The past few days with no posts at all I was afraid we were done for!I know it's hard and everyone is so busy, but let's try to keep this group going. We need each other. I need you!

I've been having some rough going with my eating--I can't seem to find anything I like, everything tastes like ****. The only thing I care for is toast. THAT's not gonna work!! Marion

Hey gals! I kept checking back and nobody had posted and like Marion, I thought we were done for! I also hope that we keep this going, I really need supportive people around me....and this is the best group of girls on the site as far as I am concerned.

I finally lost 2 pounds....holy crap it took me like 3 weeks to do it. I havent been exercising as I found out I have mono and was told not to exert myself so that I dont run into problems with my spleen. I know that I have stopped losing thanks to no exercise and I am getting kinda down about it. Things at home have been kinda rough lately as well, which doesnt help things. Dans grandfather passed away on Tuesday and my sister in law had her baby yesterday and I have been working every night this week taking care of a woman thats dying of pancreatic cancer in her home (7p-5a). Needless to say, I am EXHUSTED. Hopefully things will start to look up here. This too shall pass.

Congrats Vanessa on finally being in the "teens"!!!! You are doing so fantastic and with school and everything else going on, you really deserve a pat on the back!! Big hug for you honey, keep it up!!

I know what you mean about everything tasting like crap Marion. I know it seems impossible, but once you have been eating it for a while, it will all start to taste good to you. Have you tried eating some of the weight watchers food? Their bagels, english muffins, cereals, and desserts are GREAT! I am a fan of the skinny cow ice cream sandwiches....I have one every night. How about fat free pudding with ff cool whip? Thats also a great snack. I have been making receipes for my crockpot as I have no time to cook before I go to work. Most of them are GREAT and then offer some nice left overs for lunches through the week. Let me know if you want the link. They are based on WW points but have the caloric intake on them too so I just use them with my calorie counting. Its really all about finding stuff that you like that will help you succeed. For me, I am a snacker. So finding 100 calorie snacks was my life saver. I have goldfish, pringles, cookies and ritz cracker packs they were the only thing to keep me going!

I talk to you later girlie girls. Ciao

Hi All.....
Thanks for the pep talk, Morgan. Sure, please do send me the link. I'm always looking for recipes. And PLEASE REST!!!! Mono is nothing to fool with or take lightly.

Yay for Vanessa, our "teenager"!

I think I'll make some hot cider (sugar free, 15 calories). It's a nice bedtime snack--soothing and satisfying.

See you later. Hugs. Marion

I hate to start this out like this, but this is probably my farewell note to you all for a while. We did buy a house and I have started the new job. Things are really tight right now, and I just can't afford another bill. I have used all the 'free' offers that I can for internet service, so I guess until we can get on our feet again, I will have to sign off for a while. I want thank you all so much for being there for me when I needed somewhere to turn to instead of food. Thank you for the inspiration and laughs you have given me. Hopefully, I can come back after a while, and still see you all around here. If I don't, my best to you all. I will miss your friendship, but will remember you always!

I am sorry to see that we have fallen off the wagon... (posting wise)... We had a great thing going but life happens. I will tell you that I think that I am going to be around A LOT more now....

I had another bout with my back which caused me to be hospitalized for a week. I am waiting for a call from my neurosurgeon in the morning to see when we can do another surgery.

Things were going so well with my weightloss and the working out until about 2.5 weeks ago. Since then, EVERYTHING has been at a standstill because I am on "bedrest"... (as you see it doesn't keep me from the comp..lol) but, I can't work until after the recouperation time (which LAST time was 9 weeks...) I am pretty much done with school for this school year.... Seems strange that I don't have to go back to school for te rest of the year....

Anyway... I hope to hear from our Mixed Nuts a little more... I am going to try to be on here more (in the next 2 weeks or so) IF you guys have moved somewhere else... Let me know....

Talk soon???

