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, inspiration, and hope. We are aware of the distinct problems that come with weighing over 300 lbs.

We want to invite everyone (roosters as well as chicks!) to join us in our journey. We share laughter and tears, heartaches and fears ... joys and celebrations. We also share what works for us and what doesn't.

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!

Hi ladies.. I'll start this one off. Just wanted to say that today is my weigh in day and I finally hit 276 again. I'm so excited I could scream. I thought I was going to be at 279 forever. lol I hope everyone is doing great. I'm honestly glad the weekend is over and I'm back at home doin my own thing.

sassyangies - I totally get you. It can be really difficult to deal with that, and I'm sorry that you are under so much stress AND taking care of your parents. My parents don't need my help like that and are both pretty active (also about a decade older than yours?), but they also have issues that have gotten more concrete as they get older. My mom is a complainer and gets mad about everything and so very easily. Last week she spent two hours complaining to me about my dad, which I found so frustrating because she wouldn't listen to any of my suggestions about how to get the results she wants. She just wanted to be mad.

Oh, so sorry about the back pain too! I wonder if you are being more active and that might have trigger it? Take it easy (but don't stop moving!) and take some ibuprofen if you can. Hope you're feeling better, glad that the scale is moving! The new low is so awesome! Congrats!

Rosebud! - so glad to hear from you and that you are handling your chemo so well. I hope that you also had a lovely Easter and I am always thinking about you!

sandy - your pizza recipe sounds lovely, and it sounds like you had a very busy and tasty Easter. How sweet that you cooked for your mom on Saturday. The dessert your mother in law made sounds good. I might try that (without the crust!) on a smaller scale. I never thought about cornstarch on strawberries to thicken the juice.

dgramie - you stayed on plan on Easter! I'm jealous.

I had a good Easter. It was quiet; I went to a friend's for lunch and took a little bean/feta/veggie salad. I only knew one person there and I'm confident I wouldn't've gone before losing weight. I just would've been so shy and uncomfortable. Isn't that awful?

I had fun but she made mimosas with grapefruit juice and the grapefruit juice triggered some heartburn, ugh.

I'm going out of town Tuesday and Wednesday and have decided to get to: the outlet mall, the art museum, my concert of course, and then the next day the zoo, as long as it isn't raining, even though it will be cold. I will pack some fruit/veggies for snacks and my bean salad for a picnic lunch or two. Tonight I'm going to give myself a manicure and a pedicure, too. It will be fun!

I had an e-mail from my dad. They are in the Netherlands on this river cruise mostly because they wanted to see the tulips! WELL: the tulips are 3-4 weeks BEHIND SCHEDULE and dad said they've had snow flurries every day and there is still a skim of ice on some of the waterways. Still, they're enjoying the countryside, I think.

I took a break and didn't post. Its rather hard to keep up. But I know I need support so here I am. I have been working out but I gained and I don't feel like I lost any inches. I even tried on a pair of smaller pants last night. Yeah I couldn't even get them to come together. I had to double check the size to make sure they were the one size smaller pair. they were. That was a difficult pill to swallow. My kids say I look fine and so does my hubby but I feel I look like a cow. I think they need their eyes checked personally. I am either stress eating or I am not eating enough. I have to start counting calories. I started wii zumba 2 today. I plan on doing it every day. Tae bo which I love was just holding off the pounds or maybe I wasn't doing it long enough. I am starting over and making it stay off. to know I have been active should hopefully keep me being active.

So...coming in here makes me feel...disgusted with myself. Really not trying to bring the tone down in the post. I just loved talking to you girls. And staying away from here kind of makes it seem like I'm not going the wrong way with my weight loss. But it doesn't change the fact that I am now back in the 330s... Today is yet another start at trying to reign this back in. I don't know why it always has to be so hard.

I've been thinking about weight loss surgery. I actually have thought about it several times through my life. I've even started the journey once before but never really went at it. The insurance that my company now has covers it so I'm going to a seminar Saturday.

I just really feel like a failure. I was doing so good but something always happens. And these may sound like excuses but I'm starting to think I need more help than just me alone.

I don't know. I just wanted to say I miss talking to you girls. I think y'all were part of what made me keep it together. And I'm glad to see how well y'all are doing with this.

Good luck with your new changes SnowAngel!

Oh, Devon - it is really good to see you, even if you are struggling. I'm sorry that you've gained back some of your losses, but remember that you are still down sixty pounds. Instead of feeling like a failure (and god knows, I know how hard this is), take a snapshot of that and reminds yourself of where you've come from and where you are now. Instead of worrying about losing, worry about maintaining your weight for one week. That's it!

Then one more.

It is really hard. It's so unfair, because people who haven't been through it have NO IDEA how difficult it is. I think it is a great idea for you to go to the seminar. I read your post in the WLS forum and I think that you should ask around and find a new primary care doc and make an appointment. Talk to your new doc frankly about your weight loss attempts and get him/her (personally, I prefer female doctors?) on board with starting the process of documenting your history so you are starting the documentation process you need if you decide to go through with the surgery. I don't know all the ins and outs, but if you have a good primary care doc on your side it will definitely be easier to make sure you qualify!

I think you're amazing. I know exactly how you feel, since I have lost and regained weight PLENTY myself in the past, too. Most of us have. You can rally, one way or another, but I think your number one goal right now should be to find a way to maintain your current loss, week-by-week, until you can start making the changes you need to make to lose again!

Peeking in this morning.

I was here reading last night around 6:30 and my sis in law and another one of my besties called to see if I wanted to do a trip to JC Penny. So, over we went, I ended up buying my daughter 2 pairs of shorts and that was it. The JC Penny near us I think is close to closing, they don't have as much as they used to. They did away with there "Big girl" section too...sooooo, it's not a lot of fun shopping when you can either buy shoes, jewelry or socks in a store. I can't wait to go in and be able to rack buy. We ended up at TJ Maxx too, and it's the same issue. Lot's of cute things but I need to be about 100 lbs less of me. It's a goal.

