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 the Amazon "store" in the upper right hand corner of the screen on the PURPLE tool bar. 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!!!!

Hello Everyone!

It's been a LONG time since I started a thread! Hope I did it right!

First and foremost - I want to thank everyone for the positive thoughts, prayers and good vibes for my nephew! It is very much appreciated. I don't have any updates really. They did some surgery Monday to remove some shrapnel and to see how much of his right hand they may save. It's still wait and see. Thanks again for the :

Please forgive me for the limited replies. I haven't got a lot to say and very little time today.

Amy so sorry about your cat! I had to give up one once (and two dogs) and it was just awful! But I did find someone to take them so I knew they were okay.

Heather – To LIKE exercise? Weird! I know just what you mean though. I hate exercise, but I always have liked how I feel after…just not enough to want to do it!

Misti – I've been measured for a bra once and the size they came up with was so ridiculous I've never bothered again. They said I was like a 38 D at the time – but the cups were EMPTY! There's no way I was more than a C. Must have been all that back fat! Still, glad you complained to the company – talk about rude!

Must run! Love to all!

Lilion – That is such horrible news about your nephew. I have always been very afraid of things that blow up since I remember my mother telling me about someone she knew as a child losing some fingers. Hopefully he will retain some use of his hand. I hope everything was ok with your Paypal account. At this point I don’t trust any emails I receive that want me to click. If it is financial I always go directly to the site and log in.

Misti – I can’t believe the nerve of that bra woman! How could anyone think it is ok to just start measuring someone without asking if you wanted it done. That pic you posted was too funny!

Ally – That is so great that you got those nice compliments from your family. Reunions can be tough because you just never know when you last saw people. I can’t wait to see certain people again once I am down even farther.

Brenda - Don’t let that woman get between you and what you want! Don’t let her win! Going to the pool to work out your frustrations is fantastic! In fact, you could look at the stress as a motivator to get you into the gym. You have stress from this woman – well you need to go work it off. Hey – now she is doing you a favor. I think I need some of that kind of thinking myself!

Trixie – Isn’t it amazing when you find yourself craving things like salad with no dressing? I just love that! It is so much better then craving something bad for you. It is a sign that your body is sending the right signals. Very cool!

Xena – You are absolutely right that he will not change if he is not motivated from within. It is true – it is exactly like dieting. I just hope he gets it sooner rather then later, for both our sakes. Even if we don’t stay together, if he doesn’t get this sorted out he is in for a lifetime of misery. I love the real gym, so I am not a good judge if you should drop your membership. Is there any penalty if you decide to rejoin later?

Heather – It does freak me out a little to realize that I am now an exercise lover. What have I been missing all these years! How did I ever get it into my head that I hated it so much? Who knows. I can’t change the past, but I am thrilled to discover I actually like moving my body. Glad you are enjoying your new gym so much!

Amy – I am currently watching season 2 of Lost on dvd and I am really loving it. In some ways I wish more TV was that good, but in other ways I am glad because I already feel I watch too much. It is hard to imagine watching Lost during the actual season and having to wait a whole week between episodes. I have a hard enough time waiting for the next dvd to arrive from Netflix!

I know how you feel about your cat. I had to give up two cats once when I lived in Atlanta and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was unemployed, couldn’t afford to feed myself not to mention cats, and I had to move somewhere that I couldn’t bring them with me. I still regret it, but there wasn’t any other option for me at the time.

Muse – Whatever happens on your trip you can always get right back to things when you get back.

Angie – Your new photo is great! It is much easier to see what you look like, since you are not hiding behind cats. I hope your cats don’t figure out how to make the new taps work, although it is awfully cute that they could do it before.

Sharon – I hadn’t thought about the need to transition from one type of meds to the other. That must be really rough. Hopefully the new ones will kick in quickly and you will be feeling even better in no time.

Ammi – Take it easy with those crunches! You don’t want to hurt yourself. Definitely give it at least a day if not two to rest in between working a major muscle group hard. Your muscles need time to repair and rebuild. Way to go on getting through the whole Richard Simmons DVD. That is so cool!

I know I missed a bunch more people, but I really should actually be working even though I am at home this morning. There was a horrible accident on the road I need to take and I decided to wait it out. I can get into my email and certain systems from home so I can stay in touch. I will go in probably after lunch. I could just work at home for the day, but then I would miss the gym.

Things are VERY stressful for me right now. Things are going from bad to worse at my company and it is getting to me more and more. But the main thing I have been proud of myself for is that I am not turning to food for comfort. It is possible that I might do it eventually, and I won’t beat myself up for it if it happens, but so far so good. I will also see if I can use this as a motivation to give that little extra in the gym. I will try and use the stress to my advantage!

