LA Weight Loss - Lawl Losers And Friends - January 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
:newyear:
New Year = New YOU!!!
2007 is OUR YEAR!!! A year of healthy choices, exercise, meal planning, achieving intentions, and a year of SUCCESS!!!
WE CAN DO IT!
We ARE WORTH it!
Our families deserve the healthiest person we can be!
WE deserve to be the healthies we can be!
So, no matter what happened in 2006 - it's behind us!
2007 is here...
OUR YEAR!
We can do this together!
You can do this!

Reminder: We're asking all our LAWL friends and newbies to put LAWL in their signature or somewhere so that newbies will know and everyone will know what plan you're on. Of course, everyone is welcome here, it just makes it easier especially for the newbies, to know what plan a suggestion and/or advice is coming from!

The only failure I can have is to quit! I'm a Loser. I'm NOT a quitter!

Happy New Year!!:newyear:

I only made 1 resolution this year and that is to exercise!:woops:
Hope everyone is doing well in this new year! I plan to get focused and get my fat self thinner this year! Sorry I have'nt posted in a while my work schedule has been so hectic and very long hours (10 hrs + days) so here's to getting on plan and staying. I did go to weigh in Sat and was down 6 oz over Christmas....I'll take it! :D

Morning all! Welcome newbies!
:woo: :balloons: :newyear:
I would like to thank all of you for your continued support and friendship. I am really excited that so many of us will be hitting our goal in 2007, the year of US! :carrot: Now I can finally get out my awesome planner from Pearl and put it to good use. Ladies, (and Dan), you deserve to feel great. You deserve to wear the clothing that makes you feel beautiful. After all isn't that what all of this WL effort is really about? We want to look fantastic, right? I just wanted to say that at this very moment, whether you are a size 2 or a size 20, you are all beautiful women to me. Getting to know your hearts, you challenges, successes, and watching as you pull each other up and share you love and kind words has truly touched my heart. Here is to us doing it up big time in 2007!!!:dancer:

Hello everyone, I am back. I am sad to say I have inched back up the scale and as of this morning I am at 169. I am back on plan as of today, I am going to get my journal out, dust it off, and get to business. I am going to throw away all the Christmas cookies and snacks in the house. I am going to get back to the gym. And I am going to post here more.
I was never gone from here. I was checking in every few days and reading the friends thread, I just kept quiet because I was being so "bad"
It looks like there are alot of new people here to get to know. I hope I can grab on to some of your enthusiaism, I have been at this a while.
I am proud of all of you regulars who have stuck with it through the holidays and have had losses, you are an inspiriation.
We can do this!

Hey Lisa, great to see you! I know what you mean about keeping quiet when you are being bad. I have done that a lot too. Probably the opposite of what we should do, huh? Anyway, great to have you back!

Good morning ladies! Happy New Year and Welcome newbies!

Pearl - thank you for kicking off the year in your typical cheerleader fashion!

LJ - So good to see you back here. You're right about us tending to lurk when we're "bad", but that's when we need each other the most. Stay out here!

Katie - As always, your kind words touch my heart.

Kayla - Welcome back and we look forward to more of your posts.

As for me, I am definitely looking forward to eating clean and lean. Too much overindulgence in the past 2 weeks has left me feeling kinda blah. Looking forward to getting back OP.

I'm trying hard to be POP today, and went go take down the Christmas tree today, and what did I do, but popped 2 dark chocolate covered espresso beans into my mouth. *rolls eyes* But that's IT! The rest of the day I'll be POP! I promise! ;)

Had some maddening news yesterday...someone stole my CD case out of my car, as the car was IN MY DRIVEWAY. They also tried to steal my custom taillights but only got as far as disconnecting one of them...left it dangling by the wires. Argh! We filed a police report about the CDs and gave them as close a list as I could come up with of what was taken. *sad*

Why do people have to be such punks? :mad:

At least they didn't take away my LAWL, or you guys, right? :D CDs are SO replaceable.

Happy New Years Everybody!!!

Lisa - great to see you back again, it out of the woodwork time for certain....we just keep popping up like mushrooms.

I am feeling resolve this first day of the New Year...but sadly I have demolished 2 lovely chocolate truffles and it isn't even noon:o
OK they are all gone and that's that.

Have a great day.
-S

I am looking forward to getting on track again. I am actually looking forward to T/O tomorrow and Wednesday. I need it I think.

Last night was fun. I did to much indulging but I had a blast. Took downt he tree today and ordering my NYE pics. I love my new camera I got for Christmas. It took AMAZING pictures inside the dark bar.

Have a good day everyone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Pearl, Thank your getting us fired up and ready to be losers!

I hope that you all have enjoyed the holiday season and have your games faces on.

Yes, we are worth it and I know that we can all do it. I may be doing it as I said in about 8 weeks without the COD, but I am going to do it.

Everyone, enjoy your 1st day of the year! Reflect on positive things and do something for you today.

Happy New Year to ALL!!! http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/party0039.gif (http://www.thesmilies.com)

My resolution is to check back in with y'all more often! I miss you guys!

I am doing TO today and tomorrow - gotta get my bad self back in gear and on the weight loss train!

LJ - good to see you again!

Happy New Year Everybody! :newyear:

Time to jump back on the wagon again. I didn't dare jump on the scale yet. I'm sure I gained back all the weight, plus some.

Here's to a new year and a new beginning!

Yay Pearl! Thanks for the motivation. :cheer2:

Kayla- :exercise: Exercise is on my list this year too. Congrats on the loss during Xmas!

Katie- Thanks for the kind words. You are such a sweetheart! Meeting you all in 2006 was a huge blessing for me! I hope we can schedule an LAWL reunion/meeting, I'd love to meet everyone face to face.

Lisa- WELCOME BACK! I like your new avatar. I hope you continue to join us, we miss you.


Cassie- Happy New Year! How are you feeling? Is your back any better? I too am looking forward to eating clean and lean, I feel like a blob after all that xmas eating. YUCK.

Megan- Sorry to hear about your car getting broken into. I hope they can catch the thiefs.

Last night was a total bust...I was NOT on plan and today I feel so yucky. I did not make good food choices and have a tummy ache to prove it! Why oh why do we do this to ourselves? Starting tomorrow morning I am seriously on boot camp. NO Cheating, exercise at least 20 min. a day and PLAN PLAN PLAN my meals.

Here's :dust: to all!

Good luck and much success in 2007! :woo:

Happy New Year my friends!
Lisa J, Dolphn, Lori - good to see you coming out of hiding.
Cassi - hope your back is better.
Katie - try any new dishes today? You were on a cooking frenzy the last week!
Pearl - is DS home yet? I'll bet you can't wait to see him. I saw a bunch of buses unloading at the big church across the street from my house and thought maybe they were returning from KC as well. I was just reading ALL the closing entries on the December 2006 thread and just read your prayer for all of us. You don't know how good it felt to read those words. Thanks...as always, we are blessed with your presence. To everyone that has filled out your Celebration Inventory and 2007 Intentions - thanks for taking the time to do this for YOU!
Happy 1 year anniversary Lea Ann!
My holiday indulgences caught up with me and my evil scale soared to 159. I know I did not consume that many calories to gain 8 pounds in two weeks; it's probably a combination of water retention, going back on the "pill", and (TMI) being stopped up! I'm hoping to remedy the final problem with the Smooth Move tea tonight (thanks for that recommendation Katie).
Like so many others, I'll be doing TO tomorrow. I bought the Knudsen juice on sale at Kroger - 2/$5.00. I popped on the site tonight to get the "Cassi Conconction" (recipe for Take Off juice). I put it on the LAWL recipe thread so it's easier to locate. If anyone thinks that is illegal or wrong, just let me know and I'll take it off.
Did 60 minutes exercise today; so far I'm holding true to my New Year's Intentions!

Joni- Yes, actually, I made a crock pot cream of mushroom soup tonight that is fantastic. I will post it on the recipe thread.

I cannot believe how hard of a time I am having tonight. I am really dreading going back to work tomorrow. I have really enjoyed being home.

Katie - I already printed out the recipe. I'll make it Wed night so I can enjoy it after TO the next two days. It's actually getting chilly here so I'll enjoy some warm soup!

Sorry you've got the blahs about going back to work. You've definitely seemed happier spending time at home with the family. My DH feels the same way about his job lately, and I hope he figures out a solution that will make him happy!

Happy New Year everyone... My DW and I got back on plan today, for the most part, except for the popcorn I ate at the movies.. That's my one true downfall.. I just can't enjoy a movie at the theatre without popcorn.. At home it's not an issue.. But I didn't have as much as usual and shared it with the kiddos.. Luckily, we don't go the movies all that often.. lol...

TO starts tomorrow and we'll weigh in after work.. I'm not looking forward to it.. Wish us luck!

Dan- Try this for your popcorn:
Pop 1/4 cup dry kernels in the microwave in a brown paper lunch bag with the top rolled down. When the corn is popped, melt 1 teaspoon of butter with 1 teaspoon of honey, pour over popcorn, salt with Mortons, and shake well. Starch, Fat, Condiment

I always put this in my purse and sneak it in the theater, along with a baggie of grapes or orange sections.

Hi everyone! I need a little encouragement.....I've lost 32 pounds so far (since mid September), and I'm starting to get really nervous that I'm not going to be able to keep it up. Nothing has prompted this, but I think the fact that I've just realized that I've never lost more than this before is really hitting home. I still have such a ways to go, and I'm just scared that I won't be able to do it.....that I'll mess it up as I've done MANY times before. I know this makes no sense, but thanks for listening.....

Julie on LAWL

Hey Hey!! Wow yall have been chatty today! Two pages already! Thought it would be best if I got caught up tonight! So here I am getting ready for a tomorrow starting FF, going to WI and planning/shopping for meals/food. Will be a busy day not to mention I have to go to the office. I knew that I wasnt going to be starting FF till tomorrow so I didnt exaclty watch what I was eating today and had basically anything. I probably should have limited myself today and went ahead and eaten OP for today and that would make tomorrow a little easier but since its FF and not TO I didnt figure I would have any problem.

Hello to all the newbies! I am not a newbie but i fall into the category of fallen off the wagon and lost my way group lol. However I am back!

Pearl~ thanks for the heads up I will alter my user info to show im on LAWL/Red. Also thanks for the awesome start to the Jan 07 thread!!

Kayla~ WTG on the 6oz loss hey an oz is an oz!!

Katie~ Its been great getting to know you in 06 and 07 will be a great year. Sorry about you having to go back to work dont you just love holidays!

Lisa~ Hi! the one great thing about this MB is that if you fall off the wagon everyone here is right there to help you get back on!

Cassi~ I am with you on the looking forward to getting back OP!!!!

Megan~ Its OK! We have all done it and guess what it will probably happen again. As long as its not everyday all day long you are good to go!

Sznn~ hey! Arent you glad the choc is gone!!! I threw some out today lol got some weird looks but it needed to go!

Barb~ Hi! What kind of camera did you get? I am looking a several different cameras mine is about dead.

Ulanda~ Great postive message! Hope you had a great 1st day as well!!

Lori~ GL on TO!! I am doing FF tomorrow and Thursday!

dophn~ Welcome Back! I have to face the COD tomorrow too not looking forward to it but its the best shock therapy there is!

Debbie~ I will join you on that book camp! I dont know why we do that to ourselves but if you figure it out let me know!! By the way im not far from you Im in Clarksville!!

Joni~ thanks for the info i might have to stop by Kroger and stock up on a few bottles of Knudsen I will open my last bottle tomorow. GL on TO!!!

Dan~ Its great to see a guy on here welcome !!!!

Julei6363~ First off Congrats on 32 lbs that is AWESOME!!! :carrot: :carrot: I know what you are going through. I had lost 23 lbs and have never lost over 25 lbs before. I let the doubts and fears get the best of me. Once you acknowledge them and allow them to take over its hard to stay focused. Try setting a small goal to get you over that bump you normally havent gotten past and set up some kind of reward for it! i am looking forward to knocking those fears and doubts out of the ballpark very soon! I just have to get back to 23 lbs lost lol. Try to remember all the hard work you have put into this so far and all the good things and changes. Now set your mind on the next 32 lbs!!! You have come this far keep it going!!!!

Ok I am tired now its off to bed with me!

I don't think that I have ever been prouder to be from Idaho. Goooooooo Boise State Football! You guys rule!!!!!

Uggghh!

Today wasn't so stellar in the chow dept.
To many tempting foods around - must clean out the trigger foods and get on track.

Here's to tomorrow :cheers: (thats just water!)

-S

Julie- You know, sometimes I think that winning the mind game is half the weight loss battle. You have managed to come this far, make good choices, and form new good habits. You have lost 4 gallons of milk worth of weight. There is just no reason to turn back now. I would guess that you are feeling better than you have in a while, you clothes fit better, and your plan is running like clockwork now. Studies show that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and you have been doing it for over 3 months now. Good news, you have already put into motion good eating habits that are going to stick with you! Do you know what LAWL stands for? Lifestyle Adjustment. I believe that this plan is made to be followed forever, without much pain or sacrifice, really. You are worth this Julie!! You deserve this, and I know that you can do it. Keep your head down, keep working hard, and you will get to that goal!!

Julie and Jodi - :welcome2:

Whitney - So nice to be able to put a face to the name. Love the avatar. Deb's right - you are a cutie.

Sherry - So glad to see you back here!

Megan – Sorry about your CDs. At least they didn’t steal the car!

Joni – I know about the evil scale. I jumped (OK, maybe not “jumped” with my back and all, more like carefully stepped) on Sunday night and it soared to 210.4. I was back down to 207.4 yesterday and 204.0 this morning. But… That’s still a 6lb gain in two weeks, so I have some work to do.

Katie – I’m sorry about the work thing. If I had my choice, I would stay home too. But I hope that you can make the best of the situation and at least learn to like it there, or find a situation that you can enjoy. It’s much easier if you don’t hate the place you are going to when you leave your kids. Hugs to ya, girl. And I love the suggestion about the movie popcorn! Thanks for that.

Julie – I know how you feel about the 32lbs staying off. I joined LAWL at the end of March. In June I went on a cruise with the family. I kept thinking that I was going to gain back the 30lbs I had lost in the one week, or that I would just never get back on the plan. I think a lot of us go through that around the 25-30lb mark. All of a sudden, you realize that you have really been doing this plan, and not cheating, and not quitting. You start to wonder if it’s for real. But you’ve come to the right place because we have all been there. The weight loss is real, and it is because of you. It’s your hard work that is making your body healthier. Just keep on keepin’ on and you will see that it’s not a dream.

Sznn – I always thought we should start a new plan January 2nd, and not the 1st. You are getting rid of the leftovers on the 1st. Don’t consider it a day off plan, look at today as your first official day. So glad to see you back.

As for me, the back is getting better. I'm back at work today, but still have the painkillers in case. I was really bummed because I wanted to jump on my Gazelle this weekend, but I guess that will have to wait a week or so.

Yesterday was my first POP day in a few weeks. It felt wonderful!

To all my chickies doing TO, I wish you luck and lots of losses.

I will check in later. Hope everyone has a POP day.

Hello Friends!! I'm glad to hear that most of you had a great Christmas and an overall awesome New Year. I haven't been posting much, just lurking around. I'm proud to annouce that I've maintained my weight of 133.5 during the holidays and did my best to stay POP, so i'm happy! I did allow myself to have an occasional bite of some See's candies, but that's about it. (Thank god there were no Potato Chips around!) My DH and my mom kept telling me that I can endulge a little bit because it was the holidays, but I just didn't allow myself to, because I know that once I do, there's just no stopping me. So, POP it was. I've missed so much here on the boards, so I'll try to address as many people as I can.

Pearl: You are a great motivator. I'm so glad that you're a part of our group. Thanks for starting the Jan 2007 thread.

Kayla: Congrats on the 0.6 pounds over Christmas.

Katie: So glad to finally have you back on the boards. Continued success to you this New Year.

LJackson: That's a great attitude to start the New Years off! Did you throw away all of those cookies and snacks?

Cassi: Always glad to see you. You'll get back on track, no worries girl!

Megan: Sorry to hear about your CD's and your tail light. I don't know why people have to be such punks! It just plain sucks!

Sznn, Barb, Ulanda, Lori, Dolphn, Debbie, Joni, and the rest of you that I missed.......:wave: Hello!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE AND GOOD LUCK ON STAYING POP!!

We can do it!! 2007!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Just when I thought New Year's Eve would not be a problem, I end up in Sonics drive thru. :mad: Oh well, so that was New Years Eve, so I am in a whole new year now with a whole new attitude. I am going for it this time. keep on keepin on

This year is gonna be it, by the time my Bday has come around July 5th, I hope to be down at least 50lbs...wooo hooo!!! That's about 7lbs a month . That's gonna take hard work and dedication, but I'm ready!! :belly: (me this summer ...lol.)

Well really I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and we are all gonna be :flame: this year.

Britt: I got a Canon Powershot SD600... OH How I love that camera!!!!!!!!! I did alot of research before I went looking and this little camera is AWESOME! Like I said it takes awesome dark bar pics! My last one was a good camera just took dark pics.

I will catch up on personals later on! I am on day 1 of T/O~

Dan- Try this for your popcorn:
Pop 1/4 cup dry kernels in the microwave in a brown paper lunch bag with the top rolled down. When the corn is popped, melt 1 teaspoon of butter with 1 teaspoon of honey, pour over popcorn, salt with Mortons, and shake well. Starch, Fat, Condiment

I always put this in my purse and sneak it in the theater, along with a baggie of grapes or orange sections.


So you put the corn in dry? and leave the bag open? Interesting concept.. I'll try it soon!. I'll skip the honey though. I don't much like sweet popcorn..

Thanks for the great suggestion!!

Back on track today (Jan 2) after a week of free for all! I'm doing TO today and tomorrow and really looking forward to cleaning the toxins out of my system. I love that juice!

Spent a day with a friend of mine who has hit her goal on LAWL and she looks so amazing. She lost 43 lbs and looks so healthy - not that lost too much look, you know? She really inspired me, as do so many of you here on this board. I'm going to try to be a bit more active on the board - maximize the support that is here to receive and try to give some back as well!

Hey Rooster Dan - I'll let Katie step in, but I THINK she meant close the top (pinch the 2 sides together) and roll down a little bit. If you didn't, wouldn't the popped corn go everywhere???? I always sneak in the "healthy" popcorn when I got the movie. I'm at the point where the movie popcorn doesn't even taste good to me!

Sandy - that's great about your friend. How long did it take her to lose her lbs?

Evette - You are truly in the right mindset these days. Congrats on being POP during the holidays. I know I want this program to be my lifestyle and not a chore, but I blew it over the holidays and I'm paying for it now. I'm back on track and still trying to figure out what triggers my "cheats." I don't think I'm stressed or bored with things. Hmmmm....I'll have to ponder this for a bit.

Holly, Mama Nicole, Heather, Nance....pop in and say hi!!

Hello long lost chickies and you too Rooster Dan!

I did great over Christmas, made it through my DD's 3rd birthday and then totally crashed over New Years eve...and no it had nothing to do with alchol, just rotel and crab dip and chili and dip...dip on everything! I have never done this, okay atleast not since starting LAWL. What gives? My DS's birthday is Friday and my mind's like...Yeah, cake! And I know it should not even be going there! I am planning on a TO as soon as I make it to the store for some Knudsens!!! Wish me luck ....

I have the best DH, he got me my iPod I have been wanting...so I actually started walking again, I got my You on a Diet book,...read it in 2 days, loved it. I got a new table and chair set and fuzzy socks and sz 7 undies for when I get there! (he is planning ahead) It was wonderful...

My children are spoiled rotten, my DH is maybe neglected alittle and I am so done with traveling! I hope to stay home the rest of the month....

I hope everyone had a great Christmas as I am NOT going to be playing catch up on the Dec. thread....sorry, I just can't bring myself to do it...not that much time in my days. I wish you all a wonderful New Year and here's to goal....

Happy New Year chickies and roosters!

Oh, I am sooo on TO! New Year, new month, new week, et al! Actually like Joni and Cassi said - I'm sick of all of the holiday food. I'm ready for some good clean livin'!