Hello everyone...I'm still around and doing great...I've joined a gym and go almost every day for abot 2-3 hours so my spare time has now disappeared...I will try to come on here more...I also lost 2.4 lbs this week...It's my best loss yet so I guess the gym is helping.

Deanna- sorry to hear about your back...Hope every thing is better soon....Let us know what happens with your surgery..

Wileyb - sorry to hear your leaving for a while...Hope to see you back soon

Morgan - glad to hear your scale is moving again...Sorry to hear your sick ...Hope you get well soon....Just take it easy and you'll be back working out again soon...

I'm glad to see everyone slowly coming back around. Seems like we might have lost a couple of the ladies, but we arent dead yet! Lets keep this going and hopefully they will come back once their lives get a little more normal again.

Sorry to hear about your back Deanna...please take it easy so that you will heal well. We are here for you if you need us!!

Congrats on going to the gym dgpebbles! That takes a ton of motivation on your part and its great to be so devoted to this life change that you are making! Keep up the great work!!

I am going to do my first day of exercise this morning once the babe falls asleep....I have to admit I am not looking forward to it, but its time to get back on the bus and get this weight loss moving again!! In a few short weeks, my April Fools Goal needs to be met....Just a few more pounds to go! I cant wait to hear back from you guys, its nice to see the forum moving again.

Ciao Chicas....keep moving, we can do it!

I want to preface this by saying....sorry for being a downer momentarily.

I just finished exercising....and while I feel great now, I felt so crappy about myself while doing it. I started with just a crunch dance video thinking that maybe I dont want to start right off with Billy Blanks and get discouraged. I kept catching a glimpse of myself in my living room mirror and I have never felt so disgusted!
Its like, when I was 60 pounds heavier I never really realized how fat I was until I looked back at the pictures after I had lost some weight. Now, I am eating very well and havent strayed from my diet but I have stopped exercising....and my body just feels like one big blob. I wonder what other people are thinking while looking at me when I cant even stand to look at me. I feel like I should be exercising all day long to get my body back to what a body in our society should look like. But, while I am exercising and trying to do what I should do, I am completely disgusted and unable to keep pushing myself because I cant stand to see myself in my work out clothes anymore. Does anyone else have these problems? I know I am having problems at home and may just be overly emotional because of those, but I am taking it out on myself and my body image. I know this is not healthy. I know I need to change how I feel about myself but I dont know what to do to be okay with what I see in the mirror. Any suggestions?

I feel like I just want to crawl into bed and stay there for days....and I cant because I have responsibilites so I just keep pushing myself and pushing myself until I spontaniously implode on myself. I just got the wake up call that I have needed for a long time. If I am not happy now with myself, how am I ever going to be happy 20 pounds, 30 pounds and someday 60 pounds from now? I cant just expect that losing weight will change how I feel about myself.

I would love to hear what you all have been doing with the emotional part of this....I think I have the food and exercise aspect down pat....but its my brain that I havent learned how to change.

Hi all- sorry for my temporary absence but I was on vacation and didn't have internet access. I did VERY well with my eating (not so well with the exercise though to be honest). I weighed in today at 216.5 pounds. I am ecstatic.

Morgan- sorry to hear you are having a tough time. You amaze me girl...I am impressed that you are focused at all on trying to lose weight with everything else that is going on in your life. You are truly an inspiration to me. I can't say that I have been having similar thoughts to you but I have in the past. I think I focused too much on my weight and not enough on the other aspects of my weight. Now that I have finally stopped thinking "when I am thinner I will feel better about myself" I can finally focus on everything that constitues me. I try to focus on my relationships with others, my work/school, mental well being...as well as many other things to gauge my self-esteem. I truly believe I am much happier and content in my own skin when I don't concentrate on only one aspect of myself. I have found it helpful to write a list of everything I love about myself and my life...I also include things I am actively doing to change the things I am not so happy about...because as long as I am trying to better myself I can be positive about my life. If you need ANYTHING, let me know. Sometimes it helps just to talk(write) it out.

Donna-great job chicky!

