Susan, Sounds like you have a good plan of ACTION this week. Hit that gym. It will make you feel good physically and mentally. Take an hour or so and think of nothing but getting it done! Hugs, Valorie

awwwww thank you Val! How R you doing? Back at work 2 day?

HI everyone, Well, it was a hectic week for me with the last week of tax season. We got Wednesday off as a firm holiday, but I spent my day running around to dr. appointments all day. I also had a massage, but it ended up being an "owww" massage more than an "ahhhh" massage. I'm still sore in a couple places. He said I have REALLY BAD knots. No duh! Big news last week is Henry got his license and we got another vehicle. So now he is not dependent on me for driving, or on the bus. He is still not licensed to do electrical work, but his apps are in. We are just waiting on the state to do their paperwork so he can take his test. Then, once he gets his license, he can go down to the union hall and start working. The hall is clear across town, and bus access is horrible, so it would have been very hard for him to get any jobs because it would be late by the time the buses got there. So we really needed a vehicle for him. I'm so happy for the additional freedom. It will take some getting used to. My stats this week are up one lb. I'm at 115 lbs. and feeling good at this weight. I'm still scared I may gain a bunch more, but so far this seems fairly easy to maintain. Now on to the questions. 1) I guess I thought my feelings about food would be as they really are. I've gotten to the point where I don't obsess about food anymore and whether I should put it in my mouth. I can pretty much eat anything, which is more than I thought I would be able to. I'm still not hungry hardly ever, so I mostly eat because, well, it must be time to eat. I don't know how much of that is a function of my two surgeries and if I am more like 5 months out or a year and 5 months. 2) I am still not where I want to be with my physical activity. I thought I'd be WAY more active. But I did have a glitch that kept me down for months that I never would have foreseen. 3) I thought I would adjust from my "fat" mentality to a "thin" mentality and I think I've achieved that. If I hadn't gotten so sick, though, I don't know if I would feel that way so strongly. 4) I thought I would feel better about how I look in a bathing suit. And if I hadn't needed my second surgery, I think I would be happy. But with what my body went through, I have alot of sagging still, in my backside, and now this horribly ugly scar all down my front. I just don't know if I will ever do anything to fix it surgically, so I'm working on the mental side to just accept myself instead of being disgusted by it. At least I am alive, and I'm grateful for that.

I had a pretty good weekend. My sister and brother in law came Saturday for a few hours. It was pretty nerve-wracking for me and my Mom but we got through it. She was actually dreading them coming! Me too, for that matter. But Saturday night my boyfriend and I went to dinner with friends and that was nice. Sunday, my brother and sister in law came for Sunday breakfast and stayed for a few hours. We had a really good visit. They plan on coming every Sunday for breakfast because that's what we used to do at my Mom's house until my sister started going downhill so bad that no one wanted to go there. Sad. Anyway, my nerves seem to be settling down some so I have been eating a little more than I was last week. I wasn't able to fit in any exercise last week but I plan on getting back to the gym this week. For the question: 1) I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be a size 4. I still don't believe it but that's what my clothes say so I guess it's true! 2) I want to and have been much more active and try to think of physical things I can do now instead of "easy" things to do. 3) I actually feel sort of good about my body for the first time in my life. Yeah, there are things I don't really like about my body but for the most part, I think I look pretty good for being 42. Stats: Starting weight: 233+ Last week: 135.0 This week: 136.2 Gain: 1.2 BMI: 21.2? Have a great week! Susan

Hi Deb, I hope you figure out the reason behind the headaches soon! That is great that you had your test so if you RMR was 1440 what is you BMR - how much do you use on a daily basis living life? how many do you burn from exercise in a week? glad you have a plan for exercise this week ... now stick to it girl !!!! hugs and CONGRATS onm your 1 pound! Hugs, Britt