Megan - Sorry about the car, it makes you feel so violated, doesn't it? When I lived in a local downtown city, my car got 'tagged' with permanent marker. I was soooo pissed!

Cassi - I'm glad your back feels better. Remember to baby it for a while even when it feels good.

Evette - you continue to astound and inspire me. I can't wait until I get in the kind of zone you are in!

Lisa - welcome back to posting! You lurker you! C'mon and post even if you are not POP, we like to talk.

Katie - it is so good to hear you in good spirits these past few weeks. I hope that this means that you are feeling better. All of these go getter attitudes on this board are making me motivated!

Joni - I know what you mean about triggers and not having any idea. I can say that this past week I did not have LAWL in the forefront of my consciousness at all. I just dropped it like a rock. I have to get over the holiday mentality. Forget the pounds gained, I feel yucky inside.

Barb - Glad you are enjoying your christmas camera so much!

OK folks, back to my knudsens (ha ha, the Knudsens company is enjoying a banner start to the year! Sales must be WAAAAY up:D )

Pearl, I hope that DS is back and enjoyed his trip. Lea Ann- yuck, back to work, huh?

Hi to all others - Nicole, Kristen, Donisha, the Debs, Meagan, and all others!

Good morning everyone!

Dan - It's great to see you out here again - but when is that gorgeous wife of your gonna come out and cluck with the rest of us chickies?

Lori - I've been thinking about you a lot lately! Glad to see you back out here. Please stay with us! I miss you when you're not here!

TO today for DH and I. DS got in at 5a.m. Monday but stayed at a friends house to sleep. Then called at 2 to let us know they had driven straight through but he wanted to stay a while longer with his friend that is going back to college today... so we let him! (Bummed he wasn't ready to rush right back home, but it was sweet last night when we got him back!) He really had an awesome time and God did some wonderful things. DS knows his calling for his life now, to be an example and a voice for his generation! WOO HOO! He's so pumped up and excited!

Well, gotta go weigh our chicken for today's TO menu. Working on cultivating come new recipes so hopefully I'll be posting some after TO (No use torturing myself!)

Today is the first day of a healthier life for all of us!!! Let's do it!
(I had lemon water already, something I never do!!!) I'm trying to arrange to pick up my Gazelle this afternoon. I'm soooo excited!
Hugs, and :dust: from the whatever we decided I was! :)

Katie--I thought of you last night. As an OU fan I have total respect for your guys--what an awesome game--regardless who you are rooting for! WOW.

Hello everyone,

I decided to do TO today and tomorrow. I was trying last week but was a week too early, so I am going for it today.

Sounds like everyone is ready to change things up in their lives. It's a great thing to do, get healthy.

My DD is 13 y/o and thin, I told her that just because she was thin that she should never get in her mind that she can eat any and everything, because I was the same size she is now when I was 20 y/o until I got married at 21. I explained to her that I didn't want her to live a life of yo-yo dieting, but I wanted her to learn to make healthy choices right now so that it would just be the way she eats all the time. So I have eliminated diet soda and I told her that she would only be allowed soda on occassion. She was fine with that she said she would rather have juice anyway. I also told her that her candy intake was going way down as well, she didn't take that as well.:)

DH and I have decided on the treadmill and now we have to go an order it. The one that we want isn't in the store yet, but it's the best deal. Of course I would like the Cadillac of treadmills, but I don't want to spend that kind of money.

Have a wonderful 2nd day of the New Year! It's back to work for me tomorrow.

Hello Ladies
Kim Glad to see you back!!! Well I must have had some brain meltdown between Xmas and New Years as I seemed to completely forget what LAWL was. Okay truthfully I was not that bad around the food but did indulge in cocktails. Everyone we were with yesterday went and got McDonald's for lunch, including DH and the kids but I said no to it all. Unfortunately my other choices showed a 6lb gain on my scale this morning!! Cassi you and I will both be hardcore to get rid of it! Last night we did get a thin crust veggie pizza and I made a big salad to have with it. I like Pearl and her DH have been craving the vegs and fruit like mad. Your body really does tell you what it wants!
So we all have a bit of a bug and are right tired and worn out. But DH and I are going to try and go for a walk and I am on day 1 of Takeoff. I'm actually looking forward to some plain broccoli and chicken! So my hope is that the lemon water I will be drinking like it's going out of style and the TakeOff will help get rid of the holiday gain. I know there is no way that I ate an extra 21,000 calories so it must be some retention etc.
The new avatar is of me and the girls in our Green Bay fan gear. The oldest has a cheerleader costume and the youngest a jersey. If Brett Favre retires my husband asked if I would be in mourning and wear black for a year...now that I think about it, that's an awfully slimming color!
The nicest thing about this board is to go on and see how many other people indulged, gained, cheated etc over the holidays and how excited everyone is to start anew. It's great to have the support.
For all the lurkers and MIA it's great to have you back and for the newbies, jump in and chat away, we welcome you.

For all those doing TO today and tomorrow stay strong!!! Pick a great recipe for Thursday night from the threads or your cookbooks to celebrate!

Where do I start??...
Well, I have been completely off plan since 12/24/06. I am not proud of myself. I however did not gain anything, and actually lost .6 of a pound at my weigh in last Thursday. I dont know how to explain that one.
I'm back to work today after 8 days off, and ready to be POP. So far so good. I'm always good at work, it's when I get home, that I get in trouble. It's like I'm starving when I get home, even if I have had an apple or soemthing right before I leave work, I really think my body is just craving carbs and thats what gets me. I ussually stay OP but have my weak moments like everyone else. I'm kinda discouraged with my weight loss, I was hoping to get that 2 lbs per week, and honestly probably would have done it, if not for cheating. So in 2007 it's my goal to cheat as little as possible, and excercise.
I hope everyone is doing well, and godd luck to everyone in 2007!

Candace Evert

Morning all--glad to be back. Not even gonna attempt personals. I will openly admit to being a slug lately. Just finished watching hours of the Ford funeral. Pomp and circumstance gets me every time! I am thrilled to say that as "bad" as I felt I was being (plus the post Christmas TO--loved doing it with oranges) that I am exactly where I have been since the summer. But now is the time to get back in gear--geez--how many times have I said that?!? Anyway--I won't negate the progress I have made so this is where I am and I know what I have to do--and I know that together we can accomplish so much in '07.

Welcome to the newbies! I hope you get all you need from this great site--believe me--if you have questions someone around here will be able to answer them.

Welcome BACK to the veterans--you have been missed and I am so happy you are back--stay with us. I know we all seem to drift occasionally but the fact that you drift back shows dedication to your healthy self!!

My house is STILL a post holiday wreck and I must find the motivation to put things back where they belong. Every decoration I own in now confined to the dining room so it must be boxed and put back in the attic. UGH. I have to go to work tomorrow and the kids come back on Thursday. Can you believe I already have a kid for the first day back?? No idea what he did but it must have been good.

Okay--off to do something productive--I hope!!

Kristen--it's okay to mourn--for a while. I sure did when Troy Aikman retired and got married! BOO HOO.

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I went to the gym and worked out this morning, and then went for the weigh in......all good! I moved down to the purple plan, so that's exciting! I was watching the Ford funeral on the treadmill and Tom Brokaw said something that was really an "AH HA!" for me! He said that Ford would get so mad when he didn't do his best, but he would get madder if he stopped trying! That's how my diet is going to work!!! Have a fabulous day everyone!

Julie on LAWL

Julie that is awesome that you were able to take something from the Ford funeral and turn it into positive motivation for you! Of course that wasnt very motivating tv to exercise too. I am sad that I missed it and will have to catch recaps of it on the news later. I was out running errands.

Went to WI and i was at 276.6 and I am ok with that because back in October i was 275 so I really havent gained much since then so i have kind of been maintaining i guess even thought i have been eating anything and everything. I will be getting my ticker back up in a little bit. Have to head to the kitchen and fix my lunch.

Doing good so far. My COD calls it LA Express instead of FF as well i think it was Joni that mentioned that. The girl looked at me like I was crazy when i said FF. She also said that there would probably be some slight changes in the next 3-6 months and the lettuce would probably be one of them however she said for now keep it at 1 cup. I really didnt realize how long I had been off of LAWL but she said said I had not bee in since the end of July. :o That was kind of wake up for me. I really thought i had been since then. I lost 23 weight loss weeks and that hurts but she said i have 26 left which is a little over half a year and I will see what I can do with that.

Glad to see everyone doing so well today! have a great day and will catch ya later this afternoon off to do some work!

Hey all! Well, I survived the holidays and was down .6 at this morning's WI. Woohoo! I wasn't very good at writing down EVERYTHING I ate...somehow I'd forget to write down the odd piece of candy here or there that would slip into my mouth. *innocent look*

But one thing I did write down was that at lunch one day I'd added 5 BBQ chips to my lunch of 1/2 a turkey sandwich and baby carrots. Wouldn't you know the COD girl zoned in on that and wouldn't leave it alone? You'd think I'd eaten a whole bag the way she was talking. :dizzy: I was like, LOOK, girl, if I want to eat FIVE little BBQ chips, all the Wheat Thins in the world aren't going to steer me away from it. I wonder what she would have done if I'd written EVERYTHING I'd eaten. Hah! I'd probably still be in there.

I'm going to try to exercise 30 mins 3 times a week, moving forward. If I can get down to 185 by Valentine's Day, I will be a happy girl! :carrot:

I've been reading through some posts and just trying to get to know you all a little bit. I'm really happy to be back here...I know we can do this together!

I'm not brave enough to post my current weight and my goal just yet. I think seeing it on a ticker will look like I have so far to go. So I'm just going to start with a goal of 10 pounds to lose by the end of the month.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome back. I am happy to say that after one day of POP I am down 2 pounds from yesterday. If only that could happen everyday! I could not tell you the last time I have been POP. The last date I had recorded in my journal was oct 10! It felt good to be in control again.
I threw all the cookies away yesterday- now I am just trying to part with the chocolate. That is going to be hard to give up, I am going to have to go out and buy some chocolate flavored Luna bars.
By the way, I don't know if anyone noticed but I bumped my goal weight up to 155. When I get there I will re evaulate.

Evette- congratulations to you- you are the first person on this thread I have seen to make their goal- you are an inspiration!

Have a good day everyone!

Megan - Congrats on the loss. Love your new picture...yup - quite the innocent look you've got!

Lisa - Lovely new picture!! Run, don't walk, to the store for those Luna bars! Step away from the Chocolate!

Britt - it is amazing how time flies. Make good use of your remaining weeks and you'll see great results. I like that you added the exercise ticker to your signature. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to do that one, but I finally figured it out from tickerfactory.com. I know I only have about 10 COD weeks left myself. Unless they give me a really sweet deal, I'll be on my own. I actually should pay some of the folks on this site instead of my COD anyway, since you gals give me way better support, advice, etc.

Lea Ann - my house must look like yours. "Every decoration I own is now confined to the dining room." A few days after Christmas I start moving things to the Dining Rom table so when pack up time comes, I don't leave stragglers behind. I'm usually not this slow cleaning up, but I'm in no rush. My (former) step-daughter just told me it's bad luck to have your tree up after New Year's Day -- even if it is fake. Oh well.....what can I say.

Candace and to everyone who lost during this holiday season ... you are my heros!

Julie - I was touched by what you said Tom Brokaw said about Gerald Ford. What a great statement and a testimony that we just have to keep trying and doing our best. My treadmill run was a bit more upbeat. I watched a movie I had taped about 2 months ago - "High School Musical". It was fun and really got me in a good groove. The secret to loving the treadmill (or gazelle or whatever) is watching a good show!

Ulanda - it's great that you are teaching your daughter the smart way to eat; she'll appreciate it later in life (at least you can hope!).

Kristin - Hope you feel better and get your walk in. I like your idea of planning Thursday's menu -- something to look forward to. I'm afraid, though, if I start looking at yummy menus, I'll not get through this Take Off. For some reason, I am really hungry today. Guess I'll go drink some water!


"

So you put the corn in dry? and leave the bag open? Interesting concept.. I'll try it soon!. I'll skip the honey though. I don't much like sweet popcorn..

Thanks for the great suggestion!!

Roll the top of the bag down 2 or 3 times so that the popcorn does not fill the microwave! This is also awesome with a few shakes of tabasco sauce.

Hi gang..

Not sure when my DW will be posting.. She's been slammed at work and the fact that we took a week off only made it worse.. Since she's in the computer programming field, she stays off the computer as much as possible at home, so who knows... LOL...

As for the minor cheats here and there, my COD said to not sweat it.. 5 BBQ chips are not going to hurt you if you've been on the plan for a while.. I did that at Thanksgiving and felt guilty as hell.. But my fav counselor told me that a handful here and there isn't going to affect me because my body has adjusted to the diet and is better able to burn off the food I put in it..

Before we got on the plan, our bodies just packed in whatever we ate, but now, since ideally, we're eating better, exercising more and losing weight, our body can handle minor inclusions of things we shouldn't be eating.. That's not to say you should march down to the vending machine and buy a candy bar or a bag of chips, but if we grab a few from a bowl once in a while, we shouldn't feel to badly..

Cheers!

Katie - I love popcorn w/tabasco too! I also like it w/vinegar. One day I wanted salt and vinegar potato chips so bad, but didn't want to give in, so I put the vinegar on my popcorn for a substitute. I did the same things when I wanted wings one day and put the hot sauce on the popcorn. It was so good! That was a regular item for me during pregnancy. Glad to see I'm not the only weird one out there. My family thinks I'm nuts when I do that.

I started Take off today after 2 weeks of not being POP. I, too, am ready to get back on plan and forget all the eating and drinking I did the past 2 weeks. It all started with December 23rd party and ended New Year's Eve. I went to Nashville for the Music City Bowl where my team won, GO CATS!, and a lot of celebrating was going on. Anyway, I am working at being good and getting the new year off right! Hope everyone has a great day and stays on plan! I know we can do this!!!

Good Day All! FF is going well, so far so good! How is everyone else doing?

I am excited to get a decent nights sleep. It seems I haven't slept well since I started eating crappy around December 24th. It amazes me that when I eat junk it affects so many different aspects, after all that is how I used to eat all the time!! No wonder I was always tired.

Hang in there TO and FF friends, only 33 hours and 40 min left CST!!

Hello Friends. TO day 2 is going well just a few hours left to go and I will be on program tomorrow for a new start. This time I know I can do it. I will have my 1st official weigh in of the new year on Thursday.

Tina!!!! I was just thinking about you this morning, while I was in the shower! (Don't ask - it has to do with little girls and pony tails) I am glad to see you back with us!

I am glad to see that everyone has such a positive attitude to start off the new year. If we stick together, we can do this!


http://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/sporty/2/0033.gifhttp://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/sporty/2/0052.gifhttp://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/sporty/2/0053.gifhttp://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/sporty/2/0054.gif

Lori.. two pound to go to 75 loss? What is the reward going to be??

To all those on Takeoff.. one day down one to go. I actually enjoyed my 3 ozs of chicken and broccoli at lunch.. all the garbage in my system is on it's way out and the remainder is shouting horray for the good food. I wish that this Takeoff was going to net me a good loss instead of taking off what I put on over the holidays.. but such is life!

I've planned my meals for the week, enjoyed a green tea this morning and am looking forward to my 'real' healthy food on Thursday. Joni I'm going to post the Taco Salad but just go get the supplies for it late tomorrow when you are almost done! After takeoff any food to me is a treat!!

Hope you are all hanging in, not dropping from hunger and it's SO NICE to go through this with some other people. I think for some of us we are more honest on here than we are any other place in our life.. you can be sure I did not tell anyone else I gained 6lbs! Please let it be water retention..mmmmggfmmm... sorry sucking on lemons as we speak!

Well, TO is "so far, so good!" I actually did lemon juice this morning and I'm "intending" to do it everyday a.m. and p.m. It seems to give me a sore throat temporarily... so I really hate it! But I'm using frozen lemon juice instead of fresh lemons or the bottled stuff. Like it much better!
I agree about the chicken and lettuce for us! I really enjoyed them but still have more to go. I've been running to the potty every 30 min. and my boys are laughing at me!
I got my Gazelle today! It's nice but I can't get the monitor to work except for the pulse. It seems to be missing a "magnet cluster" that evidently goes on one end of the monitor but is a separate piece?!? Anyway, I've sent an email to CServ on the Gazelle site to see if it can be purchased separately. The young lady I purchased it from was 30 min. late meeting me so she knocked off $10, bringing it down to $40, an even BETTER price! So if I don't get the monitor to work, the machine still works! I'm happy! I got two videos with it too. I have to admit, I got on it for a few moments, but I'll need to work on my balance before trying to do too much on it!
ODS is asleep here in the chair - so tired from his trip! YDS is watching Pirates of the Carib. II for the second time. I'm just chilling for now. Got to start some keying tomorrow, but that's tomorrow!
Okay, gotta go (literally!)
I'll check back in later.
Hugs,

I am happy to see we are all onto a good start, renewing our minds and bodies with T/O and coming here. I will have to agree I am more honest here about what I am doing and not doing on my weight loss journey then in other places. I appreciate all the support and feedback we are all giving to each other. I find more support here then I can at the COD ANYDAY. Thank you to you all! WE CAN AND WILL DO THIS IN 2007.... 2007 is the year for the LOSERS!

Hey all! Another great POP day for me so far. I am making one of the tuna cassaroles from the threads for dinner. Work really was not too bad. The owner of the day care is coming tomorrow so that we can solidify our contract. There are a few things that I need to confront him on, and I really get intimidated by this guy, so wish me strength!

Tina- So good to see you girl!

Lori- What else do you think about in the shower?

Cassie- Vinegar on popcorn? That sounds awesome! I am really gonna have to try that!

Good evening everyone!
Pearl - you go girl! I am so uncordinated; I'd never get the hang of that contraption! My coordination is not very well! I'd look like I was doing wacky splits like Jerry Lewis!: LOL:!!
Hope everyone is doing well.
Well, I was suppose to be off today and ended up driving all the way to Pelham, AL (5 hr RT) to take DH his shaving bag and meds he left this AM I was not a happy camper! :rollpin: He started out the new year being a horses rear. He was mighty lucky that I'm a good wife!
So.... my walking has been postponed until tomorrow; I do have my bag ready to go though; I plan on leaving work and go to the track before coming home.
Evette - you rock! You deserve a big hug for staying POP over the Holiday!:grouphug:
Loir: 73 pounds :cheer::cheer::cheer: congradulations!!
Dan the Man welcome to the hen house! I was born in the great state of New Mexico! I love it out west! I can actually breathe allergy free out there!

Well gonna go catch some reruns of CSI before bed everyone have a great night!

Hello Everyone!! Today was a great op day today. My mom and I actually cooked dinner together tonight. We fixed the chicken parmesan and the cheddar cheese soup from the lawl cookbook and they were wonderful. We also tried the stir fried asparagus, but we just don't have a taste for asparagus!

I am also proud to say that my mom is starting her diet. Her workplace is doing their own version of TBL and last time they did it, she quit halfway through. This time she plans on sticking it out with help from me and this site (she doesn't post, but always is ''lurking''). I'm looking forward to experiencing success with her!! I have 2 weeks left of christmas vacation, so we're going to try lots of recipes. She's glad to have some help in the kitchen!

Hi gang..
Well, TO has been hard to take today, considering how much food we ate over the holiday..

But I'm happy to report that the exercising I did counteracted some of the damage we did (unintentionally or not) and I actually was down 1.2 at today's weigh in!

My DW was up a couple lbs, but she's taking it in stride and knows that the TO will help a lot..

Have a good night all!!

Good evening ladies! It seems that everyone is doing well with staying OP today. I think we are all ready to say goodbye to the past few weeks of putting junk into our bodies.

Krystal – I know what you mean about the sleep. I’ve definitely been more tired over the past two weeks. And to think this was normal for us before?

Lori – So what’s the 75lb reward going to be? You may not post as often as you’d like, but the scale still keeps going down. I really admire your strength.

