XTC2 (Ex-Thick-Chick Club)

Hello all....

This website changed my life. ( : Sounds overly dramatic, but it is true. I hope to look back a year or so from now and think, "I am forever grateful......"  Anywho, I think my favorite part of cc, aside from all the great educational information, is the overwhelming support and friendship I've found here. I guess most of my life I've only trusted and truly befriended a handful of unique women---I hold my friends in the highest regard and do not take camraderie lightly. The women I have met here are seriously my spiritual twins! I always felt very alone in my weight loss journey----no more!

That said, I think my cc girls, and you know who you are, are the best! ( :   My buddies, my pals, my soul sisters =P Chat away to motivate yourself and others! ( ;

~~Olivia

Is this legal???

I'm gonna post a copy of jenna's last post on the other forum, ok? (blush)

you'll do great no matter where you go!   and your efforts will definately sustain when you go back to school! I know it, you have this site and all of us and where would I be without your deliciuos snacking ideas, I'm even coming up with ones of my own now..  I just made lemon pudding (instant box) with 2 cups of cold vanilla soy milk.  4 servings - 75 cal per serving and am dreaming up my dessert for tonight, 1/4 fozen blueberries to that would give me about 94 calories!  wooo hooo.  even if I'm underjudging ( I have a hard time with the logging thing sometimes) 100 cal dessert w/ fruit instead of icecream = good enough for me!! 

I love love love to convert foods into how I cook now.  Z can never tell if I wouldn't tell him and I'm ALWAYS telling him because I get so excited about everything.   I weighed myself this am and I'm still only at 9 lbs lost, why won't that dang scale budge?  but finally people have been noticing, I guess my clothes are getting looser which makes me guess that I'm losing inches which at this point, at least I'm losing something other than my mind!  The beach is coming up and I do not feel depressed or anxious about it like I have for the past couple of years.  Only because I may not be at weight I want to be prancing around in the sand but I'm doing something to get there which makes me feel so much better than eating like crap and hating myself.  I like myself because I'm eating better and exercise is a priority so if I don't make my goal before I go, I know I'll make it at some point and I'm taking control this time! 

okay, sorry, just feeling really happy today and excited about what I'm doing.  And excited for all you girls as well!!  here's to getting healthy!  Well M is down for a nap now so I'm going to get a shower in and pick up 2 huge bins of socks that the cats knocked over last night.  how many cals do you think that will burn?  hahahaa. 

oh and PS! I've never tried the low cal cheesecake but I will add that to my list.  I found another one for frozen cheesecake bites on hungry girl that I also want to try and will report back!!  let me know when we make the site switch.  :)

I'm high school English, too...  ALSO TONS of typos!   (I do, however, actually KNOW the correct grammar if that meks it any better!)

But my "Do I have to go to the gym" was meant to be a little silly...  I've always wondered REALLY how much difference it makes.. even when I have a 1000 calorie burn day...

If I hadn't gotten off of my couch... I would have burned a whopping 112 calories in the SAME amount of time..  TWO HOURS...

..so yes... iI KNOW I have to work out :-)

AND thankfully my apt. complex has a fitness room with a couple of elipticals/a couple of recumbant bikes/a couple of treadmills that are adequate (but FREE!) and really good weight equipment...

I also have a LIBRARY of DVD's that I love... My mom has  a PRECOR elliptical just 30 minutes from here AND my gym membership is only $19.99 a month... so I"m something of a gym rat!

olivia: btw... I'm "nervous" about back to school, too... scheduling workout time, etc. has been soooooo easy with the summer... and not getting out of work until 4 or 5... if I have plans that night... I won't be able to workout every day...

On the FLIP side... I'll be moving around a lot more DURING the day...  and I probably won't obsess about food as much!!!

I sure hope you are right----!!!!!!   I will need some serious kicks in the butt probably when school first starts to get myself out there walking/jogging. I feel confident I can do the calorie counting and eating right. I've got that down pat----it's switching to working out at night that's sort of sucky for me.

