Telly

Yes it's official. Anyone can take over this thread.

My hairloss has subsided mostly but there are some days where it will come out loads! Some days, nothing. It's been wacky but my hair is coming back. I don't see areas where there is no hair anymore. Every area is filled and if i look closely.. I see tiny hairs coming in. Not even a millimeter long, but it's coming in.

Superb! Superb! You Look Awesome Girl!

7 mile run on my home treadmill at a pace of 3.5 - 6.0 variable, incline up to 3.0% 1 1/2 hour trudge *phewww* 450 crunches Sex .....hopeful

Wow your skin looks damn good in the surgical area. Healed up pretty nicely. I was very worried about that with myself but I am hopeful now. I love the fact that it will be in the panty line area. Aussie, I have a few questions for you if you don't mind: Have you gained Water weight? Water retention due to the surgery? Have your clothes felt tighter or now more loose? Does the area tingle? Numb? Is it painful to get up, in or out of bed? Lastly, are you caring for your surgical area with madera or some kind of scar ointment? If so, what are you using?

I will happily share mine with everyone when I reach goal weight, pre-ops for TT. Thank you again Aussiechick for sharing. Do you have recent skin pictures? I am just curious about the scaring, discoloration, blood clots, anything.

I think it's "May I help you?"

PhotoNut is no longer a member of this forum. She and Heathergurl started GFG. Hope that helps.

Ok Now I'm impressed!:clap2: You counter motivate me. You rock those lunges and 7 miles.

That's a great observation Wheetsin. JoJo, DonnaB & GeezerSue, Not that you asked but here's what I think: I DO think it's wrong for the assistant to have assumed JoJo was shopping for herself. Hurtful, but easy mistake. I DO NOT think it's wrong for her to tell you "we don't have your size" she was being honest regarding her assumptions:rolleyes: I DO think it's wrong to reference her the way JoJo, GeezerSue did. "Anorexic Waif", "Stupid, snippy salesclerks". I DO think it's wrong to degrade someone's job. At least she has a job. She may not be the best sales clerk but hey, carve her out of the equation of the unemployed, welfare community.

LOL Karik!!! You got it sister and 3.3 is plenty huff and puff if you have short legs, like moi. You go girl!

Ok calm down kiddo. Everyone deserves a benefit of a doubt unless they do something like call you names, stick out their foot to trip you up. Allz I am saying here is.. what if? Some people look at things flatly, whereas, it's either black or white, all or none. Try to look at it differently.

