Shinyhappymommy

Way to go, Angie! That is so awesome. That's great that you got a picture of you about to finish. Woo hoo!

The challenge is for 12 weeks. It's actually online and open to anyone, so if anyone else wants to do it, contact me and I'll get you the info. Hey, Angie. Nice to see you again.

I thought we could have a thread specifically for us to introduce ourselves. I'm Melissa. I live in rural Kansas, but will be moving by the end of the summer, hopefully. My dh is going to be transferring within his company. We've been married 11 years. We have three kids, two girls and a boy. We both served missions to Germany (nope, not where we met), so that's fun to have that second language in common, though we don't speak it nearly enough. I'm going to be 36 this year. I've been heavy pretty much ever since getting pregnant w/ dd #1. I gained weight continually until I reached the 300 mark and then stayed there for a few years. That's pretty much where I started the LapBand journey from. The band has been such a good match for my body. My weight loss has been steady and I haven't had any complications. I'm so grateful for the blessing it has been to me. It's truly an answer to prayers I've been offering for years. Looking forward to getting to know more of you. Melissa

I'm very excited because next Monday begins a challenge I have joined with a group of ladies from my church. There's even a cash prize for the top 3 scorers. Here it is: Daily Habits Each item is worth 1 point, with a possible 10 points per day 1. 7 hours of sleep 2. 48 oz. Water 3. 45 minutes of exercise (not necessarily consecutive) 4. 2 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit 5. No soda, beer, wine, unhealthy Snacks, or bad fast food [anything FRIED] 6. No sweets [Desserts, pastries and sugary snacks & cereals] * sugar-free alternatives are ok 7. No eating after dinner/8pm 8. 15 minutes of scripture reading (or other spiritual text if you don't do scripture) 9. One journal entry (any length) 10. Express sincere appreciation or praise to your spouse (if single, to another person) I like that it's not even focused on poundage lost, just on developing healthy habits. These are all things I think are worthy of forming into habits, so I'm wholeheartedly going for it. I'm going to go running today. Soon in fact. So I need to get my butt off the computer! :thumbsup: Have a great day.

I'm here. Not doing a whole lot to report on. Not a lot of exercise the last few days. I'm in the middle of making two pretty big cakes for Friday. I'm having fun with it. No house news yet.

I'm bummed. The rental house we're supposed to be moving into has sold. So we are again without somewhere to live in a month. :thumbup: Off to look at homes with for sale signs.

Yes, baby steps! I have had two days of good exercise. I ran yesterday and walked today. My eating has been pretty good, but not perfect. It's been a very long time since I was anywhere near perfect on my eating. I've realized that I am probably acting like I'm in maintenance as far as eating and exercise goes, rather than still pushing forward to lose. Not sure what to do with that realization just yet, but it's good to have realized it. We're awaiting some severe weather this afternoon. I love the excitement and thrill of the thunder and hail, but hope there isn't any crop or property damage.

Oh, Ezma. I'm crying for you. I'm so sorry for your pain. I'm glad you're back here for some support. I love these ladies and am glad for this board.

Jaime, I know my sister had some pelvic displacement after childbirth and chiropractic took care of it. Good luck, I hope it's successful. I have been learning a new skill: rolled fondant cakes. Here is a couple of pictures of my first real attempt.

Thank you, Tap.

I had a rough day yesterday. I started my period. I had really thought I was pregnant. (And yes, I want to be.) I also started packing to move out of this house that I really, really love. I just felt so drained and weak. I just didn't have it in me to go running. So I asked hubby for a hug and to come on a family walk with me. We walked about 1.5 miles or maybe a little less. It was better than nothing. At the end of the day I realized that the way I was feeling yesterday strongly resembled how I feel when I have depression. I do not like that at all. When I started thinking it through, though, I realized it was very healthy and normal to be feeling down with all I have had going on: My husband has yet to get the transfer (after a year of thinking it would be any time now), we have to leave this home, my weight loss has slowed down considerably and I'm not even pregnant. Phew. None of these things are earth shattering or devastating, but all together it is wearing on me. So I went to bed earlier than normal, got up earlier than normal and made sure exercise was a first priority today. I went for a walk/run that was about 4.25 miles. I ran two of those miles and briskly walked the rest. I do love walking. It is such a powerful feeling to me to pump my arms and walk. I started getting nervous about half way through my run because I didn't have any sunscreen on and I was starting to get burned. I worried about my face because I've been using an acne cream that specifically says in can increase the risk of sunburn. But, I think I fared okay. I'm slightly pink and there's no pain yet. I weighed myself after my workout and I'm down 3 pounds from my ticker weight. I'm not going to change it just yet, I want to make sure that's for real. But things are going the right direction. If I continue to make choices that lead me toward being strong and on the right path toward healthier living, I will get there. It may take a while, but God-willing, I have a long and happy life ahead of me.

