[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Here's the fable that started it all:

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 several 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've been reflecting on what the turtle philosophy means as we start our second hundred posts. The turtle philosophy was a difficult one for people to accept. People want the weight off--NOW!! But reality is that it took time to put it on and it will take time to take it off. People want it to be easy to take off the weight. But reality is that it's not easy. You can have a program that's easy to follow, but following it steadily--that's hard. People don't want to exercise much, if at all. But reality is that our bodies were designed to move. So, we're setting realistic goals that take the weight off at a healthy pace. We're setting goals that will keep us moving steadily toward the healthy weight we want to be. And we're just plain moving. We're setting realistic exercise goals that will move our bodies the way they were meant to be moved.

We've also noticed that our turtle philosophy has affected the rest of our lives. I've started writing fiction again. I realize that I can finish a novel, or two, or ten. All I have to do is to set realistic daily goals, work steadily toward achieving them, and they will build up into finished books. Turtle Power at work in my everyday life.

Anyone who wants to join us in steadily moving toward all of our goals is welcome. I've met some wonderful people on this thread. I hope to meet many more. I know the battle with our weight is a difficult one. Having such supportive people come and post regularly keeps it from getting overwhelming. I hope to see many more people join us as we move forward on our journey.

Let's Get Moving!!

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

It's about 5:30 am and I've been up for about a half hour. It's really quiet here. All I hear is the coffeepot and computer fan. I really like the quiet mornings, but I hate getting up this early because my brain feels foggy. I don't wake up quickly. I think that's one main difference between night owls and larks. My husband wakes up in the morning and he's awake. I wake up, but I'm not awake for 2 hours and several cups of coffee.

Forgetting your own age is not unusual as you aim toward the second half century. You just don't pay attention to it as much as you did when you were a kid. I know how old I am, but that's because I will hit the big 5-0 this year. A couple of years ago I was doing math to figure it out. Give me a couple more years and I'll forget completely.

Thanks for the link. I signed up. It sounds interesting.

I love your Impromptu Choose Well Award for the week. Yay, Judy. You rock this week!!

My shoes are weird. They're making my muscles hurt. I think they're made in a way to force you to walk properly. After walking all day Saturday, then driving for an hour home, my hamstring cramped up. But after that, it's been just sore like I haven't used the muscles much. I'm not walking more than I was in my old shoes, so it's something with the new ones. I'm not complaining, just observing. I like the feeling that my muscles are getting toned up, especially my thigh muscles.

I'm debating the whole scale thing. I still like the idea of averaging my daily weight instead of taking a snapshot of one particular day every week. But I forget to weigh myself some days, which throws it all off. And I have a hard time looking at that number every day and thinking of it as "data gathering", which is what it is. So, I think I'll go back to the every Sunday morning weighin and see how it goes. This week--most likely up with PMS. You're probably tired of hearing me say that, but I keep writing it to remind myself that I'm not getting fatter, just retaining water.

I'm OP. I never got out for my walk yesterday. I was really tired and my brain wasn't fully functional. I forgot to do laundry on Sunday so I didn't have clean jeans or a particular undergarment. I started my laundry and then forgot about it. I remembered and started the second load, but forgot about that, too, because the dishwasher was running and I couldn't hear the laundry. The upshot was that I didn't get my laundry dry until dinnertime. That's what I call a Murphy's Law Day.

Anyway, I'll definitely be out walking today. I still have errands to run. I need fruit before dinner because I'm making an apple-pear Tarte Tatin. We're having roast chicken, a 0-point sauce, rice or mashed potatoes, whichever I decide to cook, veggies and salad. It's a filling, low-point meal, so I have extra points to spend on the dessert. I'll probably use some flex points before I'm done, though, because I want to put a quarter cup scoop of ice cream on the tart.

