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Old 08-30-2001, 05:17 PM   #1  
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Hi, Turtle Buddies,

Here it is - my "official" version of the fable:

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about two years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to learn in order to not only lose the weight, but keep it off and become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Happy turtlin', everyone!

Lin
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Old 08-30-2001, 05:46 PM   #2  
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Hi, Turtles,

Kimmers, there are no words to express how your post made me feel. I'm so sorry about your loss.

OTOH-congratulations on finding and qualifying for that house. It will be ready for that family, when it finally happens.

It's amazing that you can do WW with all of these changes in your life. Here's the closest thing to a hug I can give you from here-- {hug} !

Lauren, your comment about it being a happy kind of grief when your kids grow up and leave is true. At least in terms of my oldest son. I'm not dealing quite as well with my youngest son because he's barely 17. I know that he's living in a family situation, but I really wasn't ready to let him go yet. If it were next year, after he graduated from high school, I'd have been able to deal with it. He's coming home tomorrow for the Labor Day weekend. I'm looking forward to having him here for a few days.

It's interesting about your body fat going down. All that exercise is paying off. The pounds themselves will come down, too, I'm sure.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your meeting. I like to read what people are talking about in their meetings. It gives me things to think about as I consider how I'm making this journey a part of my life.

Judy, good luck with this coming school year. What grade do you teach? I had thought about becoming a teacher when Chris was in kindergarten. I chose not to because the bureaucracy drives me crazy as a parent. I doubt I could manage to work under the conditions you guys are stuck with and it's getting worse with all of those new standardized tests being forced on everyone.

Your meeting topic report was very interesting to me. It's the story of my life right now. I keep going back and forth about what I want to do with the next half of my life. It's a broader perspective than what WW was thinking about, but there it is, nonetheless. I'm so glad for so many things ijn my life being fixed. The rest of my family seems to be doing really well. Now, I have to get a handle on the best way to spend my time or I will go crazy, drive my dh crazy and be worse off than I am now!

It all really boils down to that same thing that's been a sore point since last November. I want to go home. But without doubling our family's income, that's not going to happen. So, I have to figure out what to do with myself without moving. I can't do a lot about the cooking thing because I haven't been able to find a job. The CIA requires specific types of work experience and I haven't been able to find any in this area. I'd need to commute to Monterey or the Bay Area. That's not going to happen unless I manage to get a car.

So, I'm looking and if I find anything, I'll go for it. In the meantime, I'm continuing to write. That keeps me sane. And maybe I'll manage to make it through a whole book and figure out how to make it saleable. If the quality of writing I've been seeing on the web sites for writers is any indication of what gets sent to publishers these days, I can see why getting published is so hard. I wouldn't want to have to read that stuff, either. So, I understand why publishers don't want to see work from people who aren't represented by agents. I'm not worrying about that, though. I just want to stick with one story long enough to finish it. My brain tends to come up with ideas for one story for a while and then it comes up with ideas for another and then it starts a completely new one. It's frustrating to have that as a natural way of working because it seems like nothing will ever be finished. But I'm hanging in there and working a little bit here and there, looking for whichever of my ideas will stick in my head long enough to get done with that first draft. And stuff gets added to one story, then another, eventually one has to get enough stuff added to be finished, right? LOL!

I'm still debating about doing a web site. I have time, but I can see that a successful one can take over your life. I keep reading about the problems some of the people who have large sites go through and I'm not sure I want to do that. I probably won't unless this forum closes down and the Turtles need a new home. I'm not willing to give up my turtle buddies, either.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 08-30-2001, 07:19 PM   #3  
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Kimmers, here is another {{{{{HUG}}}}}}. How heartbreaking. I have a few friends who've also gone through that experience, and I've seen how hard it can be. Even though we can't be with you in person, know that we're here for you in spirit and prayers.

And congratulations on that house. I love historic houses. Ours is from the 1920s, so it doesn't have quite as much character as yours. My brother's is from the 1800s, though. Just wonderful. I hope you have many happy years there.