Kristen – I made a taco salad today for lunch using the Morningstar black bean burgers. It was so good, I think I actually prefer it over the taco meat. I just put all of the ingredients in little containers and mixed it at work. Yum-O!

Pearl – My Gazelle works except for the pulse monitor! It really is fun to do. I don’t even use the videos. I just put something good on the TV and go.

Katie – I’m sending you some good vibes, and praying that you have the strength to negotiate fairly. Let us know how it goes.

Whitney – Glad to see you’ve made Mom a converyt. My COD is having a new year special starting 1/15 that anyone you refer gets 50% off the program fee and the weeks, and the person doing the referring gets $50 credit. Maybe you can convince mom to sign up.

Whitney’s mom – Stop lurking and come out and play with us! J

Dan – Great TO results! I did TO the day after Christmas and I noticed that this time I was really hungry too. I think it’s because of the junk we put into our bodies. I also think it doesn’t take too long for your stomach to stretch back to where it used to be. But it also doesn’t take long to shrink back. At least I’m hoping so.

Katie - good luck tomorrow; dress in your most confident attire and hold your head high! Hope the meeting/contract goes well.

Dan - Wow - nice loss for you. Tell DW there are a lot of us here who can relate to her "slight gain" situation!

Kayla - good to see you. and yes, you are a good wife!!!

Hey Cassi - I cross posted with you. I was happy to read what you said about TO because I was absolutely starving today. I'm not doing lites, but I caved in at some point and ate a Kashi bar and it was pure ambrosia and was just what I needed. So much for a perfect TO. Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure.

hi
I was wondering if anyone knows about how many calories the purple plan with lites is supposed to be. I decided to join 24 hr fitness and am meeting with my trainer tomorrow. She wanted to know how many calories I am eating and I have no clue.
Katie- good luck with your contract signing.

Everyone is sooo busy here! I appologize for not doing personals,and admire those of you who do.

I've done TO the past two days and it was okay -- my water is the hard part. I am not sure if I even drank all of it so that needs to be knocked up a level. I've been doing well at the gym, my goal is 4-5x cardio for 40-45 minutes and weights 2-3x a week. I did cardio yesterday and today for 40-45 minutes -- man can my legs feel it.

I printed out a bunch of yummy recipes from the board -- thank you very much for sharing! Tomorrow is the first day back to my real life (DH is back to work), but I am putting me first. I am going to plan my meals and stay on track -- no more rushing around shopping, etc.

Loved reading everyones inspirational stories; I will try and update my signature / ticker, but I started LAWL last December, and down about 25lbs. I really havnt done the program since last July, took some time off when the kids were home during the summer, then took 8 weeks off October/November and then never went back until 12/30. I'm hoping to make it work this time!

Hey everybody.

So yesterday I was all geared to be good on my new way of eating, then I get home and DH has brought home Chip Ahoy...arrrrggggg!!! I tried to resist but I think they were calling out to me, I had like 8 of them...ugh, and then 3 handfuls of tortilla chips....OMG :( . I immediately drank 3 glasses of water and then some lemon water, but I am sure I am pretty much doomed for WI this week. Went yesterday and did not lose a lb....ugh, frustrated but at the same time happy I did not gain.

I am thinking about starting the gym here at work, which may or not be good, it seems that the scale goes up when I work out. Weird huh?

Well I am back OP today, starting over again, so much for my 10lb goal by next week, I was down 7.4 we will see what it is when I WI Thurs....

I think I might join the gym at work, along with Donisha...so if she goes up, I'll be going up right along with her. But we'll get toned together, at least! I also caved in last night and ate about half a bag of movie popcorn...right after reading about how to make it guilt-free! :( Boo, hiss @ me!

But I'm also back OP today...and also drinking down the lemon water. Maybe it's the full moon that affected me! :dizzy:

Morning Everyone!
Day 1 of TO is behind me! Hopefully it's making a dent in my holiday pounds! I always think that if I gain it should be justified by a week's worth of eating all my favorite naughty foods instead of from the bit of extra wine or cheese I had. As I've said before I want a justifiable gain LOL!
Had a good day yesterday, enjoyed my juice and veggies and one more day to go today. I've even planned out my journal for the next two weeks so I can just shop and cook and try a few new dishes. Cassi and Deb I have one or two recipes I think we all may like that my COD doesn't know how to convert so if I send along perhaps you can send to the ominous LA Chef they won't let us Canadians have access to!
Pearl glad to see you put your photo back up :) Good luck on the gazelle, my first try on the Eliptical machine should have been taped for America's Funniest Home Videos.. it was quite comical! DH got me a yogo set, water bottle belt, gym bag etc for Xmas so is helping me along the way to a leaner me!
Hope you all have a good day, I'm off to consume my first half of a Lite bar for breakfast.. woohoo!! Looking forward to this time tomorrow when I'll have a cup of coffee in my hand and a true breakfast!

Cheers Everyone!
Donisha It's a new day so put yesterday behind you. We all had a few tough weeks. Start fresh today! I was up 6lbs over the holidays and had a choice of getting in a funk and sabotaging myself even more or else getting back on the healthy train..choo choo!

Mama Nicole and Cevert: You are missing your stats from TBL challenge.. get your numbers up there!! :)

Day 2 of TO, I'm not having a hard time with it this time, I guess my body was ready for a change. I also got back to the gym last night, so by noon my arms will be so sore I won't be able to lift my juice container! Ow.

Joni - You're going to Hawaii??? Very cool (did I read that here or in the exercise thread?) My boss goes there every year and she harps on me about it, but I'd have to get really good drugs for DH on the plane.

Katie - I hope that things go well today! Good Luck!

Donisha - Don't beat yourself up too badly, brush yourself off, and start over - maybe it won't show up on the scale? (fingers crossed for you)

Pearl - I'm so glad that your Gazelle transaction came through! Coordination is not my thing either, but it is amazing how quickly your body can rebalance once you do something a few times. At first I looked like a ******ed chicken on the elliptical, now I probably only look like a chicken.

Kristie - I think that I read somewhere that the purple plan/lites is between 1400-1600 cals per day? Can anyone else on purple verify that? Good luck with the trainer!

Kristen - I took your advice and started looking through my cookbook for something to make for tomorrow. Yummy. And - tell me about the honesty thing! Whew, not a lot of people know what I really weigh, and good lord, I sure never tell anyone what I gain! You guys know more about me in certain ways than my oldest friends.

Hmmm.... Where are you Nicole? It's not like you to be gone so long.... Miss you!

OK, more juice..... Good luck all!

Kristie - I log on Fitday and go anywhere from 1200-1600 calories per day. I think the average is more around 1550. You may want to log onto Fitday to track what your average is. It's free and it really gives you a good idea of calories in vs. calories expended.

Just wanted to say "Hi" from a newbie and wasn't sure if this was the place or not.

Recently found this board and recently joined LAWL.

Welcome HappyGirl! You have definitely found the right place. Just jump on in and ask anything or give your input. You will get to know us and will soon be doing personals too.

KrispieD,
Where do I enter my stats?? I hve been looking for the sight and have not been able to find it.
Anybody heard from Mama Nicole? It's not like her, to not be posting.

Candace Evert

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=184

Candace - Here's the link to the TBL forum. Go to Blue Team Stats and enter yours there.

Day 2 of TO also! Day one wasn't too good. I was okay until the evening and then....off the wagon! But not too terribly bad. I was done .6 lbs today which is better than up. I know what you mean about not telling or fibbing about your holiday gain. I was up almost 6 pounds but I am not telling anyone except you guys. I am trying to stay on TO today but I am beginning to feel like I have the stomach flu which is going around here. Maybe it is the TO that is messing with my tummy??? Anyone ever have that happen?? I am so glad to work on the diet with you all. I will try to do personals more often but time is always an issue for me (plus memory-ha). Have a great day and I'll get back sometime today!

Happy New Year everyone!

I have been completely off plan since right after Christmas and I feel terrible. All the Christmas candy was here calling my name, then DH, DS and I were all sick so we pretty much lived off junk food and fast food because I didn't feel like cooking. I haven't been to the center since last Wednesday. I'm afraid to face the scales.

Today is me and DH's 9th anniversary and we are going out to our favorite restaurant, Kanpai of Tokyo. It's a Japanese steakhouse where the cook the food in front of you. I know that my favorites are not on plan but I think since I've screwed up so much already, I'm going to order what I want tonight and get back POP tomorrow. I'm going to eat pretty light today though until dinner and drink lots of water. I'm not sure when I'll get the courage to go back to the COD though. I'm afraid I'll be back up to my starting weight.

Anyway, it was good to read that I'm not the only one who went completely wild over the holidays

Hi Girls.........
Thanks for missing me!!! I have been a bit down, a bit busy, a bit sick, and a bit tired of my loving extended family!!! I am back home now and sooooo ready to read everyone's posts and seriously get back to work. I had a sickly holiday gain........I don't kow the official yet, as I have not gone to the COD, but I am quite sure it is somewhere between 6 and 8 pounds. I haven't decided if I want to change my ticker or not. I'll decide after I go to the COD later today. I am on day 2 of TO. I have sick kids and a ton of work all around me after being at my parents house for so long. OMG, do I have the stories. I won't bore you all with them right now. I don't think I will be staying there for an extended stay EVER again!!! Ok, I am going to get a bit of work done, and then begin reading. I am so excited to find out how everyone's holidays went. I am pretty disappointed with myself for going off plan so bad. Did everyone have a gain, and if so, how bad was it? I just snowballed.............as soon as I had a free day...........I went from there.......and you know what is so funny? Food just isnt' that good!!! It is so much more enjoyable when you eat it in moderation. Anyway....I missed you all so much, and after just glancing at the last page here.......I feel good and like I can do this. I couldn't do it without you all!!! XOXO
p.s. I tried to add my biggest loser ticker, but I don't know if it is quite right............I'll check it out more later :)

Kristen - I have no idea what I'm going to do for the 75 lb reward! Any ideas? I've been wracking my brain, and can't think of a thing - but gosh, it seems like a huge milestone, a girl's gotta do something, right? I am hoping to see that number this week.

Katie - Lori- What else do you think about in the shower? wouldn't you like to know!!! ;)

Dan, awesome results on the TO - I haven't been as successful on the TO - my kiddos keep eating my oranges (I'm using oranges instead of the juice). Who can deny them when they want to eat good things instead of junk. I whole 10 lb BAG of oranges gone in a day and a half, no more left for TO! To be honest, this was my first attempt at TO since I started, and frankly, it was only half-hearted. :o

Donisha - everyone seems to gain when they first start working out.... some if it is water retention in the new muscles you are building. Hang with it, and even if the scale doesn't drop as quickly, your inches will! Fugheeeed about the chips (ahoy and tortilla!) - today is a new day!

Pearl - I used to have a gazelle-like machine (way before Tony Little came out with his instrument of torture). A couple of times on there and it'll be no sweat (well lots of sweat, but no problem with the coordination!). Did you get a workout video with it? If not, I'd suggest finding one. My biggest problem is rhythm... I stutter-stepped ALOT!

Happy girl! Welcome aboard! This is absolutely the right place for support, friendship and great ideas to succeed on this weight loss journey!:welcome2:

Stephanie, I know it's awful to see a gain at the COD, but that's the best way to make yourself get right back on track. If you stay away when you think you've gained, it's just empowering an excuse to not be on plan. Go in, face the music, and get back on track! Not preaching at ya (been avoiding the COD myself lately for that very reason!) just pep-talking both you and me!;)

Have a great day everyone - remember, together we can do this!

Bigget Loser Ladies!!!

There are changes to how we post our stats:

See this post http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1512954#post1512954

Basically: get rid of the "starting weight" and post your weight from the beginning of this week in Week 1.

Hello everyone,

Well today is back to work for me. It's really busy here for now. I am trying to prepare everything for our Kindgergaten Orientation at the end of the month. Hopefully our numbers will be up.

Day 2 of FF with Oranges is going pretty good. I think I like eating the oranges over drinking the juice. Of course I don't do it with the bars because I stopped eating the bars a while ago.

I wish you all the best this year and I know that we will reach our goals. I keep reminding myself of this.

Have a great day everyone.

Ulanda--I much prefer the oranges over the juice--I think because I like EATING--plus, the fiber sure helped. Usually TO is not real successful for me on the scale but I saw much better results with the oranges.

too funny--we are having a "workday" so the kids aren't back--anyway--I just have on jeans and a regular shirt as opposed to my daily uniform of sweats--and everyone is asking if I lost over the Holiday--uh, no--must be the clothes! I forget there are a lot of people who have never seen me outside of school. Feels good anyway.

Good Morning All

Well I finished Day 1 of FF POP. I went to bed with a KILLER headache...withdrawls! I don't let myself have any caffiene on TO or FF. I had a great nights sleep, finally!!

Day 2 of FF has gone well. It is my first day of work in 2007, good to get back in a routine!

Steph- happy anniversary! I love those Japanese Steakhouses, yummy. I am guessing that most of the COD's clients are in the same boat as most of us. We were naughty, but it is a new year.

KY-I always get the flu feeling the day 2 of FF. I suppose it is my withdrawls from caffiene.....my bestest friend in the world!

Happygirl-Welcome to the boards...you are at the right place

Katie-I hope your meeting is going/went well. Those can be challenging discussions.

Mama Nicole- Welcome back, I was with my family for a week as well.....Love them, but personally I think moderation is key when it comes to food and family!!!

To all on TO and FF, hang in there only 13 hrs (CST) left of TO or FF! Tomorrow we shall have starches :hun:

Have a great day everyone

Krystal

Well, first day of TO went well. Nothing but POP except for adding **3 cups*** of lemon water!!! A huge milestone for me!! (I just don't like it!) My juice had an aftertaste of burnt plastic... it's never tasted like that before and it was hard to get down the whole 32 oz., but I finally got it down!
I got on the Gazelle a few times yesterday just to get used to it. Didn't do more than about 15 min. each time and certainly no major workout but more than just sitting at my desk! My boys enjoy it too, so it may be a permanent piece of furniture in the Fam. Room.
I'm gonna start keying today and also getting some recipes together for the week and next week.
DH is getting ready to leave for work, so I've got to go for now.
:dust: for those of us on TO today! One more day folks - WE CAN DO IT!!!
Hugs and Blessings,

Donisha- Don't beat yourself up over the cookies and chips. What you might want to think about doing is asking DH to be in full support of your plan, at least until you get in the groove and can resist some of those "bad" foods. I got rid of all the foods around here that I may end up binging on. If DH wants cookies and such, he has to put them downstairs in his work room and not eat them in front of me otherwise they don't come into the house.

Happygirl & Jodi- Welcome to the group. You will find lots of support and inspiration here.

Stephanie- Happy anniversary

Lori- You just keep plugging along so great. You are going to pass me up in the pounds lost department in no time. I have been stuck between 181 & 177 forever. I am having such a hard time hitting that 80 lb. mark!!

Dan- Great loss!

Katie- How did your meeting go?

Pearl- I am glad that you were able to get the Gazelle, I have been looking at one, but I know that if I come home with one more piece of exercise equipment DH will throttle me. I'm glad that DS made it home safe and sound and got so much out of the trip. That is so cool.

Lisa & Tina- Welcome back. It's good to have some of the oldies join back in.

Carmen, oh Carmen- Where have you dissapeared too??????

Nicole- Do you see how much everybody misses you?!? Glad you made it back home safe.

Everybody else:wave: - Have a great day

Gotta go get ready and head to the COD for the moment of truth. I was on hold for 2 weeks and I know I am up probably 4 lbs.

Wow Lea Ann, long break for the kids! Our little hellions came back yesterday.

Nicole - Well, without naming names... ahem... I ..er I mean "some" others gained as much as you did over the holidays. TO has taken care of 4 of my new presents already, so jump on in with us. I'm sorry that your family stay was a little too long, I get your drift. My Christmas Eve with my family was ...odd. My sister has a bug up her butt about something, I guess, because she didn't even greet us at the door to her house (hands full of presents and folding chairs for her to use at the dining room table), so we let ourselves in, and still no one acknowlegded our presence. For the first hour of the evening I was miserable, and seriously felt like going home, until my brother showed up. Merry friggin Christmas!

Anyway, Nicole, glad you're back here!

Morning everyone!

after 2 days of TO, it felt good to have a carb today -- I dont think I could ever do atkins.

I am enjoying the recipes on the board, thank you to those who posted them. I have been doing well with my cardio exercise and have completed 3 of my 5 days but man my weight work out kills me ... I can really feel it from yesterday.

Planning my day out, I know what my dinner will be as well, which is a good thing. I am sooo enjoying my lunch right now as I made melted turkey breast on a split pita bread, with tomatoe and cheese ... YUMMY! I never would have made that!

Has anyone sen the Biggest Looser Weight Loss planner from Prevention magazine thats out? I got it today, it has some interesting info in it ...it has a calorie counter based upon your current weight how much you need to have daily to loose (ie, I'm 260, so I need to consume 1820 calories per day) The one food to avoid is a potatoes ... it states though nutrituous, white potatoes send your body sugar soaring. When it drops, you get hungry and be tempted to overeat at your next meal ... found that interesting. It also says -- to metabolize carbs quicker, eat pastas and breads before 3pm and only a few times weekly -- stick to veggies and proteins for late afternoon or dinner ...

Hopefully going to figure out how to add my pix (I have two to show, one from this summer when, how scarey, I was about 7lbs lighter and thought I looked good, but reality steps in, and then one from December. My weight is a bit higher now, but I can really see the difference in the toning ...


Has anyone seen the new jillian michaels dvd's that are out that shows you how to do circuit training in your home? I'm wondering what level that is at ...beginners or intermediate. . . my training sessions end the end of January with my trainer and right now I can not afford another one.
Have a great day!

morning chicks and Mr. Rooster!

Day 2 of FF/express is going good. I sat down last night and planned out everything for today so far so good. I slept in though so my hours are a little off just no eating my snack. Turkey breast, cucumbers, TO juice and
H2O yumm yumm!!! I think i am doing ok on the express althought i dont think i ate enough yesterday. Today however im planning it out better and I think i will be fine. Hopefully there will be some good results!! Got lots to do this afternoon and I am sure I will not get it all done lol but there is always tomorrow right?

Donisha ~ If you have not been exercising on a regular basis then what Lori said is right on the money you will need to give your body about 1-2 weeks to adjust to your new movement but its really a good thing!

Kristen ~ I have to get my eliptical put together so I can use it. its been sitting in a box for a while now lol. I am sure it will be a funny show here when we get on it as well!

Katie ~ GL today!!!

Pearl ~ Awesome deal on your new gazelle hope you can get the monitor to work right. that was a great idea to hop on and get used ot it a few times in smaller time periods. You will be a pro in no time!

HappyGirl ~ welcome!!!! you are in the right place. look forward to getting to know you!!!

KY ~ hope you feel better!!

Stephenie ~ Happy anniversary!!!! and enjoy your dinner tonight. good idea to drink that extra water and maybe even some lemon water.

Nicole ~ welcome back!! Seem to be the trend to hav gained over the holidays glad you are feeling better.

Lori ~ how about something from the spa for your 75 lb milestone!

Ulanda ~ do you teach kindergarten??? That is what i want to teach and I begin my student teaching on jan 16 in 4th grade and then the last half of the semester I will be in Kindergarten!!!!

LeeAnn ~ do you teach too??? If I knew that i guess i forgot oops!!!

Krystal ~ you think the caffine has been your sleeping problem?? HAHA i am looking forward to having starches again myself!!

Deb ~ good luck at WI!!!!

Kim ~ Sorry about your christmas at least it got better when your brother got there!!

Sue ~ I have not seen that in prevention magazine is it in a special issue or just the regular current issue? Im a huge fan of TBL!!! Thinking about getting the newest DVD workout but I need to master the first one lol.

Gl to everyone that is on TO/FF/Express hope we all have good results!!

gosh ..had not realized it had been a couple of days since I posted....Welcome all the newbies......I am not a newbie..I joined Sept 1 and have lost over 33 lbs. It is truly becoming a lifestyle for me...I WId today and was only up .4 And I did not hardly have any water....and no lemon water yesterday......lemon water is key..

