That's fantastic Tisha! PG, I think it's inevitable that you'll fall off the wagon periodically. The important thing is that you get back on. I'm slowly plugging away at it, too. Although now that it's end of term and things are getting hectic, I've been skipping the gym more and more.

That's why I'm up at 7AM to get my email "stuff" out of the way - so I have time to make it to the gym :)

Ya' know, you guys are an inspiration!

I can't recommend my latest diet strategy, which is getting 16 teeth pulled at once. I DID loose a significant amount of weight, and have managed to keep it off.

But, hey, Tisha. YOU, my girl, have done Magnificently Well, and I hope that family members (and Keith) have noticed just how MUCH work you've been putting in!

I struggle mightily with the water issue. I've recently gone back to work full time, lost my computer, rebuilt my computer, had a few other bits & pieces challenges, no life-changing ones, but the stories I've read here girdle my loins for the new year. I get my full denture set in a few days (I hope) and I can say, that things like this and a tricky gag reflex, and continual things in your mouth all the time really DO affect your appetite.

I have greater hope for my New Year. I thank YOU, Tisha, for this effort, and bringing it to the fore of my consciousness. This is an important part of my 'adulthood'. I hope every one else is have such a great time, doing the measuring thing, and keeping track.

I ended up in the ER June before this, and had to learn all over about Diabetes, how to treat, how to eat, how to administer. Who knew, after 20 years being insulin dependent, that I really had no training, no clue, and things ahd changed SO MUCH!

So, how about it for the Skinny-With-In Girls, and their recent changes. I'm sorry, I don't qualify. Even though I lost weight, the latest visit shows me up in poundage.

Did I mention I've been working full time, for a company I love and am hoping that will buy out my temp contract? Nope, but I am.

Thanks ladies, for going to all this effort, sharing, and the truthfulness of it all. I know, on another forum, when I posted my weight, even though I was still losing, it was an intimidating situation. My posted weight is more than you stated when you started out, Tisha. So, no, you are never alone, no matter what you are doing.

Thanks for the commraderie! Keep up the Good Work!

Just wanting to congratulate everyone on their weight loss---claps from the peanut gallery!! While I have never had problems with my weight before, my husband and I have just hit our mid-thirties. Now all-out WAR must be declared before our waist-lines get out of hand (and it seems eating anything other than celery causes poundage like never before). So I thought I'd share one of the cutest poems I've found about dieting----hope you enjoy:

***********

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the
Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red
vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and
Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man
said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some
sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.

And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that
Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and
sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island
Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman
unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in
which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and
chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more
weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and
said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's
Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those
extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not
have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried
before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.

Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with
nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy
center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his
appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger.
Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size
them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest. God
sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

Then Satan created HMOs.

Oh my goodness---the poem I posted is already on this thread! How crazy is that----guess it's a small, small world. Sorry to put you through it twice. Do keep up the good work though!!

Tisha~ How's the weight loss going???

I wish I would've checked out this thread when I first saw it. Maybe I wasn't ready. But looking in the mirror makes me sad & want to be ready.

I love the My Virtual Model to see what I might look like to others. No wonder they think I weigh less. It's my height & build, & possibly hair style & length that throws them off.

I'm going to give walking/running a try & this time keep up with measuring my foods & keeping a journal. I lose patience too fast.

Not much. Especially not this summer. All of the house buying stuff took over and with the whole "no food in the house because we haven't taken the time to go to the grocery store yet" eating out, I'd say I've done good to not gain a million pounds. LOL

Thanks for asking though. Maybe someday I'll get back with the program.

Does stress prevent or make you guys eat more?
Since I had the problem with my son, starting last Nov, I have lost over 30 lbs..At first it wasn't bad but now I'm terrified. I cannot eat. I wish I was a bit overweight and dieting, trying to lose it. I won't even get on the scale anymore..I weighed myself last Tues, and found I lost another four lbs..That ruined my day..
My vise is smoking..If there was a way to even cut back I would..Is anyone here a smoker? Tried or have quit?
If so, what did you do?
I'm thinking smoking and eating are two disorders we all try to overcome, but it's not easy.
My friend eats more when she's stressed..I don't understand how she does it..she'll munch on an entire roast at one sitting..she's 5'0 and almost 300 lbs. She talks about losing wt, even tells me to yell at her while we're talking on the phone and she starts talking about food. But if I say anything, she gets pissed off. So, I've learned to keep my mouth shut.
What do we do? Toni

Well, I'm down 30 lbs since June 12th, when I also quit smoking. I did it by starting out at doing cardio & weights 5 days a week but went to 3 when 5 started burning me out, & counting calories & weighing/measuring food as well as getting in 8 if not 12 8-oz glasses of water a day.