Judy, good luck with the new school year! Hard to believe it's that time again. I'm trying to remember what you teach?

Lin, the main thing I remember about my WW meeting this week was Pam standing up front with a calendar and asking "When is a good time to lose weight?" Then she went through each month of the calendar and found reasons why that month wouldn't be good. January -- well, there are New Year's parties and then there's the superbowl. February has Valentine's Day, so forget that. March -- you *have* to have green beer on St. Paddy's day, so let's look at April -- whoops, there's Easter. How about May ...

And so on. The bottom line: there's no good time to lose weight. You just have to do it anyway, in spite of all the obstacles life throws at you. Find ways to work around those obstacles. One woman was in a panic because she has four parties this weekend with her husband's Polish family, and she doesn't know how she's going to make it. She was literally in tears. She has been extremely strict thus far, so she's afraid of being derailed. The old diet mentality. It was great to see all the wonderful suggestions people had for her and all the support everyone gave her. We see that here online, of course, but seeing it in person was powerful.

Anyway. My news: I'm being laid off tomorrow. Finally. This will be layoff number 10 for my company in 2001. Obviously, the company isn't going to make it. I'm glad to be getting out while there's still severance pay. I'm a little concerned about the future, but I believe we'll be OK. This is coming at a good time financially for us. And there's this other company that wants me to come work for them, even though they can't pay me yet. A bit risky, but we'll see.

I'd really, really like to take some time off before doing anything, though.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
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Old 08-30-2001, 09:06 PM   #4  
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Kimmers,
Oh dear. I am so sorry for you. Can you feel my hug joining the others? This is probably the toughest saddest thing in the world and I am so proud of you for coming through this with your spirit intact. I am very happy that you qualified for a house and that it is all taken care of. It sounds beautiful.

Lauren,
How weird to say I'm glad you are finally laid off. This way you'll have your severance pkg. and a chance to see what you'd like to do next. You are wise to be open to all your options before you hop into the next position. Good luck with your choices.

Lin,
Here's a hug for you. You sure have had a lot of turmoil in your life lately, and yet look at how well so much of it has gone.
I think I understand about your boys being out of your home prematurely. When my youngest went to college she returned home for the first summer and then got an apartment and worked and went to school through the summers as well so she never returned to us after that. I missed her hilarity and spunk and just plain having her around. I guess the best I can do is to remind you that life is made up of many changes. Some we initiate and some just happen. I know you'll come to terms with what is going on, but in the meantime it can be tough. I was wondering if you had continued to write. I think it's fabulous that you have so many ideas. I find it easy to write poetry, but every time I attempt a short story, I get bogged down and can't figure out a way to make it exciting or interesting. So, I wish you well in your projects. It's great you are working on figuring out WW as well.

Kathy,
We miss you. How's everything going?

I've not had an easy time with this weight loss business, but I'm back on program 100% today. As I said I went to WW, but didn't weigh in. I had a high point day yesterday. Today has been great, and my points are gone for today. If I have to, I'll borrow a couple from tomorrow.
A couple of you asked about my teaching. I used to be a home economics teacher a long time ago. I was excessed from that position and had dual certification so I am now teaching second grade. The youngsters I teach are about 7 or 8 years old and if this year's class is anything like last year's, I'll be very lucky. I'll be back at work on Tuesday. Sat. we have a barbecue to go to and I think I'll bring fruit or a veggie platter. WW is always on my mind. I am getting better because when I am happy I am able to eat correctly. When my emotions sink, then I have food problems.
Since this is a learning experience, I'm trying to learn a little more quickly than I had been. I am aiming to break 200 # by Christmas. That would be quite a gift to give myself.
Since I did so well in losing my first 10% I am considering dropping my membership in WW and rejoining in the same week so that I'll officially start on a new 10%. What do you think?
All you lovely turtles keep on writing. Kimmers, you're in my prayers==you all are. Take care.
Judy
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Old 08-31-2001, 09:22 AM   #5  
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Kimmers, I'm sorry to hear your sad news. Add my hug to the others, and know that we're all here for you. If nothing else, at least you can know that we're here, and we can at least listen. Congratulations on getting your house, though. When your family comes to you, you'll have a home to raise it in.