‘How to Lose 22lbs or 10kgs in 28 Days Without Starving or Training Like an Olympic Athlete!' By Stephen Smith BSc If you seriously want to lose 22lbs or 10 kilograms in 28 days then you must perform all of the principles exactly as recommended. Unlike the recommendations in my book, ‘Look good, feel great!', where you can pick the principles you want to use and ignore the rest and where you can even modify the principles to suit your lifestyle, these principles must be followed exactly as they are outlined. If you want extraordinary results, then you must be willing to put in an extraordinary effort! I realise that some people may be thinking, ‘But it is impossible to lose 10 kilograms of fat in a month!' I agree- it is! However, the truth is, it is impossible to only lose fat on any type of weight-loss program. You will always lose a combination of fat, Water, stored carbohydrate and some muscle. Furthermore, most people who want to lose 10 kilograms in the first place are generally retaining excess Fluid anyway, so a system that helps get rid of the excess fluid is certainly going to accelerate their results. Perform 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise morning and night. Yes, you read that correctly, morning and night- 2 sessions a day… every day! No excuses. We're all busy, we all feel tired some mornings, but if you're serious about getting amazing results, then you must be willing to do everything necessary. When we talk about aerobic exercise, we're talking about exercise! Not walking around the shops, doing the gardening or doing housework. It must be exercise, which means your breathing rate increases, your face goes red, you sweat, you get tired- simple! Some examples of aerobic exercise include: walking (pounding the pavement at a brisk pace- not dawdling), cycling (stationary bike is ideal), swimming, rowing, stepper, cross-trainer, aerobic classes, boxing, etc. Use ‘thermogenics'. There are several very effective thermogenic supplementson the market that can accelerate your progress towards your goal. Those containing caffeine, green tea extracts and an extract from a plant called coleus forskohlii are the most effective. They will boost your metabolismand promote the release of fat from the fat stores. ‘Scorch' by MAN Sports is a good example. It contains a combination of 7 powerful herbal ingredients specifically designed to boost your metabolism, burn body fat and increase your energy. Unfortunately though, thermogenics are not ‘magic pills'. You can't expect to take a couple of thermogenic capsules and then go home and eat pizza and drink alcohol and expect to get results. Thermogenics only work when their use is combined with a good nutrition and exercise program. Take 1-2 capsules twice a day; once prior to your morning exercise session and once with your lunch. Don't take them later than 4:00pm in the afternoon because they may keep you awake at night. Before using thermogenics, see your doctor first and obtain their approval. Do not eat anything for 30 minutes after the completion of any exercise. As a result of using the thermogenics combined with the exercise, your metabolism will remain elevated for some time after the exercise session is finished. This means your body will burn fuel at a faster rate than normal. Any exercise causes the body to use carbohydrate (muscle glycogen and blood glucose) as a fuel source. This means that after the exercise is completed the carbohydrate stores in the body are low and the body will be forced to use fat as its fuel. If a meal is eaten immediately after the completion of the exercise session, the blood glucose level will rise, inducing the secretion of insulin from the pancreas. One of the effects of insulin is to stop fat burning in the body. Therefore, wait 30 minutes (but no longer because cortisol will rise) before having your next meal. Perform a weight training workout 2-4 times a week. Lifting weights is the most under-estimated way to lose fat fast! Now, before you start saying, ‘But I don't want to get big muscles!' or ‘I don't want to look like a man!', consider the following. The main purpose of lifting weights when your primary goal is to lose body fat is to preserve the muscle massyou already have. You see, muscle is the ‘engine' within which the fat, or ‘fuel' is burnt and maintaining or even increasing your muscle mass slightly will help ensure your body fat is burnt off efficiently. If you don't lift weights, your body will quite happily lose both fat and muscle as you drop the kilos. Lifting weights forces your body to maintain your muscle mass, therefore keeping your metabolism elevated and turning your body into 24-hour-a-day fat-burning machine! Incidentally, it only takes two 30 minute sessions a week to obtain the muscle preserving benefits of lifting weights. Have 5-6 small meals a day. One of the most common strategies people use to lose weight is to skip meals. Whilst reducing food intake is certainly an effective way to lose weight, having fewer meals is not the way to go. Many overweight people say, ‘I don't know why I'm overweight, I only eat once or twice a day!' Unfortunately, this is exactly why they are overweight. Having a mild calorie restriction