I drooled at the thought of lemon--and then remembered I actually have key lime jello and soy milk I need to use up!  ROCK ON-- I think.  ANd I think your estimate for the cals sounds right and totally worth it!! ( :

I am a total food dork these days---I am always trying to figure out how to make it more healthy, lower cal, more vitamins/fiber, whatever. He looked at me like I was crazy for skipping on the rice they brought me at chinese today, but I just passed it over with a smile. I do not need it.... *break through*   Do you ever feel sort of like Helen Keller (only more talkative)???  (LOL) that was just wrong, but I can;t help it---I do!

I copied and pasted your post because I loved this line and it's the same way I feel! "I like myself because I'm eating better and exercise is a priority...........I'm taking control this time!"

Control is something I have always lacked in the past, and something finally clicked inside me. I do have control. It IS up to me. Food is not my friend. It is not the enemy, but it has no control over me.... Food can not make me feel better or fill up the hole that used to be at my core. I am happy now----there is no hole. I am worth it. I deserve to feel as beautiful and awesome on the outside as I feel on the inside. ( :   (may be my new mantra) It's what I might call the epiphany of my summer...

oh, jenna---taking a vitamin? fiber? I swear by my green tea for speeding up my metabolism..... I lost like 8 lbs in the first week I took them and I exercised the same.... ?

I want that cheesecake bite recipe when you make it if it turns out good ( ; These are cupcake size and can be as low as 20ish cals! I love em.....

What green tea do you do?  I tried Slimquick... which has green tea extracts... I DRINK green tea... just about two cups a day... THen I found this green tea pill with hoodia... just started it today... Who knows..

I'm on a "mini" plateau... I've weighed the EXACT same thing since July 20... I go up a pound one day... lose it the next... back and forth...

As YOU know... I KNOW I probably don't eat enough calories...  and if I don't lose by Friday... I'll up 'em...

and I am the world's most ANNOYING food dork... I really want to shut myself up... All I think is "Can I talk about anything else??/ ANything..."  I certainly wouldn't want to have a conversation with me!   That's why this place is soooooooo good for me!

that's awesome about your gym and all!

I got my green tea fat burner (yep, that's the fancy name) at WalMart. It has green tea, EGCG, chromium piccolinate and some other stuff... They say take 2 in the am and 1-2 more the afternoon, but I think that's nutty. I cut back after a couple of weeks of having a hard time eating enough, and sure enough, I was a little hungrier with only one caplet, so I take 2 but am extra careful to eat all my cals! (hey and seriously, let us know what you find out in that other post you did about that same subject---I'm super curious!)

I think if I know I have people here counting on me, I'll try harder to make myself exercise. I befriended a lady down the street for the sole purpose of walking her adorable, Benji look alike puppy. All I have to do is think about him on his chain, and I know I can go walk for at leasta little while. He is so much happier now with some regular exercise. And so cute anyway! ( :  When do you start back to work?

also tamara---just something to think about, but in cutting out almost all diet soda and coffee, I dropped the first 10 lbs really fast. I don't  even think I was eating healthy yet---not counting cals, so not really aware of how much, but trying to drink a TON fo water sitting around and walking like usual.  Try shaking up your routine and just cut something out. I find substitutes that make me equally happy. ( :

And sorry I wasn;t trying to be bossy with the gym thing ( : I didn;t recognize your sarcasm yet, new friend! = P  but I will...

No worries:

I just cut out diet coke this week... never have been a coffee drinker... so if I DO lose weight this week... I won't know if it's the diet coke or the green tea!  But I DO know I won't have to up my calories :-)

Welcome Tamara!  Give the rest of us a little scoop about yourself!

