LA Weight Loss - Losers and Friends - Oct. 6-12

Good morning ladies!!

It's the start of a brand new week... C'mon get up and at 'em.. We gots weight to lose!!

Good Morning all.

My goal - to keep in touch and post more often!

Lets make good choices this week!!!

hello everyone. just got done grocery shopping for the last 2hrs. i was trying to make better choices than i have in the past few months. DH has gained about 10lbs since he's been back and since i'm prego, so have i. and with him being in the military, he's got to maintain a certain weight, so hopefully that will help me curb my crappy cravings too.
i've been feeling much better these past few weeks (still too tired to workout) but the eating is better. so now i just need to lay off all the carb and get back into finding a balance..and adding some veggies back in now that they are starting to sound good again.
i just bought a deep freezer (7.5 cft.) so once that arrives, i will be making a huge batch of my homemade spicy veggie lentil soup that i practically lived off of while DH was gone.

anyways. just thought i'd check in and say hi. only one more week until my first appt.
hope everyone had a good weekend. i was lazy and did nothing all weekend while DH was at drill. oops. it was nice and relaxing anyways.

enjoy the week!

Jillian - spicy veggie lentil soup - how do you make this? sounds yummy :) And for the record, its not "lazy" when you are pregnant, forming a child has to burn some calories, right???

My weekend went as suspected... lots of soccer and since I was running from game to game I missed several of my foods... I made good choices, but the portions were bigger to try to get my foods in and then I felt achy from being so full! Anyway, I'm up slightly, but still down - I've been starting every monday at 142 for the past few weeks and this morn I was only 139 which is only up 1lb so I'm sure it will be back to 138 by tomorrow. I want to end this week at 137 - light some candles for me!

I am back. I was just so busy last week. I did a take off over the weekend and saw a small change. I was stuck at the same weight for more than a week. Need to get out there and get moving more.
My goal for this week is to get in 30 minutes of exercise each day. I saw this AM. So that's' a good start:)

Tan

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar091/slider0/lb/162.2/120/135.5/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/)

Good afternoon everyone. I am blah. I know it will pass, but I hate the blahs. Ok, have to get some work done now :)
XOXO

Hi Everyone,

The spicy veggie lentil soup sounds awesome Jillian, can you please post the recipe? And I agree "making a baby" must burn lots of calories :) !

I am with you on the 30 minute per day exercise Tan,,lets do this!

Hoping to have a POP week :carrot:

Ana

the spicy veggie lentil soup i make goes something like this: (i don't use an actual recipe) this makes a huge pot. at least 12 bowls with 3cups in each.

cook 1/2 bag of regular lentils for about 15mins or until done, drain and let sit.

in a separate pot:

add a few tbsp of olive oil and also some non-stick spray
about a pound or so of baby carrots chopped in bit sized pieces
a few stalks of celery
1/2 an onion
3 cloves of garlic
season with a bit pepper, basil, oregano, cayenne pepper and cook until desired tenderness. (i like my veggies crunchy)

add a small can of low-sodium tomato paste
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 large box of veggie stock
1/2 bottle of low-sodium V8

season with more oregano, cayenne, pepper and basil

add a 1/2 bag of frozen grean beans, 1/2 bag of frozen corn, 1 can of black beans (rinsed--optional, i just love black beans in this soup)

add 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

add the cooked lentils and adjust the seasonings to your liking. i like to make this soup rather thick, but feel free to add more V8 if you'd like.




i'm pretty sure that's the recipe that i follow. i just wrote it down here for the first time. its kind of a tomato/lentil twist on the 0 point weight watchers soup.


it's a great source of protein/starch/veggies. it's a meal! :) i love it.

Hi Everyone,

The soup sounds good Jillian, I can't wait to give it a try. I am hoping to recommit to the gym this week, especially with Canadian Thanksgiving coming up this weekend. I know that I will most likely blow it once the turkey hits the table but if I can at least get in some excersise I can feel a little less guilty about it! Have POP week everyone!