I've been eating fairly low in points this week, anyway. I discovered C&W Stir-Fry with Potstickers. The potstickers are chicken, I believe, which keeps the points lower than other potstickers I've seen. I make my own sauce because my sauce is 0 points and I use low-sodium soy sauce or I'd blow up like a water balloon, so 2 cups of it is 3 points. I ate 1/2 cup of brown & wild rice with it for a total of 5 points. But, my family has picked out all of the pot stickers, leaving me with a pile of veggies and rice. I'm going to shred up some turkey lunch meat to add some protein and have that for lunch. I get it at Costco and I don't know if it's available nationally.

So, are you moving?

[LaurenH]

Hi, turtles.

Stephen King?? I'd love to be a fly on THAT wall. I certainly don't mind the so-called serious literary establishment getting a strong poke in the eye from time to time.

Love the Choose Well Award.

Lin, your laundry story cracked me up.

This is just a quick note; got to run to work. (Late as usual.) Today is my official weigh-in, and -- I'm UP TWO POUNDS. It's not TOM, so I'm guessing ovulation. That's the latest monkey wrench my body likes to throw, gaining a couple of pounds each month around THIS time, too.

In case you're not familiar with what I look like today, here I am:
http://home.earthlink.net/~lholmes/munsch-thumbnail.jpg

--Lauren
274/192/GAAAAHHHH

[Itryharder]

Dear Turtles,
I humbly accept my Choose Well Award for the week. As you can see from the Smilies, I'm not too excited. LOL
Choosewell, thanks for initiating the award. I will aim to reach its high standards in every aspect of my life, especially in exercise and choosing healthy, lowpoint foods. Hooray!

Lauren,
This isn't fair. I mean it just isn't fair. The only thing I can think of for you to do right now is yell into the atmosphere, "I am only kidding about getting back into the 180's. That's not the least bit important to me. When it happens, it happens. Cie la Vie." At that point the universe may just lighten up a bit and give you a break. We all know that being up two pounds with a female connection is faux weight. We all know that next week you'll be down these particular two pounds and probably another 2 pounds or so. The difficulty is in making yourself believe this. You can do this. You are doing the right thing. Make it work for yourself. Exercise, water, good food choices, journaling. These together make a strong armor against the wacky things our body does in cycles. Good luck. I am sending you a million hugs.

Lin,
Wow. That must really feel interesting to have your muscles used in a new way. I am so happy that you have been able to get shoes that will help you with your exercise goals. Hey, if you have a minutes, would you like to share your 0 point sauce?
Good luck with all you're doing.

Choosewell,
Thanks for the literary update. I happen to love Stephen King.
No other author grabs me in the first twenty pages the way he does. Great escapist writing. Good description. Crazy and enticing stories. He wrote a tiny book about a child lost in the forest. Have you read it? I loved it. I think he has a great heart and in writing for the masses the way he does, I think he advances reading for teens and gets people away from TV once in awhile which is a good thing.

I had a little challenge today. On the scale (Lauren, I told you it was hard for me) I was up about 1/2# even though I was below my target points yesterday. However, I had a few portions of WOW chips which are salty. My suspicion is that I am retaining water. Now I'm going to drink some and get going around the house here. I may try and extend my exercise by 10 minutes today to knock out some more weight.
Everybody do well. Keep on keepin' on.
Love,
Judy

[Lin S]

0-point Chinese-type sauce-makes about 3/4 cup

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
1-1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced or 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
1/4-3/4 dried crushed red pepper flakes

Mix everything except the garlic and the pepper flakes together. Add the garlic and pepper flakes to the stir-fry about a minute before you put in the sauce. Add the sauce 1-3 minutes before the stir fry is done so it will have a chance to thicken and flavor the stuff.

Note on the cornstarch: If you like a thicker sauce, you can add a teaspoon more cornstarch or whatever amount gives you the thickness you prefer. It won't hurt anything if you experiment with that a bit.

Note on the pepper flakes: You can omit them if you don't like spicy foods. If you like a mild touch of heat, go with 1/4 teaspoon. 1/2 teaspoon will be hot. 3/4 teaspoon will be super hot. I love it that way and I hope my digestive system never makes me stop eating hot, spicy foods.