I didn't eat my snacks from this afternoon because I was so busy working on my test and work.  So I came home and we made spaghetti for dinner.  I odn't like sauce on my spaghetti, yeah I know I'm weird, but I like to eat the meat chunks in the sauce and tonight we put meatballs in.  I had three meatballs and 2 cups of pasta, which is a lot actually!  I love pasta, love love love it.  Sometimes I just need a good pasta fix to get me through for a while and then I'm good.  Oh and one keiser roll of garlic bread since we didn't have any italian bread on hand.  

So I guess that's about it for now.  I updated my ipod with a few great songs to walk to tomorrow at lunch!  I clocked it and not quite as far as I thought but a good 3.5 miles rount trip!

Olivia, I still can't get over that you mow the grass.  I told D and he just stared at me like "are you serious?".  And great job with chinese today, I wish I had your strength when it came to chinese and rice!!!

Oh, and tell me more about this green tea thing?  Are they pills or actual green tea?  I don't really like the taste of tea at all so if it's drinking then I'm out but if it's a pill, what does it do?

Ya know what? The mystery is a good one---and if you never know, you'll never want to go back to being a diet coke addict. ( : Sorry--I;m projecting---I was the diet soda freak. The sweeter, the better.

I find I enjoy my water with a little lemon and a packet of sweetener just fine.

I'll be very interested to see what comes of your experiment! ( ;

Mmmm... spaghetti... I"ve been craving it all week... Got this great new cookbook from the America's Test Kitchen people... I don't cook...but my husband does... so tomorrow it spaghetti and meatballs..

Okay, abbs me... the semi long version is on my profile (with pictures for proof!) I"ll give you the abridged here... but ask anything... and I will answer.

I'm 235 5;8 34 year old female, married, no kids, English teacher in Austin, TX

IN April 2004 I was 343 pounds of MISERABLE... I went on a VLCD (very low calorie diet)... all liquids... 800 calories a day... through a hosptial.. with doctors, etc.  In December 2004 (yes 8 months later) I had lost 168 pounds and was 15 shy of my goal weight.

Then, I had surgery... couldn't work out... up to 192... started online dating... met my husband... up to 207... freaked out.. joined weight watchers.. down to 188.. and then... for whatever reason... started gaining.  When I bought my wedding gown I was up to 220... for engagement pictures back down to 208... THen, I really LOST it.. by the wedding... back up to 226... that was February THIS year... and then

SKYROCKET... up to 256 in mid June!!! Uh oh!

I'm not quite sure what clicked on in my head...  but EVERYTHING is different this time.  Originally, I was going to lose it when school was out... but I laid around like a rag during the entire month of June...

but something happened at the end of June.. I'd just HAD it... I was "mad as hell... and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

and I no longer was really aiming for this "finish line" called goal weight...  it was a lifestyle choice...

right now.. I"m struggling a LITTLE with a MINI plateau... but I feel so darn good.. who really cares...

And that was the ABRIDGED version!   For goodness sakes I'm verbose!   Need a recovery group for THAT!

Tamara - Great job losing the weight so far and going to the gym! I'm glad things are different this time and you are kicking butt and having a great attitude! I think this is all about attitude change, I know I feel it too. I can't wait to have before/after pictues! Nice that you have a gym at ur apt complex, my friend does so I go use hers and her pool too!!

**NOTE girls: I took BEFORE pics this weekend - no bueno. I cried after, not good**

I'm super excited about my bro and HK. I really hope he gets on it, I think it'd be good for him. That was smart to have a calorie counter on while doing normal things to see how much cals u relaly burn. That was a reality check for me, so thank you!

Olivia - I think I'm too...uh, insert kind word for girlie or stuck up or ???.....for mowing the lawn, cleaning out the garage (TOTALLY DEATHLY AFRAID OF SPIDERS), taking out trash. I'm kinda a germ person, get grossed out by touching things, esp trash! I do carry all the grocery bags in and stuff unless A, being oh so sweet, gets to them first and doesn't let me carry them.

Abbs - Ur making me hungry for pasta and meatballs! Good job on dinner! Takin it one meal at a time, kickin food's butt!