Pearl --glad to see you are doing the lemon water...and thanks for asking ..I still love my pottery...back to it next week..I made 100 pitchers..and now I am making casserole bowls......love it...very earthy...great for cooking all of my new recipes...


I am rallying up for more wt, loss.....I will try to catch up of everyones posts ....I enjoy this site and appreciatge the support...love all..nance:carrot:

Juliemarie - thanks for TBL alert; I went over and posted and adjusted my profile. Personally, I had emailed Chellez about this a while back and thought it would create some hoopla. I'm glad she straightened it out.

I'm doing my TO/FF/LAExpress today with oranges, and I love it. Yesterday I did it with a bottle of Knudsens. I much prefer sucking on the oranges than slurping the juice. And neither my Knudsens nor my oranges tasted like burnt plastic (yuck Pearl...not sure how you got that stuff down!).

Kim - you crack me up At first I looked like a ******ed chicken on the elliptical, now I probably only look like a chicken. And yes, I'm Hawaii bound on Feb 16-23 with DH (he's 6'4" and we have to fly coach, but he's not a big complainer, thank goodness). A well-to-do family member has a beautiful home in Maui. I actually went for the first time last year without DH (he had just started a new job). I think this year will be more fun since we have rented a car and will do more touristy things while there. I can't wait and it gives me some extra motivation. Aren't you going somewhere fun right around the same time?

Kristin - what's a yogo set? You said DH got you one. Is that like Cassi's rack? (LOL!!). If it is, watch your back!

Nicole - Well, without naming names... ahem... I ..er I mean "some" others gained as much as you did over the holidays.

Hey are you referring to me???? I'll come and hunt you down and ... LOL

Mama Nicole.. you are back! I will admit to save you reading through old threads that I gained 6lbs over the holidays and I know of one or two others that are close to my gain. It's over, it's done and hopefully soon it will be forgotten! I am on day two of TakeOff and like yourself so ready to get back to normal living. The girls were suppposed to be in school today and for the last week I have been counting down the minutes to today just so I had a day of a bit of quiet, catching up on the house etc. Alas they both got sick well so my household sounds much like yours!

I just got back from taking the two girls to an indoor playplace and spent the last two hours listening to about 100 children running around screaming. Is Tylenol allowed on Take off??? I need 20 to even get any effect. I am more hungry today on Day 2 but just sat at the playplace while both girls had a fresh slice of pepperoni pizza... I almost started to eat my own shirt! Off to enjoy my chicken breast and broccoli and count down the minutes until I can wake up tomorrow and have a real breakfast.. WOOOOOOOHOOOO!!

Yeah for me! I was down a pound from the day after Christmas at WI and I got 4 free weeks! I don't know how. They had this coupon book thingy that got initialed every time I went in over the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years, and it had a coupon to enter a drawing for 4 free weeks. Well the lady at the COD today just pulled it out of my diary, and changed my weeks from 50 to 54! Hmmmm. Whatever it's about, I'll take em! That should just about get me to goal, if I can manage to get back on track with 2 lbs a week.

King Joni, you are quite the comedienne today! You're going to be taking Joker Kim's job.

Lori - thinking of me in the shower? You're funny.

Boo'smom - how many oranges to you eat while doing take-off? I can't find the Knudsen's juice in my area anymore.

Katie - By reading the posts, I'm guessing that you don't have a daycare at your home anymore. It sounds like you're looking at going into a partnership with someone? Good luck with what you're doing!

I was reading People magazine last night and they had weight loss success stories. 2 women lost weight doing LAWL. It's kinda nice that LAWL got some recognition for a change.

WTG Lori!!!!

Nicole - I gained 6lbs too. You are so not the only one!

Hi all! Well, my boss has not gotten here yet, so I have no idea what is going to happen today. The daycare is having a really busy day today, which is good. In fact, I am feeding a 6 week old as we speak. So tiny! No time for more, but I wanted to say hi quick!

Woohoo! Congrats, Lori!!! :D

Nicole - Well, without naming names... ahem... I ..er I mean "some" others gained as much as you did over the holidays.

Hey are you referring to me???? I'll come and hunt you down and ... LOL



Kristen - I meant ME, but since you are being so honest..... LOL!

Sorry the girls are sick. The post Christmas blues, huh?

Joni - Very nice to be connected to a homeowner in Hawaii! My DH is OK on planes for just so long... then he wants out, which becomes troublesome. We are headed to Jamaica that same week as you, so we are now both officially on an "eating plan". My SIL called last night and left a message that said "sorry if I am interrupting your dinner... oh, wait, it's January, so neither of you eat any more" Too funny!

Cassi - If Joni is the Joker, can I be King?

Lori - Congrats on the 4 weeks! (and the loss).

Katie - wow, now that is a little baby! Hope the boss gets there to see the place hopping and running smoothly.

Tina (Emmysmom) - you eat 4 oranges if you don't drink the juice...YUMMY!

Lori - you rock! You've got to love getting 4 weeks free, too!

Ha - I've got you all beat on the holiday weight gain trauma - at one point the scale had me up a full 10 lbs from my all time 2006 low of 151.5. Of course, something was up with my tummy, but double doses of Smooth Move tea, a metamucil wafer, and a colon cleanse tablet finally did the trick there. The scale is finally moving in the right direction and my very bloated tummy is feeling much better.

Cassi - I have very few comedic moments...so Kim is the Joker and I shall continue, as King, to make laws (hey, wait, you are Bizlawchik...darn!). Plus, since King is a male person, at this point Dan is probably the only qualified person to be King. I will be Kinga (the feminine version).

Kinga, King - either way , Joni, YOU RULE!

By the way... in my earlier post I meant no disrespect to actual ******ed chickens.

Hi, newbie here. I'm a newbie to this forum, but not to LAWL. I fell off program for a while, but I back on now. Just wanted to jump in here and say hello.

Hi Paula - welcome back to LAWL!

By the way... in my earlier post I meant no disrespect to actual ******ed chickens.

That is just TOO FUNNY!!! :rofl:

Joni - 4 oranges per day?

Tina - yes, 4 oranges each day.

All of the following are subs for the official COD TO juice:
Knudsen's Morning blend juice, 48 hour juice, Celebrity 48 hr Juice
(or use 4 cups of cantaloupe OR 4 oranges in place of juice)

Welcome Paula, you are going to just love it here!:) The ladies are wonderful.

Britt, I don't teach Kindergarten, I am an Office Technical Professional for a Elementary school. It's great. I get every holiday break off and summers too. I love children, but I don't think I could be a teacher.

Yes, I have to say that when I do a FF in the future, I will be eating oranges. I really like oranges anyway, but I will probably not eat anymore until next week.

Well, I have to get ready to finish up somethings before going home for the evening. I will try to check in when I get home.

Joni, how about King-ette?

Yes, Tina, 4 oranges per day. I was doing that this week, until the kiddos ate all my oranges!

By the way... in my earlier post I meant no disrespect to actual ******ed chickens.
:rofl: :lol3:

Remember me???
Well, i am Rebeca, the one that went to brazil and came up with almost all of her weight back...well... I AM BACK!

Welcome to the newbies, and Congrats to those who stayed on track...

Lori, wow 75lbs...congrats sis!
Evette- Congrats on meeting your goal (not only meeting but EXCEDING!) so proud of you!

To everybody else, lets get onboard and not only make this a year's loss but make it a PERMANENT LOSS!

Kim too funny!
Cassi watch your smiling ROTFL.. you might hurt your back again.. stay away from the rack!
Lori your new photo shows a 100% HOTTIE!!!!!

Welcome to newbies, the oldies and especially those nearing the light of day with the end of Takeoff and FF in sight.. I'm counting about 6 hours left till I'm asleep and forgetting the torture I just endured for the last 2 days.. oh PLEASE let the scale reward me!

Welcome back Rebeca.. go through the thread and you'll see how many of us gained!

Afternoon to all! It's been busy--even without kids. Secretary was out sick so I've been pretending-HA.

Brit--I WAS a teacher in Arizona--5 years high school English--we moved and now I am "paying my dues" as an aide til an opening comes up for the Fall--not IF but WHEN or I may go nuts!

All for now--it's quittin' time and I'm gone!

Tina--the oranges are the way to go in my book--yum.

welcome newbies and welcome back Rebeca.....we are still hanging around here.....all working hard at staying on track.....I an trying to write everything down I eat this week..Been a little lax (sp) on this issus this past week. So much salt.....need lots of lemon water...AMazing just how salty restaurant food is.

AN extra special amount of WILL POWER to all of you!!!!!

Nance is it salt in the food or on the tequila... doens't the lemon cancel that out??? I see your ticker is a movin along!
xo

Hi ladies and gent!
1 cup of lemon water this a.m.
30 min. on Gazelle +/- 15 min. of getting used to it again. (it's a start! Better than no time on the Gazelle!)
Celebrity juice - new jug - slight burnt rubber taste but not as bad as yesterday!
POP-TO today so far!
I've gotten on Fitday and started entering stuff to see how I like it... we'll see. Went through my LAWL cookbood and marked all the recipes dh and I would consider trying to get ready for the rest of the week.
Okay, gotta go get ready for church tonight.
Hugs and if DSL is up, I'll check back in from there! (I love DSL! wish they would find a way to get it out to the boonies!)
Blessings,
P.S. - I'm not changing my ticker until tomorrow morning... I was down 5# today but I'm not sure how much I actually gained over the 10 days we took off. DH says he gained 14#... he dropped 7 yesterday! (Can you say ham and eggs?!)

krispie...oh yes it must be the salt on the rim..hee hee....thanks for the comments...i really want that ticker to keep moving..and yours also..nance

Hi all, well the bos never did make it in, so no idea what the deal is there. He lives about 5 hours away.

Kimphin- You are killing me here!

Rebeca- So good to see you! So, how was Brazil?

Nance- Can't you just use Mortons?

Pearl- Whohoooo! You are rocking TO. I can't wait to see how your numbers come out!

BTW, I am loving all of these face shots. You ladies are gorgeous!

hey all! Tonight we did Shrimp Fried Rice from la ckbk and it was great as well. I actually cooked EVERYTHING and my dad LOVED it! My mom and I were talking about how using this cookbook is really helping me learn how to cook and how to cook right. When I have a family, I'll know how to prepare foods that are more healthy. Also, I was down 1.7lbs since the birthday/new year's weekend.

Whitney--I am really impressed with what you are doing for yourself and your mom. I think you are so fortunate to be learning such great cooking/eating habits at 19 (right?). I'm sure many will agree with me when I say I wish I knew then what I know now about eating right and taking care of my body. Trust me--trying to undo 17 years of bad eating is no fun!!

Congrats to all you fabulous TO LOSERS!!!!

Katie--I hope you get your meeting soon so you can get it behind you. Be strong--you are worth everything you ask for.

Off to rescue my oldest from her sister--sounds like they are trying to drown each other!! UGH--I hate when the use my bathroom!

Just popping in to say hello! Work is SOOOOO stressful and I am not getting all my food in, actually I am having a hard time staying on track but am determined to do it. You all are such an inspiration...Pearl with her burnt juice and Kim with her ******ed chicken dance ...I just love you all!!!

Welcome back everyone...and Happy New Year!

so, i still have not caught up on everyone's posts, but i did go to the COD this afternoon. I am up officially 5.6 pounds since a week before Christmas. I do think TOM is around the corner, but I can't be sure, as I threw out last years calendar already, and forgot to mark it on the new one. try not to laugh, but did any of you have your TOM the same time as me last month? i am thinking it was right after thanksgiving. i have to try to wrack my brain, as i am always scared i may be pregnant. i should not be, but i am always nervous. i don't think God would do that to me, but look at poor Job!!! LOL! k, have to get babes to bed now. i don't think i am going to up my ticker. i just don't know if i can bear that or not. did you giuys move yours????? more later x0x0

Hey ladies... !

Day two of TO started well.. But I have to say that my late supper of Green Chile Stew (plan approved) got a small tortilla added to it.. What the hell was I doing??? GRRRR...

Let's hope the TO has some success.. What does it take? 3 days to tell what you've lost and 3 days to see the results of the bad food you ate?

Sounds like you're all doing pretty well considering the holidays are just now over..

I'm still having some focus issues, but the success stories I'm reading here are giving me some inspiration!

Cheers!

Hi Guys- Day 3 POP down 2, a few BLT's today but not too bad.
It is good to be back- my kids are mad because I am cutting in on their computer time again.
Rebecca, good to see you back- I have been gone too
Lea ann and Joni- I love the new pictures, your faces have thinned out a lot!
I am off to go read my weight loss issue of People
Lisa

Hi All! I've tried to catch up on all the posts - we've all been busy - I won't even try to make up for lost time with personals....

I'm glad to see we all came out of the holidays in one piece.
Well, I made it through Christmas okay, but for some reason when I realized that I managed to have a few bites here and there without much consequence - I decided to see how far I could push it.. What the heck?!?!??!!!:o 6 pounds later...... (but I see I'm in good company with 6 lbs!!) I started t/o today. It seems much harder this time for some reason..oh well, only 1 more day!
I'm not comfortable with photos of myself, but I decided to join in and put mine up for a couple of days.
Today I made a run accross the border to get some of the items that some of you ladies had mentioned here in the past, and FINALLY found the Knudsen's morning blend juice. Not only did I find it, but it was 3 for $5!!! What a steal. I also got salad spritzer and mini bagels...yum - any food sounds good right about now (I dont get to eat again until tomorrow...damned t/o..hehe)
Lisa, I just read my people mag cover to cover while my kids were swimming-and really enjoyed that issue. It was definately inspiring.
Great to see everyone here - and to the newbies, you have found a wonderful resource in this LAWL forum, there is much support and great ideas here!
Cheers,
Rhonda[/SIZE][/SIZE]

Is this the ******ed chicken?
http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/images/smilies/chicken.gif

Oh, is that him? I think that dude waited on me at Sonic last week. Wait, um, no, couldn't be. I wasn't at Sonic, I promise! It must have been Dairy Queen!

Shouldn't that chicken have a sign that says, "Eat more beef" ?!? Gosh, I think he's been on LAWL too long! Actually, now that I think about it, I might not mind looking like that skinny chicken on my Gazelle!!! :lol:
Church was awesome! Everyone gave their testimonies of the trip and conference in Kansas City. Many had never heard my ODS speak seriously before. He's a lot like me, the clown, but also like me, he has a deeply serious side that will blow your mind! He did so well, our Pastor has asked him to give his testimony again on Sunday. I'm soooo proud of him!
We're going to get flu shots today (Thur.) since dh's insurance will pay for them and Dr. says it's not too late.
Well, gotta go. I'm still working on my menu plans for the next days and weeks.
Blessings all,

Hey everyone,

Lurking lately but I have been reading. I for one and very gald xmas and new year's is over. They were terrible for me but considering everything that was to be expected. On the bright side I hope to be moving again to my own apt next weekend (the 13th). It is extremely difficult right now to be POP as I can't have my food I want at mom's as she simply doesn't have the room for em to have my stuff. So I am doing as best I can and for the next week really just want to maintain until I get back on my own again.

I have a funeral home visitation to go to this afternoon - not my favorite thing but I want to go for the family.

This post isn't exactly cheery, but I promise they will get better!!!

Alannah

Hey Alannah, sorry the holidays were so tough. I hope that you can get into your own place soon!

Welcome back Alannah, I'm glad the holidays were tolerable for you! It's nice to see you back!

Cassi how is the back doing?

Katie you mentioned everyone's avatars but your face is cute!! As is Makena's!

Makena glad you found some products in the states. I am hoping to make a cross border run this month with DH as some of things they have we simply cannot get here. I did find Shiritaki noodles here yesterday.. YAHOO!! Does anyone have a favorite recipe they've tried with them? I saw three in our threads.

Mama Nicole. Hope you are over post holiday let down/family overkill. I found it wonderful but was so happy to try to get back on track this week. The girls being sick as well has been a try of my sanity but I'm hoping next week we are all back on schedule. I posted a new avatar for you especially. I dressed the whole family up in Packer gear for Sunday.. sad part is I didn't even get to see the game as we were at a party and people wanted karaoke instead! Then I heard it may be his last game? So I shall be dressing in black for the next year, may take a vow of silence and will do Takeoff every two weeks as a means of internal suffering!! Update us when you can

Kim, luckily Canada is ******ed chicken free.. we only have avian flu but those chickens are brilliant even when sick!

Dan way to go on your takeoff..amazing how the body jumps back on the happy train.

Makena welcome to the 6lb gainers club.. I'm making up tshirts for us as we speak!

To all the new posters.. welcome to the inspirational, motivational, humorous but often serious LAWL boards. We look forward to helping all of you on your journey!

Off to WI so I'd better hear that WOOHOO stick clapping after my two days of TO and fingers crossed that I'm back to pre holiday weight.. Of course I'll tell you the second I get home too!

Kristin - Hungry Girl featured Shirataki noodles today.....how to clean them right before cooking, etc. and links to a couple recipes. There's a spaghetti pie that sounds yummy (here's the link; not sure if this will work).
http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=896

Pearl - your comments about your son brought tears to my eyes...not sure why. Sounds like he may have found a calling!

Hey Dan - The Green Chile Stew sounds yummy. I have to admit, my TO was not perfect this time around, but it was just what I needed to get my mind back in the game. I managed to lose a few pounds on my home scale, but I'm quite a ways from my pre-Christmas weight. I'll get there, by golly!

Nicole - I'm cracking up with your post about TOM/pregnant/God wouldn't do that to me.....etc. Sorry, can't remember what I did last weekend, let alone when your last TOM happened!! I, regretfully, changed my ticker to reflect my sinful ways.

Whitney - keep on cooking and Cassi may have you come work for her at her famous (yet to be named) catering business!

Cassi - speaking of this, when do you start culinary classes?

Hmmmmmm....for some reason I cannot see Lori's chicken picture......sometimes that happens and when I go back later I can see it.

I'm behind on my exercise Intentions for the Year, but hope to make up some of the lost time over the next few days.

I'm very excited that I joined a ladies Boot Camp and starting next Monday we meeting 3 mornings a week (5:15 AM to 6:15 AM) and get our butts kicked! And I paid for this! Actually, it looks really good and I figured it was cheaper than a personal trainer at my gym. I used to always get up early and be at my gym around 5-5:30 in the morning, but since I've started working at home, I've been a real slacker. I'm hoping this new regime gets me back in the swing of things. Now I just have to figure out a way to get myself in bed by 9 PM so I can get up at 4:30 AM!

Good morning everyone!

Joni - Thanks for the link for the Shirataki noodles. I couldn't find them at Walmart, so I will try the local Asian Store. They close on Thursdays. That's their run to Chicago to restock. We're like a bit over 3 hrs drive to Chicago. So tomorrow it is, and now that I saw a picture, I'll know what to look for.

Nicole - I have not changed my ticker for the gain. So it seems that I've been maintaining... But with the TO yesterday and today, I may actually move it down by tomorrow pm, after WI.

Lea Ann - That was awesome idea to add new pictures in. It is encouraging, and always nice to "see" who you are talking too!!

And a BIG HELLO to one and all!!
Y'all have a good day,
hugs, :hug:

Debbie--just an idea--but when things are hectic you may want to keep some Slimfast, string cheese, V-8, and 100% fruit juice on hand for emergencies. I hate veggies so the V-8 is a life saver for days I just can't stomach eating them. I believe in EATING but sometimes you have to make adjustments so you can keep your body fueled and burning hot. Take a breather and don't let work stress you out!!

Nicole--I seriously doubt the 5.6 will stick around long once you get back into your routine. Seems a lot were up but not for long. If you don't want to change your ticker then DON"T--remember our conversation about the perks of being an adult?? LOL. Seriously--give it a week of OP eating then change it IF you have to.

Dan--I'm with you--what's any Mexican food/soup without a tortilla?? I'm sure it will be fine.

Everyone have a great one!! Come out and play since I am chained to my room today!!

Kristin - I was just reading your New Year's Intentions. I find it hard to believe you don't have a Family Portrait yet!! You better go before the little one won't let you style her hair anymore!