The hardest part has been the last 2-3 weeks when hubby came back from Iraq. When he's around, I eat like him. He's constantly snacking, & he eats heavy whether at home or at a restaurant. I think in the 20 yrs we've been together, he's gained 20 lbs. GRRR I think I gained that in our first 2 months together! DOUBLE GRRR

I have a bit more to go than what I've lost. I'll then see if that's where I want to be.

Congrats LibbyLiz! That's awesome!

Tisha,

I shoulda knocked on wood because I've been stuck on a plateau since posting! WAAAH

Toni, emotional eating has always been a problem for me. I ate when I was stressed, sad, anxious, mad, happy, pre-menstrual. Whatever. I ate big portions, too. I slowly packed on 30 pounds over the course of 3 years. I just got tired of being sick and tired of looking at myself like that. I joined WeightWatchers on October 19th and to date have lost about 9 pounds. Besides the weight loss, my energy level is picking up and I feel so much better about myself. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I should have lost about 10 more pounds by the end of the year, so I'm really looking forward to that! Going into the new year 20 pounds lighter- yeah!!!!!

It's something about the way women handle stress that causes us to tip to either of the spectrum: eating too much or eating too little. Toni- try to drink Ensure or something similar until you get your appetite back. You don't want to get sick from not getting enough nutrients.

Tisha- try changing your exercise routine. Your body has probably gotten used to being worked a certain way and refuses to cooperate any longer. Shock your body by doing something completely different. It will work, promise.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

I've been taking the Dr Max Powers Burn for two years now. It was recommended by my doctor after I stopped smoking and gained quite a bit of weight.

I lost 60 pounds but also dieted vigorously and exercised regularly at the gym on the treadmill for 35 minutes. Also, not only fried chicken and fried food have fat. Any kind of red meat has fat content. Rule of thumb for me is if calories from fat are high, I take a pill with the meal. This Dr Max Burn is a lifesaver but it only works with diet and exercise.

Hey I actually lost 50 LBS at this weight loss clinic in dunwoody ga and now it is a new year. I am trying to find others out there looking to lose more weight and keep each other motivated. Thanks

Kim, that's awesome! You've got a great attitude!

Thanks, purpleinopp! Im trying to get fine for this summer! LOL

You can do it! Do you garden outside also? I'm realizing the past week how out of shape I'd become the past few months. The activities of trying to straighten/maintain the yard, and get back to decorating with annuals, new propagations, moving the house plants around and repotting, has been a great crash-course, as usual, in fitness. Anyone who has the opportunity, get out there and do some serious gardening!

Gardening also keeps my mind off reaching for my comfort food, usually ice-cream and chocolates, when I am stressed. And you are right Purpleinopp, the lifting and moving of pots is another good form of exercise. But when I hit a weight plateau, I reach for Prescopodene. Its very effective in curbing my appetite and boosting my metabolism without any nasty side effect.

Advertising of ANY KIND is both prohibited & unwelcome here & will likely be removed.

I don't know that anyone was necessarily attempting to plug a product so much as relate an experience...but Karen makes a solid point.

People have tried to be sneaky and promote their businesses here at GW before and were promptly banned.

It would be a pity to lose privilege on accident. ...Still one can't be too surprised when a weight loss product is mentioned on a thread about losing weight...not too sure where to draw the line.

Did you note the day the person joined; appears they only joined to plug the product?

I'm skeptical, if it were an individual simply wishing to share, they could have relayed the experience w/out the product name & suggested anyone wanting further info. can email 'em privately.

Ex: On my thread above abt having quit tobacco, that's just what I did. Tho' not plugging any products, I left it as, anyone wishing support in that endeavor, feel free to contact me.

And here I thought you did that on willpower alone! ;)

Hmmm...didn't look at the time they joined when I'd posted last...that is pretty suspicious all right.

Speaking of plugs,Karen you wouldn't mind putting in your two cents on the "less controversial" video? I wouldn't expect comment on the other "video" thread...seems it' s a bit too dark(even if I don't think so)to bother a gardener's gentle disposition.

Sometimes I wonder if anyone even comes in here.

...Glad to see you though! :)

"And here I thought you did that on willpower alone! ;)"

I DID do it on will power alone (5.5 yrs. now!!!); unclear what/why you're teasing me.

Not sure I want to even look -- I haven't looked at either the 'controversial' one or not.

Few if any folks come here it seems to me -- can you tell how quiet & bored it must be at my job for me to have sauntered in here?

Didn't mean to pick on you Karen...was just being playful. :)

The less controversial one is a clip of an unusual dolphin from south america...I don't know....maybe you'd be less bored if you watched it. :D

Either way I'm glad you popped in(I'm bored too lol). :)

OK to tease, no problem (but let nothing interfere w/ my HUGE pride in having stopped smoking cold turkey after 42 yrs!!!)

