We went to the movies last night and I packed myself some carrot stick and hummus and a big bottle of water, instead of splurging on a bucket of popcorn and diet soda. You know what, I didn't even miss it. But I will admit to buying a package of peanut M&Ms, but I only had them after the carrots, and I only had 10. :-) I'm still hovering around 27 lbs of weight loss. Still working on the last few pounds. I fell off the exercise bandwagon last week, but I going to get back on it this week.

I had serious chronic fatique years ago after some health problems and too much bed rest for a high risk pregnancy. It took me years to come out of it. I don't know if your fatique is considered chronic fatique or simply a fatique that runs with fibro. I can tell you that exercise made me sick. And that weight loss and/or gain made no difference in my fatique levels. With that being said, you still do probably need to loose weight for other reasons. If you are already unhealthy, so to say, I believe serious aliments will hit you harder, etc. Loosing weight will also probably help with your mind set which can help a lot with health issues in general. Here are some tips I have for getting your weight down if you find normal exercising sends you into chronic fatique flares. Stretching: (See if you qualify for some physical therapy -bad knees, etc they should be able to give you streches to do which may not seem like much but may help you loose weight) Beginning Yoga: (Find a DVD --do only the amount you feel comfortable) Walking in Water: (yes, this is how I started, just walking, after a while I progressed to swimming while holding a board) Regular Walking: For some reason it took me while to build into doing this even in small amounts. It did seem to drain me a lot some days. If it's not too much for you, I think they key may be finding a friend to walk with so that you don't get into the "I'll do it later/tomorrow" routine. And, here's a funny one: Belly dancing. It works your core/center part of the body. If you have a lot of aches and pains elsewhere, this may work for you. It really helped me. I had a great instructor but there are decent beginning DVDs out there. And, do try to adjust your diet. Cut out sodas, as many sweets as you can, fast food, etc... It takes a little time, but once you start eating healthier your body really will start craving good foods and you will be repulsed by junk. There are so many really great tasting healthy foods out there; set your mind to trying something new (that's really healthy) everytime you go to the store. I think you'll be amazed at how good things are that you've never even tried. And, try making a effort to shop mainly the perimeter of the grocery store. Junk is often in the middle isles -try to only skim those or go into only if really needed. Good luck; you can do it!

I'm with those who've suggested creating a dual-purpose room. It sounds like you would use the crafting/project space, so why not set up half the room (or at least a corner) with a work space for yourself, and find some (gently used) fitness equipment your husband wants? Then you could see how you end up using the room before devoting more space than necessary to one purpose or the other. When I'm ready for another area to have to clean and maintain (which won't be for at least a couple of years), we'll finish our basement. We have the floor plan roughly worked out, and one room will be a combined fitness and project room. Right now the fitness stuff is set up in a corner of the unfinished basement and only sees use on the coldest mornings of the year, or occasionally when the kids are playing down there and it's too hot to run outside. I'm not sure it will get much more use even when finished as I'd much rather be outside moving around, but it's nice to have during periods of extreme weather. My sewing machine is now in a corner of our bedroom that's not ideal, but better than having it shut up somewhere. Projects end up all over the house, spread out in the living room or dining room. There's a kids craft table spackled and ready to be sanded sitting in the middle of the living room as I type. I know I would use a project space if I had a designated one, but the thought of having to clean (and decorate!) the basement when I'm still working on the main floors is too much for me at the moment.

For those of you who are interested, I've lost 80 lbs. It took me 1.5 years. I've kept it off for almost 2 years now. The maintaining is more difficult for me than the losing was. I went to a doctor who has the industrial style of the little scale Mtn recommended. It measures the fat, water and muscle. Tells you your BMI, etc. That really encouraged me. It also tells you your resting metabolism. I ate 500 calories a day less than what my resting metabolism burned, and I consistently lost 1 to 2 lbs a week. After about 25 lbs, I joined a gym and started working out, too. I never really felt deprived because I decided how to use my calories. If I wanted to splurge on something, I knew I had to give up something else. And I always have one Dove dark chocolate candy before I go to bed. I struggle with keeping the weight off because I still love food. I eat so much healthier now, but I have trouble with portions. I gradually eat a little more and a little more. That's why I weigh every day. I can't afford to let it slide. If the scale starts creeping up, I have to nip it in the bud immediately. I've lost weight on 3 separate times in the past, and always gained it back. This is the longest I've ever kept it off. Before, I started gaining it back almost immediately after I'd lost it. What started it all was that I found out I had a fatty liver. It scared me. I didn't really think I could lose it, but to my surprise, I did. After menopause, when I tried to diet, I felt starved and deprived, and then didn't lose any weight. I wasn't cutting back enough. With this calorie driven diet, since I ate what I wanted, I was in control, not some unseen dietician or author. But different things work for different people. Now I'm healthier than I've ever been, in better shape physically than I've ever been, and feel 42 instead of 62. Since I lost slowly, I lost primarily fat, and minimal muscle. And the gym helped with that as well. So take heart, if I could do it, you can too. And if you fall off the wagon, jump right back on. The longer you delay, the harder it is to get back on.