Hey all!! I got called into work today and missed my morning of coming online.. but I am here now! ;)

Kimberley - I sure hope your cat is alright.. I hate it when animals get sick :( My mom's cat is SO picky with her food as well, it's very cute. I'll keep my fingers crossed for him :)

kykaree - I just have issues finding a good doctor, I found a good doctor in my home town, but I get there MAYBE once a year, and thats just not often enough. I'll find someone out here... eventually. I have a few issues I need to get worked out, namely IBS, Vestibulitis, and this silly nose thing. I know I can control the IBS thru diet, and I had a REALLLLLY good gynocologist a few years ago who showed me how to control the Vestibulitis. I really believe I can control most of the things wrong with me thru diet, I'd rather not take drugs unless it's REALLY bad. I like dance music when I'm working out :( But I like DANCE/TECHNO music, not that new pop crap. However, I am a teeny bopper in a 25 year old's body.. heh..

Sara - relaxed fit just doesn't look right! I don't know why women want that type of shape for their body.. I guess they get used to it. I am trying to convince the world, one woman at a time that they need something that has a straight line from the thigh down. So far, so good! Most people agree with me, but I also show them in my pants, and I actually have larger thighs.. 6 days off, I'm jealous :) Enjoy :)

Jill - "chowder" sounds sinful.. but it sounds like yours wasn't too bad :) Of course, I am one to talk, I had pasta with pesto on it. It definitely WAS sinful.. but everything else I ate today was 100% perfect.. so it's all good :)

So my computer works.. we THINK the virus isn't on it anymore.. but neither of us is really sure. So hopefully things work out alright with that. I heard from Marge again today, she's still working hard at work. I will pass along a little note saying how you all miss her.. it's scary about the internet.. how would any of us really know if anything happened?

Today at work I was approached by the manager and told that the full time employee quit.. and that she wants to sit down to talk about me taking her place. Hopefully it means a raise :) I doubt it though... but I guess the fulltime hours will help out my pocket book! Well I am off to veg out, have a great night gals! :)

-Aimee

Alrighty, I need to vent... I'm having ISSUES! I've been sticking to a low cal, and low fat diet, aiming to not have bread/pasta for more than one meal a day, and not having processed sugar. So doing that I lost 4 pounds, sounds great, but I've stalled. It's WAY too early on for me to be stalling like this. I just don't GET why weight loss has to be SO fricking hard! My calories are under every day, my percentages look good, I'm eating a fruit or veggie at every meal, and am getting enough fibre! It seriously baffles me! My weigh in isn't until Thursday, but I got on the scale yesterday and was CONVINCED that I had lost a pound, but nothing. Okay, I'm done. I'm hoping to feel more motivated tomorrow, it's just tiring to have to work SO hard for weight loss when so many do less than I have to and lose big every week! Guess I wasn't done just yet... heh..

-Aimee

Yeah, Aimee, I hear ya. I look at others who started out at about the same weight as me in January, and here I am still at almost 300 pounds while they are down to like 250! How not fair is that?! I count every calories of every food I eat during the week, I drink lots of water, I eat lots of fruit, and though I don't eat many veggies, I get plenty of fiber through cereal and such. I also have milk every day (they say calcium helps you to lose weight--I don't know why). I know my problem has been the weekends, but even back when I was doing really well on the weekends, I wasn't losing like others. There were weeks when I would go to the gym 4 days a week, eat sensibly over the weekend, count everything during the week, and only lose like half a pound. How insanely frustrating is that!? But we've got to remember that this is a long-term thing--even if you don't lose ANYTHING this week, it'll show up in a big loss in a few weeks, ya know? We have to be patient and know that no matter how frustrating it is, it's the right thing to do for our bodies. I hate saying that because I know if I were at a point where I was really p!ssed off and frustrated, that wouldn't be the answer I'd be searching for, but I don't know what else to tell ya. I've only lost 13 pounds in 4 months--imagine my frustration! :tantrum: And yet I keep going because I know that, at the bare minimum, I need to KEEP those 13 pounds off! And damm!t, Aimee, stay off the scale!!! I weigh myself on non weigh-in days sometimes, too, but I keep in mind that on Thursday, it will always say something diferent, so I don't get worked up about it. I think you should just completely get rid of the scale so it's not there to torment you ;)