I used it for 16 servings, which is why it was 0 points. If you use it for only 4 servings, there might be one for the sugar and oil. I haven't done that calculation. You can also double it if you want more sauce on your food, but don't double the garlic, ginger, or crushed red pepper flakes.

Recipe: Copyright © 2003 by Linda Sprinkle All Rights Reserved

[Itryharder]

Dear Lin,
Thanks for the recipe. It looks great. Thanks a lot. I'm always looking for tasty ways to keep OP.
Love,
Judy

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Ain't getting older grand, Lauren? Up 2 pounds at ovulation, geez. One more time to ignore the scale and keep on turtlin'. Speaking of the scale, someone on one of the forums posted a link to a great article about it. It's called "Why the Scale Lies." I thought I'd share:

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspart...ight/scale.htm

The main thing I realized upon reading this article is that I need to make a graph of my weight losses. Then I can see the downward trend instead of worrying about a little up blip that happens one week, here and there.

Choosewell and Judy, you're doing great. Hey, does anyone know where Torty's been? Did she go on vacation or something? I can't remember.

I'm doing great. I ate at my target yesterday, which was most likely due to a weird day that kept me inside. Otherwise, I'd have gotten & used some activity points. We had a little flare-up, as happens on web sites now and then, on FM and I had to keep checking in to make sure people were being polite about it. It's died down and things are back to normal, so I'm walking today. I have a book to exchange at the mall because my son got me the same book. I lost the receipt, but I'm sure I can get something else. The hard part is picking just one!!

I just noticed something. I wonder if WW calls them "Activity Points" instead of "Exercise Points" in order to emphasize that you can count anything that's active, not just an official workout. In any case, things are back to normal and I'm moving my feet today.

Are you moving?

[choosewell]

"Slowly I turn...step by step...inch by inch..."

Does anyone remember the early tv sitcom that featured that bit in one of its programs? New turtle mantra.

Lin, you hit the nail on the head. Our leader (and usually it's the leader that makes me leave, I just can't take it...here in Texas the show usually ends with "God bless!") is making a great show of evicting the "E" word and inserting "Activity." That's ok with me, I rake a lot of leaves and pick up bunches of sticks.

And thanks for the recipe, it looks great.

Was anyone else saddened by John Ritter's death? Sometime in the late 80's, I was working at a museum in DC, and when I was cutting through the mammal hall to leave the building one afternoon I saw him and his family looking at the buffalo diorama. This was an old display, where the Indians on horseback (pintos, of course) and hiding in the scrub, are chasing a herd of buffalo over a cliff in a mural in the background. Very gorey.

Anyway, he was holding one son in his arms, and his wife was kneeling by the stroller, trying to get their other child to look at the stuffed buffalo in the foreground. I recognized him, but decided they deserved their privacy. (This act of altruism at that selfish age surprises me now.) From then on I felt like I knew him in a way that few other people did. Perhaps that is the magic of someone like John Ritter: Everyone feels special by knowing them.

choosewell

[choosewell]

I was just re-reading some of our posts, and saw Lauren's weight. Lauren...do I have this right? You've lost 82 pounds? That is so terrific! Oh, my...oh, MY!!! I see you walking up to the stage, everyone is standing up and cheering, clapping...your cats are milling around your feet as you accept your award. You make a little speech, "Thank you, thank you. Oh, this Tone-y Award means so much to me, but not as much as shedding that darned weight!" Everyone laughs and it's time for questions.

"Yes, the lady in the flowered muu-muu?"

"Oh, Lauren. You're such an inspiration. Tell me, what were 3 things you changed that had the most impact on your weight loss efforts?"

Lauren smiles and says..."Well, that would be..."

A little girl stands up, tugs her shirt back down over her belly, and asks, "Lauren, tell us what you get to do now that you didn't do before? Do you get to play more?" Everyone laughs, and Lauren answers the question with her lovely smile.