Lauren, congratulations on getting fired! I know you've been waiting for that for a long time, and thank goodness you can get out when the company is still relatively viable. You're in a great position of the other company wanting you straight away, too.

DH has an interview on monday with a man who was VERY impressed with him on the phone, so we have our fingers very tightly crossed. This man used to be a music teacher, the guitar, and one of DH's premier sites is a guitar/music theory site! YAY! So we're very hopeful.

I'm working two jobs right now and classes start on tuesday (I am taking, among other things, Organic Chemistry and Physiology), so I'm being vigilant about getting my sleep when I can, trying to make healthy choices and just holding on the best I can. I expect to collapse when DH is finally working--maybe I'll just take a couple of days off? What an idea, two days in a row off!

Anyway, I'm off to the gym before work, I'll check back later.
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Old 08-31-2001, 11:04 AM   #6  
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Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, I really liked what your leader had to say about the right time to lose weight. It seems obvious that the only effective answer to that question is that the right time is now. Especially when you consider that you can only take action now. The past is gone and the future isn't here yet. Now is all we have.

That's so much easier said than done, though. We humans seem to have a tendency to dwell on the past too much. In our minds we let what we did yesterday determine our choices for right now. Then we look ahead and see the mountain of weight looming and get discouraged because we can't seem to make that mountain smaller. But if we could just do our program right now, the mountain would get smaller and our past would be full of successes we can draw upon to help determine our future.

Congrats on being laid off, finally. It really feels weird after what we've just been through to be congratulating someone on losing her job, but it's better not to get sunk with the ship.

Judy, I think it's great that you write poetry. It's interesting to me how many of the people over the years who have been in this club pursue some kind of writing. Good luck with those second graders.

Mousie, you have my prayers and good vibes for your dh getting that job. Do take that time off. You need and deserve it after all the hard work you've been doing. Organic Chemistry and Physiology at the same time. I always liked science. My first major in college was Chemistry. (I never quite got calculus, which put the kibosh on that idea.) But I can't imagine doing two heavy science courses at one time.

My mental state is much better since TOM and with Chris coming home for a visit. I'm hoping to convince my dh to take a drive to SJ every Sunday and pick him up to spend some time with us. We can't do Saturday because Chris has bowling practice and he doesn't like having an audience. We go to his tournaments.

It will allow us to keep in touch with Chris. He's not one for informative emails or long phone conversations. If we can spend some personal time on a regular basis with him, we will be better able to know how his final year at school, his bowling, his life is going.

So, I'm feeling more able to do more about my weight now that things are a bit calmer. I know that in the past I have been able to do everything I want except getting regular exercise. I always give up on that. So, that's what I want to focus on first, adding exercise to my life.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 08-31-2001, 12:46 PM   #7  
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Hi Turtlesss...Iam back...I have just been lurking the last few days, feeling totally depressed regarding not really being on program, and embarrassed too. I don't know why changing my eating habits is such a hard job for me...Sometimes I think I have a defective brain!!! Don't know how good this weekend will be..Going to half a womens retreat at church (they go on fri, I will come for breakfast on Sat casue of my work schedule) and there will be munchies.I know I don't have to eat this stuff, but weither I want to is another question. I know Sunday could be the start of a new week for me... I am think about getting all my cookbooks out and actually planning my menus for the week. I am planning to start hitting the gym heavy duty next week so I am sure that will help. Oh well, I will do this..(I am not weighing in now since I lost my tickets..If I rejoin next month, I will do the every week thing...)

Kimmers I am so sorry about the baby, I do hope you feel all our "HUGS". I have never been thru that but I think I know how you would feel. I loved my babies the moment I found out they were there. and to lose one even so young, is heart breaking...And some people say that little cell is not alive..Then why do so many mothers have there heart broken when they lose them??? Please give your husband a big hug from us too. Sometimes people ignore the husband, that it is only a wife /mother thing, but he lost something too. Tell him we are hugging him too.