is effective because if you consume less calories than you burn each day you will lose weight- simple! However, skipping meals forces the body to invoke its ‘Starvation Mechanism' because it thinks it is entering a famine. As a result, the body slows the metabolism to preserve energy. It also increases cortisol output and cortisol is the most powerful catabolic hormone in the body, which means it goes around the body breaking down lean tissue, particularly muscle. A loss of muscle slows the metabolism even further. Skipping meals also results in an increase in appetite, which forces you to eat larger amounts of food when you do eat. In addition to all these factors, the body also increases the activity of fat-storing enzymes, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), so when you do eat the food gets stored as fat. All of this results from simply skipping meals! By having a small meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day, your metabolism stays elevated and your body will happily burn fat all day long. Unfortunately though, most people are conditioned to having large meals and they automatically assume they will put on weight if they have 5 or 6 meals a day. The fact is, the ideal portion sizes for most people are actually quite small and in order to lose weight fast it is essential that you never feel full from a meal but you do feel satisfied. Also, most people find it difficult to have a meal every 2-3 hours throughout the day because they are so busy with work and/ or family commitments. Here are some suggestions to ensure you get your 5 or 6 meals a day. • Plan and prepare your meals the night before • Use Meal Replacements (Protein shakes or bars) • Select foods that are quick and easy to prepare and consume Ensure each meal contains protein. Protein is a component of all cells and makes up over half the dry weight of the human body. Furthermore, the human body is a dynamic structure, which means it is constantly building up and breaking down tissue. Just imagine a bath full of water. At one end of the bath the plug is pulled out and at the other end the tap is turned on full. The water level in the bath doesn't change but there are ‘new' water molecules entering the bath and ‘old' water molecules leaving the bath all the time. The human body is exactly the same. If the body breaks down more tissue than it builds up, then it is said to be in a catabolic state. This results in the metabolism slowing down due to the loss of muscle tissue. Having a portion of high-quality protein every few hours throughout the day provides the body with a constant supply of amino acids- the building blocks of the body. This prevents the catabolic state, promotes an anabolic state (tissue building) and therefore keeps the metabolism ‘fired-up'. If only carbohydrate or fat is consumed for a meal, for example a piece of fruit (carbohydrate) for the mid-morning meal, then the body will still enter a catabolic state because it doesn't have the building blocks (amino acids) to re-build body tissues. Protein, as its name suggests, is of primary importance. Reduce your intake of high-density carbohydrates. Most high-density carbohydrates like bread, Pasta, rice and cereals cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. This invokes the release of insulin from the pancreas, which in turn stores the glucose. The body stores glucose in the muscles and liver as glycogen and once these sites are full, the remaining glucose gets stored as body fat. Not only this, but insulin also stops the body from mobilising and utilising fat for fuel (burning fat). So if you want to maximise fat loss, you need to keep insulin to a minimum and the best way to do this is by reducing your intake of starchy carbohydrates without cutting them out altogether. Cutting them out totally is a philosophy of many low-carb diets on the market. However, these are very hard to sustain long-term and may lead to nutrient deficiencies. Each day, have a small amount (1-2 serves) of high density carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, cereals); a moderate amount (2-3 serves) of medium density carbohydrates (starchy vegetables and fruits); and a large amount (5-6 serves) of low density carbohydrates (fibrous vegetables). [For a complete list of carbohydrates, see pages 136-138 of the book, ‘ Look good, feel great! ] Do not have a Treat Day. Since you are expecting an extraordinary result, it is essential that you put in an extraordinary effort. Accordingly, for the next 28 days you must follow the plan exactly as it is outlined without deviating. This means you can't allow yourself to indulge in any ‘forbidden foods'. This also means avoiding alcohol for the entire 28-day period. I know this may be hard for some people but let's face it, it is only for 28 days! By committing to the plan and disciplining yourself to see it through, you are ensuring that the results will follow. Plus, the disciplines you create to help you achieve your physical goal will have a ‘carry-over benefit' to other areas of your life as well. I wish you the greatest success in achieving outstanding results! * Before using any nutritional supplement, speak with your health care professional.