Another woman hesitantly raises her hand, then stands and asks, "Lauren, I get depressed when I'm not making progress. What motivated you when you went through a tough time?"

The room hushes for the answer to this question that plagues every person learning to choose a healthy life. Lauren takes a deep breath and says, "....."

Take a bow, Beautiful!

choosewell.

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Choosewell, that's a great story about seeing John Ritter. I was more saddened, though, by Johnny Cash's death because his music was more a part of my life than John Ritter's work was. I didn't watch Three's Company. I couldn't watch his new sitcom because we don't get ABC here. I was sad, of course, but it didn't touch me in a personal way.

The 3 Stooges used that bit a lot. And my brother used to repeat it endlessly, complete with smacking his unfortunate victim, often me. The memories of childhood. I bet he doesn't even remember that.

Lauren--Congrats on winning Choosewell's Tone-y award. You deserve it. I love your little scenario, Choosewell!

I think I get the "Been There, Done That" award for losing the same 50 pounds, twice, and now doing it a third time. But this time--I'm losing those two 50 pound batches consecutively!!

Anyway, I'm still OP. I think I'm going to end up using a few Flex Points today. I've been a bit hungrier the past couple of days. Not a problem. I have plenty left.

I walked for an hour yesterday. And today I'm going to get that walk in early or I might forget about it. I'm doing another writing marathon. This one is 2 days of building toward a particular word count goal--5, 10, or 15K. I'm aiming for 10. It will be a bit more difficult than the 10K I did for the Labor Day Challenge because I'm doing character development, worldbuilding, and maybe I'll manage to get started on a plot outline. Wish me luck!

I ordered the new At Home Kit for the FlexPoints program. I don't have any idea when it will get here. All it says is that it's supposed to leave there 48 hours after you order. I'll let you all know when it gets here.

I lost both of my turtle bookmarks. One of them is around here someplace, probably behind a bookcase or something. The other--who knows. I had it on a trip to San Jose and it disappeared. I was hoping for under the car seat, but it's not there. So I found a new bookmark. This one has a Victorian flower arrangement on it and they put the meaning of the flowers on the card that came in the plastic package. More research for the fantasy. But the point of this ramble is the quote because it's so simple, so profound, and so appropriate.

All things are difficult before they are easy. Thomas Fuller

Happy turtlin'! Are you all moving today?

[Itryharder]

Hi Turtles,
Just a quick check-in.
Choosewell, you make me laugh! What fun. Yes indeed Lauren has done a fantastic job and is so close to goal. Perserverance sure pays off.

Lin,
I don't remember Torty having vacation plans so Torty if you're lurking, we'd love to hear from you. Ditto for Miata and Mousie.

Choosewell, yeah, I felt so bad about John Ritter's passing; it was such a surprise. What a sweet anecdote you told.

I had another good week at the scale. I was sooooo busy yesterday. I've been cooking and freezing WW dinners for my daughter who is working a ridiculously long and busy work schedule. She keeps on thinking that it will be shortened in the near future and I hope so for her sake. In the meantime she doesn't have a minute. I volunteered to cook for her. It's really great because we get together once a week and attend WW, then have dinner together back home. Beats eating out as far as points. Yesterday I ran out, shopped and then made batches of WW foods for her freezer. Well, I also found it necessary to make banana breads for a group I had in last night. I went a little crazy. As I was running out of time I contemplated not getting on the treadmill even though I make sure I get on the treadmill before each WW WI. Then I actually stood still and said exercising is my top priority and I hopped on the treadmill, got into the shower and just made WW on time for the meeting to start. Then I lost another 1.4#. That makes a total of 10.8# in 11weeks. I am thrilled. The exercise is helping tremendously. Does anyone else notice that when they exercise their appetite is not as great?

Lilfe is good. I am so glad this site is fully active again. I look forward to seeing what you all have to say.
Love,
Judy

Well, sorry this is so wordy.

[LaurenH]

Hi, turtles.