Congradulations on the house. I will never forget when we got ours...It was a very wonderful day. We saw a house, *(it was next door to a freinds who had just move in) and got to see it couse the man had died) we saw it the first day the relatives had it on the market and when My dh asked how much, the lady said 74,000 Jim said where do we sign ??? he didn't even ask me..He just said yes..It was a good move..Since he got hurt on the job, and we had a cal vet loan, we have our housepayment paid by some ins co..If we didn't have it..we would be hurting trying to come up with a house payment..And renting??? it would be like knowing we would never never get ahouse..not with him not working and being disabled...So I am glad you got such a nice old big house...

Lauren..Congrats on getting laid off. Boy that sounds funny. Enjoy this time while you are off. Some lady at work is trying to chage the way we do things and 2 ladies job will be phased out.. My boss said I would be phased back to er, but it means for me, no more weekends off, which is ok, but i still like the shift the way it is..I keep praying the managers do not listen to this women...The 2 people who this will really effect are nice people..

Too the rest of you turtle..You keep going!!! and that esp means me!!!I know that!!!

I will on Monday and tell you I started being op..

Kathy
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Old 08-31-2001, 06:18 PM   #8  
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WOO, Turtles, I just had to let you know! I got home from work today and DH informed me that ANOTHER company had called, and done a phone interview, and they will be calling next week to schedule for him to come to the office! When it rains it pours!
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Old 08-31-2001, 09:04 PM   #9  
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Mousie, seems like that's always the case -- you hear nothing forever, then suddenly you get inundated. I'm sending good thoughts your way for your DH and you. It's a tough job market out there, but I don't need to tell any of you that!

Judy, second grade! Oh, good for you! And yes, cracking the 200 mark will be an incredible gift to ourselves, whenever we get there. I'm still aiming for Christmas, and that has given me the motivation I've been needing. I got in a whopping five hours of exercise this week! Who *is* this person impersonating Jane Fonda, anyway??

Harley, let me give you some absolutely free advice: no matter how embarrassed you get about not being on program, keep coming here anyway. Take if from the original scenic-route gal: coming here regularly (or going to meetings) may not peel the pounds off in record time, but it will go a long ways toward keeping you from going hog wild and gaining it all back. I can honestly say if it weren't for these boards, I would be in a far worse position today. Maybe even right back up to 279 again. You all keep me remembering my goals, even during periods when I just don't feel like remembering them. Stick with us, Harley. And shake it up; do something new to give yourself the kick in the butt or the motivation you need (whichever you find more helpful). For me, it has been two things: going back to meetings, and aiming for 199 wholeheartedly. Both of these things have inspired me and made me remember why I want to do this.

Lin, you make an interesting point about how we set patterns that determine our next steps. The past certainly does affect what choices we make right now. That's why baby steps are so effective. They help us rebuild trust in ourselves by helping us rebuild a chain of successes to build on. "OK, I walked for 20 minutes each day this week. So today, I think I'll go for another walk. Tomorrow I'll aim for 30 minutes."

That's also why each decision we make is so important. A woman in my group made and ate an entire pan of brownies this past week, pretty much within a day or two. It was a stressful week, and that's how she dealt with it. So the next time she runs into stress, she can look back and see what she did in the past -- eat a pan of brownies. Then she'll have to make a decision: does she do the familiar, comfortable remedy for stress and make another pan of brownies, knowing that although it's only temporary relief, it's what she knows? There's a lot of power in what's familiar to us, what we've always done. Or does she do something new, when she's already stressed out? Most of us turn to old behaviors when we're under stress; it's natural. That's one reason it's so important to build new responses to stress and make *those* familiar, so they're easier to fall back on in times of need. It takes going through some discomfort initially, but ultimately we build new habits, new fallback mechanisms that actually help us instead of hurt us. So maybe this week, instead of brownies, she'll go for a brisk walk or take a bubble bath or call a friend.