Oh yeah! The password thing!
I did close the paypal account and so no one should be able to use it. I changed my email and eBay passwords too...but the really important one was paypal - nothing else really could have cost me money. I literally caught what I'd done within 2 minutes of doing it, so I think all will be well. What really ticks me off is that I had these really obscure passwords! The name of my favorite Disney character and the name of the manufacturer of the alarm clock that used to sit on my desk when I opened the account-who'd have ever guessed those? But I gave them out so now had to think of something else!

Lilion

Glad you were able to change everything with your passwords and paypal etc. I was going to mention that if paypal was giving you hassle on cancelling the account, I think you can choose to 'remove' a credit card or bank account from the system. In case anyone else gets into this situation, I thought I'd mention that.

Don't feel like you did anything 'dumb'. Sometimes we click before we think about it, that happens. The good thing is that so far you have no problem because of it!

~ Angie

What is wrong with me????

I'm eating terribly and can't get motivated to exercise! I've even considered giving up the whole darned thing. It's been three months and until this week, I've been fine, even looked forward to walking, etc. but now I dunno. I've even doubted that I've lost anything when the scales have clearly shown otherwise. GRRRRRRR!!

Anybody else go through this and if so, what did you do to keep going?

HELP!!!

Newsnerd - Snap out of it!!

Listen to yourself. You have been doing well for THREE MONTHS. Right now - just this week - you are having a little trouble. Take a deep breath. Relax. There is NOTHING wrong with you. We all take steps forward and steps backward.

What is going on in your life right now? Why are you eating what you are eating? Why aren't you motivated to exercise? Has something happened? Are you under a lot of stress? Are you perhaps hitting an emotional wall - perhaps part of you is scared by your success.

Try and step back from the situation and look at yourself as someone else might see you. What would you say to you if you were someone else? Would you tell yourself to give up? Heck no! You would try and help that person work out what they were going through. Give yourself some TLC and some time to figure out what is going on. Don't discount how far you have come.

Misti – I LOVED your pic!

Idealmuse – I’m sorry you have to go to a funeral. I bring lots of SNACKS when I travel – things like fruit, veg, granola bars. Some need to be eaten pretty quickly, but I try. If I’m flying for instance, I bring a sandwich and carrot sticks for my lunch that day. I have granola bars with me so I don’t get too hungry. Then, if there aren’t any healthy options at dinner, at least I haven’t ruined the whole day with fast food and whatnot, but just one meal.

Then the next day, I could have a granola bar for breakfast, or maybe a piece of fruit…

In other words, do what you can to plan ahead…

Nancy – I’m with you on liking exercise AFTERWARD…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately (as I often do) and this time my thoughts are turning to exercise and I wonder if one of the reasons I think I don’t like it is because I had asthma as a child. Exercise brought on attacks! They were annoying more than life threatening or even scary, but still! I don’t really have asthma any more, so pushing myself is easier… anyway, just wondering…

Nancy, I am trying to learn not to turn to food for comfort to. I literally have to remind myself that
a) eating the food doesn’t actually make me feel better – the “comfort” (if that) lasts literally seconds
b) it actually makes me feel worse in the long run – guilt from overeating, feeling weak, and those stupid extra calories I just consumed
c) exercise actually DOES make me feel better.

Good luck!

Newsnerd – I’ve had those moments too. For a couple of months this summer I was having a hard time staying focused. I dealt with it by letting myself eat a little more (100-200 extra calories a day).

Do you think this is transient and caused by some external thing OR do you think this is because you have made things too extreme that you can’t keep doing forever??? Long or short term changes might be in order. But if it’s short term, it WILL pass! I’m now more motivated than ever!

Guys, I am sorry about the font on my posts lately! I dont know what to do about it! It shows up either really big or just normal on my home computer, but on my work computer it shows up way too small! I dont know how everyone else is seeing it, but its making me mad! I guess I shouldnt mess with the font...

Valerie--Thanks for the kind words about my cat. I sent out an email to my friends and family to see if they could find someone to take him, and I am going to put an ad in the paper. If I cant find anyone to take him then I will have to take him along when I move--I wont have a choice.

I laughed when I read about TOM and the scale. You are really a competitor, girl! You go for it!

Misti--I'm glad to hear you liked your support group and are making friends. That sounds really cool. I should check into something like that in my area. I thought about joining Overeater's Annonymous--have you heard anything about that?