So yeah, I've lost so little weight that it hasn't even made a difference in my clothes yet. I need to got more focused. I went to the gym between jobs yesterday--30 minutes on the eliptical, burned over 400 calories :smug: I also found someone to cover myshift on Thursday night at the restaurant so I can go to my TOPS meeting (since I've only been to I think 3 since I joined). The group os mostly older women, but they are kind and supportive nonetheless, and I think I need that weekly accountability, ya know? So I am going to change my availability at the restaurant and not work Thursdays anymore so I can go to my TOPS meetings every week. I think having to get on a scale and tell the group whether I lost or gained for the week will help keep me in line. I'm also pretty competitive, and the top loser each week gets a basket full of goodies (everyone contributes a trinket, healthy treat, or money to the basket at every meeting), so I think making the weight loss a more competitive thing will be helpful to me, too.

I have been doing pretty well so far this week, but today, I forgot to pack a lunch :o I packed my bag of food this morning, and it was full, so I zipped it up and left, but all I packed was dinner (regular salad and fruit salad), breakfast (a bagel and ff cream cheese since I got up late and didn't have time for my usual cereal), and snacks (a yogurt, a string cheese, and some fruit). No lunch to be found! So, now the dilemma is: do I get a salad here in the cafeteria for lunch (I'm afraid I will get SICK of salad eating it every day and TWICE today), or do I get the pot stickers at Ruby's or fewer than 500 calories? I was also thinking of maybe a 6-inch sub from Subway (sweet onion chicken teriyaki with lettuce --YUM!), but I don't think I want all that sodium (about 1200mg in the 6-inch!), plus I doubt I will have time to hit Subway after the gym and before my Ruby's shift. Hmm...I think I just talked myself into the pot stickers :p

So tomorrow, I plan on leaving job #1 at 2 as usual, then having a POWER workout at the gym--at least an hour [I know that's what we're supposed to be doing almost every day, but I don't normally have 60 minutes for the gym (plus I have to run around the restaurant all night, so I count that as some exercise, too, since I'm usually working up a sweat!)]. Then I'll come home and take a bit of a nap till about 5:45, then off to TOPS (before I eat dinner!). I hope it registers a pretty big loss from last time since I ate dinner before my last weigh-in (I thought I had to work that night, so I had dinner, but then someone came in and picked up my shift, so I went to the meeting even though I'd already eaten), plus I'm hopefully down at least a tiny bit for this week. We'll see :crossed:

Alright, now I'm just babbling for the sake of babbling--I'm gonna go eat my breakfast and do some work now. Catch ya'll later!

OH, and I'm so sorry about your cat, Kimberley--I hope they find it's a quick fix, and he'll be good as new in no time!

Good morning all.

Jill - Yes, I very well can imagine your frustration! I've been on that side of things too. This time I'm dead serious about losing though. I stay VERY strict with myself so that I don't have an option of relapsing back into crappy habits. I've lost a friend at work over losing as much weight as I have. She had lost over a hundred pounds 2 years ago, while I just stayed the same, and shes gained almost all of it back! I can't talk about my success when she is there because I know it'll hurt her feelings. So, anyway, here is my appology to you for starting at the same weight you did and losing more. Differances between us as far as I can tell; I don't have 2 jobs fighting for my workout time which is consistantly 6-7 days a week, I very rarely ever eat out, and I don't have any health issues to be concerned about.

Kimberly - I hope Elliot is feeling better! My friend at work just made the decision last week Fri to put her siamese cat (15 y.o.) down because he had liver failure and was not able to make it to the litterbox anymore. Her husband was taking the Felix to the vet and he died in the car on the way there. She is very upset, not that I blame her!