One of the reasons losing weight is so hard is that we have so MANY habits like these, so many ways of coping that involve food, and we're not just breaking ONE of those habits -- we're having to break EACH ONE. My previous WW leader asked us this: When do you overeat? What leads to your overeating? We came up with a list of at least 50 things. She waved at the list and said "THIS is why losing weight is so hard. You're not just eliminating one or two unhealthy behaviors that you've got accustomed to. You're eliminating ALL these."

She's right. That's why it's a journey, a process, and why zipping through on a diet just doesn't address all those behaviors. As each opportunity turns up, you deal with it. Some behaviors show up every day; some don't show up until halfway through the year and surprise you. And you win some battles and you lose others. The one who keeps fighting wins.

OK, I'm getting long-winded here. The layoff today was strange, and I'm a bit emotional about it all. I'm having to force myself not to worry about money right now. A group of us are going to the unemployment office next week, which should make that more enjoyable. I'm feeling pretty fried, but I do think ultimately this will be good. And hey, I'm still within my points.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

--lauren
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Old 09-01-2001, 06:44 PM   #10  
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Hi, Turtles,

Woohoo, Mousie. I'm so glad to hear about your dh. We found that to be true, too. We've had more people call about resumes we sent after Paul found a job than in the whole three months he was looking!. So, I've got my fingers, toes, arms, eyes, whatever, crossed for you.

Kathy, Lauren is absloutely correct. If it weren't for the turtles I'd probably have gained back every one of those pounds I'd lost. Because my motivation, like most people's, comes and goes. I work really hard for a while, then something happens and I start slipping back into old habits. But I keep coming here and it makes me think about what's happening in my life. So far, I haven't given up completely, which is what happened before I started coming to the various weight loss support sites and founded the turtle club.

They help me to keep focused. And no one here will ever put you down or get on your case for slipping up. We all know that the key to getting back OP is to forgive yourself and move past the slipup. Start over. Do what you can. We all know that we are all human and we all have to take this journey in our own way.

Lauren, I'm saving that post. It's definitely not too long-winded because it's so stuffed with great observations and advice. Have fun at the unemployment office. (not!) In CA, they do it all by phone now. Great going on staying within points and getting in your exercise. Do you think it helped that you knew about the layoff in advance?

I never thought about the need to change so many behaviors in order to lose weight. Maybe I've been going about this in a way that's not as effective as it could be. Maybe what I need to do is to observe my behavior patterns and choose just one to work on. I often have a tendency to get super enthusiastic and take on too much at once. That's why I really love baby steps. It keeps that tendency under control and helps me to deal better with this program and the rest of my life, too.

I really want to get going on exercise, but I really cannot do much without new shoes. I've been having some problems and I realized that my shoes are about 4-5 years old, and those old worn out things are the cause of my aches when I walk or do videos. Unfortunately, about the only shoes that really fit well for me are Easy Spirits. After getting Chris set up with school expenses, etc., it's going to be next month before I can even afford to go to the Easy Spirit outlet store in Gilroy and check for cheap bargains. Too bad I don't have a bike or some roller skates! I'm hoping the weather will stay warm enough to do some swimming, once TOM is past. And that they don't close the pool for winter before I get my shoes!

The good news is that my whole family will be together on Monday for a while. David is visiting friends in the Bay Area and Chris is here for the holiday. So, we're picking David up Monday morning and taking the whole family out for brunch, before we have to take Chris back to his other family.

I'm feeling a whole lot better than I was earlier in the week. I had a real crisis of self-confidence this week. It was partly hormones. But the hormones mostly bring out the feelings I've been avoiding facing. They don't cause them. It was also that I hadn't dealt very well with the really nasty stuff my mother said last month. I had a really long talk with my wonderful DH about this and he (insensitive techie he usually is) actually understood. So did both of my sons, who assured me that raising them was not a waste of my life up to now. They both, for different reasons, think day care would not have worked for them. We thought so, too, which is why I stayed home instead of juggling career and motherhood.

