Hi Michelle -- you little cutie pie you! Congratulations on your wonderful work, and thanks for sharing with us! Donna

Oh, Toni! ((hugs)) Please do not let finances keep you in an abusive situation. There are programs out there for battered women. You need to tap into your city/town resource pool. They will point you in the right direction and help you get the assistance you need. One thing is for certain: You deserve better and you can leave. You can! Please don't let your decisions be tainted because of the financial aspect. There are grants and programs out there specifcally for women in your situation. Take advantage of these programs until you can get on your feet. Please let us know how you make out! Hugs, Denise

Jeannie- While you're thinking about it, sit down and make a good list of protein-rich things you like to eat. If you have trouble thinking up any, come back and we'll make suggestions, or you can go to the main board and look at one of the "What are you eating" posts for suggestions. Make a list of YOUR favorites and be sure you are stocked up on them. Make it hard to "forget" them. Write your list in big letters in marker and post it on the fridge and the pantry door. When you feel like munching and munching and munching some more, work your way through the protein list. The protein-rich foods should satisfy you quicker and keep you full longer. Second, try to puzzle out what's happening for you from suppertime on. Are you more stressed out? Are you bored? Are you doing things that trigger eating (watching tv, surfing the internet, whatever it is for you)? Are you making up for something you missed eating during the day (my dietician is big on this theory-that maybe you missed your fruits or veggies or something vital and your body is driven to compensate)? Take a look back over what you've had and see if something was missing. Third, find something to do in the evening, out of the house and preferably in a place that has no food. Take a community education class. Join a knitting circle. Find some organization that needs volunteers in the evening. If you have a gym membership that's gathering dust, go to the gym. Even if you just go and sit in the hot tub or the sauna, you've missed an hour or two of munchtime at home. Maybe once you get there, you'll feel like 20 minutes of this-and-that. The most important thing is to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and away from the munchables. It's hard to find somewhere to go, but even if you just get a couple of nights a week out, that's better than nothing. As for exercise, stop trying to walk. It isn't working for you. Clearly it just is NOT your form of exercise. Try something else, like roller skating or yoga or tai kwon do or lawnmowing. Always planning to go for a walk, when walking isn't your thing, is like planning to make lima beans every night because you know you need a vegetable (bad analogy if you like limas, which I definitely DON'T). Aint I just FULL of advice. Now I need to take some of it myself. *rolls eyes* Hang in there and keep doing the water and the good stuff. The weight is coming off at a HORRIBLY slow pace now for me and for most of us. WE CAN DO THIS!! Hugs, Susan

Maybe part of the problem is that you are not getting full. Are you eating dense protein at meal time? Getting full at meal time on good quality protein seems to help me. I also try to stick to the 2 hour rule - once I eat, I can't eat anything else for 2 hours. I can drink lots - herbal tea, ice tea, sugar free cool aid, sugar free jello or popsicles are OK too - just nothing else. It is also a good time to take a walk after meals, to get your metabolism up and your mind off food. Good luck - I know it is hard! Terri

How's the pregnancy going? The weight gain? Boy or Girl? Name's yet? ect., ect., ect!!! We want details! Any other May babies expecting babies?