Good morning everyone,

I'm back from Talladega (races) now, so today is my first day back OP. Wish me luck.
Does anyone know about how many calories are in plan 2 and plan 3.

Morning everyone

I had a ROUGH day yesterday. I Was on day 2 of take off and I pretty much screwed myself. We had some very bad news come at us and I went to old habits. I ate for comfort. I drove myself to pizza pizza, ate a huge slice of canadian pizza, onion rings and dipping sauce. The only "good"choice I made was coke zero.

I feel like crap. Even though I still managed to lose weight, I shouldn't have turned to food for comfort and now I am feeling ridiculously guilty.

My goal for the rest of the week is be perfectly pop. I packed my lunch today, and planned dinner so there is no wiggle room.

*sigh* why does weight loss have to be so hard?

Jess - Hope everything is OK. In times of stress it is even more important to look out for yourself. While many things in life are out of our control, what we eat is something completely in our control. Hang in there.

You too Nicole! Our resident cheerleader is feeling down! We must rally to prop her up, folks. - Seriously, I hope everything is OK in Sunny St. Louis.

Jillian - the soup sounds great. I think I'll try it - although I'll have to find some containers to freeze it in - that makes a lot! I love black beans too, never would have thought that 10 years ago!

Well, it is stinkin' COLD here. We are refusing to turn the heat on, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. My poor dog is freezing his butt off during the day. At night he just wants to sit in the chair with us for warmth! Last night he was under the covers with us - and he usually HATES that.

Gotta go - lots of work to do, and there's no school on Thurs or Mon, so I took Friday too, yay me.

awwww, don't worry about me, Kim.....things are looking better today. It is 6 yo. b-day today. He is such a doll. I will try to scan a picture of him later and put it up. He is my little honey. We are going to celebrate tonight with just us at McDonald's playland. I know.....big deal right.....well, for our kids it is, so he is just tickled. We will then come home for cake and gifts. We will have a firends party for both boys in a couple of weeks at a park. I have to admit........much as I love to see their sweet smiling faces on their special days.......I am a bit tired of throwing B-Day parties. I realized today that I have thrown 49 kid's B-Day parties. And I have quite a few left to go.........:lol:. Oh, who am I kdding..........I love throwing the parties.....I just hate trying to fit it into the already hectic schedule.

Well, I hope you all keep working hard.......it is so worth it ;)
XOXO

Jess I hope you're okay. Don't beat yourself up too much for the slip, just get right back on plan.

I have had a fairly long day today. I had a kid who had several mini-meltdowns over the course of the whole day. I guess it was better than him having even one full blown one but it sets all of my other students off and they in turn have bad days as well. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day for all of them.

Nicole, I think smaller birthday parties are often more fun for the kids anyway. Have you ever seen that TV show called my super sweet 16 (or something like that) where these humungously spoiled children plan huge sweet 16 parties? It doesn't seem to make the kids happy and content, it makes them stressed out and awful to everyone, especially their parents.

When I was growing up, the big treat in my family was to pick what we would have for dinner on the night of your birthday. I do think that my mom let you pick from a short list of possiblities, but I always thought it was special that I was consulted, as I don't think we had any say over what was for dinner otherwise.... Each and every one of us kids always picked her fried chicken, but she made a big show of asking us if we wanted something else. LOL... My mom makes the best fried chicken though.

Kimphin, Stay warm! When do you normally turn on the heat? My sister is always trying to last as long as she can. Late fall it is a good time to get her to come for a visit... I lure her over with a promise of a warm house.

Jillian, I was just looking at a half of a bag of lentils that I have at home about 2 days ago and thought of your and your lentil soup. I will have to try that. With the colder weather a soup sounds very warm and toasty.