Well, now I must pursue something worthwhile or go nuts. So, I'm pursuing my writing. My biggest issue right now is what kind of book to write. I'm leaning toward romance because they are so much more open to new writers. And reading the darn things are a secret vice of mine. I adore happy endings!

I'm also going to keep up with cooking contests and do some of those. It certainly can be a great hobby and may give me some credibility fo selling cookbooks or magazine articles. Unfortunately, most food mags don't accept freelance articles.

Gotta go. I promised Chris the computer at 4, when I need to start dinner, and I have some other stuff I want to do.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 09-02-2001, 09:25 AM   #11  
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Hi all!
You don't even know it and yesterday you saved me from messing up being OP again. I had posted earlier in the week that I had a barbecue on Sat. I was just about to send my dh out to pick up a bakery cake when I reread our posts on this site.
Well, in black and white I had planned to bring veggies or fruit.
Hmmm, so I put my money where my mouth is instead of buying a yummy dessert and I ran to the grocer and got some cut up veggies. I put them on a glass plate with a dip I made up quickly from ffyogurt and a little ffmayonnaise. It looked very pretty, the hostess was thrilled, and so were the guests because the whole thing went really fast. I got myself over there and although I had some of the other hors douerves, I mostly had veggies. It also helped my mindset because if I had brought the cake, all signs would have told me that I intended to overeat and go off program. So--by seeing what I had promised myself, I was reminded to do the right thing. I am sure yesterday was a highpoint day, but still OP and that is a very good thing.

Lots going on here!

Mousie,
That is wonderful that your dh has two places interested in him.
I've got everything crossed and am sending prayers and good vibes your way. Thanks for posting and keep on keeping on!
I took physiology and chem in college. I give you credit for tackling these courses. What is your degree going to be in? You have a very full plate with working and getting your studies in.
Way to go! I think that these extra effort times always pay off.
Good luck!

Lin,
Enjoy your time with Chris and Dave and dh. Wasn't that wonderful of them to tell you that what you've done as a stay at home mom benefitted them and they're happy you're their mom.
That's very sweet of them and had to make you feel great. I'm so glad they were open enough and in touch with their feelings enough to be able to talk with you about it. It's fabulous to have that boost to your confidence when family members tell you you've done the right thing!

Harley/Kathy,
It's hard to do, but when you're having trouble with WW and staying OP is *exactly* when you need to write more often. I struggle with that too and usually write after I've done a lot of damage. But you know what? We're all good people and deserve to be thin. The support here is great and sometimes what one of the turtles has written is exactly what we need to see at that time of our lives. Let's make an agreement that when we aren't doing what we want to do, that we'll write about it and ask for help. I know the support will flow from this group. You do *not* have a defective brain. What you are going through is what all of us have gone through. It feels awful, but you can do this. I have an idea that might be tough to follow. I know you lost a lot of money when you lost your WW tickets, but how about re-joining now rather than waiting until the tickets paid for time is over? Make believe you never had them and rejoin. Pay what you have to and put the loss in the past. That way you won't regain weight and you'll be on the right track. Think about it. And I wish you a lot of luck!

Lauren,
I love your WW's recap and thoughts. It really is food for thought.LOL. You're right. When you think about the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and other reasons to eat out or bake special things--it's constant. We live in a time of plenty and have to use our own restraints to get where we want to be. Good luck with your head regarding the layoffs. If it's any consolation, you did outlast nine layoffs. Try to remember that it's the work situation, not you and that you did a great job for this company.
Try to enjoy this time you have available to yourself.

All,
Let's keep on keepin' on in the turtles' way! Making progress every day and keeping a steady pace.
Love,
Judy
234/thinner and aiming for 199#
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Old 09-04-2001, 12:16 PM   #12  
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Hi, Turtles,

Judy, it always makes us feel good knowing that posting our own struggles and insights helps someone else. Thanks for sharing how this little club helped you last weekend. Way to go with staying OP!