I watched abt 2 min. of it & wondered if perhaps it needed audio, which I can't turn on here.

I will say, nice swimming dolphin; looks like he's chillin'. Tho' the site's in Spanish, I grew up in Brazil & as such am a tad familiar with The Amazon; at least enough to know it has some AMAZING things in it (including apparently, fresh water dolphins).

Will check it at home in case the audio's worth hearing.

Nahhhhh the audio is just music so you didn't miss anything.

You had mentioned in another post having the ability to speak portuguese which of course led me to wonder whether you'd picked it up in the old country or the new world,and although I have no issue with portugal(heck..never been there!),I'm excited to find(what I kinda suspected)that you didn't just live there for a year or two but in fact GREW UP there!

OMG like...a million questions...BUT,..I don't know if Tisha's thread is the place to have that chat...we are WAY off topic here(even for the "off topic" corner of HP! lol).

If it's okay with you,we can resume the conversation on the post with the video.

See ya there! :)

Tisha seems to be gone from here a couple of yrs. now, so likely she wouldn't mind our conversing on her thread here.

Ask away:

the Intro is this, yes I grew up in Brazil (toddlerhood to age 10) & that's how/why I speak Portuguese. Portugal was the colonial parent country to Brazil & it's a situation parallel to that of the UK being colonial parent of the USA & thereby the place of origin of our language as well.

By the way,..congrats on STILL not smoking. I vaguely recall you posting about it somewhere...probably here now that I think about it. I myself have quit for brief periods of time but nothing like you have accomplished.

Really impressive!

So Tisha wouldn't mind us using her thread for our own purpose?...Yaknow..I believe that...she always was pretty easygoing when I think about it. I guess she doesn't come here anymore huh? seems like you are one of the few survivors left hanging on since the old days. What the heck happened? Is anyone else around that I'm just not seeing?

So many previously CORE members gone!
At this rate I'd be hard pressed to recall their names.

We'll get to the Brazil stuff in a minute...right now I value your perspective and opinions concerning why the heck everyone left.

Please tell me you're just in lurker mode and that you didn't go to disney. :(

Not really lurking, was just finding it (1) too unpleasant to stay & (2) other than that, not a lot going on there (Houseplants or C&S).

That Thanks Meyer Mike thread (the one that got problematic) has devolved into personal shopping plants btwn 3 people, I can't see any reason that's on thread, rather than private EM except newbie Rosey doesn't know any better.

I'd started to write you a note abt 'MrL's comments & for you not to be hurt by them for me. But when he got on to make personal attacks on me AFTER I apologized, I reported him. Personal attacks are not OK.

I'm just happy you are still here. :)

Well thanks AITG, I DO appreciate you saying so.

But tell me pls. (I'm very curious), what do you think I did that was so bad, bad enough to get me banned?

I remember the days before ivillage and seem to recall spike being a bit overzealous about moderation(and even now you can google his name and see what ex GW people have to say about him...It's not pretty. Anyway I'm not really sure if the style of moderation has changed so when you went quiet the next day I feared the worst.

I've seen people banned here for some pretty dumb stuff. :/

From one person's perspective it could be construed that in saying that it is "sad" to promote weakness in females,what you were actually saying was the OP's position was "sad" and that therefore the OP herself was "sad". May seem like a bit of a jump but I bet many would react defensively when told that their behavior was "sad". IDK just thinkin outside the box a little is all and only trying to help...after all...you asked. ;)

When I say that I've seen people banned for dumb reasons I might just be speaking from personal experience.

At the risk of drawing unnecessary attention to myself....do I seem familiar to you Karen?

Do I know you under another name? I HAD felt at ease & quite comfortable w/ you until now.

Noticed how very spare your Member Page is.

I wondered after writing if you'd feel free to speak openly while on GW. About the misbehaviors, it wasn't me doing the screaming in block caps, posting emoticons that took up whole pages & throwing tantrums & hissyfits, oh & trying to order people around.

Forget I posted any of that.

This post was edited by asleep_in_the_garden on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 16:34

Awww Tisha, Cena, Fishies.. I miss them all! I was super active and I remember both you, AITG, and PG. But you may not remember me :) I wish I knew where some of the old members went. I know where some are-- others seem to have dropped off the map.

Well, hmm, weight loss. I need to go running and do some weight training again. I just love cake too much and keep gaining!

Nice to hear from you Julianna (I think I remember your name), but those others folks are gone for years now. Just Cena once in a blue moon shows up at Hoya Forum.

Maybe Julianna, you could clear up the mystery of who Asleep in the Garden is.

He likes to asks lots of questions but rarely answers questions asked of him. When I answer his Qs, then he's off to the next questions; frustrating & sometimes makes wonder just what is it he thinks he has to hide?

Do you recall his posting under a different name? He's alluded to such but won't actually say. Perplexing.