That picture is the best!! I should show that to my friend. She is pregnant and very thin so she looks like she swallowed a basketball. She's very cute.

Muse--I wish you this weekend! I have faith in you that you can stick to your plan and manage to get some good excercise in. Being away from home and getting thrown off my regular schedule always throws me off track. I am very much a creature of habit and do not adapt to change very well sometimes.

Angie--That is too funny about your cat. They are too smart sometimes! I had a friend who's cats were always trying to get out when she opened the door. THEN the figured out if you turn the doorknob that's what makes it open. So they would spend thier time sitting on the couch trying to turn the doorknob. I felt so bad for them--no apposable (sp?) thumb!!

Glad to hear you are still OP and getting enough excercise. That's awesome!!

Sharon--Yes, he is still having problems with his bladder. Its like a never-ending cycle. Its not like he ever gets better--it just goes on and on. I dont understand how the vet cant cure a bladder infection. This isnt rocket science.

That is good to hear that you were able to find a place for your dog. Maybe when I find a new place for Wilhelm his bladder problems will go away too...

That is awesome that you have been OP and excercising! Yeah, that always frustrates me that it takes so little time to undo what it took so long to do. Took me a week to lose 2 lbs and only a weekend to put it back on. Oh well, I thought most of it was salt and I guess I was right because it was gone yesterday.

Xena--OH I see. I was about to throw a fit... Ha, not really . Yeah, my old job was a huge company in 7 states and they CEO of the company actually had a Y branch named after him and the company STILL wouldnt give us a discount on the membership fees. Yeah. Neat.

Ammi--I would think as long as you are getting your heart rate up then you are getting a good workout. I think it depends on how high your heart rate is which determines how much fat you burn, etc.

Good job on the crunches! I'll bet you are feeling them today! There is a machine at Curves that always works my midsection really good! I always say the time on that machine is the longest 30 seconds of my life!!

I am so glad your new depression meds work for you. I remember earlier this year when I was posting here that you werent around much. What a 180 turnaround it was when I came back! My dr recently put me on Effexor because I had been really depressed. I was taking 75 mg to start and recently bumped up to 150 mg. I really think it makes a big difference. I used to be so depressed and also have so much anxiety! The anxiety is almost completely gone and it it just amazing to me to feel this good EVERY DAY!! I guess I just thought for so long that I was just "down in the dumps" or just a "worry wort" and that was why I felt that way. I denied it for so long but now I know how good I can feel. I am so glad there is help for people like us.

Oh, all those unanswered questions on "Lost"!! I am too excited for the new season to start!! I will let you know if something big happens and you can tell me if you want to hear about it or not!

My family is going to try to find a place for Wilhelm (my cat) and I am going to put an ad in the paper. Thanks for your kind words. I am trying to get over my guilt about it.

I had to stop and get band-aids on the way to work so I was almost late! I came into work this morning and was "mommy-ed" by one of my co-workers on my thumb. She got it all bandaged up and put some Neosporin on it. It looks pretty freaky but I'm sure it'll be ok. It was pretty scary--I didnt know if I was going to have to have stitches or not!

Lillion--Keep us updated about your nephew. Thanks for the kind words about my cat. I'm still kind of dealing with the guilt part of it...

Good to hear things are ok now with your eBay acct. That is so frustrating! Stupid people trying to take advantage of people! That makes me so mad!


Nancy--I couldnt even wait for Blockbuster Online to deliver the DVDs, I went to the store and rented them as soon as they came out I'm terrible, I know. I hope I can start watching them when the new season starts, but yes, it will be hard to wait an entire week for the next episode!!!

While I wouldnt wish it on anyone, it is nice to know other people have been in the same situation w/animals as I am with my cat.

I'm so sorry to hear things are getting so bad at your job. I am proud of you that you havent turned to food for comfort, good for you! I know how stressful that can be when things at your job are bad. Think how much time you spend there--no wonder it gets to you after a while!

newsnerd--DONT QUIT! 2 steps to success--#1 Get started #2 Dont quit. Just take it 1 day at a time. Dont think about tomorrow, dont think about 6 mos from now--just think about today. You can do this. Have a little faith.

wyllenn--Wow, you are almost to your goal! Where is your avatar pic???

I am doing well today. OP and will excercise at Curves tonight. I was running late this morning and I forgot my workout clothes at home so I called my sister to have her bring them to me at work. She hasnt brought them yet so here's hoping.... If she doesnt bring them then I will skip tonight and work out Saturday morning. That will be my penance for being too lazy to go home and get them and then go back to Curves. I blame gas prices... Oh, I also have to make my mom a birthday card.

