Welcome to a thread devoted to women who have the priviledge of taking care of our families while winning the battle to control our weight and have better health! Feel free to join right in! We look forward to getting to know you better!

Well, today has been a crazy day. Had fun snuggling and watching movie last night though. Geri, we watched "Out of Time" with Denzel Washington. My mom had seen it and said it was really predictable and I probably wouldn't enjoy it but actually we really enjoyed it (minus the drawn out love scene in the beginning.) I don't know if I'm losing my touch or what but I didn't find it so predictable. Anyhows, DH has been telling me how pretty I am about 20 times a day and said when he was holding me I felt so skinny. I just have to tell him to STOP! I've only lost 12 lbs for goodness sake. What's he gonna do when I've lost down to goal? I won't be able to keep him off me!!! It is nice though!

Spryng, hope your DH has more success with his parents than you did but actually the fact of the matter, is nothing anybody, including the doctors, says is going to make a difference until they decide for themselves that they care enough about their lives to change. Hopefully something will shock them into this before it is too late. It is a shame that people wait until they are sick or until someone dies to be shocked into changing. I'm a living example of that. It took me getting really sick to make some very necessary changes. Oh, and BTW, the nurse I spoke with said with 15% of the heart functioning, you would be in ICU, barely alive, unable to move on your own, about ready to die at any minute.

Andrea, glad you got some family snuggle time!!! We do the same thing sometimes. Make the futon into a bed and all pile up with some popcorn and a movie. It is sooo much fun. My Ds is only 4 (almost 5) but he is getting to that not so lovey point. He has his moments though. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Geri, hope you had fun at Target or wherever you went today. It was 53 degrees here and I was fussing!!! It is different on the coast though (sounds similar to where you are) but it can be 53 but with the wind chill it feels much colder. We went to MO one winter and it was some ridiculously cold tempature but to us it didn't feel that bad because it was a dry cold, not the wet cold that we have here that chills you to the bone. Anyhows, hope you guys get out of the house soon! Not too much worse than a 2 yo with cabin fever!!!

Hi to everyone else, Ginny, Ricci, Missy. Hope you all are having a great weekend. Oh, I'm down 1 lb this week. I'm gonna have to get a little stricter because I will not reach my mini-goal at this rate. I was really bad last night and paid for it!!! So far today I've done pretty good. TTYL!!!!

Hi Ladies,
I've been out of the loop for a while, my computer crashed!!! I got the blue screen of death and had to get in touch with my husband in Iraq to have it restored back to working condition. I felt like i had lost my best friend. What did I do pre-internet? Oh, well. I have to go read the posts that I missed. Hope everyone is doing well.

Spryng, you'll have to let me know how the stretch mark creme works. I thought about ordering some but haven't yet. I'm also sorry to hear about your FIL. My husband's boss just died recently from a heart attack and one of his coworkers had something like 80% blockage and needed to get a stent. So I'm sure when DH comes home he'll start exercising with me and watching what he eats, too. I think this has him scared, which is good. He eats a lot of fatty stuff. Also, congrats on the .5 loss.

Chubba, I hear you about the treadmill. Mine was $800, its a European Reebok model and its pretty loud. I didn't want to spend too much on something I can't bring back to the states. I usually put a movie in and turn on the subtitles. The only problem is that it takes me about 4 times on the treadmill to finish a movie. I should be finished with Seabiscuit on Monday, lol!!

I haven't been watching the bachelorette this time around, I'm not too crazy about Meredith. And I keep missing American Idol. I always forget when its on. We only get 7 channels here. We have one sports channel, one news channel, tv guide channel (for our 7 channels) and 4 others. Its hard to explain the system but we do get to watch most of the top shows that are playing in the states.

I've been doing good with the exercising, I did treadmill 4 times this week and next week I'm going to try to use the bowflex 3 times a week. We're going to Michigan in May to visit the inlaws and I would like to be at least 15 lbs lighter. We'll see. Spring we'll be here soon enough and that's a great motivator to get outside and exercise.

Hope all you ladies are doing good and I hope you have a good week!!

