Thanks for the warm welcome back, girls!

I've deferred uni, because a. I want to find full time work and b. I'm still the president of that student org (remember?). If I added uni to that I'd screw up all three.

Life got extrodinarily difficult a few months ago, family stuff happened, plus being broke, plus depression = scars that aren't going to fade for a while. But chin up - I'm ok and safe now. Been travelling well since then.

My shopping reciept from the other day totalled $14 exactly. 4 packets pasta, 2 tins tomatoes, frozen spinach, frozen veg, onions. Trying to be healthy lol.

Amy, it's lovely to meet you too. I've been reading the previous posts, the saga that was the Elliptical must have tested your patience.

In fact, it sounds like everyone's been facing challenges lately. I hope we all stay strong. I'll be around more often now, so you can rely on me for a big cuddly shoulder if you need to.

love

Kylie

Hi girls, I'm new. Can I join?

I'm in Brisbane, and have just started WW Online (crappy work hours involving rotating days/nights and 12 hour shifts mean regular appointments are out for me). I'm married with 4 teenage boys (and a cat).

I weighed myself a couple of weeks ago - first time in ages - and I've reached 98 kg. Thats' about 10kg heavier than I was when I was 39 weeks pregnant!

WW has set me a goal of 69kg, and at first I thought that was a little optimistic, but then my pre-preg weight was 64kg, so it's probably not that far off.

Is 17 years a record to retain baby weight? Just realised my last sentence makes it sound like I have small children. I don't, I have just been slack for the last decade or so. But now it's me time!

Look forward to hanging out here and giving and receiving much needed support.

Cheers,

Ruth

Welcome to Aussie Chicks, Ruth - glad you found us. We're a small bunch, really supportive of each other and always happy for new members to join in.

I think Julia is doing WW - and others on here have dabbled with it too.

I have been losing weight for almost two years. I'm the tortoise around here, and still chipping away.

Looking forward to getting to know you and sharing the highs and lows of your weight loss with you .

Ani

Hey ruth its great to have you here with us .. . as you can see these girls are a grteat bunch and are very supportive in the good the bad and the ugly...

you will soon get to know i cant spell to save my life but i dont shut up either lol .. 17 years is by no means a record my friends mum is still claiming that one and her only daughter my friend is 33.. lol ..

WELCOME

Hi Ruth


I'm about an hour and a half away from you. Looked on yr profile and says yr occupation is RN. Gen on here is currently working in the states (she's an RN) and I am currently studying toward my diploma to become an EEN. 6 months to go. YAYYY

I have 4 kids ages - 2 (g), 7(g), 13(b) and 18(g). And a new grandbaby (well not so new anymore she's 3 months).

Everyone here is so great. They're like my bestest friends and if I don't get a fix regularly I go nuts

I love the saying . "I love my computer because my friends are in it"

Look forward to seeing yr posts and sharing yr ups n downs (hope theres not many of them for you).

Vonni

I wish it was cold here - I was away for the weekend in Kentucky, and it was about 100 deg F... I was DYING of heat!!! I even braved the hotel swimming pool, because it was so bloody unbearable. Driving home today through the heat of the day was great fun.. not. Well, at least I was in the backseat being cooked under the sunroof while my friend drove.

Ani, glad the storm didn't do too much damage to you. Nice to meet a neighbour who came out to help - you can't have too many friends with chainsaws, I always say... haha.

Ruth, welcome! I am sporadically here now, and not doing too well on the weight loss front, but still read most days and check in here and there. I think I'm going to rejoin WW too.

Did I tell anyone that *I think* me and the hot guy at work are going to Toronto for a conference in about 6 weeks? Heh.

Welcome Ruth and welcome back Kylie!

Great to see you back Kylie. Don't worry about not being ready to focus on losing weight just yet. Just being here is a great first step

Ruth I'm sure you'll enjoy it here with us I'm doing weight watchers points but I don't go to the meetings, I just have all the literature from years ago and I follow it by myself.

Ani I'm pleased to hear you're okay after having a tornado. That's very dramatic!

As for me, I had a nice weekend with my sister and the kids but didn't write down anything that I ate and basically ate crap all weekend

No point dwelling on it though so I'm back on the horse today. Goals for today:

1) Stick to my points
2) Go to the gym after work and do weights followed by an aerobics class

hello everyone
hey hey hey hey kylie!!! i was worried about you! so glad you are back
hi ruth - i am in brisbane too! brisvegas rocks

i am still in my pjs and only just out of bed.... so didnt make it to the gym YET the day is not over (but i had planned to go in the morning) so next plan is to go this afternoon
think we are going out with friends for pub steak dinner but i have decided this can also be a healthy choice... will get chicken if available if not the smallest piece of steak and give benji and jemima all of my chips and get NO sauce rather than saying will start more hardcore "diet" choices tomorrow etc perhaps i will even book jemima into kidsclub in the morning too so i have to go to the gym otherwise they charge me 3 bucks hmmmm

vonni - does depression ever go away totally?

Dunno Kel. I think in my PERSONAL opinion is that some people are more susceptable than others and also life circumstances can be a major factor. I have bi-polar disorder in my family (my brother is severe) so I am always very aware of my moods etc and if at the first sign of anything untoward I will be seeking help.

A good point to start getting back to normalcy (what really is normal?) is to learn to recognise the signs of depression coming on and try to divert it by getting on track with things. Not easy to do when a lot of the time it's not being able to keep on top of things that brings on yr depression. I think it is a nasty vicious cycle that needs a kick up the rear (if it had one). One day and one step at a time.

Gen? Do you have much to do with mental health? Ruth?

Then to some people suffer due to deficiencies of certain hormones or even excess so........ go figure. Wish there were simple tests to see what factors in everyones depression. Physical, chemical or just life.

Nope, not me. I did 6 weeks of MH prac during my training eleventy million years ago and that was enough for me! Hubby suffers from depression though. He's fine at the moment, drug-free, but I'm always alert for the warning signs that he's lapsing again. I think it's a lifetime thing, I don't know of too many people who've suffered from moderate/severe depression who aren't still at risk.

Thanks for the welcomes, girls, I think I'm going to like it here!

First weigh in today. I know the first week is water etc, but ... wait for it ... -2.7kg! Go me!

Congrats on your big loss Ruth, a loss like that is really encouraging!

I weighed in last night and am up 1kg to 85.9. Very up and down at the moment! Stuck to my points yesterday and had a good session at the gym although I really had to force myself.

Goals for today are to stick to my points and go to the gym tonight.

Kel, depression is a really tricky thing to understand. Some people just need the help of medication for a short time, others need it for life. It's a very personal thing and everyone is different.

Hope you're doing okay

Well no professional experience, but personally I have come to realize when I'm winding down and finding it hard to get out of bed. I definitely want to get back to taking SAMe (herbal mood stabilizer) which gave good results and seems to have the clinical evidence to back it up.

I'm doing my own head in with this weight loss thing. You would think I'd get it after two years, but no… still trying to make it work.

The problem I have is this: it was easier to be motivated when I was obese, because it was so easy to see how far I had to go. Now I wear a loose Size 16 and I'm physically strong - it's hard to "deprive" myself of those extra treats when I have accomplished so much.

It's easy to make excuses, to just eat a little bit more - and easy to be complacent and say: "I'll just eat what I like this week because I've proven that I know how to lose weight, and if I gain a couple of kilos I will just lose them again".

Oh yes, super dangerous thinking.

It was my aim, when I started this, to learn how to CHANGE my lifestyle and make regular healthy choices. NOT to lose all this weight so I could eat bad food again! Bad, naughty me!!!

So… I need a big slap !