I have a lot of guilt about getting rid of my cat. My family is trying to help me find a home for him so hopefully something will turn up. I even thought if someone had a farm and he could just be a farm cat that would work, too. He isnt declawed so he could definetly get along outside.

I figured out another great side effect to dieting--no eating out!! I was SOOO bad about eating out before; I probably ate out like 5 times a week. Its pretty easy to do when you live alone.

WW Online has this "Cook Once, Eat All Week" series of recipes. I really dont like cooking and want to eat ASAP when I get home so I printed off some recipes. The first one is a mexican chicken lasagne.

Lilion – just wanted to say hi and ask how you and hubby are doing with all the stress about your nephew? I hope you will have some news soon.

I am glad to hear that you managed to close your PayPal account and that you think you sorted everything out in time to stop any theft or anything happening. Shame you have to think of new passwords. I always use the same two as well, for everything, so it will be awful if one day I have to change them all.

Nancy – thanks for the advice about resting my abs. You know I didn’t even realise I had done so much work on them. It was about 5 minutes of crunches. Considering I haven’t done them for years, and in the last 3 years I have had abdominal surgery twice, am I surprised that I am in such pain Not really. So rest assured I will be resting them for a day or two.

I am really proud of you to have such a positive approach to all the trouble you are having in work. Like you said you aren’t comfort eating, and you are even planning on using those pent up emotions to make yourself work out that little bit harder at the gym

Newsnerd – I don’t know why you are feeling like you are right now. Is TOM due, are you having any emotional things going on in your life? Maybe you are looking too far ahead and thinking too much about how many lbs you have left to lose and what a journey it will be. Whatever it is I hope you will pull it together soon. Please don’t give up on yourself and your will to lose weight, you CAN DO IT

Amy – thanks for your input on my exercising. I think you are right about the heart rate thing. I am sure it’s not as high as it could be when I can’t do the full range of steps, but I think as I am doing it for an hour it will still work off as my cals as my other exercise DVDs do over half an hour. I would LOVE a big house, this doll’s house is ridiculous!

Depression is a horrible thing isn’t it. Even when I knew I had it, I didn’t realise that my meds weren’t working. I just assumed that the fact I wasn’t suicidal and not crying every day meant they were working. I still slept my life away, ate like a pig and my poor family had to walk on egg shells around me. It was just a fluke that I ended up at the doctors having my meds changed. But I am so thankful that I did, and that the new meds actually made me feel like myself again. I am happy that an increase in your meds has had the same effect. Some people can’t wait to come off them, but me, well as long as they are doing their job I don’t care if I never come off them

Goody so glad you will let me ask questions about what’s going on with Lost when it starts again. We will have to have our chats via PM though, don’t want to upset anybody here who won’t want to know what’s happening if they miss an episode or something.

I am keeping my that you and/or your family will be able to find a home soon for you kitty cat. The sooner you see him settled in a nice new home the sooner you can stop feeling guilty about it

Great that you had some ‘mommy-ing’ of your baddy thumb How did you cope when you cut it, there must have been a lot of blood. My step daughter hates the sight of blood especially her own. She had a burn in home ec the other week and as it was healing it formed a scab. She accidentally knocked the scab the other day and it started to bleed. Just a little trickle, but boy oh boy you would think she had cut her hand off I hate to think what she would have been like if she had a cut like yours

Hey I bet as you aren’t eating out as often now you will find you have more money as well as losing the lbs too I always complain about how expensive healthy food is, but when I think about what I am saving by not having junk food I figure it all evens out.

Oh and the font you have been using, the small small stuff, lol, I managed to read it, though did wonder why you were chosing such a little size. Mystery solved now

Got to go catch up on some emails now, so take care all and I will try to check in again before bed time,

Hugs,

Ammi

Good Afternoon Chickies,

Brenda: Whoever gets to the virtual bike destination first between my hubby and myself gets $20 from the other one. He is pretty sure that he will win and he is in such better shape than me so I am really giving it my all. I no longer settle for one mile. I have been doing 2 miles a time and I hope to do it 2 times a day next week. to you on the workfront. I am very proud of you for swimming the stress away instead of eating it away. Good job.

Patty: Maybe you could switch up what you are eating a bit or how you are exercising. Maybe you are not getting enough calories for your body right now. Hang in there. I know you can do it.

Xena: I think you should do what ever works for you. Hang in there. Maybe you could go straight to the gym or Curves before coming home from work. Perhaps that will help.

Val: I know you will have a wonderful weigh in at for your first week. Have you heard anything about the job yet? I hope it goes well for you sweetie.