I need to get in the packing stage! I have only picked up boxes and arranged for some of our services to be changed. Today is the day to actually get started.

I pooped out and didn't exercise yesterday. I'm going to try again today.

Small victories over time will mean success. I like that. I'll have to remind myself of that often. I'm down another pound today. We'll have to see if that sticks. I totally forgot to exercise yesterday, but when I looked back over the day I realized there wasn't anywhere that it would have fit, except if I had planned for it and done it at like 5 a.m. or something. I plan to go running this afternoon. I'm having a good day.

Weighed this morning. My weight is back down two of the four pounds I'd been up. That makes me smile. Hope everyone has a great day!

We had a good weekend. We went as a family on Saturday to the gym so we could all exercise. My back had been hurting, so I wasn't planning on running. We decided to play basketball as a family. We did a couple of dribbling drills down the court, then a race to make a basket in all of the 6 hoops. I ran a couple of races against my kids. I actually worked up a pretty good sweat. Some teenaged guys came in so we had to only use half of the court which slowed us down fitness-wise a bit, but we had a good time. Then, while I was waiting for my husband and daughter to finish their game of pool, I decided to go walk on the treadmill. Of course I couldn't help myself and ended up running anyway. I went about a mile. At the end I of my workout I like to push it as fast as I'm comfortable. For the first time I pushed it up to 8.0 mph. That was fast and fun! It was a good family workout and I love getting my family involved in fitness. They love it too. Here's hoping this will be a great week for all of us. I hope your fill is just right, Tap. How is everyone else doing?

Oh wow! I want to lose three pounds, even in the next month would be nice. I'm stalled.

Yes, running at the gym, not outside. Brr! And wet. It will be a little later today. I was told by my surgeon to weigh every day for the rest of my life. As long as I'm either maintaining or losing it's fine, but when my weight starts going up, it really freaks me out. I just need a break from seeing the numbers and put my energy into making better choices. Ideally we start over every time we put something in our mouths, but so often it's a whole afternoon, or a whole day where things can get out of control. I have consciously taken a day or two at a time off and decided not to worry about what I'm eating for those days. (Usually holiday related.) Like I said earlier, sometimes I get tired of the fight and I just need a break. I can't let that turn into more, though. I will need to keep this fight up for the rest of my life, I imagine.

We're having lots of rain today and maybe tomorrow too. It sure beats snow! I need to go running today. I will have to be smart about my day in order to fit it in. I didn't do it yesterday. Just didn't feel like it. Doesn't that suck? I need more motivation! I haven't weighed myself since Tuesday. My weight going up was stressing me out and I just don't want to see it. I'll make myself do it on Tuesday, but I doubt I'll do it before then. (I'm normally a daily weigher.) Have a great day, you guys.

Yes I did run yesterday. More than normal because I wanted to watch the whole American Idol results show while at the gym. So I ran 2.5 miles and walked probably another half a mile or more. Felt great. Yesterday I was in the kitchen trying to entertain my 2 year old as he was whining in the high chair. I started doing jumping jacks which he loved. I kept doing them and realized they were surprisingly easy. I kept going until I had done 50 of them and could have kept going for another 50 I think. Very cool NSV.

Jaime, I'm so happy to see you post on this thread! I'm glad things are going well after your surgery. Keep us posted on how things go at the doctor's. Thanks, All, for your kind words. I need to go running tonight. I will hold myself accountable to y'all.

I'm feeling blah tonight as I need to drag myself to bed. I didn't exercise today and I ate way too much crap over the weekend, bleeding into the week. I made some amazing sugar Cookies and they are still in the kitchen, driving me crazy! Maybe I'll send them to work with hubby. I'm feeling tired from this battle with cravings and food choices. I am not feeling strong right now and it's just been hard lately. On a happy note, we found a nice rental to move in to. It's the same situation as this house, it will be on the market, subject to being shown and sold. We will have the freedom to move when we need to because hubby is certainly going to get that transfer at some point. Anyone? It's got to happen eventually. Ugh. Anyway, I should probably post when I'm in a better mood and not so tired, but hopefully you guys love me anyway. :wub: 'Night.

Hubby did not get the position, so we're staying put for now. Well, moving across town, but staying put on a broader scale. Next week the search for another rental home commences.

I think the random musings thread was meant to be the master thread, but you've got a really good title going here. :thumbup: I guess we'll just see where people end up posting. Key here is that you guys post! Hello out there?

Tap, I sent you some recipes. My weight is still up. It's at 199. Ugh. I don't want to see that ugly 2 again until I am pregnant and then it'll just have to be okay. I do graze. It's been a lot worse than it has been lately. I suppose I just need to make the decision (again) to not let myself snack. It's not a hunger thing. At least not physical hunger. I guess the hard part of this whole thing is that what has been working doesn't always keep working and we have to make adjustments and eat better to get the results. I'm a stubborn woman.