Lea Ann - do you eat ANY vegetables at all? I had Kale potatoe chips the last two days and they are so yummy! Between my kale chips and my new lettuce/salad spinner, you can't keep me out of the veggie drawer in my fridge (sure wish I could fit in there!).

Geez--I thought I was caught up and there was another page!!

Lisa--I am so thrilled you are back!! And really--you are too kind--I can't seem to get it together to budge the stupid scale (have y'all missed that?) but the only reason I posted that one was because I don't a a second chin--I am pretty sure I still have one--the camera was just being nice! Stay with us--we miss you when you hide.

Rhonda--LEAVE IT-- you are gorgeous!! Like I told Nicole--I don't think the 6 will stick--I think everyone's body is in shock and a few days of OP eating (coupled with your TO) should take care of it.

Pearl--that's great about DS--what a proud moment for parents. Glad you are enjoying your Gazelle!

Alannah--sorry about the bad news but congrats on your move--it will be easier to stay on track when you are surrounded with good stuff.

Kristen--GL @ WI!!!

Joni--I couldn't see it either--the school blocks sooooo much! I have to view most things at home--it's weird though--some tickers I can see and some I can't. I bet you will love the boot camp--I had some friends do it in AZ and they had GREAT results in a short time. You are my hero!

Is the Green Chili Stew in the recipe thread??

Nancy--love the new photo--you are such a cutie! If you look on "House Foods" website you may be able to find a product locator for the noodles. I ended up just calling around to stores that carry healthfoods.

I found the Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla (2 for $4) last night at United--not even in the organic/whole foods section--it was on the cereal isle--I would have never looked there! Will try soon--I am always so excited to find these products then get scared to try!

Okay--NOW I am caught up!!

Joni--I eat salad veggies but few cooked. I WISH I loved them, it sure would make things easier! I have your Kale chips recipe taped to my fridge and just now added them to my grocery list for after school--gotta stock up on my tuna kits--realized when I got to work today I have NOTHING in my mini-fridge. Ordered a salad from the caf.--not usually great but it'll do in a pinch. What does kale even look like??

Lori - I cannot see the chicken picture, but if it's thin, it ain't what I was talkin about! Can you find a fat, ******ed chicken?

Joni - God love ya, girl. Boot camp at 5:15!?!?!?! HA! I can't remember the last time I was up at 5:15.

Pearl - I am so happy that your ODS gained so much from his trip. It must be both wonderful and a little scary for you to see him maturing like this.

Rhonda - There is no need to dislike your picture - It's wonderful!

Whitney - How cool that you are cooking for your mom and dad. No one ever taught me how to cook, and it led to some interesting meals in my mid 20's! (very scary indeed)

Nicole - I have a personal rule, the ticker only moves to the right. So, y'all now know that when my ticker stays static for a while.... well... it's because I am not at ticker weight. I just can't deal with the letdown of it all. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt....

Allannah - Well, 2006 is over. Here's to a GREAT 2007! Good luck with the new apt.

Dan - who snuck that tortilla into your dinner?

Kristen - I will be listening for the woohoo stick. It's been a while since I had a celebration at the COD.

OK, I just found out that I have to go to a "MANDATORY" meeting this afternoon.... One hour away from work, in the opposite direction from my house. GRRRRRR. I swear, if it is a waste of my time, I WILL leave. ( anyone remember the last meeting I had to go to? My co-worker who went with me still runs away from me in the halls, I swore so much on the way home.... Irish temper!)

Hello All
WELL.................... I was 185.6 before the holidays, weighed in at 188.4 after Christmas and was up to 191.8 on my SIL scale on New Years ( I like to torture myself) just got back from weigh in and after two days of Takeoff I am down to 184.8... so I lost what I gained and a tad over.. so I just hit my official 35lbs mark. Obviously quite happy with that so patting self on back.

I do find after takeoff that sometimes I stay the same or go up a bit once you start eating real food too so if anyone encounters that don't be discouraged.

Joni thanks for the link to the noodle recipes! I have never had a family portrait done and in true confession style I rarely had my picture taken with the girls. I used to hate to see them and look at what I termed fat momma. So not only am I losing weight right now but I'm gaining some confidence and I think we'll go and have a Valentine's Day shot done together. Maybe all of us in jeans, white Tshirts and bare feet!

Pearl what a lovely boy you have. Please have a few more as you have promised son in laws to myself, Cassi and Nicole!!

Whitney way to go on using the cookbook. I use it daily.. the Oriental Shrimp Salad, Lemon Chicken, Italian Style Burger and even the Meatloaf are sensational!

Off to see DH now as I ran by him again to come to the ladies first.

Lori I think you should do a spa day, or buy something you always eye up but would normally never treat yourself too.. keep us posted!

I am here today trying to catch up with everyone! I will have to do personals later on.

I have a fitness center at my work. It has a weight machine, treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. I talked to the security desk today to find out what time the building opens and she said she is here at 5:20am. I start work at 6:30am so I am thinking I can work out from 5:30-6:10 and take a shower and begin work 3X a week. Actually I would only have to do that 2X a week b/c I can workout after work on Fridays b/c I get out at 12:30 those days. There is a nice weight machine and that is what I would use most b/c I have an elliptical at home. I am going to try it tomorrow.

Kristen--CONGRATS!!!! That's an amazing post-holiday WI. I LOVE the jeans and barefeet photo idea--we did one in the summer and it's just "fun".

Kim--I hope your meeting is deep and meaningfull--HAHA--remember I work in education and know how many turn out that way--NOT.

Barb--you are so lucky (as well as Megan and Donisha) to have a fitness center at work! I hope you are able to work it out timewise.

good morning....earlly here in the west...great pics...beautiful...everyone..Pearl, Joni, Krispie, Lea Ann

I better get in gear and get that pic refreshed.....

Question......it has been four months...lost a bunch...but need to rally for more..A little bite here, a sip there..three months ago I was soooo regimented ....it is almost like I am on maintenance.....just about twenty pounds too early....DOes anyone else feel this way....Wish there was a post to re-ignite the fire over here.....thanks for your help...nance

Good day all! Well I WI tonight, before DS's Karate...after his Sylvan, and then I go to a 70% off Home Interior sale....I do not think I will be getting my walk in. I had to take an hour off from my daycare this morning to go to DS's elem. school and ream the secretary/principal/teacher and am now seriously considering calling the superintendent....they love involved parents so much that the entire faculty finds a reason to say good morning to me when I "surprise" them with my presence. I know a lot of you chickies are in a school faculty and let me say that I am glad I do not have your job! Between the I am not interested in helping mold my children parents and the spazzes that are control freaks and over emotional parents that claim their child is perfect and if they aren't then it's your fault lays me. I am an active parent in my child's education at home at school and at Sylvan, I volunteer to grade papers, do the whole class party scenes and have been known to bring in lunch for the entire faculty bec. I can cook even if I can't eat. I even send a "monthly" gift of stickers, fun post-it notes, reward badges, stamps & stamp pads, candy bars and occasionally even gift cards to my sons teacher....every month. Why is it so hard to remember when a student is a bus rider or a car rider when I make a school calendar stating theses dates for the entire year and give it to the teacher during open house? Why does the teacher/principal neglect to respond to a call/note/e-mail? Why do I get calls asking where my son is when he is sitting in the classroom? Is it okay for my child to come home bec. a mean spirited child tells him his mother has a fat a$$ and tell my DS that aI do sexually derogative things?....I am so sorry for going on and on about this.....I want a creme filled donut and an administrator's head on a plate.

Now, I hope everyone is having a better day than I and that you all well continue to uplift every one's spirits as I have just managed to derail them....I promise not to come back until the smoke coming out of my ears is no longer black but a light gray!

Krispie====I just looked at your profile...oh my god you have done soooo well. 35 lbs is alot..you must feel super!!!!nance

lisa======you look great.....you look skinny girl...I wish I had your wt....soon..nance

Pearl girl====were you uplate last nite???......your post was either late note or early morn....dont you sleep..hee hee...nance

Hi All!

Kristin- Great job on the losses!

Lea Ann- This is your year, you will get to goal!

Nance- You are getting there, over halfway!

Joni- I have GOT to try your Kale chips, they look so good!

Pearl- Have fun getting your flu shot...I guess.

As for me, I am finally showing a loss this morning. I am thrilled with it!

thanks Katie...you do look young ...nance

Hello all,

Michelle, you have every right to be upset. It sounds like you go above and beyond and it's not like you are asking for special favors, just that they do what they are suppose to do.

My DD has her Opening night of Annie Jr, tonight at school. I can't believe she is brave enough to do it, I was not at that age. Also, we got the letter for High School orientation next week, I almost cried. She is our only child and it has been hard accepting the fact that she is growing up. At 13, she is still a good kid, although there are some trying days.

I weighed in this morning and hadn't lost anything from FF. That was a big disappointment. If I don't show a loss by Saturday, I am going to be ticked.

Last night on the Discovery Health station, they had Dr. Oz/Dr. Roizen on. They had invaded 3 families. A lot of the information was helpful. I am going to purchase that book for my husband.

Have a great day everyone.

Nance remember to give yourself a pat on the back too! You have lost 33lbs only two less than me. You and I started very close to the same goal weight. I know how you feel about the tendency to slip. Many have said it is tough when the honeymoon phase is over. You get tired of counting, start to slow down and then get in a rut. I have to remind myself to look at other victories that aren't scale related to keep myself going. Hence the gratitude thread I started! I need to look at my latest jean size, enjoy for the first time seeing photos of myself, appreicate trying a new recipe etc. I am using the new year for new motivation. Many make resolutions and fail as they can't radically change their lifestyle and stick to it. We have already done this for 4 months before the calendar changed so we have the tools and can get reinspired. I really find picking different recipes makes me feel like I'm not missing out. I do miss the wine as I was a big fan but all those grapes attached themselves to my waistline! The holidays I was great with food for the majority but indulged in cocktails and got a 6lb payback for it. That frustrated me more than anything to smarten up and get back on plan. I set mini goals too so I can enjoy victory in the short term instead of just my goal number. Hope this helps... you are doing fantastic.. for reaching my goal I want a piece of your pottery!!

Katie you are doing supberb.. look at that ticker go.. I think both our kids will benefit from our loss as well.

Everyone else keep on track and listen later this afternoon for Kim's Irish Temper rearing it's angry head!

Kim--I hope your meeting is deep and meaningfull--HAHA--remember I work in education and know how many turn out that way--NOT.



HA! I wish it were deep and meaningful. It's about ordering government cheese, for Gods sake! CHEESE! Well, those kids do love their cheese.... sigh. 4 yrs of college, 18 years in public admin.... and it comes down to cheese. sigh.

OK, gotta go, heading off to east bumble... I can hear strains of "deliverance" now.

Thanks Nance!
How do you guys count the Shiritake noodles? I have some in my fridge and that sounds good for lunch with chicken stir fry.

Lisa--I think a half package is a condiment. Someone will chime in if I am wrong (and I openly admit I often am!). I think it would be great with chicken stir fry.

hi everyone, i'm back again and hopefully this time for good. i faced the scale this morning and saw a 1.4 lb. weight gain, much less than I expected. hopefully TO will help me lose the 4 lbs. that i have gradually gained back.

how is everyone doing this afternoon?

Nikki you hang in there.. you will do super.. if anyone had told me at 251lbs that I would get to where I am I would have laughed and then grabbed a large pizza and consumed it!
Have a look at my webshots and some of the other ladies. MTDebster and Pearl will show you it is doable.. we will get you to goal so have faith!

Kristen........don't worry about Brett.......he isn't done yet. Every year, it is the same thing........he loves the game too much!!! I LOVED your avatar!!! I used to dress my girls in Packer's cheerleaders uniforms almost every Sunday. I loved it. They won't let me do that anymore, but I think they would still look adorable. Both of my boys have Favre jersies, and I too missed most of the game. Football just hasn't been a huge priority for me this year. I figure if I have to keep yelling at my kids for 3 plus hours, it is probably time to chill for a while. Maybe next yeat........... Congrats on your loss!!! TO was pretty good to me also.......I was down 4.4 this a.m. on my home scale!!! I was very excited to eat real food for breakfast!!!

I have sooo much more to say, but DH is home today, so we are trying to do some more kitchen planning. I love reading all you have to say, and I think of you all as very dear friends. It is great to see everyone popping their heads back in and getting back to business. Even if I forget to ask for some of you by name, I often think of you when you have not been posting.......and then, poof, out of nowhere everyone starts posting again. Very cool.

Cassi.......so worried about you and your back. I hurt mine last spring hauling a wheelbarrow full of dirt, and it still bothers me. I hope yours is getting better and stays that way.

Pearl, Joni, Kim, Lea Ann, Katie, Deb, Nashville Debbie, Michelle, Evette, all ofyou ladies (dan.....you will just have to consider ladies a generic term)....you are the BEST!!!!!!!!!! Here's to a POP day!!!!

OHHHH, and let me not forget to say..........wow, what a bunch of BEATIFUL women on here. I love all of the face shots, and I will post one soon too. My SIL took a picture of my DS and me over the holidays, I am just waiting for her to e-mail it to me. But really, everyone of you look sooo wonderful. I love having a face to go with the name!!!!

Thank you Kristen! Your username always reminds me of Krispie Kreme doughnuts lol. I just looked at your webshots, you looks amazing! I love looking at everyone's pictures, you all keep me motivated and I am so grateful for that :)

Hello Everyone
TO is over! WOO-HOO

Well I stepped on the scale this morning at 155. I am pleased with that since this are my heaviest days of the month as TOM is fast approaching! So I am back to my pre-bad eating holiday weight. I'll take it!

I finally found the noodles (not going to attempt to spell, so I will refer it them "the noodles" from here on out). Now, just to find those bagels!! :devil:

I haven't had time to catch up on todays posts. Work keeps getting in the way....how dare they! :D

Congratulations to all of you losers and as always thanks for your support!

Krystal

Lori - I cannot see the chicken picture, but if it's thin, it ain't what I was talkin about! Can you find a fat, ******ed chicken?


Dan - who snuck that tortilla into your dinner?




It was that pesky Tortilla Fairy... I suspect it's the same fairy that keeps sneaking cookies into my mouth when I let the dogs out before bed... :s:

Good news from DW.. After she picked up a couple pounds during our holiday adventure in California, she's since dropped 3.6 lbs since we got back.. I fully expect our TO, which ended yesterday, to yeild some additional results..

Keep pluggin' away at it losers (I'm still not used to using that word in an positive sense...)

Okay - After TO I'm down 12 pounds with 1.6# to go to get back preHolidays! Not bad for TO!!! :woo: Had my lemon water (EGADS!!!) this a.m., going for our flu shots in a little bit. Worked on my resume this a.m. and am applying for a PT secretarial position at a local church shortly! (what the heck!) I know a couple of you have mentioned my pics. Well, last night at church a friend that has been away for the holiday a couple of weeks just went on and on about how much I've lost and the difference! She kept saying, "Do you even realize?!" And honestly, I don't see much difference in the pics... just keeping them because Debster is such an example for me! So, thanks for the comments. I hope I'll be able to see more as I begin to exercise and yes... drink that darn lemon water! :yikes:

Alannah - I'm soooo glad to hear from you! You know I'm expecting great things for you this year, so the new apartment is just one step closer! I agree that funeral visitation isn't easy, but it is so important! Way to go girlfriend!

Kristen - Shirts for 6#'s huh? Does that mean I get two?!? :) Kristen, as for the addition to my family--- I am reminded of a scripture that I hope you won't mind my sharing... GET THE BEHIND ME SATAN!!! :rofl: :lol3: You have GOT to be kidding!!! You need to talk to Nicole - she's the one counting the days! My "birthing" days are through unless God decides His sense of humor is more warped that I think it is! After all, He gives us the desires of OUR hearts!

Dan - I thought of you this morning when I added my Chipotles in Adobo sauce, and jalepenos to my chicken chili! Would love to get your recipe for the green chili stew! (hint hint!) At our house, the spicier the better - not necessarily too hot, just spicy and somewhat hot!)

Joni - How did I get so lucky as to have you for a friend here? You are sooo encouraging to me even about my family! Thanks so much for that! Of course, you know that's what keeps me going!!! Your ladies boot camp sounds great but unless you're talking about leather versus leatherette - no thanks! (at least not for right now!) Incidently, my next target may be to just fit in the FRIDGE! I'll aim for the drawer a little later!

Nancy - You are adorable! You have such a sweet spirit! Here's a :hug: from me for being so sweet!

Lea Ann - A NEW PICTURE!!! :woo: I love it! I'll bet your smile lights up a whole room! I know your eyes reveal your soul! (a VERY good thing!!) What is "almond breeze unsweetened vanilla"? And what do you do with it?

Lisa - I saw your picture and read your posts but honestly didn't match you with "ljackson" until I read my cheat notes from when I first started coming here! What a difference!!! WOW! I'm so glad you're back!

Kim - WHERE is your new picture?!? Hint hint hint! Okay, forget the hint... where's the pic?!? I know what you mean about that meeting. Living so far out in the boonies, I have to make several stops everytime I drive in just to make it worth the drive!

Nance - I know it sounds corny... but I try and wait up for my DH. He gets in somewhere between 3 and 4 a.m. I love to be up when he gets home and open the door like I can't wait for him to get here! We're usually only up a few minutes but I love that special time! Hokey, I know!

Katie - Are you SURE that's you in that photo and not another daughter with your daughter?!? I swear girlfriend - you look 17 years old! (I'm trying not to have harsh feelings toward you!) :)

Nikki - Way to go on the scale! Hang in there girlfriend!

Nicole - enjoy your time with DH today (although I guess not too much if TOM has shown up!) Of course, we think you're awesome too!

Krystal - Congrats on surviving TO! Sometimes it's easier than others... But it seems to be worth it!

Hugs, Blessings,
:dust: :dust: :dust:

Hiya Chickies (and Rooster Dan, of course!:) )
Day 2 of t/o is okay so far...I have a super busy day, so that kind of helps - not too much time to think about the food I'd LOVE to have right now.
I've been up since WAyyyyy too early because my oldest DS (12) is in a hockey tournament (*caution....proud mom moment ahead*......he got 2 goals and 1 assist!! he's been working really hard this season, as he's a little guy playing with some boys the size of grown men!!) Anyways...lol sorry, but I just love seeing my kids get results from trying hard.
I am going to try to get to some personals here.....

Ulanda, I'm sorry that 2006 wasn't your best, but I will trust that 2007 will be your year - it sounds like its headed in the right direction.. a new appartment - that's exciting!! I bet your FF will show up in a day or 2. Mine usually takes 2-3 days to show much....
Speaking of FF/ TO...PEARL!?!!! wowsers! That's some major results! 12 LBS!!! You must be so very proud of your son. You have every right to be. You are doing a great job, Momma!:hug:
And Miss Mama Nicole!! 4.4! wtg! I am looking forward to seeing your photo, too!
Whitney - good for you taking charge and learning to cook! That will come in very handy! I didn't learn how to cook before I got married. Needless to say, SU will not even look at Hamburger helper anymore! (he turns green if you even mention it!!)
Kim - hope your meeting is going well..haha. I can't wait to hear your report on it!!;)
Barb - It's great that you can work out at work!! (that sounds funny) Good for you for finding time to make it work!!
Lea Ann - I'm with Pearl, your smile does look like it would light up a room! You are always so positive and encouraging. Thank you for that.
Cassi - I hope your back is treating you okay...
Kristen - 35 lbs!?! You must be soooo proud of yourself! That's great!
I love looking at your photos...what a change. I love your idea for your family portrait. You will be so glad you did it. (thats funny coming from me, who always likes to be BEHIND the camera..lol)
Michelle - I don't think you are being the least bit unreasonable about ds' school. I would be annoyed, too. It sounds like you do so much above and beyond as a parent. keep your chin up, girl!
To all those I didn't mention - i(t's nothing personal, my brain is just old and tired!) Have a great POP day...
My fellow losers...hehe (Dan, I just love saying that in a good way!) I must run and feed my hockey stars before round 2 for the day...
Hugs to you all
:)

Went to WI before lunch and am down another .6, for a total of 7.6, hooray! It's coming off slow, but it IS coming off! Grabbed a bottle of juice, so will do my first ever TO this weekend. Send me lotsa will power dust, y'all! :D

4 yrs of college, 18 years in public admin.... and it comes down to cheese. sigh. ahhhh that pretty much sums up life,huh! It sucks to be grown up!