Jess, Oh gosh I've been there and done that a thousand times. The binge. It took me a long while to admit to myself that it was hugely self destructive to do that. I was not "treating myself". Why is it that we are so willing to spend time, money and effort on the food to comfort, but almost no effort in coming up with something else. For me it was always, oh I could never do that, even if it was something as simple as taking out 5 minutes to have a quiet prayer or meditation to myself when I was upset. But I had the time to drive to the drive through. No money for a massage or a manicure, but the cash for three big pizza's. Really it doesn't make any sense the choices I made... there is a world of healthy choices out there to make when we are upset that don't involve food. Food is not the cure all that I always thought it was, it is often part of the problem. Sure I was raised in a house where many of life's problems were treated with sweets... Of course I also grew up in a family where you have to be morbidly obese before anyone calls you fat (and we have plenty o fatties). So I guess we all have choices on how we want to live our lives, even if we were raised to half way believe that cookies must cure cancer or ice cream cures broken hearts.... I guess part of the weight loss journey is to take out these thought patterns that we have and examine them for truth. Is it true that eating that made you feel comforted? I suggest the answer is not for long. So next time perhaps we should all try something else. Sorry for the soap box long post, but I've thought long and hard about the whys of overeating...

Hey guys~ I'm so frustrated from today.. I went to weight in at LAWL this morning, and apparently I gained 1.7 pounds from last Thursday. Ahhh how frustrating. And the counselor that I was with told me it was probably because I ate grapes and carrots too many times since my last weigh-in. (which was only two times) Ugh, makes me so frustrated and mad- I'm proud of myself for staying on track and eating my fruits and veggies. I didn't know there were "good" and "bad" fruits/vegs.

Erica - don't stress too much about the sclae showing a gain, especially if you were following the plan. It could be any number of factors, time of day, time of month - anything! If you stick to the plan, that 1.5lbs will dissappear just as quickly as it appeared.

Seems to be a lot of people struggling lately... I hope you all are finding tips/tricks to keep at it! You go! I have been doing well on plan, but not loosing. I am not cheating at all but think I will go back to the express program for awhile (I lost the best on that in the beginning 6 weeks). My parents are here for thanksgiving this weekend but thankfully they are both on plan.. so we have nothing to worry about! Hope you have a good POPing day!.. off to get in my breakfast.

Erica, It is most likely something salty that you ate. A little bit of salt can really cause havoc on your weigh ins. I retain water if I drink diet coke too, about a pound for each can of the stuff.... So you just need to learn what makes your weight go up. Stick with the plan and drink plenty of water and you'll see the scale go right back down. Sad fact of weight loss, that weight fluctuates more from day to day than we can lose in a couple of days, so often it appears to not be working, when it is in fact working. So hang in there. We can all do this, it just takes patience an perserverance and a change in our relationship with food.

Thanks for the support guys.. It's just been a tough week for me! Hope u all are doing well =)

What is Thanksgiving in Canada? just curious - I'm really naive when it comes to other countries... actually I'm really naive in anything that does not involve my work, my kids, the schools, or my finances... Someone fill me in (not on everything, just the Canadian Thanksgiving!)

Hi Erica! I am in ND too! Where are you at?

Did you where something different to your weigh in? Don't let it get you down. Like babr said it was probably sodium. I always drink a ton of extra water whenever I am up or have something with more sodium then usual.

Hi ladies! Hope all is well... I haven't been to the center for about 2 weeks again. I need to get in there but I am scared what the scale may say.... I think I need to get a scale again. It will make me more accountable, mine broke so I wasn't even weened off of it I just stopped using it because it was broke.

Anyway question when you others went on Maintenance how often did you go to Center. I have a hard time making myself go but I know I should....

Have a great rest of the day Ladies and Gents!

Hi Cecilia- I live in Minot, where do you live? Nice to meet a fellow North Dakotan.. :o) And I don't think I wore anything different on my weigh-in day.. I usually try to just wear shorts and a t-shirt, so there's no big sweatshirts weighing me down!


How long has everyone been on LA weight loss here???

Julie - Thanksgiving in Canada is simply 'Thanksgiving'
Turkey,stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie....on yeah and family.
We just celebrate on a different date - we like to spread our Stat holidays out evenly;)

Good morning ladies! Been a busy week and I've been too tied up to post..