My sis in law got us tickets to see Miranda Lambert, Deirks Bentley and Kixx Brooks this summer on the waterfront in Bangor....I'm excited but also want to be about 30 lbs lighter by then...it's in August...so I think this is doable. I can't wait for this concert.

Food and water intake has been good....trying to just plug along and stay "food sober". Addiction is horrible in my family with alcohol...I choose "food", I've never been a drinker (just social and then it is very limited). As all of you know, food is a hard thing to stay away from, you need it to live...just need to choose the right things in a world full of so many wrong things readily available.

Watchoutforthatcar: Sorry you're struggling right now. I haven't posted with you before, but please know I am here and will support and cheer you on in whatever choice you make for yourself and your journey. Chin up...you've done awesome!

sassy: Awesome loss, congrats!!!

Hello to snowangle and mnem too!!!

Gotta run...gotta get ready for work or I'll be late...

Nmen_ I didnt stay on plan on saturday! I cooked Easter both sat and sunday. My son and daughter couldnt be here on the same day this year. Im still fighting trying to get the scales to go back where they were last week before I ate off one day. GRRR

Hi, I have been reading your thread and would like to join you. I like the idea of a place to chat, vent etc.

What do you post on the over 40 thread??? Don't want to get in trouble for posting in the wrong place!!!

I am at the highest weight I have ever been at in my entire life...a few medical issues but I need to get a grip and take care of myself.

Looking forward to getting to know you. I am going to go back and read the older threads...

Hi again all. I have been lurking again for awhile and am really going to try being a more regular poster again. I have been having a rather frustrating time and I know posting here was one of the things that kept me going when times were tough. I know I have done this a few times now. Here’s hoping I can actually stick with it this time.

I got laid off on March 15 and am taking the month off before looking for a new job. I figure I will focus on weight loss and fitness. Of course during this time the scale decides not to move. I think I am down one pound in the last month and I have been doing almost everything right. Calories have been in check. I have been working out almost every day. The only things I can think of are that I haven’t always been taking my vitamins and I haven’t been consistently strength training. I *should* be losing solely on the calorie deficit I have been creating with eating, but I’m not. Ugh. I know it takes time and I know my body can be like this, although it isn’t always easy. So trying to add those things, along with making sure I am getting plenty of sleep and distressing as much as possible (which can be tough when you are unemployed).

Isles – The over 40 thread is for people over the age of 40. The most important thing is to post where you feel comfortable.

Sandy – I love the term “food sober”. I guess for me that is more sugar sober, but yeah, I totally get that.

WatchOut – Coming back to re-lose weight you have gained is so, so hard. The important thing is that you are still coming back to try. You aren’t conquered until you give up, and you haven’t done that. So it was a bump in the road – in the end it will just make you stronger and give you better odds to keep it off when you get to goal.

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great Easter. I will have to go back and read all the back posts. It's so hard to find the time to check in every day, between working, housework, and a little one. Maybe if I got up a earlier I could keep up.

Do you any have an addiction to the scale? I find myself getting on it several times a day. I think that needs to stop because it's not good for me. Yesterday, after working out I had my first ever asthma attack. So, now I'm diagnosed with exercise induced asthma.

I hope you all are having a great day.

watchoutforthatcar You aren't a failure.You're only a failure if you don't get back up! Honestly though, I understand how hard it gets. I'm up quite a bit these past few weeks. We can both get back on track though!

I was not on plan this weekend. And really, I've been bad for about the last two weeks. Luckily though, autopilot kicked in this morning, and I'm back on plan. I feel so much better already.

mnem - You seriously alwas know what to say. You should be a counselor. Thank you so much for your kind words. All of your amazing progress is great motivation for others.

Sandys -- Thanks so much. I'm sure you'll be able to get down 30 in no time. You're doing fabulous so far.

Isles -- Welcome aboard! Good luck with your weight loss.

Notthecheat -- I remember looking through the old picture threads and seeing your pictures. You are simply amazing. You've done so well. And you're absolutely right it's so hard to lose weight you've spent so much time losing, but at least we're trying to keep it off. I'm sorry to hear about your unemployment.

Workinghard -- I do have an addiction to the scale when I'm doing it right because I want to see the weight go down. But when I'm not doing so well I avoid it like the plague...lolol.

Jane -- You've come so far! You're very pretty too. Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. It's funny. I don't even know why I mess up because I feel ten times better whenever I eat within my calories and work out for the day.

Hello from a chilly Maine setting. Brrrrrrr...Where is spring already?

I posted a recipe over in the recipe thread http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recip...?recipe=376900 it is one of the yummiest and easiest chicken recipes I have cooked. I read all of the recommendations and reviews too, so I did alter the recipe a bit by only cutting the chicken in to bite size pieces and when near done I added some colored pepper rings and some slice onion rings....and I forgot, lots of extra garlic at the beginning because I love garlic. Enjoy.

Hi there to Isles: I'm a week or two new here too...I just go in and read some posts and decide if that's where I should post. I tend to stick to this thread, not sure why...but I do and I love to chatter.

NotTheCheat: Hello there to you too, nice to meet you. Sorry to hear you got laid off from your job. I wish you lots of luck in finding a speedy replacement once you start looking again.

Workinghard: Sorry about the induced asthma. I am a huge huge huge scale addict. Another addiction that will need to be broken for me.

Radiojane: Ride em cowgirl...back in the saddle

watchoutforthecar: Hello...

Two full days pop and exercising.