Hello, all! I am still trying to figure out this site, so bear with me. I am a stay at home mom for my 5 month old son. I am breastfeeding so I have been really worried about really restrictive diets. I joined the gym last week and my son was in the nursery for two days and then we both came down with a cold. We will try it again this week. I used to work out to eat, but since baby I will have to change. I look forward to talking to you.

Good evening all.
First off, let me just say my eating was less than stellar today. I can't belive I did that to myself, after I had been doing so good. Oh well. On the bright side, I have lost a lb, which is amazing considering TOM is next week. Now I can jump back into my program, and hopefully not fall again anytime soon.
Spryng, I am so sorry FIL and family won't listen to you. Its not easy when they won't. We all know you want the best for him. Maybe its because deep down they do belive you and don't want to that they are being like that. I lost my grandpa 5 years ago after a quadruple bypass. He was in ICU for 4 months before they took him off all life support. I hope your DH gets through to them.
I caught 20/20 last night, but not Oprah. Oprah is on twice a day here, so I usually catch one of them.
We went to a big indoor garage sale today, did lots of walking around there. Then we went to Sam's club and walked some more there. Then we came home and I went to wal mart alone. FYI never go to wal mart the day before the superbowl and a predicted snow storm. It was terrible. Shelves were wiped out, people were packed wall to wall.
I will be watching the superbowl tomorrow, but mainly for the commercials. They are always funny.
Have a good evening ladies.

Ricci, you have solved my mystery!!! I went to Walmart today just to pick up some saran wrap and wow!!! Every line was packed and it was a zoo. I couldn't figure out what the deal was...should've known it was Superbowl. My dad is driving me crazy with his Superbowl party. He does not eat healthy at all and I am really worried about him having a heart attack. Anyway, he is only having 20 or so people but he is fixing 9 slabs of ribs, 2 boston butts for bbq, chicken wings, chili and who knows what else. He has enough food for about 100 people and he and my mom are leaving for CA for a week on Monday!!! Ugh!!! Stupid to be so irritated about it but I am just the same.

Anyhows, Lori, glad you are back. I LOVED Seabiscuit. Let us know what you thought about it. I too have my DH eating better, at least while he's home. I don't know what he eats while he's out but if he at least gets good stuff at home it can only help. His grandma died of cancer, his grandfather died at 40 of a heart attack, his dad has problems with skin cancer and had a heart attack 6 years ago, and his oldest brother had a heart attack a couple years ago at the age of 40! I would really like to keep him around for a while!

Welcome, Meltin!!! Feel free to just jump right in. Tell us all about yourself! I breastfed both my kids until they were 16 months. BTW, I am Candy, mom to Sean, 4 and Kylie, 2. I am a sahm but also work full-time from home for a gyn/oncolgy practice. I am trying to get off weight from 2 pregnancies...it is really good you are working on it now. I wish I had started when the first one was 5 months!!! Anyhows, we look forward to hearing from you often.

Night everyone...Geri, I think I am getting your cold! Thanks for sharing. I'm gonna turn in and try to sleep this off. Hope everyone enjoys Superbowl Sunday. I'll be glad when it is over!!!

Good morning!
Don't ask why I am on here at 5 am.......couldn't sleep and the wood burner went out (yes, we have real heat too, but I came down to see if it was out and thought I would stop in and say hello).

Candy-thanks for starting a new thread....Dh's reaction to the "new you" is so sweet! Enjoy it, hon!!!!! You have worked for this and deserve it. And now the big question? Are you going to your Dad's superbowl party with all that belly busting food????? Sorry, I just had to get that in!

Ricci- congrats on the 1# loss! And even with TOM approaching.....just imagine how good next weeks WI will be.
I agree with you about the commercials on the Superbowl- some are hysterical...and then there are the ones that are just so bad you can't figure out what the ad agency had in mind! That indoor garage sale sounds like a lot of fun. Did you find anything good?

Lori- how are you doing?? Sorry about the computer meltdown.......we all have had that trouble at one time or another. And with the computer, it is just soooo frustrating. Good for you getting your excercise in too! Welcome back.