Michelle - go get 'em girl! I too am one of those parents that "check in" the classroom, just to see how things are going. If I don't care about my kiddo's education, who will?

I know what my 75 lb reward will be!!!!!! (see the sudden burst of inspiration??http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/i_lightbulb.gif)
I will go buy Dr Oz's new book!http://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/miscellaneous/1/0009.gif

Dan - great new picture too! I like the happy you!

Stay strong group! We can do this together!

Pearl--you make me all shiny!! Thanks though. The Almond Breeze is like a fake milk--for a better term. It's with the rice milk (unrefridgerated) etc. They have regular,vanilla, and chocolate then the same flavors in unsweetened which is really low in calories. You can read about it on the "Blue Diamond Almonds" website--Evette posted the web address in the menu thread I think. ANYWAY--8oz counts as a condiment so I don't have to burn a dairy with cereal! The advertise it for cereal, coffee, oatmeal, whatever. I LOVE almonds so I am hoping the taste is good, too. Cassi sent the info to the LA chef and it was "approved"--it's great in the nutritional numbers game we all play! CONGRATS on your MASSIVE loss--you are astounding!!!! I keep telling everyone I don't think their holiday gains are permanent and you guys just keep proving me right! LOL. Good luck with the job search.

I have a quick question. I am on Day 1 of Take Off and the information that I have from the COD says I can have coffee, but doesn't mention diet soda. I am not a huge coffee drinker, but I would kill for some diet coke right now. Is that allowed on TO?

^^ Regarding the green chile stew recipie, it's very basic.. I usually just get 3 or 4 cups of very low sodium chicken broth, cube two or three chicken breasts.. Pre-boiled to fork tender diced russet potatos (two or three) and dump in a cup and a half of either fresh or frozen New Mexico green chile (is there any other kind? :lol:). I a little water to further cut the sodium and thin the stew if it's too thick, add some sodium free green chile spice mix (but you can use any kinds of pepper/paprika/jalepeno spice you can find at the store). Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let it stand covered for another 30 minutes or so to let the flavors blend or just eat right away...

I make enough so I can freeze it for later consumption...

Usually, green chile stew is made with pork, but chicken works just as well, and is, of course, less fatty...

My COD considers green chile a freebie, as you'd have to eat a whole cup (which is a LOT when it's diced) to equal a veggie...

serving size is about a cup.. Depending on how much chicken and potato you put in your bowl, it's:

1/2 or 1 protein, 1/2 or 1 starch, and maybe 1/2 a veggie serving. I also consider it to be my sodium serving.

Do yourself a favor and save a starch and serve with a small flour tortilla!!

Rhonda--WTG on your DS's great game--you and Lori can probably really talk "hockeytalk"! Busy days are great TO days for me--no time to think about the misery! I need to either be super busy or sleep a LOT. I'm not a nice as you think--sometimes I can be pretty icky! But it's easy to be supportive, especially since a lot of what I tell you guys I really need to tell myself!

Megan--you are tearing it up! Can I say "I told you so" yet??

Lori (and Michelle) --REALLY--we like involved parents. You deserve the book just for being you--you deserve so much more for 75 freakin' pounds!!!!

Is this day EVER going to be over??????????????????? I am so sleepy--what I get for being a slug over break. I wish I worked in a culture that still believed in "naptime". sigh..................

Everyone has been busy here! I've been doing okay, not POP, but very close; need to get rid of the junk in my house to loose the temptation . . but I've been 95% better than I was the past two month.s

Weighed in at gym today and only .5 up from 10/30, which means down 2lbs from last saturday. I was hoping for a bit more, need to get the water in me!

Still craving / enjoying those open faced turkey melts that was posted - its the best. Tonite I am having pork chop stir fry w/onions and mushrooms.

Missed my cardio today at gym :(, but have a friend in a very difficult crisis; but I did make it to my training session and she certainly kicked but.

She's doing my measurements and body fat % next thursday so I hope to have a good result and be < in several areas.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Katiebug--I am pretty sure you can--I always have and it never seemed to matter. It's certainly better than so many other things! Seriously--I think you can actually have up to 24oz.

Where can I find, or can someone repost the recipe for the open faced turkey sandwiches? That sounds really good, and I can always use recipes for turkey.

Thanks!

Happy New Years to everyone and thanks for all the warm welcomes!!

WOW! This board moves fast! :o) I'll have to try to sign-in a little more often. Whew...haven't read through everything yet!

I was up 3.2 when I weighed in after New Years so I decided to do TO with everyone.....today is day 2 and I am down 2.0 (how did I gain 3.2 lbs in 2 days? I only had a few cocktails and a few snacks....) Anyhow - this is my first experience with TO - I am already planning my menu for tomorrow! A little tougher than FF....

:o) Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Hey everyone!

Well FF/express is over and i have gotten to eat normal food today woohoo!!! I also went to WI and was down 2 lbs from Tuesday!!!! I will certainly take that. Hopefully I will be down again Saturday for WI!!!

Really busy here today so do not have time for personals but wanted to drop in and catch up real quick.

Everyone seems to be having a busy day. Have a good one!!!

Happy New Years to everyone and thanks for all the warm welcomes!!

WOW! This board moves fast! :o) I'll have to try to sign-in a little more often. Whew...haven't read through everything yet!

I was up 3.2 when I weighed in after New Years so I decided to do TO with everyone.....today is day 2 and I am down 2.0 (how did I gain 3.2 lbs in 2 days? I only had a few cocktails and a few snacks....) Anyhow - this is my first experience with TO - I am already planning my menu for tomorrow! A little tougher than FF....

:o) Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Hey there BB.. Don't forget that everything you're wearing and have eaten before your WI affects your outcome..

The 3.2 you added after New Years was more than likely accumulated 2-3 days before your WI, as it usually takes that long for food to show up on the scale (at least that's what the COD tells me)... Also, the same goes for TO.. The full effects of the TO, won't show up until a couple days after you do it, as long as you don't go on an immediate splurge as soon as you're done!

Cheers!

Good Afternoon all you talkative people!

Just FYI: I finally got some things accomplished that I am pleased with and I think I will manage happily without that donut or the administrators head on my plate for now! ...I am sure the saga will continue so myabe another day!

On a good note, I am going to paint my entry way this weekend a pale saige green to cover up the beautiful art work of my just turned 3 yr old DD. She managed to locate a permanent black marker while I was on the phone with DS's principal this afternoon....and I am sure your imaginations can figure out the story.... I am taking this as a blessing seeings as I have been wanting to do this since ....well 2 years ago when I re did my formal sitting room.

I am also going to paint my DD's furnitur bubblegum pink ....she got it with the crayons .... and an ink pen some time ago. I think she will be a graphic artist when she grows up!

OMG I just noticed I am half way to goal! TOUCHDOWN! Can you see my little dance? There goes my woo-hoo stick....and oh yeah the mega phone is out too! okay, I will stop now.

^^ Congrats!!

I haven't had time to read through all the posts since the last time I was on. DH and I went out for our anniversary last night and I thoroughly enjoyed my Japanese steakhouse dinner. Then we went to see A Night at the Museum which was hilarious and we split a bag of popcorn. Today I actually decided to face the COD. I was up 1.2 pounds, but I was afraid it was going to be much worse so I'm happy with that. I am now 100% back on plan and committed to staying that way. I won't be able to make it back to the COD until next Tuesday due to my busy schedule, but am hoping to be in the 150's by then.

Hello dear friends,

I am on my way to see the Opening night of my daughters first production "Annie Jr" she is so pumped. I am really excited for her and proud of her as well. I don't know if I would have gotten up in front of hundreds of strangers at 13 y/o.

Makena, I'm not getting a new apartment and 2006 was great for me with the exception of not getting to goal. I think you may have me mixed up with someone else here. It's OK though.

You are a busy bunch today. I have to get going I will check back tomorrow and let you all know how it went.

Lori- The "Oz book" is all you are getting yourself for your 75 pound reward? Come on girl, live it up- 75 pounds is huge, it deserves more than that!

Lori for 75lbs you should fly yourself to LA to see his next live tv appearance and then have lunch with him after!!

whoo ya'll are chatty! It took me a while to catch up!
Lori - come on! 75 pounds definately deserves a shoe shopping trip!
Dan - the recipes sounds great! I'll have to try it.
Lotta Me - Let me know how you like Maui and any good spots to visit, my girlfriends and I have a trip planned for the end of July! We will be in Kehi (sp) we are excited. Gotta find some good air fares though:chin:
KrispieD - you look wonderful girl go get that picture taken! I am so like you, I don't like the way I look so I totally avoid the camera.
MickeySue - congrads!:encore
BrittyBoo - way to go on the 2 pound loss!:cheer2:

Well, I have been walking! yesterday 1.5 miles and today it started to rain on me but I did get 1/2 mile in before it set in. Going to WI tomorrow. For some reason I can't make myself write in my journal. I was doing fine before the Holidays. Now I have no clue waht's wrong with me!

Lisa- Great job on the 2 lbs. You ARE back in the game!

Rhonda- I said this in the other thread, but I love you picture, you are very pretty!!

Pearl- I'm glad that DS made it home safe and sound and that he had a wonderful time and learned so much. WOW on the TO numbers!!!

Alanna- Sorry that you had a rough Christmas, it will get better from here out!!!

Joni- Good luck with the boot camp. I am definitely not a morning person, so getting up that early to exercise is just not appealing to me. Love the new picture. I too have one eye that squints smaller than the other.

Nancy- Love the picture. I found the shiratake noodles at a local health food store. If you can't find them, maybe ask if they could special order them.

Megan- 7.8 lbs. in less than a month is not coming of slow, it's coming off perfectly! Great job!!

Sue- Good to see you checking in again.

Katiebug & busybee- Welcome to the group!!

Britt- Great job on the 2 lbs.

Michelle- Congrats on being 1/2 way to your goal. You'll be there before you know it.

Ulanda- How was your aspiring actress daughter? Wonderful I am sure!!

Yesterday's WI had me up a few lbs. since before Christmas. I will move my ticker up after tomorrows WI because that will be my official starting WI for TBL challenge. I also took new pictures to add to my webshots page. Not much, if any, difference from the last one, but I haven't really lost anything since Nov. either. I did exercise Tuesday and Today, so I am on my way to toning up this flabby bod.

:o oops sorry Ulanda!! I meant Alanna.... see I really shouldn't post when I am this tired! (*blush - that's embarassing!!)
But Ulanda - you will have to fill us in on the opening night for dd!!! How exciting (and brave of her!!)
Thank you Deb - that's very sweet of you to say. (we are always our own worst critic, aren't we?) I do love looking at your transformation. You are proof that it can be done!! You look so happy in your avtar pic.

MickeySue - Mr. Clean Magic eraser!!! (it is a miracle, that little thingy-even on permanant marker) WOOHOO on the 1/2 way there!!! You go, Girl!

BusyBee - today is my day 2 of Take off, too. It sure does make us plan for tomorrow better, doesn't it?!? Anything sounds good after T/O. Geeez, even the plastic on my water bottle is looking good right about now!! LOL.

Well, goodnight my friends!
Happy POP day tomorrow:)

Megan - here's your :dust:

Nascar Girl - a great book for you to get is called Maui Revealed. The island is not very big, but it is beautiful; there is some wonderful scenery. Everything is expensive in Maui, so start saving! They have a Costco right near the airport, so if any of your friends are a member, plan to make a stop before you head to your destination to get some basics. I see that you live not to far from me. Hopefully you can get some good fares in the summer; the best far I got was $800 round trip on DL.

Dan - great new picture. Good to know someone else gets hit by the Food Fairy from time to time!!

Mama Nicole - good to see you posting; nice loss!

Speaking of nice losses....PEARL!!! 12 pounds!! That's more than Juliemarie's new baby girl weighs. Other than doing TO, sucking down lemon water and getting on the Gazelle, what else did you do? Please reassure me that your limbs are still in tact!!!

Kim - your post about Cheese and going to bumble **** had me laughing out load. Your life is so far from boring!

Katie - did your boss ever appear? You must try the kale chips...so easy to make. Make sure you use fairly good size pieces of kale since they shrink to about half the original size. If I had some kale, I'd be eating them right now. Something tells me romaine chips would not work out.

So, I only have 3 weeks left on my program and due to many personnel changes at my COD, and the fact that I know what makes this program work, I'm probably going to continue the program on my own. Well, not on my own...I'll have all of you! Other than Evette, who else does this on their own? And does anyone know what happens during stabiliation and maintenance. I wonder if I quit going, and get to goal on my own, can I pop in for my pre-purchased stabilization and weight loss weeks?

Okay, off to be I go. Night all.
(Boards are busy, so I cannot say hi to everyone and I feel really guilty!!!)

Hi girlies..

Wow, Pearl………what a huge loss on your TO……..wayTOGO!!!!

Rhonda……….you are adorable. Please keep your avatar of you up. You really don’t look old enough to have a 12 yo DS.

Megan…………I think your loss so far is wonderful!!! You have only been on LAWL for a couple of weeks, haven’t you???? It adds up way quicker than you think. Keep up the good work!!!

Lori……….I can hardly believe that you have lost 75 pounds. What an accomplishment!!! I bet you feel like you can do just about anything you set your mind to now. Do you use supplements and/or lites? I am just being nosy. J

Lea Ann……….I too think we should nap. It is just a good thing.

Michelle……..I see why you are a good daycare provider. I felt like I was reading my own post. I have painted many walls and pieces of furniture after they were decorated by my girls. I also used to have one daycare girl that picked every stinkin one of my flowers…..but I could never get mad at her, because she always gave them to her Daddy the minute he came to pick her up. How sweet is that. I love painting….I hope you also enjoy it as you have much to do now!!! LOL

Stephanie…..WTG on facing the COD!!! It is always better to face the music right away and get moving in the right direction!!!

Ulanda……so cool about DD’s musical!!! I love that stuff!!! I hope at least one of my kids gets into drama and/or musicals. I have one DD in choir, and one who plays the violin. Heck, I could get a whole family band going with all of the members we have produced…..LOL. How is the no caffeine going? I hope well. I am considering trying that one day….but not quite yet. I have to be quit smoking at least for 1 year, and closer to goal, and maybe exercising before I take that on. I am super excited for you that you are getting so healthy. I think it is junk that you have not been losing as you had hoped, but do try to keep in mind all of the wonderful healthy changes you have made this last year, and take pride in that, even if your scale is not cooperating!!!

Kayla…..congrats on the walking. I wish I was doing it. Go get your journal right now, and get writing. Don’t worry about yesterday or tomorrow, just take care of today!!!

Deb…….whatever you are doing or not doing…..you are looking GREAT!!! Your DH is very adorable too. You guys make a great looking couple. Have you been exercising all along on LAWL? I am trying to decide if I am ready to start that fun.

Joni……….I love your new avatar. You have a beautiful smile, and you are just too darn cute.

HOLD ON………….when did JM get her baby girl?????????? I have to pause and check this out!!! BRB How totally awesome is that???? We so have to have a shower!!! I will make a cake and eat it in their honor!!!

Anyway, Joni…….I never remember or have time to get to everyone personally. I do the best I can, but I always wish I did a bit more…….in EVERYTHING in this life!!!

Kim……….are you surviving????? How about Cassi???? Well, DH is waiting for me to watch TV, so I should run……

WOW…..I’m still all choked up about JM”s baby Josie!!! I love it when a plan comes together!!! (A team anyone???)

Good night ladies and Dan.

Evening all!

Pearl- Holy cow!! You rock lady!

Ulanda- Hope the play was wonderful. How fun.

Dan- Thanks for the stew recipe, I am definitely going to have to try that with your New Mexico green chilies and my Idaho potatoes!

Join- No, the boss never showed up. I talked to the apartment manager today who is employed by the same guy, and he says that the boss has been in Vegas all week. I am so irritated. Well, worried, actually. Here is why: When I started with him in Sept, our deal was that he would pay me a base monthly salary until the end of year. Starting January 1st, I would move to a minimal hourly wage, plus 50 percent of the profits each month. Well, here we are now, first of the year, and we have still not signed a contract laying out the new deal. Technically, I am now working for minimum wage. I have asked him over and over again to provide me with something in writing so that we can agree on it, and he failed to do so, then lies to me about coming to Idaho. I cannot wait forever to see what he is proposing, since who knows if I will agree to his terms or if he will try something outrageous. Tomorrow is the day that I turn in payroll to our accountant. DH thinks that I should leave mine in salary mode and refuse to work for less until the boss presents me with a contract that I can live with. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would love some advice.

Michelle- Congrats on the halfway mark. Also, glad to hear that you were able to get some satisfaction from the school.

Makena- You gotta love that Mr Clean sponge, huh? I have used about a million of them on crayon.

Lori- I am with Kristen, you deserve something big!

NSV for me tonight. I came home from a really trying day a work to a nice dinner in the crockpot, ruined. I forgot to turn it to low before I left for work this morning. I was so mad, so tired, and feeling weak. DH asked what I wanted to do. I thought hard about ordering pizza or running down to Burger King, then I took a deep breath, pulled a package of steak out of the freezer, and DH and I made a nice dinner together. I was OP, instead of POOP. I am so glad that I was able to tackle the emotional eating and do it right.

Have a wonderful night everyone!

Good Night all, thought I would post before beddy-bye. DH and I have a romantic date tomorrow morning with our DR's (annual exams). I must have a good nights sleep before I, well i'll just say stirrups, sorry Dan! TMI, I know.

Joni- I don't go to the center anymore. I did about 4 years ago, but am doing this cycle on my own. I didn't hit my loss goal back in the "right" amount of time, so I asked them to put my account on hold for 7 weeks (that was the max then). I got to my goal weight, then went back to the COD for stabalization and maintenance. I would just talk to them about it. You will never lose the stabalizaion and manitenance weeks, you may have to pay to rejoin. Another option is to start stabilization, my COD told me (later of course) it is normal for clients to continue to lose weight I believe they said 5-7LBs from that stage. I lost an additional 8, and had to regain 3 to get my "refund" .....those where the days!!!!!!:)

Krystal

Deb…….whatever you are doing or not doing…..you are looking GREAT!!! Your DH is very adorable too. You guys make a great looking couple. Have you been exercising all along on LAWL? I am trying to decide if I am ready to start that fun.

HOLD ON………….when did JM get her baby girl?????????? I have to pause and check this out!!! BRB How totally awesome is that???? We so have to have a shower!!! I will make a cake and eat it in their honor!!!


Did you think nobody would see that??!?!?;) Make sure it is a LA approved cake!!!!!

Unfortunately I am a terrible exerciser. I have the best intentions in the world, but never act on them. I am afraid that I am never going to get rid of my thunder thighs unless I start doing some of that dreaded exercise.

Thanks for the compliment about me and about DH, It wasn't a great picture, but I think that he's a pretty adorable too.

Joni- Why don't you go ahead and change your goal to your current weight at the end of your weeks and tell them you want to go into maintenance so you get your info. Then if you really don't want to go back, call the customer service number and explain your disgust in your center and that you want a refund on your unused weeks, no need in wasting money.

One more thing regarding that Green Chile Stew recipe... A lot of people put some diced tomatoes in as well as some onions and garlic.. I tend to use a bunch of garlic, but I leave out the tomatoes and onions.. If you use the onions, saute them until they are translucent and then toss in the garlic to cook for a minute.. Then add that to your pot!

I know a lot of you go down the list and reply to many people's posts.. I'm sorry I'm not there yet.. I read all your posts, believe me, even if I don't respond to them all... I guess it's just the guy in me.. :lol:

See you all tomorrow... (or today, I guess, depending on where you live!)

Katie- If it was me, I would just leave the payroll the way it is until the boss can decide to be a responsible business man and do what is right. I think DH is right on this. Stay tough and don't settle for less than you are worth!!!