I'll be back in a little bit... gotta get some htings done and take Lexi to the park to run before it gets too hot!!!

'see' ya later

Hey all...aww, ss about the kitty, Kimberley, I hope all turns out well...
I too, know how it feels to see some people have lost a ton of weight, and others have to struggle to lose a few pounds. some people it just comes easier for and that's all there is...About relaxed fit jeans..l.well...I have very long legs, to be honest, and not overly large thighs either. so, for me, they look the best. They do not make me look manly in the least, and every time I have ever attempted to put on a pair of boot cut or flared leg, or low rise jeans, I leave the dressing room lookin like a big ol dweeb...lol..We all have different shapes, and some look better than others in different types of pants and jeans. Shorter women look sort of silly in the type of pants I like wearing, and I look silly in pants that shorter women look good in. I have a figure, not hourglass, never have, but, not manly either. But, then again, most shorter women look silly in long skirts, and taller women look great in them, so I guess that is that...lol...enough said...Hope you all have a great day...Am off to walk the dog b4 the black flies, and heat get out of control! :)

Goodmorning! I'm not sure how I'm feeling this morning about weight loss, I wish it didn't have to be so hard.. and I know if I REALLY buckle down and cut out pretty much everything, I can lose weight. I am pretty used to doing drastic things to lose weight, hense all the eating disorders I've had, but I do want to do this in a healthy way. I'm just babbling..

Diana - I wonder about your diet.. you have that working out thing down PAT, I once heard diet is 80% of losing weight. Are you counting calories? Eliminating foods?

Jill - I can understand why you aren't losing weight, you have too much battling for your time. You will get there... I know you will. I should look into a gym pass, see if I can get one for cheap because I make SO little money (my next paycheque will be 330 before tax, eek!). Actually, scratch that, a gym pass would do me no good, the closest gym is 3 km's away, and since I'm not driving, I'd never go. Thats the problem with living on a huge mountain, I used to walk 1 hour a day before we moved here!

Alright, I am heading out to go for breakfast with a friend who is turning 30 today! So I gotta wrap a present, write out a card and get dressed before 11am! Which is 55 minutes! Have a great on gals!

-Aimee

Why don't you guys try the AHA plan for a few weeks? Seriously, it works, and it's all-around healthy for ya. Just count out the number of servings of each food group using portion control and you're automatically staying within a good number of calories. LMK if you're interested in more info.

We're going to have to put Elliott to sleep today at 4:00pm. His kidneys are not functioning right and he won't eat. We could prolong things by feeding him a low-protein food (which he undoubtably won't eat), periodically giving him sub-cutaneous fluids, etc., but the poor guy's got arthritis and hurts, anyway...And how long and for what good would it be to keep him around? It would be for us, not for him. :(

AWWWW I am SS to hear that Kimberley~~ it is so hard to have to put a loved pet to sleep...My thoughts are with you...
Aimee~~ I have cut back on all foods ( as in portion control, etc)...I will never cut anything completely out of my life, because then I binge, and that is not good. But I do need to drink way more water for one thing...not drinking nearly enough...And I am almost 40 so metabolism is not nearly as good as it used to be...It really is harder to lose the older u get...

Kimberley~~I would be very interested in the AHA diet...My friend in Ohio was going to print off her diet for me and never did. Physicians weight loss plan... I cannot afford a lot right now, so this is why I am not doing WW or anything like that, it would have to come out of my money and my money is very tight right now...So fill me in...if you want my email addy or anything, let me know...and God Bless!!

Well, it's done. I wrote about the day in my blog if anyone feels like being sad. ;) What an emotional day it's been.

The AHA diet is pretty much just common sense eating, a well-rounded diet. This is it in a nutshell. We count calories, but try to stick to the recommended servings of the various food groups and to limit our fats to unsaturated fats that are good for you.

