elysianashes

I can't believe I have never come across this. This image makes me the happiest panda.

Definitely with you on this. Why is it so important to people that their kid never lose? How are they ever going to have pride in something they did well, if the kid who didn't try at all gets just as much praise? It just makes their hard work seem meaningless. I think it's setting kids up for something bad in the future…

The first week I started, I felt like I was going to pass out every day because my blood sugar was so low, and my stomach was growling every night. Because I was curious, I entered what I'd eat on a normal day BEFORE I started counting calories, and realized it was close to 4000. Dropping from 4000 to 1500 calories that…

Our baby girl just turned 9 months old. I realized one day that she's supposed to be trying foods from our plates, and with the crap we were eating on a regular basis, I didn't want her touching any of it. Then I realized that I've been wheezing every time I play with her or walk up and down our stairs with her, and it hit…

Oh, sorry! No, not at all. I think it's awful that people are jerks to those who are overweight, and there's never an excuse for that. I only meant that there are too many people who say, "How DARE you think that it's not okay for me to be fat! I'll be fat if I want to!" just because someone states that they prefer those…

Soooo first of all, you're obviously not the type of person I'm talking about, and second of all, I never said it's okay for someone to treat another person badly... nor did I suggest it. Perhaps I should have put quotes in there and reworded it as such... There seems to often be a mentality of "It's okay for me to be fat…

This is going to come off as harsh perhaps... I hope it doesn't offend anyone. I am saying this as someone who needs to lose a lot of weight, so anything that comes off as nasty to fat people also applies to myself, if that makes sense. 1. There seems to be this mentality that it's okay to be fat because people should…

Thanks everyone, very helpful! I'm trying to get him to join the site but in the meantime figured I'd ask this question for him :) He said these are really good ideas and he'll probably try the seltzer or seltzer/juice and the smoothies. He can have stevia but can't stand the taste lol. He sticks to making his own sweet…

No, I work harder in the bedroom because it's harder for me to move my fat *kitten*... oh wait, that's not what you meant...

I realize that, but it's also possible to put on muscle without losing much fat and still lose weight, specifically because of that... and if you put on a significant amount of muscle but aren't losing much of the fat, then you will bulk up and your measurements will stay the same. There are all sorts of possibilities…

Give me a barrel-chested guy, gut or not, any day. I love my tall, burly hubby - liked his type before we started dating and was perfectly happy that he happened to be that type lol. He's got plenty of muscle under a solid layer of fat and I'm okay with that :D

Wait... you're putting on muscle and wondering why you aren't losing inches? That seems self-explanatory to me... but I'm pretty new here so take that with a grain of salt lol.

"One time I teased a cashier that I was buying grapes so that I could teach my dog how to catch them while standing on her head and singing The Rain In Spain." "You shouldn't do that because when I was a cashier, someone brought in a machete and chopped off two of my fingers." Yeahhhhh. Moar stories plzkthx! Love this…

Dang, awesome job!

First of all, yes, please call a hotline or counselor. I know it's easy to reach out for help online, but nobody here is qualified to truly help you. Second of all, one thing I noticed was this - "I hate talking about it and acknowledging it because it makes me feel so weak and pathetic...." Turn that around! I'm not…

Oh! Here's a fun one... my aunt and uncle were visiting our family and we all went out to eat at a local pizza joint. As we were leaving, a lady was carrying a boxed pizza out the door at the same time. My uncle, being the joker he is, held the door open for her and as she started to come through he took the pizza from her…

Heh... I've kind of had the opposite happen. When I was in college I loved going out on our huge quad and flying a kite. I would get one of those nylon kinds with the 6-foot wingspan and put about 2000 feet of line on it, and when it was let out all the way you could only see it if you knew exactly where it was. People…

Hmmm... I think I kind of get what the OP was saying, and a few others have touched on it. For example, I'm 190lbs right now. My goal weight is 150, and if I am able to lose more that would be awesome too. So let's say I lose those 40lbs, and I'm sure people on here and in my life will be saying, "Wow, 40 pounds, that's…

Thanks for all the adds! And yes, I am definitely willing to hand out support - it's not a one-way street!

Well dang, apparently that was more off-putting than I expected! I really would like a few friends on here :)

Just had my first baby in June... I'm slightly above my pre-preg weight, but I was already overweight to begin with so I have a long way to go! You're all welcome to add me.

Well yes, that's why I was saying a tablet can be cut in half. In general the XR is a capsule though, so cutting it in half would dump all the contents lol :)

It's not possible to cut in half... well, I guess you could but it would be quite a mess haha. I didn't mean to cut the XR in half, sorry. You would just go down to one a day instead of two, then eventually one every 36 hours, then one every two days, etc.

For those who keep saying, "Oh, take Lexapro, it's better" or "Take Wellbutrin, Effexor doesn't work as well" etc. etc. - please keep in mind these are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DRUGS. That's the equivalent of saying, "I had heart disease so I took this antibiotic and it did nothing for me." Different people react better to…

Oh jeez, Watcher in the Woods! Wish you hadn't reminded me of that movie. It scared the crap out of me when I was younger. Watched it at a friend's birthday party when I was like 7... everyone else had fallen asleep but the movie was still on and I couldn't sleep so I was watching it "alone" and those awful mirrors just...…

The Others. I like to watch movies knowing almost nothing about them, so I had no idea what to expect. I made the mistake of deciding to watch it alone late at night while my (ex-)husband was at work. Not only that, but we had surround sound, so when there was someone running across the ceiling in one scene, I actually…

I was at a gift shop with my then 5-year-old niece when a very obese man walked past us. In her best very loud stage whisper, my niece said, "Aunt. Becky. That man... is FAT. He is OVERBLOWED." I don't think he heard her, but all the same I was glad it was obvious I wasn't her mom lol. My other niece and nephew (when they…

I've been on Effexor for about 6 or 7 years I think? I have problems with blowing through seratonin too quickly and I get irritable and moody fast. When I'm not taking it, I spiral really easily. Something goes wrong, and I can't stop thinking about how awful it is, and next thing I know I'm sobbing uncontrollably or…

I've been playing Skyrim on the 360 lately; was playing WoW before that. I don't really do much FPS on 360, I stick to my PC for those. Long-time RTS fan.

Usually I can tell if I'll be allergic to something because it's in the same family... for example, it's pretty obvious that I'm very allergic to all the "stone" fruits, while melons only affect me a little bit. I don't know if they're as bad when they're pickled - I hate vinegar lol. Re: the squash family, zucchini makes…