Thanks all for the comments on TO! Of course, remember it was probably ALL salt weight! So, I'm not jumping up and down - although that would be considered exercise... nope, better not, the whole family would think we were having an earthquake! After all, it's not 7 a.m. yet!

Deb- I know I mentioned it on the other thread - but your new avatar is AMAZING!!!

Makena - You leave that avatar just the way it is! You have got the most GORGEOUS eyes! They are coming across on my (dial up) 'puter as GREEN!!! OMG!! You are a gorgeous woman! Are you crazy?!? :lol3: (oops, sorry, that was a little rough, but come on girlfriend, get in FRONT of that camera! Obviously, the camera IS your friend!) Can you say... PHOTOGENIC?!? (can I SPELL photogenic?!?) :)

Speaking of nice losses....PEARL!!! 12 pounds!! That's more than Juliemarie's new baby girl weighs. Other than doing TO, sucking down lemon water and getting on the Gazelle, what else did you do? Please reassure me that your limbs are still in tact!!!

Oh my gosh!!! I laughed out loud (that was at 5:30!) and that woke up the "rex" dog, which in turn woke up the "digger" dog, which in turn woke up the YDS... which of course now will be referring to you as MUD instead of "the lady with the dog"...
You are sooo hysterical! I have all my limbs... although I think my upper arms are now at the point of being called "wings"! :rofl: As I mentioned... it was all salt retention I'm sure... so I can't really be toooo impressed! Besides... Like Nicole... TOM came in like a lion, so who knows what the scale is gonna do in the next week?!?

DH has decided to take his OWN measurements since they do it differently every time at the COD... He wants to measure according to Dr. Oz and really focus on the waist measurement! I've never measured (no tape measure), so I'm getting one tonight and measuring this weekend.

Okay - gotta go. Time for a nap before everyone gets up in a few hours.

Lea Ann and Nicole - What do you mean? You mean EVERYONE doesn't take a nap? We are 90% napsters on Sunday p.m. because we get up at 5. And as you can see, sometimes instead of getting a LONG night's sleep, sometimes I get a few hours... get up for a couple of hours... and then take a nap for a couple of hours... so--- I say... NAP AWAY!!!
PS - dh's "big boss" told him when they hired him because of his hours... that power naps were fine as long as they didn't go over an hour! (That's never been acted upon because dh would need an alarm clock!)
Hugs, YYYYAAAAWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnmmmmm---... . . . .
Snnnnzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Makena - Magic Erasers leave a discolored residue on my walls...it looks like I have white washed them ...I have spent hours...litterally...trying to wash the residue off. They are great on white walls though I agree....I think I am just going to primer over the area she has decorated and then paint it! But thanks for the thought!

Nicole - I will be painting alot of furniture in the coming months as well.....I have thrown cases of markers, colored pencils, crayons, etc. in the trash in the past 6 months, why do they magically reappear? That being said I believe it is very important that children have access to supplies to let out all that creativity and a safe enviroment that helps them do that. My DD's room is a patchwork of wall centers, felt board...chalk board, dry erase board, magnetic board, and her walls are going to be painted this spring...lime green with hot pink and pale pink circles ... so, yes I love to paint! It keeps me from buying new furniture and gives me an outlet for my creative energy...

Julie Marie - How beautiful that baby is! Congrats! You will be a wonderfull mommy!

I have a couple of weeks left in my Weight loss phase also. I dont think I am going to make the goal. I dont know what I am going to do about getting back there. I would hate to lose out on the money I paid these people, I dread going to my center. I have had like 1 good counselor and I have not seen her since.

T/O did not help this time. I cant get in the groove. What is the deal? I WANT to lose the weight but my brain is fighting me to the end.
I need help and I am not getting it from the COD. That is why I come to you all. This is the best support I can ask for~

All this talk about naps! I woke up at 3:45 am and couldn't get back to seelp so have been working my fanny off (I wish that was literal!) on the computer!
I would have been awake when your DH came home Pearl and you could have slept in if I lived closer LOL. Watch yourself rolling on the floor laughing at Joni's wit or you may injure yourself to such a point the gazelle will not be an option for you!
I hope Takeoff is over for everyone.. we on't all be seeing results like Pearl's but it gets everyone back on track for the new year, new you!
Girls are at school for the first time in 3 weeks so I am looking forward to some time to catch up.. once I put away their 4 loads of laundry that is! Making some Cheesy Beef and Broccoli tonight from the LA books as both kids love it and it is similar to a Hamburger Helper casserole.. comfort food for a rainy and tired day!
Nicole if DH is back at work you got some catch up ahead of you girl!
Joni we are all going to chip in and buy you extra weeks so you can stay on program and not leave this board. We've discussed something similar with Evette as no one is allowed to LEAVE!
Whitny what did you and Mom cook up last night?
Deb your new photo is stunning.. any newbies just go check out before and afters and if you don't think it can be done you'll change your mind quickly.
Kim we didn't hear from you after the meeting.. did you have road rage? job rage? meeting rage? Get back on line and show us your photo!

COD UPDATE: At my center yesterday I was harping at them a bit as they have been out of stock on almost all of the Lites since the week before Xmas. There is always a problem with supply there as they say it gets held up at the border. I got switched to Gold in October and don't even have a book for it and our choices of bars are the Chocolate Cherry or Smores (I'd rather suck on an old shoe!) They said they were working on a lot of things "getting rid of TriMax and FB and a bunch of wonderful new supplements including a super multivitamin." They already have Vitamax which was touted to me as a super multivitamin so I guess the new year means new cash grab opportunities to push new items. I was also told that many clients find it hard on the plan as it is too open so they are bringing out prepackaged food like Jenny Craig that certain plans can purchase and follow. I asked the girl about this as they have always advertised here that you can use everything in your own fridge so they'll have to change marketing? So that's the latest and greatest COD update I have for you.


Hope you all have a super day!

Deb – Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll definitely do the first part (change my goal weight). I’m really not disgusted with my COD, just not as happy with the new counselors as I was with the original ones. There’s actually one great counselor there, and I need to just ask for her all the time, but I feel bad when I ignore the other gals.

Pearl – I’m happy you mentioned naps. Next week I’ll have to start getting up at 4:30 AM and I’ll definitely a quick nap somewhere in there. I love naps too, just don’t get too many in. And make sure DS, Digger, Rex, etc., know that you waking them up was NOT my fault!

Dan – no worries on all the personals. This group can get pretty chatty; focus on what you want to comment on and/or talk about or need help with.

Katie – I would stick with your current pay method until the boss puts something in writing. Does he not know the golden business rule – you don’t mess with employees when it comes to their paycheck! Funny about the crockpot (sounds like something I would do!), but great NSV staying POP!!

Martha – I was going through the photo thread and YOWSER…You have lost an amazing amount in such a short time. You must be so happy! Great before and after shot you shared !!

I read through The Biggest Loser magazine that Prevention magazine put out. It's pretty good (not sure it was worth $3.99). One thing that really stuck out to me, and that I really like, is their food pyramid, which is a lot like LAWL. With TBL plan you get 3 proteins (dairy falls in the protein category), a minimum of 4 fruits and veggies (but you can't have more fruit than veggies), 2 whole grain servings and a 200 calorie budget for all the extras (and that would include your low-cal dressings, good fats, nuts, catsup, bouillon, etc.). I was sort of shocked by the amount of calories it said I should eat - at 160, only 1,120 calories; sure doesn't sound like much.

Hold up, wait a minute...!!! What have I been missing! JulieMarie has a baby, Pearl lost 12 pounds!

I've missed sooo much. I have go back to page 5 and reread the posts. I'm such a loser!!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting gals, and Dan, but I've been soooo busy. I'm gonna try to catch up on the posts today at work, but I hope you guys have a great Friday!

BTW, I'm down .5 pounds. Down to 133!! I'm not gonna update my ticker until I'm sure that weight sticks (about 2 days).

Evette... you passed goal??????????????????//


WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Good Lord, I went to a four hour meeting and you guys go nuts with 4 pages of posts. I KNEW that meeting was a bad idea!

Actually, the meeting itself was OK. The school I had to go to for it was GORGEOUS! But, man, it was in the middle of nowhere. More cows than people. As I was driving there (and driving, and driving....) I thought about some of you who live in rural areas and realized that I am way spoiled. I grocery shop 3 or 4 times a week. I would really have to get my act together if I lived an hour from the market. It took me 1.5 hours to get home. I am definitely turning in mileage reimbursement for THAT!

Went to the COD for WI before I left on my country drive, I am only up .4 from ticker now. Thank you TO!

OK, a few quick personals because y'all are so chatty!

Pearl - great results on TO! That's the biggest loss I've heard so far, ever!

JM - I have to go read your adoption blog, but CONGRATS!

Ulanda - How did DD do in Annie? Drama club was a big part of my high school life, it holds a warm fuzzy place in my heart. (on the opposite side of my heart from the cheese meeting road rage place)

OK, guess who forgot the camera again? Sorry - pic will have to wait again.

Deb…….yeah, I will not really be making cake. Although I do make a gorgeous baby shower cake. It is a baby in a bathtub on top of a round cake with a glittery shower and white gumballs rolled in white glitter spilled all over the cake, and it says “ Showers of Love.” It is quite fun to make, and I really miss cake decorating. I am a fool for cake, and I cannot seem to stay OP when there is homemade cake and frosting around. Even if it is LA approved, I still have to fight the urge real bad. Some things are just not worth it. If I can find the picture of the baby shower cake, I will just post it for JM instead. I am going to stick to making cake only for company and birthdays for now.

Pearl………so far…….no TOM. I think I got it last month right after Thanksgiving……but I cannot be sure. I am not yet nervous, as I was as short tempered inside as could be yesterday. That is usually a sign that I will get it in the next day or two. I wasn’t a jerk to anyone, but I REALLY WANTED TO BE!!!! You know what I mean?????

Kristen……I have 1 child at school today, and 1 is getting ready as I type. It’s my 16 yo DD. She has such a hard time getting going on time in the a.m. I still have 1 ill child, but she is pretty easy to have around (well, compared to her 2 yo brother anyway….LOL). Yes, DH is back to work. We had such a nice day yesterday. We went to this kitchen and bath showroom that was just incredible. I really had no clue that you could pay $10,000 for a stove. We went just to look to see if that would spark any new ideas. I did make one change to our layout, and I noticed that many of the dishwashers in the showroom were raised up about 12 inches off the floor. Oh, pardon me, does it get irritating to you when we always speak of measurements in standard instead of metric? Don’t’ get me started on that. I find if very bizarre that the US is one of the few countries that has not converted. Whatever. Anyway, how nice to have the dishwasher raised up a bit. I, of course, pretended to load some dishes in the showroom, and what a lifesaver!!!

Which reminds me………dear Cassi……….how are you feeling? I am pretty worried about you and your back.. Also, when you redid your kitchen, did you plan it yourself, did you hire a designer, did you purchase custom cabinets? I have been quite lucky so far, DH and I have agreed on just about everything. Well, maybe that is just what he wants me to believe anyway. He is super easy going, and sometimes I do not even realize that he often just lets me do what I want.

Evette…….the baby announcement was just posted yesterday. I, too, was just shocked!!! Isn’t that wonderful news. JM’s baby has lots of virtual Aunties!!!

Kim, Kim, Kim……….did you survive??? We are all starting to get worried!!!

I am hoping my dear SIL sends me my photo today, if not, I will just have to mess around and try to take another one. OH……..that means I will have to put make up on today and get dressed. I was planning a nice pajama day, as I have a ton of housework to catch up on, and am not planning on leaving the house. We’ll see………LOL Keep your fingers crossed that TOM shows up pretty soon. I love babies, but I really do not think I am equipped for another one J

Evette... you passed goal??????????????????//


WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thanks Kristen! :carrot:

I have a couple of weeks left in my Weight loss phase also. I dont think I am going to make the goal. I dont know what I am going to do about getting back there. I would hate to lose out on the money I paid these people, I dread going to my center. I have had like 1 good counselor and I have not seen her since.

T/O did not help this time. I cant get in the groove. What is the deal? I WANT to lose the weight but my brain is fighting me to the end.
I need help and I am not getting it from the COD. That is why I come to you all. This is the best support I can ask for~


Mornin' Ladies... Just a quick post before I head off to the COD for my WI... Wish me luck!

Barb.. What kind of TO did you do? The juice? I found that switching between the juice and cantalope helped me out.. I think that just like with our menu selections, our bodies get used to what we put into them, so perhaps if you've done one kind of TO consistantly, it might be worth it to change it up.. Also, there are several different TO menu plans, so that might be something to look at for next time too..
Good luck!!

Cheers!

Dan.. Good luck with WI. I dont know what my problem is. I have to do something though!

Will post personals when I get home from work today. I am on a quick break kinda busy today!

Good morning all,

Annie Jr, was great! My DD has such a beautiful smile if I say so my self. She played the oldest orphan Duffy and she just shined. She has quite the voice developing there for singing as well. She had both her grandmas, grandpa, 2 aunts, her uncle and her parents there, so she was on cloud 9.

Nicole, I have been struggling a bit, getting rid of coffee and diet soda at the same time, but I have to be strong. I can say it's easier not drinking the soda over the coffee which is really weird because I don't even like coffee that much.

Barb, TO/FF hasn't shown a loss for me this time either. I did switch things up a bit and do it with oranges, so I am not sure what happened. I will keep working at it though.

Well, I have to get some work done, I will check back later!

so far…….no TOM. I think I got it last month right after Thanksgiving……but I cannot be sure. I am not yet nervous, as I was as short tempered inside as could be yesterday. That is usually a sign that I will get it in the next day or two. I wasn’t a jerk to anyone, but I REALLY WANTED TO BE!!!! You know what I mean?????

Kim, Kim, Kim……….did you survive??? We are all starting to get worried!!!




I know what you mean, Nicole - There have been times that I am thinking in my mind about DH "would you just shut your pie hole!" and I stop and think, wow that was really mean... oh, it's almost TOM. After more than 20 years of it, you would think I'd know myself better.

And yes, I lived. No worries! Very strange highway to get where I went, though. 4 lane divided hwy, but there was absolutely NO shoulder, and there were curbs! Nothing like going 65mph with no room on either side of you. Deer all over the place, like they were competing in a dodge car tournament or something too. Eeks.

Wow, Kristen, thanks for the latest scoop on the new products! Our COD here is late on getting things, too, but they do at least have a good stock of the various bars. I was wanting to wait to get my next purchase when they finally get in the Key Lime bars, but I may end up having to just get more of the usual.

Interesting about the pre-packaged meals...I did try NutriSystem a year ago, and it was horrible. Some foods were okay, but most...ugh! I wonder if LAWL's attempt at those would be any better.

Kim- where upstate are you?

(i'm from Staten Island so I consider it all to be "God's Country", sorry lol)

Nicole- I was the same way waking up when I was 16... and I'm still the same way at 19 lol but I manage on my own now without my mom not pulling at my hair. I think it's just some phase we all go through.

Morning all! You have been a chatty little bunch this morning!

Evette- You are such a great example to all of us. Great job!

Kim- Dodge car, huh? Dang, hope they are good at it!

Dan- Good luck at WI.

Ulanda- So glad that the play went well. I'll bet you were so proud.

Barb- I know what you mean about having a battle with your brain. I would suggest making a list of reasons you joined LAWL in the first place and how your life has changed so far. Post it where you will see it often, like on the fridge. I also think that it helps to set some sort of tangible goal. If there is a certain style of jeans you really want to fit into, go buy a pair in your goal size and hang them on the wall in your bedroom. You will see them often and be spurred on to get there. Good luck, I know that mind games are at least half the battle.

Joni--this probably depends on how much of a fit you are willing to throw but..........I did when they tried to make me buy more and finally wore them down to just basically calling all weeks just weeks and not labeling them. So I am well into "maintenance" weeks even though I never made it to goal. Just a thought. OF COURSE you can make this work on your own--lots do and you have us--much better than a center--lol.

Okay--I bought kale yesterday and now have no idea what to do with it. Do I cut it up or leave it in the big leaf? I have the cooking directions at home but tell me anyway. THANKS.

Katie--I agree with DH--insist on the salary until you guys hammer out a bindning contract.

Pearl--I am DEFINITELY a Sunday napper--my parents insisted while growing up--of course I hated it then--now I look forward to it.

All for now--no kids today so I am heading back to office--can't hide ALL day!!

Wow-so many things going on with everybody. Pearl losing the equivalent of a large baby, job issues, holiday weight gain and losses, new pics (you all look amazing!), Nicole volunteering to down a cake in Josie's honor (step away from the bakery-I don't need that on my conscience!), Evette shrinking into nothingness (how you keep on keeping on girl!) . .. . . .I can't possibly get to erveryone.

Needless to say-I'm still on cloud 9 . . . .pretty worthless at work, but I actually have a deadline coming up-so i have stuff to do. But luckily, all the hard stuff (the actual experiment) was done before I got the referral. I really can't screw it up now. Thank goodness!

I'm trying to keep up, I'm reading and posting a little. You guys are all so wonderful! It's like we're extended family. I'm really grateful for all of you and your prayers and good wishes.

I'm almost down to my pre-holiday weight. I must admit-I couldn't care less at the moment. But I'm trying to keep my wits about me and not blow it with celebrating or "happiness" bingeing.

gotta go-I'll check in later!

Dan.. Good luck with WI. I dont know what my problem is. I have to do something though!

Will post personals when I get home from work today. I am on a quick break kinda busy today!

Well... I have some more thoughts from the COD... My counselor this morning is also on the plan and I talked to her about what happens when TO doesn't seem to be effective..

I should preface that by saying I was down almost 2 pounds following my TO, so "yay" but it wasn't what I was hoping for.. I'm used to losing about 4 pounds following a TO, and was somewhat discouraged..

She said that for people who have been on plan for a while now, the TO kind of evens out and the weightloss can be smaller, averaging 2 pounds, or at least that's been her personal experience.. She did recommend shaking things up a bit with the TO menu and maybe trying cantalope next time..

Unfortunately, for many of us, weightloss become harder the longer we're on any kind of plan that has worked.. You'd think we'd be better at losing, but as our bodies adjust, we have to work harder.. (dammit!)...

Don't get discouraged, and don't give up!

Dh came from COD yesterday letting me know that they have a "new" trial plan for men only ... more starches, more protein, bigger portions... they may "want" to put him on. I told him, "they work for you and if you don't want to change, tell them NO!". If it ain't broke... don't fix it!!!
Okay, gotta go.
Hugs,

Dan - For me, TO rarely works. Usually I only use it as a way to get back on plan and stop the insanity. This time I lost the most ever.

Nikki - I'm just outside of Albany, so I'm a suburban gal! Yesterday I was halfway between Albany and Poughkeepsie. I felt like Henry Hudson.

Morning everyone!

Well I did my WI today and depressed at the 1lb loss; I was down 2lbs yesterday at the gym, and now only 1lb today -- I even drank lemon water . ..

I am sort of mad because they said they would do my bloodwork again -- well that was back in November; they called and cancelled that appt. I missed Wed (I had to drive 45 minutes to get to the place and not enough time w/working out and pre-k) and then today they said, oh just call she'll be there again next wed (a different center). Well I called and they said they dont have one either until they hire someone "and they are being extremely picky" - no pun intended.

So I broke down and called my dr and asked if I could just have my thyroid tested vs. the whole physical thing; I just hate that . . especially at my wieght. I had my blood work done last year at LAWL and my #'s were okay, but ever since I started to work out (weights) last April, my weight loss has stalled. I would have been happy w/2-3lbs with doing TO this week, but its hard not to get discouraged.

I'm just going to try and stay on target -- keep up my cardio activity and hope for a good result next week.

Have agreat weekend everyone!

Lea Ann - I take the big Kale pieces and tear them up so the pieces are about 3-4" in diameter. I put them all fairly close together on my cookie sheet; remember they shrink; lightly spray them with olive oil spray (PAM makes one; my olive oil spray is from Trader Joes), and sprinkle some morton salt on them. Bake about 12 minutes at 350....in the annoying words of Rachel Ray - "YUMMO"

What's all this talk about new food at the CODs? All my center had was some little soy crispie things. The samples were quite tasty, but I can't stop at one little bag and they take up a starch and Dr. Oz says these are not the best kind of starches to be eating. So, I'm not going to get any yet.