Plans today 3 mile jog/run home treadmill this am - @ a pace of 4.5 - 6.0 (variable) incline 3% Gym - Lower body day 5 minutes Treadmill, cardio warmup Leg Curls - 15 reps, 3 sets - 40lbs Leg Press - 15 reps, 3 sets - 40lbs Abduction - 15 reps, 3 sets - 60lbs Adduction - 15 reps, 3sets - 40lbs Calves - 15 reps, 3 sets each - 60lbs Squats - 15 reps, 3 sets each - 50lbs Lounges - 15 reps, 3 sets each Abdominal machine - 15 reps, 3 sets each - 100lbs

Thanks guys. I'm happy.

*use emoticons so your eyes won't get so bored* JoJo, I've been on both sides of the fence with my weight, (from skinny to obese and now somewhere in between) and in my opinion, obese people are treated very differently than normal sized people therefore I can understand how you were feeling about what she said to you. Don't get me wrong, I know there are quite a bit of people in the world who would love nothing more than to call you out on your weight. Some people really do just HATE HATE HATE obese people and target you just b/c you are heavy. I used to chat in a weightloss room on yahoo and more often than not, people would come into the chat room and abuse everyone that was overweight saying fat jokes and yelling, "STOP EATING"...etc. It hardens you over time. Abuse like that can make you a really paranoid and defensive person. Nowadays, I really try my very hardest ..not to assume I know what people are thinking when they say what they say if it comes out in a negative way. :huytsao Everyone has a filtration system. When we hear something, it becomes absorbed and we filter it. I could have filtered what the store clerk said, the same way you have JoJo, however I would also throw out the "What If she really meant ..or what if she was really just trying to save me from embarrassment by letting me know up front that I just won't find clothes here for me"..... just to give everyone the benefit of a doubt. If that clerk was a teen then you have to take her age into consideration. In my opinion, (my son for example) they just haven't experienced the world enough to know the consequences of saying things that may have hurt or have a negative effect on people. Obesity had made me a very paranoid person:paranoid . I always thought everyone's eyes were glued to me when I would attend family functions, shop for food, eat at restaurants, etc. I felt my every bite was recorded in the eyes of the people around me. I would get quickly defensive if my weight was ever subject or target of a conversation, like shopping for clothes or hearing that I looked like I've gained weight. If I browsed a Junior size rack of clothes 4 months ago and was approached in the same way as you were by a store assistant, you bet I'd respond defensively without recourse. I would have responded that way only because of my insecurities of being obese and the need to protect my feelings. But now that the weight is coming off.. I don't think that way anymore. My confidence is back:clap2: . I don't know if it's the fact that I'm no longer paranoid about what people see me as or if they really do treat you differently when you are normal in weight or close to it. Either way, my obesity/protection/barrier/insecurities shield has been retired and now I don't see skinny people as being so cruel and evil anymore.

Plans for today - COMPLETED ALL Cardio 6.5 mile walk/jog/run combo this am Floor exercises Leg Lifts - 50 each leg Push ups - 50 Scissor legs - 30 ABS Zoning tonight Twisting Crunches - side obliques - 50 Abdominal Crunches - 400 - done at 3am, still counts as yesterday Isolation - legs - 20

LOL Leener, it's normal for me but not for you I don't think. Friends say they eat 3 - 4 bites of food and they are done. That's supposed to be good restriction

Oneflew, Jogging 3 miles is motivation to me, even music to my ears. 4 miles of walking (briskly) is even better. Pretty soon you'll be reporting 10 mile walks without sweating or even being tired. In the beginning of my biking regimine, I felt like I was going to die just biking 6.5 miles. Sometimes, I would just conk out on the sofa, dripping in sweat and scared I was going to suffer a heart attack. Now recently I did another 35 mile bike ride, pulled into my driveway and checked myself. There was not a single drip of sweat on my face, neck or chest. Not good. I should have peddled harder till I broke a sweat. Info for those who may not know: Walking 4 miles briskly, arms swaying - is the same as running a mile very hard. Running a short distance is great calorie and cardio worker, but walking briskly for longer periods of time provide more benefit to your overall physical fitness. It will condition your body, along provide you with all of the cardio challenge and calorie burning you get from a quick run/jog as well as increase your endurance. Also too, it's a good thing to constantly challenge yourself. It's not highly effective to walk at a pace of 3.0 mph on your treadmill every day for 15 weeks. Do your body right and see maximum results by just simply, increasing your incline and pace by 1.0 each week or every few weeks. Stop wasting your time! Lastly.. if you are at the gym and you look over and see a girl walking on a treadmill next to you, avidly reading a magazine.... she's not doing herself a favor. In fact, she's wasting her time. You should be huffing, puffing, sweating and flustered if your butt is on a treadmill. That's how you know you are in the cardio and fat burning zone. That's how you know you aren't wasting valuable time.

LOL Karik. I suppose if you lift her and lower her 10 reps, 3 sets (total 30) then yes Welcome Karik and welcome again Myiv4life. I'm expecting to see some great things from you guys.

A trek bike for $30???? Sheesh!

Paula, I just felt that lately, I can't freely express myself anymore. Just a private thing.

I could never come over to the dork side. The force is weak.