Meltin-Welcome!!!!!!! Congrats on your 5 month old! I breastfed my 3, so I understand how that goes. Also understand the ups and downs of losing baby fat. I am on Weight watchers, and a fellow member at my meetings has baby she is nursing.......she is awfully close to goal and looks wonderful.
What I am getting at is WW offers a totally nutritionally balanced program for nursing mom's-so that you can take care of both of you! As a matter of fact, I remember this lady at my meetings complaining that she had too much food on the program........well, it is just an idea. BTW, my name is Ginny and I have 3 children a Dd (17) a Ds, (14) and another Dd (8). I look foward to getting to know you!

Spryng-what a heartbreaker regarding your FIL. I agree with everyone else- Dh is going to have to be the one to speak to his family. Other than asking for some divine intervention,there is little else......Perhaps you could check out some healthy eating cookbooks for him- I have a few of Healthy Exchanges cookbooks- where the author has basically taken normal recipes and reduced the fat and sugar in the recipes. Most of the recipes are very good and family friendly. I know they are available on ebay......let me know if you want some info- but there are lots of good cookbooks out there that do the same. How blessed your inlaws are to have a caring DIL like you!

Yesterday we went to pick up Dd from her college overnight- one of the schools she is interested in offered her an overnight some of the softball team- and I finally got to see the campus. It is a pretty campus, in a nice neighborhood- but you have to go thru the city to get there....I am not too thrilled about that.........but guess it is just the mom in me worried about her safety. She is going to be 18 in May.....guess I'd better just wake up and accept that. That took up most of the day- it is a 1 1/2- 2 hour drive each way, and then we stopped for dinner on the way home. This morning we are going to the early church service- which opens up most of the day for other stuff. I promised that I would take Dd down to the pond to skate......she really wanted to do that yesterday and we just got back too late.
Well, I guess I'd better go. I might go back to bed.......have a great day!
Ginny

Duh- and then I realized what a rude creature I was forgetting to say hi to eveyone else!!!! Anyone I missed- Geri, Jackie, Andrea...forgive me if I left you out!!!!

BTW- yesterday I served the Morningstar veggie sausages and everyone liked them!!!! (which is a shocker as Dh likes fat, if you know what I mean and usually rejects lower fat foods)
Sorry for being a lunkhead.......see ya later.
Ginny

Ginny, no, I am not going. I was going to go and my mom and I were going to do Kabobs with portabello mushrooms, zuchinni, tomatoes and tofu but now that I have this stupid cold, I think I'll just chill today. Besides, yesterday was the last day of the month and I have to have all the charges in by tomorrow morning and as usual, I have a lot to do.

So, do you think that the school your dd slept over at is the one she is going to end up at? 2 hours away isn't too bad. Enough to give her some space but also not so far that if you need to see her, you can just go. I know this must be really hard with your first child getting ready to leave the nest. I don't look forward to those days!!! Anyhows, hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!!! Skating on the pond sounds like fun!

