lives when we decide we may as well accept that we are always going to be fat and try to be happy with that? I too had a moment like that, funnily enough I was only about 280 lbs at the time. I ended up talking myself out of thinking like that and dieted many times since then. But this year, this diet, I realised I was getting way too disabled by my fat, and wasn't prepared to live like that anymore. So this diet is THE diet. I know I am going to get to my goal.

Patti - did you want today free for gaming, for exercising, for hubby coming home or all of the above It was definitely good inspiration for you to put the controller down yesterday I am toying with the idea of asking Daren to have a no computer day with me tomorrow!!! If you see me posting here tomorrow then you will know he said NO.

Valerie - very very interesting quote you posted about being paid to exercise. My first thought was on yes, if I got paid that much I would do at least 7 hours a day. Yet not getting paid for it I only do an hour. Oh well I WILL do more exercise as my weight drops and I need to keep from hitting a plateau. So can't push it too hard just yet

Michelle - I am not sure if you have mentioned it before, but why ARE you living in Alaska? I am sure it's gorgeous there, but there sure are some set backs like not being able to get a treadmill etc. I think I would love a holiday there, but not sure about living there

Please try not to focus to much on how much weight you need to lose in the long run. You have to make those mini goals, and that helps a 2 lb loss seem brilliant, not just a drop in the ocean!!!!

Kimberly - nothing wrong with being competitive, you work hard to get that full collection of bears and you be proud of all the little darlings you earn.

I am really glad that you are totally back on track now that you've got your Nutrisystem food. I can't wait to cheer as your lbs start coming off again!

Going to go see if I can get those IMPOSSIBLE badges this week on Pogo now. Might pop back later before I go to sleep. Take care all and bye for now,

Hugs,

Ammi

Hey All!

Thanks so much for the kind remarks. I had to laugh about the remarks about my calves. I hate them...but not for reasons anyone would know from those photos. I actually quite like my right calf, but my left is actually about 2+ inches larger. It's quite noticable if you look. It was caused by really bad blood vessels thanks to a very large blood clot in my very high upper thigh when I was young. Isn't it funny how you pick things in your own body apart when others think it looks fine??? I actually like them in those photos too...but what's under the dress....

I also had a "I'm fat and that's okay" mindset for a long time. I made up my mind long ago that I was always going to be big and that was all there was to it. I was fine with it. You know how anorexic's think they are fat when they are thin...I was kind of the reverse. Oh, I always knew I was heavy...but I never really saw myself that way. Even then I picked apart little details of my appearance. (I don't like my nose and my teeth and my eyebrows, I wish my chest was bigger, I don't like my upper arms or my knees...you get the picture.) But for some reason I never saw the BIG picture. I think in part it was because I was always rather self-confidant and I never really had to search too hard to get male attention (helps if you scrap those pesky morals! JOKING!)

But I just kind of turned into a BBW - I was Big, I was Beautiful and I was WOMAN - Hear me roar! It was freeing, just like Heather said. I ate what I wanted, I drank what I wanted. I didn't think about it once. I was fat and I was FINE! Every once in a while I'd get tired of not being able to find clothes I thought was cute and I'd diet for a while and lose...even kept it off and stayed a very small missey's 18 for a time...but I always gained it back. I remember hitting 300 and being horrified...for about a minute. I was married to my DH by then, he loved me, he thought I was sexy - what else mattered?

I don't know why I "clicked". One day I went to the Dr and when I got on the scale I knew it would say 314. It had for a couple of years at that point. It said 328! For some reason those 14 tiny pounds did what the prior 314 hadn't...it made me SEE what I had done to myself. It's totally stupid really - being unable to run and play with my child didn't do it, sweating at the drop of a hat didn't, being hospitalized for three days by my blood pressure didn't, having my chest feel like someone was sitting on it if I walked too far didn't....but those last 14 lbs for some reason did.