Wyllen: Wonderful that you and your hubby are enjoying I am kind of getting there myself about my bike riding. It really hurts my inner thighs but I feel so good about myself when I'm finished.

Amy: Sorry about your Kitty. I'm sure someone wonderful will adopt her that will love her very much. Maybe the dog will get to know and like her? I'm so glad that you are okay but your story about wanting to take a photo of your kitchen after your knife accident cracked me up.

Misti: Love your picture. I got it from Ammi the other day and laughed so much. What would people think if we really wore advertisment like that. Maybe strangers wouldn't feel it necessary to yell things out or say things.

Angie: The Walmart lady sure had some nerve. I swear I don't know if some people were born with the abiltiy to hold their tongue. Your cats sound really cute with all their water trick.

Ammi: You silly girl. You better not do too many crunches. I know you are on such a roll but please don't hurt yourself. Okay! Behave yourself my friend. So happy for you being able to exercise so much. You are so amazing.

Zelma, Jillybean, Futurdiva, Luann, Lilion..... all my girls and blessings.

As for me, I am doing well. I went to Curves today and am getting ready to do my 2 miles at least. Having a very op day, drinking water and eating properly. I got a phone call today from a job for Data entry that I sent a resume and typing test to yesterday. They want to meet with me on Friday. I know in my heart that I am qualified to do so much more than data entry but I have no self esteem right now to accept a job. I have no great work clothes that fit me and this data entry job pays well and is casual dress. No contact with the public. Maybe it will be a perfect fit for me right now. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Blessings,
Dogpal/Annie

Nancy, Wyllen and Ammi-
First of all,
I have had a lot going on ( money issues, etc.) lately and that could be it. I know I haven't slept well and I do tend to eat to make myself feel better. But I was feeling so good sticking with the plan.

I don't think I've made really radical changes. I basically eat what I want, just less and eat a lot more fruits and veggies.

I think some of it has to do with not SEEING the results, ya know? If I could look in the mirror and see a change, maybe it would be different. It just seems like having lost almost 40 lbs., I should look different. But, when you're big, it takes a while to notice it.

ugh! I'm still walking, but I have to force myself out the door. Maybe I need to change some things up and go to a gym or something. My work schedule makes it difficult to go to exercise classes or anything like that.


Oh, I'll get through it I suppose. Thanks for listening. It means a lot.

Annie - thanks so much for your concern, don't worry I won't push myself too hard. I don't like pain

I have for you that you will get the job. I know you can do so much more than a data entry job, but it's a step back into the work force and the longer you are there, and the more weight you lose, I am sure your self esteem will improve

Newsnerd - I know how you feel, absolutely, totally, I know. When you work so hard to exercise and stay OP and you feel great because you have lost weight, yet you can't see it, it's dreadful. I have given up many many diets when I have got to 30 lbs lost because I just don't see the results. This time I have hung in there, got past the 30 lbs lost and am going strong. I hope you will hang in there. Try not to worry about not seeing much difference now, just focus on losing more weight so that you AND everybody else won't be able to do anything except notice the weight loss

Am heading to bed now, so take care all and enjoy the rest of your day,

Hugs,

Ammi

Hey guys
I don't have much time or energy tonight. I am just popping in and out so no big posts I had a much better day today and I think it is because of this womans attitude. She is a real and yesterday she started taking some drugs. Hopefully this will help her. And me. I won't have to put up with her for another few days ( till tuesday) so that will be a dream

I picked up my CPAP machine today. I will unpack it later when I go up to clean my room. Vanessa is here tonight cleaning and the only room left will be my bedroom so I will plug away att hat later when I am watching TV. I hope it works better than the crappy one I have now!!!

The hospital called today with hubbys appt for his operation. He goes next Friday. I will be happy when it is all over with

My new stove comes tomorrow too. Man, things are lookin up! Now only if I can get rid of this water weight I have been carrying around all week *L* Oh well, the weekend will be right on since both hubby and I can get out and do lots of outdoor stuff. We are going picking apples at the orchard if the weather is nice. I will have to post some pics

Annie~ Lots of luck with the interview darlin!

k, gotta run for now. Sorry I skipped out on everyones replies! Gonna try and do some tonight. Think of not

Brenda

Hello! Its been a while since I've posted - too long - sorry! I've been doing Atkins cheat free since July 9th - something finally "clicked" for me and I am going strong. I am doing the WATP 1/2 mile every day and working up to 2 miles a day by November. I'm going to try to post more often so I can get to know everyone. Have a beautiful day!