It was great having Chris home last weekend and having our whole family together for a few hours yesterday. It was also great that my aunt, uncle, and brother happened to be at my mother's. We took the boys to see her for a while since she hadn't seen them lately.

I had some thoughts about this journey this weekend I'd like to share, for what they're worth. Recently we talked about how the past sets us up for making the choices we make today. And how sometimes we let the part of the past that didn't work make our choices instead of the part that brought success.

Along those lines, I realized that building good habits and creating effective routines really helps keep me on track. But, if I let it get too routine, I get bored and start slipping. Sometimes I get into a rut and then this feels like a diet and I get off track. What I need to do is to figure out which things must stay the same in order to be successful and which things I should mix up a bit in order to keep it interesting.

I also thought about how those habits, because they're new and I have to think about them all the time, can start to feel like hard work. People prefer to follow habits they don't have to think about, which is one reason that we keep slipping back to the ones we followed for the longest time, even if they don't work. The challenge here is to keep that feeling of newness that charges us with enthusiasm.

It seems to me that the first day is always the one that makes me feel the most energized. Somehow, I think there has to be a balance here between doing what I can to keep that first day feeling every day and building up a pattern of success to draw upon that will help to keep me going. Perhaps, I need to keep today's tracking page separate from the pages from yesterday and the day before, and so on. I don't know what the answer is, but somehow there has to be a way to maintain that motivation, even if the rest of my life has gone haywire or through whatever situation comes up that causes me to get off track.

One thing that's really interesting that's been going on in my life lately is that since I stopped counting points, I've become very aware of portion sizes. When I was counting points, I routinely put one portion on my plate and ate it all to make sure I got in all of those planned points. But, I'm noticing that I'm often full after eating less than what WW considers one portion. So, I'm paying attention to how much makes me full. If it's less than one portion, so be it. I'll eat less. I can always eat the rest later, if I get hungry.

When I go back to counting points, I don't want to fall back into the trap of eating everything on my plate just because that's how many points I planned. I want to relearn what satisfied is and that it's OK to leave food on my plate. I need to do this because I've noticed that I've also fallen back into the habit of eating too much in restaurants, even when dh and I share a meal. The thing is that half of a restaurant meal is usually too much, too.

So, my current goals are to continue with the water and calcium. Continue to cook low-fat meals. To put half portions on my plate and stop if I get full, or eat a bit more if I need to at that meal. And to exercise at least a little every day. I'm going to try to get dh to go for a walk after dinner with me, but I'm also going to do one more exercise session on my own during the day. I got my shoes. Some stuff I'd budgeted for didn't cost as much as I thought it would, so I managed to afford that new pair of shoes. Yay!

Gotta go. Talk to you all later. Hope all of you, lurkers, too, are doing well and that you had a great holiday.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 09-04-2001, 08:59 PM   #13  
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Judy, thanks for the kind thoughts re: my layoff. Apparently if I hadn't been so vocal about wanting to be laid off, I would not have been laid off for at least another month. But they finally did listen to me. Today I had to file for unemployment; what a fiasco! I have to go to yet another place to complete the application and get a card stamped, *then* I'll be done. Sheesh.

Way to go on that veggie plate!! Talk about making a wonderful choice. And it doesn't surprise me a bit that it was so popular. Everyone is watching their weight these days, and it's great to find something healthy to eat at a party.

Hooray on the new shoes, Lin!! I'm so glad you got them. My feet have started to bother me the past couple days, and DH says it's because I've upped my exercise and my shoes are wearing out. So I tried on shoes today, too, but nothing felt right. That's a great idea to get DH to exercise with you.

Your ruminations about habits parallel what my WW leader said today. She suggested that we each journal not only what we eat but also what habits we're doing. At the end of the week, we're supposed to isolate three habits we don't want to be doing anymore. Then we're supposed to focus on just one habit, and over the next three weeks work on substituting a new, more healthy habit. She reiterated that it takes 21 days to entrench a new habit.