Yeah, I don't have the heart to take the "before" pics right now, although I should beause soon I'm going to be in super shape!!  Anyway, Tamara, WOW, I just can't find words besides wow. 

Mama- don't you worry about those "before" pics beause you'll soon be on to the after pics too!  And that's so awesome about your bro!  I really hope he gets on, that would be so awesome!!!  Let us know when he hears more!

So tomorrow is the last day before weigh in, I thought today was Tuesday for some reason.  So one more day to eat healthy and lose a lb or two hopefully!!  Tonight I downloaded the new Finger 11 song Paralyzer and it just makes me want to get up and dance!  So I did!  And I got D to dance with me, even though we just pranced around the living room for 4 mins!!  It was fun!!  Everyone should download it and take a 4 min dancing break!!

Ok, just happy about my little danceing around like an idiot and getting D to do it too.  I gotta get back to my test, hopefully 7/10 by tonight, 5/10 right now. 

jo--I seriously think you are gorgeous. And maybe girlie, but not stuck up. ( ; I am a germaphobe too about some stuff, but after working with (in no particular order-lol-) school kids, dv families, MR clients, and addicts, I just learned to wash my hads a lot and keep on going. I have sanitizer + actual small good lotion, so rock on. 

I have to admit, I feel a certain sense of satisfaction from mowing. The yard looks awesome afterwards, and it feeds my instant gratification element nicely. I totally count it as exercise too, GOSH! (  :   (I do sometimes wish he'd do the trash, but it's a small thing.) ( :

I am drooling for spaghetti now.... wish I had a spaghetti squash. ) : None of the places I shop have had any this summer.

I got the ones I said from WalMArt---just green decent size gel capsules, easy to swallow. Have you ever tried Green Tea with citrus in the bottle? My mom gets them---I can not remember the brand.... I can drink regular green tea or the I think raspberry one I got with just sweetener,  but the citrus in a bottle has only 5 cals and is a nice change. Not to peer pressure you to drink or anything =P and dang girl---3.5 miles on your lunch break is admirable!!

oh, and lol---I would much rather have pigged out on buffet, but I know how it would make me feel and what I had was really good. I'm looking forward to eating it for dinner, maybe making some of my own brown rice, and ordering other things from the same part of the menu I did not know existed before today. ( :


and lucky tamara with a cooking husband!!!

1 - Walked a mile just now - BUT me and my co-worker decided that starting tomorrow we are doubling our walk (So from 1 mi to 2 miles)!! The one mile in 15 mins is too easy! YAY! Shh - don't tell the boss we are taking a 30+ "break."

2 - Got back and ate apple

3 - In MUCH better mood from this morning, thanks to all of you guys and for sticking to my cals/eating better today!

Abbs - Definitely take before pics, A made a good point that then I can look back and it'd motivate me to forever keep up with this!! I actually let him take the before pics for me, that was HARD. I felt so ugly and fat. But luckily he just hugged me and told me he loved me after...**crying now**

I love ur dance breaks, will do later while cleaning! :) GOod job on the test! Keep pluggin away!

Olivia - Thx for the encouragement, I don't think my face is bad looking, BUT that isn't what I'm seeing when I'm looking in the mirror - I see the rest of me, and boy is there a lot to see!

I can understand the gratification that hard work would give! Kuddos to you for doing it, and getting exercise along the way!

I think I'm having soup, veggies and few crackers for dinner!!! Hope you guys all have a good night, I know it's already getting late for all of you!

Go me for getting 8/10 problems done on my test!!  Only two more, one I have an idea on and the other I'm clueless, lucking D is a computer programmer so he usually can get me started and I take it from there.  How did I get so lucky to get the most awesome computer person?  He fixes pretty much everything on my computer and helps me with my hw, wish I could help him but until he takes a course in quantum mechanics or orbital mechanics, I'm not much use to him :P.