I actually had a small back-slide last fall when I got down to a size 20. I was pretty happy there and I was so tired of thinking about food. When I complained about it, Thin Thinker basically told me I needed to think long and hard about it and decide if I was happy there. If I was, maybe I didn't need to lose any more weight...but if wasn't then I needed to recommit to this. I thought-and made up my mind. My entire attitude this time is different. I'm not dieting. I'm repairing years of neglect and improving myself, but I'm not dieting. This is the way I live now. If I never drop another ounce (which I will!) I will never weigh 300 lbs again.

Okay - this was supposed to be a quick "thank you" and "I hear you" and it became all preachy! Done now.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who had a "let's just be fat and fine with it" phase. Like Kim, I have decent self-esteem. I never felt really attractive, but I liked the person I was and thought I had decent physical qualities. I was okay not focusing on my looks, and still liked me. Like Lilion, not finding clothes was a pain, but hey, I got to eat what I wanted.

But like Lilion, I think I've shifted to something else. And as I lose the weight it's becoming less about the weight and more about my health and fitness.

Speaking of which ... hubby and I are thinking of switching gyms, and I am really excited about the new one!

I. Am. Excited. About. A. Gym. The LAST thing I would have expected!! It's open 24 hours, has a full time lap pool, over 250 cardio machines, weights, classes at good times, much more availability of trainers (our current gym has none, and we really want something more). Plus, it's on hubbys way home and not that far for me to come from home. Yes, it's more expensive by a good margin. Of course. But we are prioritizing our fitness and can afford it. If we use it, it will be worth it.

We are going to give it a test run tonight...

Hi! Ya know, it sounds like everyone has had a pretty good week.
to us!
I had to go back to the dr today cuz my leg swelled up even more. It's really a bummer. But I just keep focusing on the NSV and know the scale will take care of it's self. The dr seems confident the blood clot will dissolve and he says to give it 3 more weeks. I gotta tell ya, I just don't believe it. But all I can do is exactly what I've been doing.
Nancy, what a great comment about giving up a leg/keeping a food journal. It's hard to stay on program, but her reaction and your results truly show the difference between real commitment and doing something so so.

Ammi, you're right, I did expect the gain. When I went back to the dr again today and my weight went up AGAIN!, I was so mad at my leg. Silly, huh?
But it does make it easier to handle. I know I've stayed OP, I know I've moved my body more than usual
So I can at least feel good about myself for those victories.
Lilion, what a great motivator and surprise finding your old measurements. That's really cool. And frankly, you're not being vain at all. If I looked that good in the dress I'd post it too. You're doing great!
Someone asked earlier in the week if we added back pounds to our ticker....well, I did yesterday, but I'm not today. It's part of my being mad at my leg!
Zelma, thanks so much for sharing how you started exercising! It's how I'm starting out and it makes me feel less like....I don't even know, but it's a bad feeling about my self worth. And to know that I'm not the only one who has to take little steps around, have my legs hit my belly when I'm on the bike etc.
All of you are a real source of encouragement. I know I've said it before, but I'm so glad to have found this site and this awesome group. We all have the same issues and goals. To be healthy and break old habits.
Thank goodness bad habits can be broken.
I don't know who it is that posted the quote, "A donut called today, but I hung up!" .... thank you, thank you , thank you!
I had to get gas in the car this morning and I was really in a snit. What do I see first thing in the store when I get there! Krispy Kreme donuts!
Man, did I want one! But, that quote came to my mind, I got my diet coke, paid for my gas and was very happy with myself!
I'm very sorry I can't remember who resisted KFC! O M G, I am so impressed. You have the most I've ever heard of.
I love KFC and their cole slaw! You are THE GIRL!
Well, I just wanna say one more time that it seems like everyone had victories of some sort this week so & to us!
I have a wedding to attend tomorrow afternoon, but I plan on everything IN MODERATION!!
Later Ladies!
Sandy