Deanna- sorry to hear that you are feeling so great. I am sending you big get well wishes!

WileyB- sorry to hear you won't be with us...but I wish you continued success with your weight loss battle!

Well, I have to study for tomorrow's test so I will have to catch up more later. I am hoping to at least be able to check in one more time this week....but school has been getting busier and busier. I will make sure to at least drop by once a week.

Best luck to all my fellow mixed nuts!

Hello all,

I am sorry I have not checked in lately. Well I started that Medical Records job. I liked it at frist but thought I would stick it out untill it got better. My father in law got sick and was in the hospitial. He was told he was going to need a heart transplant. A hour after hearing that he passed away. He was only 54 years old. I then quit my job. To be there for my mother in law and my kids. Then we found out my 8 year old daughter might have ADD I am having a hard time dealing with all of this. When it RAINS IT POURS! I have found my comfort with food. I know I have gained weight but still having a hard time getting my self back to exercising. I have all of this stress that I am dealing with and food to turn to. I am so worried my daughter is going to be held back. My kids ask when is Papa comming back. I hope this group is still going. I need my Mixed Nuts!

Hey Anske...... glad you found us here. I'm sorry about all the things you're having to go through.

Yeah, food can be so comforting. I've been munching too much lately. Water and carrots just don't do it.

I don't know where everyone is...hope they are still with us!

Time for meds and bed. Talk to you later. Marion

Oh Anske, sounds like you are having a rough patch right now. Sorry to hear about your father in law. Its hard to have to deal with death especially with young kids, they just dont understand.

My father in law has had 5 heart attacks, 2 bypass, only has 20% use of his heart and just had a defribrilator put in....he still chooses to smoke, eat like crap and dump half the salt shaker on his food. Hes 50 and I doubt he'll see 60. Its tough watching the family watch him die a slow (self induced) death. I cant imagine what they will do when he eventually dies. I dont know about your hubby, but heart disease runs in mines family. This alone, is motivation enough to eat right and exercise.

I dont know if you watch Oprah, but she had a special on the other day about cardiovascular problems. Basically the Dr. said that 1 in 2 women will die of a cardiovascular related problem (stroke, heart attack etc). Wow, how powerful! If for nothing else, try to snack on healthy foods for your heart.

I was a comfort eater though, so I def know what its like. Your doing fine, this will all pass, and you will get back on the right track, I know it.

In regards to your daughter, just remember that there are services available and of course medication to help with ADD. Also, keep in mind that ADD in children is commonly misdiagnosed a large percentage of the time! Arent children supposed to be active, outgoing, imaginative, and curious? Young children, between 5-10, arent typically overly into schoolwork and classroom time because they are gaining social skills and figuring out how to make and keep friends. Your daughter may indeed have ADD, I just hope the individual diagnosing your daughter isnt just the teacher. Research research, educating yourself is the best you can do right now. Good luck hon!!

Chio for now gals

You're so right, Morgan. It really bothers me when I see how people abuse themselves with terrible eating habits when their health is at stake!

As for this ADD, sure some kids have it, but the minute any child shows any extra energy everyone screams "ADD!!" and trots out the Ritalin (or whatever they use now). When I was a kid no one had it and we were all kept too busy. We also had gym, recess with games to burn off our energy. We played outside--didn't sit for hours at video games or all that crap kids have now. Sorry for the soapbox, but I blame a lot of the behavioral problems on all the technological "wonders" children are obsessed with instead of good normal play.

Food. Such a basic need and such a huge problem! With our problems--depression, stress--it comforts, but then piles on the pounds that cause us to feel more depressed and lower our self esteem. Yarrgghhh!!! What a battle. I'm not going to be defeated. We can do this! Let's do all we can to support each other. I'm here for you.

Well. Friday tomorrow! I have a doctor's appointment (checkup). What are you all doing for the weekend?

Time for meds and bed. Ttyl.

Marion

Hello ladies ..just dropping in to say hello and let you all know that I'm still here...running late today so I will try to come back on later.