Anyway, mama- good job on the walk and having someone with you really helps.  I don't know if it would help but I know that when I walked with D the other weekend I kept one earbud in my ear so I was listening to music and him at the same time.  It really helped pass the time as I'm a huge huge music person, so I thought I'd pass it on.  Just make sure she doesn't think you're trying to ignore her or anything.  Unless you sercretly are!

Oh and I took the before pics and cried a little bit.  I couldn't stand to look at them anymore and hid them in a folder so D wouldn't find them.  He came up to see what I was up to and we took a quick(ie) study break *evil grin* and that made me feel much better because he told me he loves me after.  He's not big on the "love you's" all the time so when he does say it it means so much more to me. 

Chat with you in the morning!!

Alright ladies, off to hem my mom's pants before she gets here tomorrow!  All I have left before they get here is a mountain of laundry to fold/put away and clean the stupid bathrooms!!

Good Morning All!  I was just reading over some of the stuff I missed.... Did you know they have a name for walking/running/jogging???  It's called "wogging"  how funny of a name is that???  Makes me laugh... Just thought I'd share..

So last night I went wogging for a little while, but thought I was gonna die because it was so stinking hot outside...Ugh! 

And Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!

WOGGING????

(ROTFLMAO) for real---

I don't think I could retain my self respect if I told people I love to wog..... I'm a world class wogger..... Wanna go wog with me?

I -WILL- be working that into my vocab though---just to see people's faces! ( :

Thanks for the laugh, Jess--and happy Tuesday to you too! This time next week I will have just gotten in the car to commute 45 minutes to work/school for the first day with teachers. (yay--not!)

I am DREADING having to wog after work once I got back----- there's a big difference between working out at 7AM and 5 PM. ) : BUT I just told another bud in a bridesmaid forum that I was counting on you guys to give me loads of crap if I get all lazy when school starts----I MUST be serious about keeping it up too.... I told my bf he not only had persmission to make fun of me but that he SHOULD make fun of me and oink sounds and the lot if I do not go walking still a lot when school starts..... I did make sure the fun making had limits since I can be pretty hilarious without any help from someone else... LOL

Hope you got it all done (high five on 8 out of 10) abbs, and have fun with the parentals! We'll miss you until you return! I sure wish I got as many "study breaks" as you do! I used to force him every day, every other day, but man, I got lazy or something. I think it's awesome you guys are so "young and in love" as my mama would say. YAY for I love you too! John and I are constantly saying "I love you more...." or most or mostest or trying to top each other with the I love you google times infinity always and forever..... It makes for fun mock arguments we can make up after. ( :   I am ADDICTED to my new mp3 player, abbs! Fave groups/people, songs I should add, etc?  PS: what kind of programming does D do? J does too...... (are we like soul sisters or what??? And my own sister is such a bitch---what a shame)

I wish I had someone to walk with, mama! ( : It;s awesome you have a bud at work! I am sure you will look back on those pictures and be glad you have them, so you can show your one day children or someone special how far you;ve come..... I didn;t mean to simplify your self-feelings down into you have a beautiful face. You do----but joanna, I just think you have such a great personality too----it;s hard for me to realize you have the same/some of the same exact crazy issue with yourself as I do---- hard for me to look at the pretty girls around and come to terms with the idea that we all have our major malfunctions to deal with (NAME THAT MOVIE TRIVIA) I am really happier that you are happier, errr...were last night anyway? The time difference is weird on this end too-- lol

OH--Kathleen Quinlan running around nude--- in "The Doors," the Jim Morrison story with Val K... (  :   (one for me)

I am such a dork---I just thought, hey, I could start a movie trivia thread in the Lounge, lol

Wogging!!  That's a good one!  Gave me a good laugh!  It just reminds me too much of people waddeling around like penguins.  Short story, that's how my korean roommate walked!  She always walked with her head down and was really quiet but she sort of waddled everywhere and she was not fat at all.  She was a sweetheart but when I remember her she's all hunched over waddeling!