If I know, time has removed that memory from me. I looked at some of my old posts, and I call him Asleep back then too in 2005. So not sure! I wasn't very active on the conversational side of things until 2004/2005, so I missed a lot. I also wasn't part of the original Garden Party group, so some of those things escaped me.

I do know there was a bunch of people who were Disneyed at some point, and several of them showed up in off-GW reunion sites like Delphi... but I don't recognize Asleep from there :) Sorry!

Well thanks for trying. I'm not familiar w/ Delphi or reunion sites.

Some folks went to a particular other place, but I didn't care for it so have stayed here. I do 4 Plant Forums & the Quilt Forum too.

Still a pretty cool place.

So ... what'ya been doin'?

Ahh. Several people formed a new Garden Party, but it was spelled with an "ay" at the end at Delphi :)

I didn't know you quilted! I kind of got into it last year and started making several. Right now I've stopped piecing quilts and decided I am gathering pretty vintage sheets of floral designs and doing whole cloth quilts in addition to some other fabrics.

I'm working on my doctorate now. We're possibly moving to Jordan this next summer. So I've been working on collecting all the plants I want to bring. Got permission to import them :)

Are you still doing a lot of house plants?

Hi again Jullianna,

So I tried logging into Garden Partay, but I couldn't find any active plant discussions, humph.

Yes, I quilt, long time now (my Member Page lists my blog addy if you wish to take a look at my work). I've never done whole cloth quilts, but usually find them, quite interesting to view.

Good luck on your doctorate (may I ask the topic). Importing plants to Jordan, that sounds impressive. Special plants I'd assume. Do you speak Arabic?

I take it AR is Arkansas? What kind of plants might be worth taking to Jordan (fascinating idea).

Yes, I still do lots of plants, mostly succulents & Hoyas & Sans.

Yes, I haven't been there in a while and I think a lot of people have since split off there as well.

I just peaked at your blog-- wonderful work! You mention that you worked as a color forecaster. What is that? I've been on the fringes of interest in fabrics and I often notice that I don't find what I want-- color or pattern-wise, but sometimes I can wait 2 years or so and the things I like start to show up. Kind of annoying though lol. Other times, stuff I like was only run for a short while and I think it should have gone on longer. I guess my tastes are out of step with the market.

I'm getting a doctorate in Heritage Studies which is sort of an interdisciplinary Anthropology/English/History degree. I'm looking at preppers/survivalists who prep for heritage reasons.

LOL well the plants may not be that special, but I have some heirloom plants like my Schlumbergera x buckleyii that my great-grandmother moved from Germany, and other things like AVs, Begonias, as well as cacti and succulents that I can finally set free. The market over there is limited, and so it's hard to say what will be able to be found. I don't speak a whole lot of Arabic, perhaps enough to get into trouble. The area my husband's village is in is by the Galil.

AR is Arkansas :)

Succulents are the best! I have one hoya and 3 sans, but I like them a lot. I've noticed I seem to like things that either have interesting blooms, blue/green or lavender colors (like echeverias or graptopetalums, etc), or big leaves.

Gosh I miss the old days. I don't come here often anymore because I don't really have houseplants anymore (just a couple of Hoyas I keep out in the sunroom) and spend most of my online time on Facebook now. I also just had my first baby (Valerie) in July. :-) So she keeps me busy. But I miss it hear a lot. And I think of everyone often. A while back, I managed to find Teresa (the one who had the little girl, Celeste, who was disabled) on MySpace. But that was a long long time ago. I often wonder how Celeste is doing. I'm so very sad to hear about Nigella's passing. Larry_b messaged me and let me know. I'm so thankful to him for that.

Tisha!! I am so glad to see you here! I often wonder about Teresa and Celeste as well along with everyone else!

I didn't know Nigella had passed away! I am kind of shocked? I haven't opened up the forums in a month though, so I probably missed an obvious announcement. So sad.

Hi Tisha, Julianna,

Sorry to hear of the death of your friend, I can't seem to place or remember the name (Margaret or Nigella).

I think she was more into the yard gardening than house plants iirc.

Margaret was from Mobile, AL. There, yard gardens have the same plants that we have in our homes. She was definitely into what we all here refer to as houseplants.

Larry

I remember Nigella/Margaret. Her zone was "steamy" something, right? If I'm remembering correctly, she quit in a snit when ivillage posted something about owning any pictures posted on GW. I hated to see her go. She seemed to live in a tropical paradise of foliage (note my zone) and shared it with us, via pics. Sorry to hear of her passing.

And I remember all of you, except julianna, but I haven't been around this forum in years so probably just timing.

Nice to see you all here.

I was on GW from 1999-the iVillage changeover, then again from 2004 or so-2007-- at least fairly regularly. Then I think that I've been on and off here and there ever since.