Good morning all!
It is still morning isn't it??
Wow, I am really behind on posts. But I will try my best to reply to everyone who has posted.
Ginny, thanks for you kind words about my FIL situation. I have resovled myself to stop worrying about it. At least if something bad did or does happen I can honestly say I tried. The only thing I am worried about is that if he was to die from this I may become really bitter with my MIL. But I'm working on it. And they have many low fat heart healthy cook books. They tried once to do low fat but didn't stick with it very long. But they still have many cookbooks, plus one of mine I let them borrow. So what did you dd think of that college? How fun to get to stay the night! Is she interested in joining sororities too?? I'm sure I spelled that wrong.
Candy, I hope you get to feeling better. I won't be going anywhere tonight either. I'll probably watch the pre-show to the super bowl so I can see aerosmith, but then after that I'll pop in a family video to entertain the kids.
Ricci, congrats on losing another lb!!! That is so great. And don't worry about one day of bad eating, we have a lifetime to get this right, right? You 'll be back on track in no time. I love garage sales. Sadly there aren't any this time of year around here. But spring is just around the corner and I can't wait! Plus this spring I'll be having a yard sale too. I have so much junk to get rid of.
welcome Meltin!!! I am Spryng, mother of 3 (Ava 4, Joseph 3, and Tanner 7 months old) I am not breastfeeding but I agree with Ginny about weight watchers. They have a plan specifically for breastfeeding moms that is great for losing weight but doesn't interfere with your milk supply. Do you think you would be interested in that? If not you can always just increase your exercise without increasing how much you eat and that should shed some lbs too. How long do you plan to breastfeed? But welcome and I hope you feel at home here. We really do support each other well no matter what plan you are on!
Lori, I am with you, if my computer has problems and I can't get online I go stir crazy. It's worse than being cooped up in the house... it's a suffocation like no other, lol. Weird isn't it? I can't remember what I did before the internet either My house was probably cleaner, but that is all I can remember. And yes I will let you know how that stretch mark cream is working. I like the way it feels and it doesn't smell too bad but they say I'll see visible results in 4 weeks... so I'm waiting. But maybe it's just me, but I think it looks better already... but that may be in my head, lol. But you can use it wherever you have them, breasts, thighs, belly, etc. So I am using it practically all over my poor stretched out body!
Candy, was it you who was ordering that cellulite cream? I read some reviews on it on epinions.com and all of them said it can burn the first few times you apply it, so I wanted to warn you that if you have sensitive skin it may be uncomfortable at first. They said it got warm on their skin... so just to inform you. Has anyone else gone to that site to review something they wanted to buy? I've went there to review diets (btw, WW has great reviews) exercise videos, electronics, wax for the body, etc. Very informative.
Well... lets see. My lasagna last night was very good. It was 5 cheese which tasted great but I really wanted some meat in it, lol. But it was filling. Then after the kids went to bed I did my ab workout. Boy I love pilates. It felt sooo good! Like a good stretch, you know? I think I may do the abs everynight and combine it with either the butt or thigh workout. But anyway, I was OP yesterday and I really think I will have a great loss this coming friday. My body feels different lately for some reason. My stomach is really shrinking like crazy now, so maybe even though my scale has been going down slow I may be losing inches. I don't have anything to check with. But it feels nice. I think if I work really hard I may have a nice looking stomach by summer! So exciting!!
Ok, I need to get off of here. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. We are suppose to get an ice storm any time now. I'm hoping it is not as bad as they are predicting.
But anyway, have a great super bowl sunday!!!!! TTYL!

Just a quick hello to all of you. I'll get personal and post more later.

Went to a friends last night to play cards and visit. Will had a blast and slept until almost 9am!! Tony was up by 7 of course.

Just hanging out today. TTYL!!

O.K. ladies, I have BIG news!

I took a preg. test this morning and it was positive! I'm in total shock!!! I don't do BC cause it makes me sick and have never had a problem not getting preg. This is just crazy!! I don't know if I want to laugh or cry! I hate to sound like I'm not happy cause I will be once I get used to the idea. I'm just trying sooo hard to get my weight off before I had another one and now I preg. at 158. I also have had 2 miscarrages between my 2 boys, so I'm nervious about that too. I don't know if I could handle losing another baby. At least they were early ones. So now I have told someone. We are not going to tell family until we are further along. Candy, do you know something I can do to help prevent a miscarrage? Did I spell that right? Oh well. I guess I need to go get dressed. Does anyone know if I can stay on ww while I'm preg? Please say a prayer for me and the baby. I a little nervous about this. Oh another thing, is it normal to kind of ache like you are going to start your period?

Oh Andrea CONGRATS!!!! I am so excited for you! I went through my entire pregnancy with Tanner on this site so please don't leave us now that you are expecting!! There really is nothing you can do to prevent a miscarriage, just get on prenatals ASAP, if you can't get in to see your doctor than buy some at walmart until your doctor can prescribe you some. But you need that folic acid in you now. Very important. Other than that, take it easy and rest. And about WW while pregnant, well you can't attend meetings or anything, but I know several woman just up their pts and stay OP. During the first 3 months you should just aim to maintain you weight, you don't need alot of extra pts because the baby doesn't eat very much at first, but after 3 months increase your pts where you gain a little. But talk to you doctor about it and also visit the WW boards, specifically the one for mothers, i think it is called, Calling all Mothers, and ask them because they know better than myself. But don't worry so much about weight right now, just bask in the wonderful pleasure of creating a new life!! My thoughts are with you and I hope this turns out to be a wonderful healthy pregnancy!! I am so excited for you!!

Thanks Spryng! I need to be pumped up right now. I guess I'll try not to worry so much about my weight. I just don't want to end up a lot heavier than I am now. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!