So yeah, gotta finish the last two questions today so I can turn in my final to him tomorrow, luckily he works with D so it's easy to get to him.  Oh, D programs in all languages, web, C++ (which he hates), C#, but java is his favorite!  His last job was programming the target destroy system for the Aegis destroyers for Lockheed Martin (althought he was a subcontractor so didn't actually work for LM).  He wrote the algorithm they use to see if the target is completely or partially destroyed.  But he took another job for way more money (and some other office politics reasons) and now he works on the SafeExit program in ballistics.  Making sure the plane and pilot are safely out of range to drop missles/bombs all that good stuff.  He's been there almost a year and they just won't give him work to do!  He's bored 70% of the day and the other 30% he's just doing little crap.  They give him an assignment and tell him to work on it for a week and he's done in 3 hours.  He's good. 

So today is his final and of course he didn't even start studying until last night and his is super hard.  I asked him millions of times this weekend if he wanted to study for a while and yesterday he watched 4 hours of tv and opened his books at 8:30, dork.  Anyway, he took off today to stay home and study and clean his crap from the fish tank up.  So I got up and was about to leave and remembered I had to mail two bills that I had all stamped and ready to go and laid on the coffee table.  So I go to get them....not there.  Ugh!  I looked around and didn't see them and wasn't about to tell D I lost them.  So I tore the living room apart looking for them.  I finally found them in a pile he made which is his way of cleaning.  Not putting crap away, putting it in a pile!  So I made a mess (a little dilbratly) and told him on my way out he needed to clean it up....again.  Hehe!  That's what he gets for staying home right?

So Relay for Life meetings are starting.  A little history on my relay story: My Grandmother/mentor/best friend died of breast cancer at 64 and it's still so raw inside me that thinking of it makes me hurt all over again.  It was so unfair because she is the most wonderful person ever and I'd give anything to have just a few more days with her.  Anyway, as you know breast cancer is hereditary so I got involved in the cause when I was in high school both Relay and Walk America.  I was very active.  Anyway, Relay was a way to throw myself back into life after my depression after my ex (Jess, check the other thread for history on me if you want the story).  I was on the committee and loved it, met awesome people (D) and supported a great cause.  So now that I've moved I decided I'm setteled enough to get back into it.  Instead of doing the smart thing and starting small, I jumped into the deep end!  I'm the co-chair and can't wait!  But I will be very busy with it and the planning meetings are starting soon.  I'm excited.  Something to focus on other than eating.  Anyway, along with that I'll probably be a team captain for my team company unless someone else volunteers (doubtful).  So the Relay is next year in August sometime and my goal is to be able to run half of my hour stints on the track.  So very slowly working up to it.

Well today no wogging (hahaha!) for me, it's already 94 and 100% humidity and yesterday after a great sweat started feeling a little woozy and think maybe the heat isn't good for me.  And I have a bunch of little errands to run today, bank, mailbox.... to get ready for 'rents. 

Jess- where in PA are you located?  I didn't recognize the town in your profile, I'm from Erie!!  Yay for PA!  That's where Jenna's from too! 

Alright, off to get some work done and then work on my test.  Stay cool!!  I meant that literally, not in the 80's way!

UTR: what do you do that you're on call?

Olivia: forgot to give you songs that I rock it to!  I love rock/alternative songs and ones that have a great tempo that really get my blood/lets going!  My usuals are lots of Limp Bizkit, yes very old but he just gets me all fired up and I get into his music.  My new ones are: Christina Agulara (sp?) Fighter, Kelly Clarkson Since You've Been Gone & Miss Independant, K7 Come Baby Come (pretty sexual but great beat!), Carrie Underwood Before He Cheats, Destiny's Child Survivor.  A lot of great post break up songs but I just love the women's strength in their songs and love the words.  I have a ton of others as I'm huge into music.

What do you ladies listen to when you wog?