Thanks so much for all the encouragement. Judy, you made me cry. Choosewell, you made me laugh. Lin, you made my mouth water (that great Chinese sauce). I really appreciate it, everyone.

Well, at my Tuesday WW meeting, I was up 2.8 pounds. I sat through the meeting like a good doobie, but I ended up leaving in tears. Gains like that don't usually get to me, but this one really did. I came home and wrote in my journal, mainly about how sick of this I am.

Then the next day I got out of pity-party mode and exercised -- very brisk walking for 35 minutes. Back in the saddle, etc. Got ready for work, went out to my car, realized I was missing something -- my keys. I had locked myself out of the house. No spare key where we usually hide it.

So I spent the day hanging around, walking downtown, hanging around there, walking home, hanging out on the porch, walking back downtown (more convenient bathroom facilities), and generally ... hanging around. I did get in lots of exercise, about 75 walking minutes. I also had to eat out, and I ended up eating too many points. I have perfected the art of one step forward, one step back.

Today I met friends in an Indian restaurant, where all they seemed to offer was ... a buffet. Lethal. I don't know how to count up what I ate, but I'll try. (I don't even know what most of the stuff was called.) I suspect I've eaten most of my flex points for the week, and it's only my second day.

Finally, the project I really, really wanted to work on is going to go to someone else. Not because the people didn't want me -- they did. They just felt that the current project I'm on is more important, so they gave my current boss first choice. He wants me to stay there and put in more hours. It's nice to be wanted by everybody, but it's a real disappointment to have to stay with this project instead of going to work on the (MUCH cooler) new one.

So there's my week thus far. I'm sure it will get better.

Judy, your commitment to exercise is inspiring me. After I finish this, I'm going to do a video workout, then do some writing (boring stuff I do for another company, but it pays).

Lin, how do you feel these marathon write-fests help you as a writer? What is their purpose? Good for you still being OP!

Choosewell, I never really watched John Ritter in much, so like Lin, I was more struck by Johnny Cash's death following so soon after June's. But I appreciated your story and can see why you'd feel a connection with him. Loved the tone-y award, though right now it sounds like it should go to Judy, our exercise queen!

And speaking of Judy, WTG on another great loss at the scale!! You are doing so well!

--Lauren

[choosewell]

Hello, Turtle-lovelies.

I'm surprised at the positive influence that the communal turtle psyche is having on me. Yesterday I went to the walking park (it's a mile track through woods and fields), and while hub read his schoolwork in the car I went around THREE times. I was listening to Suzanne Falter-Barnes "Soul Purpose" cd, which is supposed to be a still meditation, but I have had success with walking meditations in the past. The cd was ok...but at one point she says, "The next half hour will be a meditation about..." and I didn't want to stop in the middle of the cd, so I kept on going.

Anyway. Usually that would mean the next day I self-sabotage by skipping the walk, then beating myself up for inconsistency. Instead I thought, since it's raining what the heck why not use the treadmill...even just a little would be steps in the right direction (see the Turtle Power at work?). I went three miles again! I'm very happy.

You have really helped me this week. Instead of 10K steps, I'm hitting 16K more often than not. Somehow the threat of failure is less when I lower the threshhold that marks success. If that doesn't sound like pop-psychology!

I was down .4 pounds at WW last night, and that was just fine, too.

Lin, I have gained 50 pounds since I've been in Texas...1/4 of my weight, so I know how you feel. What a sense of accomplishment to know that we are taking this off, a bit at a time...because if I wasn't, I know it goes on far too easily the very same way. This approach is very calming and reassuring to me.

I'd like to meet that Torty, I hope she comes out of her shell!

Lauren, we are getting new management at my office. I hope this will mean increased opportunities for more interesting work for me, and a chance to get recognized a little. I don't know if this is oldest child syndrome or what, but gosh I like to hear that I'm smart once in a while.