Oh Kimberley I am so SO sorry to hear about your kitty :( Cry lots, mourn, and never forget him :)

Diana - losing weight is hard for me as well, years of abusing my body with periods of not eating to eating lots does some harsh damage. Most things I read about say you should have one meal a day that is ONLY fruits of veggies, that theory has definitely worked for me. I'm not the best model for weight loss, but I do know lots about it! I have to put all my theory's into practice!

Well ladies, I am completely exhausted, so I'm going to go spend a little quality time with the bf and get some sleep! Talk to ya'll tomorrow!

-Aimee

Kimberley--I'm so sorry about Elliott. Do you have any pictures of him? Are you guys going to get another cat--not to replace him, by any means, but to have a new baby to spoil? ;)

I don't think I've read that a meal a day should be only fruits and veggies, but acording to the "negative calorie diet," that makes sense. I don't think I could do that--the protein is what fills me up for longer. Just fruit and veggies makes me hungry again about an hour later. When I have a salad for dinner before my restaurant shift, I have it with grilled chicken, egg, and cheese (YUM!), so it really keeps me going.

Weighed in this morning--295.5 :smug: I knew I'd get that extra weight off from last week, but I'm really glad I lost 2 more pounds on top of that. I have to weigh in at TOPS tonight, too, so I'm sure I'll have a pretty good loss since the last time I was there. I think they are always surprised that I lose even when I haven't been there for a few weeks. The leader of our chapter seems to think that if you don't go to the meetings, you won't lose weight because you don't have the support you need. Maybe that's what she needs, but I told her that I get amazing online support at 3FC, yet she insisted on finding out information for me about doing TOPS online for the weeks I couldn't come to the meetings. I'll take any help I can get, but I don't think I'll ever be able to find the same type of support and assistance as I get here on these boards :)

The only reason I don't think I'd try the AHA plan is that it's just more counting. Instead of just calories, then I'd have to count servings of each food group plus make sure everything is a true serving size--even if I had time for that, I don't think I'd stick to it, ya know? As it is now, I eat so little fat that, if anything, I probably need to eat more! My diet is comprised primarily of fruit right now. I have a kiwi and a big container of fruit salad in my lunch bag today. My lunch is a salad (lettuce, spinach, onion, cheese, and a few croutons with a measured portion of organic dijon honey mustard dressing), and my other snacks are a low-fat string cheese and a ff, no-sugar-added yogurt. Plus my brakfast of Kashi with strawberries and banana and skim milk--plus whatever I have for dinner tonight. I should be around 1500 calories for the day once I add dinner in (I usually treat myself to Subway after the TOPS meeting--that way I don't have to cook when I get home, and it still feels like a treat even though it's still low in fat and fits into my caloric allowance for the day).

My frustration isn't that I'm not losing weight--I've actually been losing quite consistently (minus last week, which I made up for this week) for about the past 2 months, but it's itty bitty losses at a time. Usually when people start dieting, they bang out that first 10 pounds or so of water weight and rapid loss from changing habits and patterns, but that never happened for me. It has just been so slow that I get frustrated even when I do lose a 1/2 pound or a pound a week. I know slower is better for maintenance in the long run, but in this world of instant gratification, I just want it GONE! And seeing others with 2-3 pounds lost every week is just what makes me feel like I'm obviously doing something wrong (even though I'm still losing). Does that all make sense? I also have yet to see any physical changes, which is also frustrating. When you only weigh 150 and lose 10 or 15 pounds, that's like a whole dress size! But I will have to lose probably at least another 25 pounds before I go down a dress size (I wear the same size now as I did when I only weighed about 275-280). Who knows--maybe with my newfound weekend partner and such, I'll be seeing 2-pound weekly losses more frequently, too. I just keep thinking about this dress I'm going to have to wear for my sister's wedding in April...it's a long way off, but only losing a 1/2 pound a week (for a total of 20-25 pounds) isn't going to make a whole heck of a lot of difference in how I look in a dress! :(

I hit the gym again yesterday, but I had to cut back on my time since I ended up having to stay late at job #1. I only did 20 minutes on the eliptical, but I burned almost 300 calories in that time, and ANY exercise is better than no exercise! I'll be there again today after work for as long as I want since I don't have to work at the restaurant tonight :)

Well, I'm gonna go fill my water bottle and at least pretend to do some work. Hope everyone has a great day!