Pearl - do you think the COD will let me try the guy's trial plan? I'm extremely hungry today. I think it's the gloomy weather. I'll go drink some V8 (low sodium, of course!)

Mickey - Woo Hoo! If I had the infamous woo hoo stick, I'd be waving it up and down! You go girl!

Ok everyone! Shoes... at trip to see the great and powerful Oz himself.... a day at the spa.... you are making me feel special:D ! I actually have a week at a spa/resort planned with my mom and BFF after I reach goal. (Hopefully I won't have to start over when I get back!:o ) I don't know.... when I first started this journey 75 pounds seemed like an insurmountable mountain, deserving of something extra special. Now the honeymoon phase is over, and I just want to be past it and to goal. I know it is a huge accomplishment, don't get me wrong, and I am very proud of it, but, I just don't know..... Either way, it won't be THIS week. Dang TOM, and an extremely emotional and loud battle with my 10 year old over homework and hockey (that particular episode lead to an ice cream binge- will I EVER learn????) I was up a stinking 3.2 pounds today! YIKES!!!!!!!

Montana Deb- Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are? Holy cow, girl!

Nicole - nope, not nosy at all! I am not using any supplements or lites. I started off using Luna bars, but some things happened at the COD and now I am on purple with no lites, not using any substitutions. This 75 pounds is all me, baby!

Ulanda, Thanks for the update on "Annie"... I have a budding drama queen at home - I'm hoping she'll take part in some stage works when she is old enough. That is so exciting!

Pearl!!!!!!! A big holy cow to you too! 12 freakin' pounds? http://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/miscellaneous/1/0027.gif

Okay, better get my bad self to work...stay strong, we can do this thing!

Hi Again gals
Lori that's the kind of rewards I wanted to see!!!

I walked to MIL house today to borrow her car to weigh in at COD and then walked home. Was down another .4 so I'm getting hungry to reach my next 5 lb mark of 40lb loss. That will light a post holiday fire under my arse. Still unseasonable mild here so with Daddy's help watching girls this weekend I'm hoping to get out for a walk every day.

Hope you are all having a good day and I'll try to throw another recipe or two on for you this weekend.

Kristin - does you MIL live next door (LOL!!)? Now if you had said "I walked 1 mile or 15 minutes to MIL's house to borrow car" I may be copying Lori's little bowing smiley guy for you! Okay, I'm giving you a hard time because I can!
Wow - 40 lbs...what a milestone, huh? I know what you mean though when we get close to a number how much more exciting the program can seem. I was doing so good before Christmas - one day my home scale said 151.5. If I had just stuck to plan, it could very well be in the 140s but I probably won't see those now until March!

Heya Chickies,
Just dropping in quick on my way to yet ANOTHER hockey game for DS.
I wanted to share that I lost 3 lbs on t/o. (another 1 to go for my pre-holiday weight.) In hindsight, that food so wasn't worth it!!
I hope to catch up on all the posts when I get back!
Have a great day.

Well off to Lowes soon to but infamous paint, then to my DS's favorite Mexican resturaunt...I feel a gain coming on and really do not want one. Should I try sneaking my own food in....just double up the water or what? I have 1 Fruit, 3 veg, 1 fat, 1 fruit, 1 protein, 1 dairy, and 2 condiments left.....Is their a such thing as chicken Fajitas? Do I just go for a salad and take a veggie burger...Help!!!! I have been saving up all day for tonight and know I want it really bad but don't think I can controll my self with the chips and yummo salsa or the yummo queso or those warm tortillas and how about that guacamole....yikes! Why couldn't he have just chosen Applebees or Pizza Hut like he usually does?

Lori- Thanks - :o Your making me blush!! You look pretty hot yourself!!:whoo:

Kim- You would think you had fallen off the earth if you were to go for a drive up here in Montana and Wyoming. I am only 15 miles out of town and I drive the interstate every day to get to work and if I pass 40 cars on the way it's like rush hour. Then next big city (if you can call it that) is 90 miles to the south, 140 miles to the west, 200 miles to the southeast and 180 miles to the north (That is in Canada!!) When we went back home and went to the mall in Colo. Spgs. There were more people in that mall than in the whole city of Great Falls. I was really glad to get back home though, I really do love my little house on the prairie. So quiet and peaceful.

Kristen- You are doing so awesome that you will reach that 40 lbs. in no time flat.

I haven't heard anything at my COD about new lites, new foods or new supplements. Heck, they haven't even gotten the word on the increase in the veggies. I think that different areas are run completely different, and my COD is a corporate center.

Michelle- They should have chicken fajitas. Just forego the tortillas and eat the meat and veggies. Ask them how they cook it and request no oil, and very little salt. Have a glass of wine for your fruit, cheese for your dairy and a small amount of the guacamole for your fat. Try to stay away from the chips, maybe just a few if you just can't resist. Drink a few extra glasses of water today and maybe drink a couple of glasses full at the restaurant before you actually eat to fill you up some. Good luck, you can do it!!!!

Mickey-I would order chicken fajitas and skip the tortillas. Enlist your family to police the chips and salsa. Tell them they are not to let you have any. Then you just have to worry about the excess sodium.

Deb-great minds think alike!

Pearl!!!!!!! A big holy cow to you too! 12 freakin' pounds? http://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/midi-smileys/miscellaneous/1/0027.gif
Lori - Okay, now YOU'VE got me :rofl:

Remember everyone... H-A-M!!! S-A-L-T!! 10 DAYS in a R-O-W!!
I'm actually still 1.6 over where I was pre-holidays. So I'm feeling rather guilty for all the "woos" I'm getting! TO gives different results every time I do it. The first time, I gained, but I ate my food like meals... chicken, lite, chicken and broccoli, lite, chicken and broccoli. DH is the one that told me to s p r e a d it all out! So now, I eat chicken in the a.m. When I get hungry, I eat 1/2 lite, when I get hungry, I eat broccoli, then 1/2 lite, then chicken... and so on. It really helps me NOT to be hungry!

Did I ever mention that I bought a new scale before Thanksgiving? I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!! OMG! It is a digital stainless one, you put your dish on it and push the button and it zeros out, you put your food on it and voila! And it has an auto off feature! Now I weigh all proteins instead of "eyeing" them. Caterers are pretty good at portion control, so the eyeing was pretty good, but I love the scale! And when I'm baking, I can add the "pound of wheat flour", zero it out, add the "1/4 pound of cheese, zero out... yep... a good investment!

Joni - Not a chance they'll put you on the new men's plan... are you kidding? They'd have to be worse than a ******ed chicken to see you as a man! (no offense to any ******ed chickens that may be reading this!)

Sue - Could it be that like my dh, you're not getting enough food now that you're working out? As you know, you have to eat on this plan to lose! Just a thought. You could have someone here check it out for ya. They are a lot smarter at that than I! But no matter what happens, you keep on working the plan! You ARE getting healthier! You ARE worth it! You CAN do it!!!

Okay, gotta go...
P.S. - if anyone remembers where the post is for the benefits of lemon water... Dan is looking for it on the "lemon water help" thread.
Blessings,

Have any of you gone to the LAWL website lately? They are revamping it. If you are in an area that doesn't offer the LA at home website, you can sign up for a weekly newsletter. If you are in an area that has it, like Cassie or Tina, go ahead and use my zip code (59404) and sign up for it anyway. Here is the latest newsletter:

I just realized that in the recipes, they didn't give a breakdown on how to count them. I sent them an email about it.

The LA WEIGHT LOSS – FREE-TO-LIVE program
is an ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION to reaching and maintaining the weight, vitality and energy
of your dreams!

When you join L A WEIGHT LOSS you'll get great weight loss TIPS, delicious “LITE” RECIPES, and all the latest trends for staying SLIM, HEALTHY and ALWAYS
AT YOUR BEST! http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/lawl_6wk_coupon.jpg
A Great Way to Get Started

http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/lynn_keri.jpgTELL A FRIEND - The way to ensure a successful start to any weight loss program is to first create a supportive atmosphere. Don’t overlook the benefits of losing weight with other people. Research has shown that dieters who recruited friends or family members to help them had better results losing weight and keeping it off than dieters who had no buddy system to fall back on. So grab a friend, and take the first step to a happier, healthier you!
What Should I Wear?

http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/angela_b.jpgQ: I’ve lost 53 pounds so far and now I’m down to a size 8. I don’t fit into my old jeans anymore and I’m looking for the right type. Can you give me some direction?
A: You came to the right place. We’ll break down the cut, color, and shoe.
The most important is cut - A fun cut is the cropped pant. It’s supposed to lay right to the middle of your calf, so if you’re on the short side you will probably need to rehem. Straight legs are for the ladies with skinnier legs but bigger in the belly because it draws attention away from the mid-section. For wider hips and longer legs stick with the boot cut. The slight flare offsets the width of the hips. The flare cut works best for the tall and long legged types to minimize the up top hip appearance.
Best advice on color - The darker the better. The darker threads slim your legs.
The most flattering shoe - Jeans look ultra-feminine paired with stilettos or a flirty boot that only accentuate the length of your legs.
Note: Take the time to try on different cuts to find out what best fits you. Happy shopping!
Weight Loss Success Tip

http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/list.jpgMake a list you can add to all week long instead of sitting down right before you leave for the grocery store trying to remember everything. It's easier to track the things you truly need when you write them down as you run out. Then, it’s key to stick to the list once you get to the store and try NOT to buy any extra temptations!
I'm Cravin’

So you’re craving a dessert that you can enjoy more than one bite. Perhaps something sweet? Maybe a little chocolate? Why not both - Let’s mix it up a bit (or should we say “layer it up”).
Chocolate Banana-Rama

http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/banana.jpg

Ingredients
1/2 cup of sugar-free, fat-free chocolate pudding, prepared with skim milk
1/2 medium banana
2 Tbsp light Whip creamPreparation
1. In a dessert glass spoon half of the pudding on the bottom.

2. Cover with layer of banana slices.

3. Top with remaining chocolate pudding.

4. For decoration (and your sweet tooth) garnish with fat free whipped topping. It’s the sweetest way to get your potassium for the day. (Consider the rhyme a bonus)
Serving Size: 1 recipe
Servings: 1
Calories: 110
Total Fat: 1 gram

Berry Special

Did you know that cranberries are a great source of Vitamin C? They’re also a delicious and healthy addition to many baked goods and recipes. Try this out for size!
Whole Wheat Cranberry Muffins

http://lafreetolive.com/LA_Scoop/berry.jpg

Ingredients
2 ¼ Cups All Flour
½ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
&frac13; Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Teaspoon Ginger
½ Teaspoon Orange Peel
¼ Teaspoon Salt
1 ¼ Cups Skim Milk
5 Tablespoons Butter, melted
¼ Cup Egg Substitute
1 Cup Cranberries, fresh or frozen (thaw). Halved or sliced.
Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-fat cooking spray.

2. Mix flours, sugar, baking powder, ginger, orange peel and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Blend milk, melted butter and egg in separate bowl.

4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until just blended. Do not over mix.

5. Stir in cranberries until evenly distributed.

6. Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle decorative sanding sugar on top of muffins if desired.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes until lightly browned.

Serving Size: 1 Muffin
Servings: 10, 3 oz muffins.
Calories: 210
Total Fat : 6 grams

Michelle, Yeah, they make chicken fajitas, shrimp fajitas, etc. Don't eat the tortillas, of course, or any sour cream, etc. When they bring you the little plate with the lettuce, cheese, etc, ask them to only bring lettuce & tomatoes on it. And maybe pico de gallo (sp?). Scoop the meat and onions and peppers onto your plate, cover it with lettuce and tomatoes (and salsa!), and dig in. DELICIOUS! I promise you won't even miss the tortillas to wrap them in. :) If you sprinkle a little cheese on it, you could count it as a dairy, but I doubt they'll give you LF cheese. The fajitas by themselves will knock off your protein and veggies for the day, though. :D

::editing to add - err, guess I was a bit late, hah!::

Pearl- I got one of those scales too. I love it, there are so many features on it that I don't think that I will every remember how to use all of them, but I love the Tare feature that zero's it out.

Deb,
Do you know what that banana chocolate dessert would count as? That sounds like jsut what the Dr. ordered for me.

Debster - thanks for the zip. It wouldn't work with mine! And if my dh knew that I couldn't think of "tare" he would laugh his butt off! Coming from a family of retailers and especially meat cutters... I'm glad he doesn't come out here today!

Thanks for the tip, Deb!

Thanks all! I am having the chicken fajitas at dinner...no tortillas. no cheese. no sour creme and no guacamole. Will do the pica de gallo!!! I love that stuff. maybe a glass of wine for my fruit and starch...although I believe Margaritas fit the bill better....hey, you gotta' make sacrifices sometimes!

I appreciate the advice and will let you know if I fall victim to the speedy gonzales mouse waving them chips at me yelling vamanos! Yo quero mi amigos!

wine counts as a fruit, not a fruit and a starch!

Margarita, though full of sugar, would probably count as fruit and starch.

I would say that banana-rama would be a starch, fruit and condiment
The muffins would be a starch, fat, condiment and maybe a fruit too.

Girls......I have been meaning to to share this with y'all for a while now, but I keep forgetting. For lemon water, I bought this wonderful little juicer by Black and Decker. It is called the handy juicer. It is small, and it only hold 28 ounces or so, but it is fab for squeezing lemons. The part that does the work looks just like an old fashioned juicer, but it is motorized and takes about 5 seconds to get every drop of juice and pulp from a lemon. After I juice it, I just run hot water over the grate part, take it off, and whala, I have my hot lemon water. I just pour it into a coffee cup a couple of times, and I am set. The best part.........it cost only $9.96 at Walmart, and it is tiny, so it doens't take up much space. You can also use it to squeeze fresh oranges or grapefruits........so those of you who do not enjoy fruit........I am quite certain fresh squeezed with all of the pulp would probably count as a fruit!!!!

Also, a couple of weeks ago I posted about an asian salad I make with chicken, clementines, and this wonderful asian dressing. Well, I finally looked at the brand name......it is Cardini's Asian Sesame dressing........and it makes a salad taste like a dessert. It is not low fat or sugar free.......but it is not horrible either. I just use a very small amount. Sometimes I get tired of salad, and I try to find new things to make it fun and exciting again.

Ok, I just took my Christmas tree down, vacuumed, and cleaned up the kitchen. I also made some bread for DH to go with the beef stew we are having for dinner. This will be the first time I have made bread since I started LAWL. My family was probably beginning to think I didn't love them anymore......LOL. I love to bake.......and I love to eat!!! So, anyway, I have to run and put some laundry to go before the beasty boy wakes up. I hope everyone is having a good day :)

Hey, where is Cassi???

Ohhhh, one more thing.....about the biggest loser contest.......I put my start weight in the first week, but when do I put my next one in?? I mean, if I weigh in on Sat, do I put that for the beginning of week 2??? I am sure if I re-read the rules, I could probably figure it out, but you know.....there has been so much confusion, that I was just wondering what you were all planning on doing. Thanks girls. Oh, and Joni, I may just try the Kale chips. It sounds soooo weird. LOL.

Good Afternoon Everyone....

I challenged myself today - after my WI I decided I was going to find something healthy to eat - while I was out! One of my biggest challenges!! I am not sure how I did - not POP - I went to Tropical Smoothie (yum) and ordered a spinach/chicken/tomato wrap with LF cheese and only ate half with a diet coke. I ate a fruit when I got home. I am struggling with knowing my 3 kids are for getting ready to start spring sports / conditioning and I will be on the go all the time....I guess I will need to pack a lot of foods for when I am on the go? I work 4 / 10 hour days so I already pack for work...

Dan - thanks for the words of wisdom - looking at my diary I see the days before my big gain I ate A LOT of shellfish (crab, scallops, etc) Not the best choices but we ate out a lot during the holidays and I knew seafood was low-fat. I was down again today so I am below the pre-gain weight - YAY!

Makena - I had to laugh at your post about a water bottle looking good enough to eat! I took 3 / 24 oz water bottles in to work with me that day and by 2pm they were GONE - I never thought I would ever be so desperate for water!! :)

I just finished a really good book for anyone looking for some good healthy reading material - The Seven Pillars of Health by Dr Don Colbert.

Thanks for the info on the new LAWL stuff..... :)

After my loss today I went and bought some 3 lb weights to add to walking to get this moving faster!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!
Christine

Nicole-yes-you can put in sat's weight at the beginning of week 2.

Okay now I want to go out for fajitas and margaritas! And I have a craving for freshly baked bread!

I'll have to implement a "no talking about food rule" .. unless of course it is an LAWL friendly chat :tantrum:

Nicole - that salad sounds fantastic!! I am a huge fan of Cardini's and Newmans dressings.....I am actually on my way to the store so I will have to add that.... I too, LOVE to cook (and eat.....) hmmmm......no secret how I gained! LOL! I put a pork tenderloin in the crockpot this morning with seasonings and V-8 to pull apart for bbq tonight......not sure if I want pork but my family is starting to feel deprived.... To figure out how to do LAWL and feed 3 teenagers and DH.... ?? :)

Christine

I love watching Oprah on Fridays.....I think it's a rerun, but they are talking about what women call their Va-J-J. I'm cracking up (there, I stopped us from talking about food!). Sorry, Dan...not a topic you want to.

Another observation from the show - they showed Faith Hill and Tim McGraw singing their "Let's Make Love" song - they look like they are going to have to do each other right after they leave the stage (I love that couple). For some reason, though, I'm remembering an article I read about her wanting to try for a boy, baby #4, and all I can think about is how Tim needs to get rid of those skin tight jeans (years ago someone said guys that wanted a boy had better luck when wearing boxers).

This is the "What happened after the show" episode, this is hilarious!

I PMd Cassi earlier......she's just having a crazy busy day at work.

Nicole - if I weren't such a potatoe chip addict, I would have never tried the kale chips. I'm glad I did. They aren't Lay's, but they really are a good treat.
Now that you got your tree down, can you come do mine? I'll make you kale chips!

Oh, I love that song! One year they sang it on the CMA's. She was really pregnant, had on this beautiful dress, just gorgeous. You could see her belly button poking way out from the side. Too cute.

okay just made Beef and Broccoli for LA cookbook...kids are lappin it up so I'm posting for everyone, and the mommys!

krispie..just read your note..thanks for it......and yes you will a piece of my pottery when you reach goal wt.......I would be honored to give you one......nance

boy it is hard to keep up with this spirited, motivated group.....I have a fun NSV...I went through my closet and threw away all the clothes I refuse to ever wear again.....I hope I made some other gals happy...They were cute at one time, I guess......this is just a beginning..I walked one hour with a friend today...felt soooo good.....thanks..nance

My boyfriend is taking me out to Friday's for our anniversary and I'm going to sit there and try to eat OP as he's eating my favorite foods. Has anyone been in this situation before and how did you stay focused and not cheat?

Hi Ladies
Thank you Nance! I did the same last week with clothes and only problem now is that I have more empty hangers than I do clothes! Hmmm shopping?

Nikki.. A place like Fridays has lots of choices.. get a grilled chicken sandwich and only eat the bottom half of the bun, fajitas, a grilled chicken salad and take your own FF dressing, or entrees like salmon or meat with no cream sauce.
Main thing is to enjoy but try to stay on track as much as you can.. if you go over a bit you still have to live so don't worry too much about it.. it is your anniversary after all!

Nikki... Just keep reminding yourself why you're doing the plan in the first place.. Just think how good you'll feel afterward when you can say that you went to a place like Fridays and didn't mess up!!

Also, as always, if you get a salad, get the dressing on the side.. I get grilled chicken ceasar salads a lot and even though most places don't have a fat free or reduced cal dressing, you'll save a lot of the cals and fat by not pouring dressing all over your salad.. Either dip your fork lightly into it before spearing some veggies, or just barely dip the veggies in it.. A little flavor goes a long way..

Just remember how good you'll feel!

Cheers!