I feel like I've been changing so many of my habits this past year that I'm not sure which new ones to focus on. I can think of a few, but they're not weight related. One is that I'd like to spend a certain amount of time every day doing something creative -- probably writing, maybe something else. To do that, I'll need to see where I'm spending my time. This week is a bit tough because we've got company (DH's mother is here, then Friday I have a friend arriving for the weekend). But after that ...

I'm down 2.4 pounds this week. That's nice, but it's not as big as it sounds; I gained 1.8 last week with TOM. So I'm really down slightly less than a pound. Whatever; I'll take it. I FINALLY lost the weight I gained after my vacation last May! So I'm a pound from virgin fat territory.

I worked out 5 hours this past week and banked 18 points (basically used all my regular points but not my exercise points).

The exercise is really starting to show in my measurements, though. And today, I went to Kohl's and on a whim tried on a size XL jacket (not in the plus size department). It fit beautifully!! I didn't buy it since I need to watch our spending, but it sure felt good! Last week I bought two pairs of pants in a size 18W. They were tight, but I plan to wear them on vacation so I'll remember to eat moderately. It feels so good to finally be able to walk into the Misses section and try something on and see it fit!! To go from a size 30 to a size 18 is just a wonderful feeling and VERY motivating.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
279/217.4/199 by Christmas (WW numbers)
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Old 09-05-2001, 12:42 PM   #14  
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Hi, Turtles,

Congratulations, Lauren, on that wonderful combination of inches and that pound or so. It must feel really good to be able to fit in clothing from the regular size department.

I think it's interesting how often the skills we're developing to lose weight are the same skills we need to accomplish other things in our lives. For example, you deciding to add more creativity to your life.

A lot of life is a matter of building habits that move us toward what we want. A lot of people never get what they want because they never think about their habits, how they spend their time, and so on. It's really difficult to be fat in this culture, as we all know. But sometimes I'm glad for it just because of the things I've learned that I might not have learned if I were a naturally thin person. (Given a choice in the matter, though, I'd naturally choose to be that thin person, but, since I'm not, I'd better make the most of what I am.)

Things are going OK for me. It's so weird walking past my kids room because it's so empty. But it feels better now that I've seen how settled they are and how well they're both doing.

As far as this weight loss journey goes, I've been pretty much accomplishing what I want to accomplish. My dh has agreed to start walking with me, but he wants to start next week. Which is OK with me. I can do some exercise on my own this week. But I am more likely to stick with an exercise program, long term, if I have a partner or take a class than if I do it on my own.

Hope you all are doing well.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
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Old 09-05-2001, 09:39 PM   #15  
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Lin and Lauren,
You've been so philosophical lately. I love it. I keep rereading your posts and taking the ideas that pertain to me and I try to make them work.
In the meantime, be creative, glad you got new shoes and will start an exercise program. You guys are great.

Kimmers and Harley and Mousie--hi to you all and good luck to all the lurkers.

I'm doing really fine. I just got off the treadmill. Didn't knock myself out, but did a mile which is a lot better than nothing. Went to WW today and asked my leader for a new weight recording book. My idea is that I'll start today to establish and work on a new 10% weight loss. My leader is so great she even calculated it and wrote my new goal in my book. That feels great.
I wasn't happy with my number on the scale, but last week I wouldn't even weigh in, and now I am attending the five o'clock instead of the morning meeting. With me that counts for two pounds up above my morning weight. So--I know I had a good week and even got on the treadmill once. I am going to have another good week. I packed my lunch and water for tomorrow.
Onward and downward! I am journaling every day and planning for those days when I need more points. I'm lightening up on the Wendie's Plan a bit because I didn't follow through enough with it.
Now I plan to get some exercise in by hook or crook.

You guys do well. Take care. The WW topic today was "When and what are you eating without even realizing you're eating?"
For example, while on phone, while cleaning up after dinner, when preparing supper, when shopping in places that offer tiny tidbits of food for free, etc. It's a great topic to think about. I feel closer to the answer of reducing my weight than I have ever been. Let's do this!
Love ,
Judy
234/thinner
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