Thanks for the kind words, all. Our other cat, Hattie, is happy being an only cat - little pipsqueak actually played more last night than she did before. She and the dogs are pretty tight, too. I don't think we'll get another cat until she goes. Hopefully that won't be for a long time. :) I have photos of Elliott in my most recent blog entries if you click the link in my sig.

Congrats on the pounds lost, Jill - that's great! I don't think Howie and I will get a chance to weigh in tomorrow. He's getting a vasectomy (yippee! LOL) and we have to be at the surgery center for a 7:00am appointment. :mad: Early, early, early. Dang, did you know it can take several months for the last of the swimmers to be gone? No fair! ;)

Awww...jill...I know exactly how you feel...10 pounds on someone our size is not a huge deal, when it is to someone smaller...I will be happy to lose 30 pounds, then will really see a change...It can be very depressing, I know. But, just keep whatever you are doing up, in the long run, no matter how slowly it comes off, the point is, it is coming off...Sometimes, people who lose weight way too fast, end up gaining it right back anyhow, so just think of it that way...
And, Kimberley, I will look into your Blog, and kitty story too, and TY for the AHA info, I plan to look into that this weekend...Dh starts afternoons, and this is my hardest is when he works those hours.
Well, am off. Have got to get to my emails, my MSN mail is acting up ( when isn't it, lol) hagn all!

ooooh MY! Me and my big belly are here! I just had a HUGE lunch! Fast Fry steak in a chipotle tobasco sauce, and some peaches and cream corn, it was very yummy! I'm having a pretty good day, I got up a little late, watched some Ambush Makeover, and then had breakfast.. I even went for a walk!! It took me 39 minutes to go 2.6km's (or 1.6 miles), half of that is hiking up a mountain though. I am in such a cheerful mood! Dunno where THAT is coming from.. lol..

Jill - It takes most people a while to find the balance which works the best for them, I definitely am having a hard time with it. I do believe in that whole thing of having one meal a day being made up of fruits and veggies, but I think if you have a salad with some low fat cheese and a light salad dressing, that would still work. I find for me the key to losing weight is to drink 3L's of water a day, and eating tons and tons of veggies. My mom is a slow loser as well, and for the final week at Weight Watchers she wanted to reach her 10% goal, which was hard for her since she'd be losing about .5-.9 pound a week. She drank lots of water, cut out all bread (she's allergic like me), all sugar, and she added more cardio (she hates cardio and focuses on weights). Anywho! The point of my story is that she lost the 2 pounds it took her to get to her 10%. I think that was my point.. I don't remember anymore :( Drink Water! Thats my new point! Congrats on the 2 pounds :)

Kimberley - How many dogs do you have? I think I am equally a dog person, as well as a cat person. I've had over 6 cats in my lifetime, usually calico's.. although we did have one black cat with a white nose, she was SO cute. I don't think I've ever had a cat over 4 years ago .. they've all met a cougar/coyote and lost the battle. :( Now that I've moved to the city, I feel torn about having any animals, there just is no room for them to run around. It's all what you get used to I suppose, I've almost always lived on a fairly large plot of land. Your Hattie is very cute :)

I am having a hard time focusing today.. I've managed to just type and type and completely forget what I was talking about.. lol. I should get going, I am shopping for a wedding shower.. I am going to hit up Pier 1 as they usually have REALLY beautiful stuff, and great sales for the girl on a budget :) Have a great one :)

-Aimee