Judy, aren't you clever to team up with your daughter on WW! And to help her by making frozen meals for her to take out later...it's loving and probably helps keep you in the ww mindset. I find when I throw stuff out in the kitchen it helps me not eat...maybe I'm comforted by being near the food without eating it sometimes.

By the way. Eating 3 whole portobello mushrooms, cooked in ff Italian dressing will give you gas. Do not try this at home.

choosewell, of the Dry Tortugas

Water! Water!

[Lin S]

Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, I'm feeling your tears reading your post. You've been struggling so long to get past this plateau. It's hard to keep going in the face of this and I admire your determination. I admire the way you wrote in your journal and walked off your disappointment. You go, girl. You'll get there. I was reading a couple of posts on Dotti's site from people who stuck with the program for several months of 0 losses. Then they started losing again. I think sometimes our bodies want to adjust to what we've lost before they're willing to give up more. (Remind me I said this when it's my turn for the dreaded plateau.)

I'm sorry you didn't get the job you wanted. But I'm glad you have paying work to do. I think you had about as bad a week as it gets. I'm sure it will get better. Good luck and keep us posted.

The marathons help my writing in several ways. They build up a solid word count. The only way to be a better writer is to write more words of whatever type of writing you want to get better at. So we only count words that have to do with fiction, poetry, play, nonfiction articles for magazines, etc. It can be background material, but not posts to the forums, chat, emails, etc.

Another thing they do is to take the inner censor/editor out of the mix. You cannot write 5, 8, 10K in a day if you're agonizing over making every word perfect. So it helps you to just let the words come, to get the story on the page where you can do something with it. Standard writer advice: You can't edit a blank page, but you can edit garbage. (garbage isn't the word that actually goes there, but I don't know if you can post it on this site.)

Third, it pushes me. I know I can write a minimum of 2K every day. But I've watched the pros I know working their fingers off because their editor called and said they had to move up their deadline. They end up writing or editing (or both) large amounts in a short period of time. The marathons are good training if that ever happens to me. We have editing marathons, too, and when I have something to edit, I'll do some of those periodically.

Judy-- for you. 10.8 # in 11 weeks is a great, steady weight loss. You're so focused these days. And you're moving.
Good job.

I'm still doing fine. I walked about an hour today. I'm using flex points to cover that I've been wanting a bit more protein (which may be due to the walking). And I've been needing a bit more food, in general. TOM looms. But I'm not going over, so I'm happy with the way things are going for me.

Are you all moving?

[Itryharder]

Hi Turtles,

Lauren, don't cry. This will get better. So what if you've used the Flexpoints for the week? Just hit your target points or as close to them as you can get. Surely the exercise from leaving your keys inside while you were outside will make a big difference! You can do this.

Lin,
so glad you're OP. I know what you mean about 50 pounds and then 50 pounds. I managed to lose 65 pounds once and got down to 128. I have to say at 5'4" I looked spiffy. I also lost almost 60 pounds at two other times in my life, but egads now I have more like 80 to lose and that's if I can struggle down to 140.
However, You're doing great with OP and exercise and your writing. I love your attitude.

Choosewell,
I'm not worrying about the big numbers I have to lose right now. This is how I see it. Every day I can make a choice to do the right thing for myself. We all know the time goes by anyway and we all watch what we eat. Might as well throw in the exercise and give this a bigger effort than I have in awhile so that I can get results.
I am so glad the turtle group mentality helped you with exercise. You go girl! Our site is the better for your having joined. Hey, give yourself a pat on the back. You certainly sound smart to me!
Bosses usually are not apt to recognize genius. They're too busy watching out for everything else!

So, it comes back to me--yesterday was tough. I didn't exercise and although I didn't really blow it, my eating wasn't where I wanted it to be. Today I am struggling, but the food is better and I'm hopping on the treadmill in a minute. Sometimes I think I fear success, how silly. So--let me stop being so analytical and just do this day by day. I've been successful for 11 weeks and there is every reason to think I can keep on doing this.

Good vibes to everyone.
Love,
Judy