Liz and I had a FANTASTIC time at the Great Big Sea concert last night in Albuquerque.. Very intimate venue with about 300 people in attendance, which, according to the lead singer was more than they hoped for since this was the first time they've played Albuquerque and there was practically NO advertising for the show.. Quite a few out of towners and even a few Newfies in the audience.. My friend from Denver who came down for the show said it one of the best she'd seen.. Lasted about 3 hours with two encores...

OK.. Back to work.. Be one with your POP!!

Hi everyone--I joined LA and so far weigh the same thing I did when I started 5 months ago! That is so depressing. I lost but then over the summer so many things came up and I didn't have enough self-control to withstand them so here I am in October weighing the same thing I did in May. Anyway, I got depressed because I had spent all that money and had nothing to show for it (my own fault) but now I'm thinking it's time to get back OP. I need to focus on mini-goals. The ladies at my center are so nice, but I feel so guilty going in knowing I haven't lost a pound. *sigh* I need help.

hello all. just wanted to stop by and check in while i was on the computer for a bit. hope everyone is doing well and has a good weekend!

Hi! I'm a chubby mommy of 3 kids who haven't been babies for quite awhile! Joined LAWL because I thought it might help to have someone to answer to 3 times per week. But after the hard-sell I received today to spend over $700 for the lites, I hardly want to return. Has anyone else felt that much pressure to pre-purchase the bars? The woman wouldn't take NO for an answer. I purchased two boxes for the next few weeks, but I would rather increase my intake of real food than eat those things. Can I be successful without the bars? I'm okay to take the weight off a little bit slower.

Help me!
Cheryl:dizzy:

Hey there everyone,

I thought I'd pop in and say hi. Things have been pretty good for me this week. No big losses but I've been relatively welll behaved and on plan. Hopefully, I will survive Thanksgiving without the fat attack.

Hi all! Will power I have none lately! UGH! So frustrating I really need to get back into the swing of things. I have not been terrible but I few things here or there add up as we all know. I am getting a membership at anytime fitness today! I can't wait! I hope this will help with me being motivatd and losing my last ten.

Erica, I am in Fargo. Kinda far but not too bad!
Are you feeling better after your WI?
Drink a ton of water and I bet you will be back down by the time you WI again!

Well I hope you are all having a great day!

Sushi for dinner tonight! I can't wait!

Hello all.

Hope things are going well for everyone. I am trying to maintain and not get back up over the 150 mark, but it is hard. I take it off, put it on, take it off, put it on. The change in the weather is not helping with this never ending cycle either.

With the Gas prices sky high here it has been hard for me to spend the extra money on the fresh veggies that I need to follow this diet. Thats my excuse anyway.

Good to see everyone.

Cheryl,
don't dispair.......we have all been through the hard sell. Hold your ground. I am currently not OP, but when I am OP, I lose very well witout lites. Unfortunately, even if I wanted to eat them, my body says no. I get horrible stomach aches, gas, and skin irritation (zits) from them. I didn't really know I had trouble tolerating soy products until LAWL. If you tell them you have experienced any of these problems, they will back off for sure. Although, you should not have to tell them anything except, "no thank you." They will get it eventually. hang in there, and welcome :)

P.S.........hi everyone :

Hi Everyone!

I got so frustrated last week at my cod I haven't gone all week. I told her I was tired of hearing contradicting information and follow all of their suggestions just for the next councellor to tell me I shouldn't have been doing that and that's why my w/l is slow. It is infuriating. So on Wednesday a councellor called me and I told her I wasn't coming this week and I didn't know if I was ever going to set foot in there again. She is a really nice lady and I wasn't rude to anyone there ever, but at least she seemed to actually listen to why I was upset. Our conversation got cut short but she said she was going to call a dietician on my behalf. I dunno, I am honest when I cheat and I follow 95% of the time to a T, measure and weigh everything. The times I don't follow are at bbqs or family dinners when I can't say exactly what I ate....or too much liquid starch. I guess I had higher expectations than averaging 1lb per week. My goal date is 6 weeks away and I still have 20lbs to lose. It is discouraging.

Okay so I got that out, thanks for letting me vent.

If I decide to go back, fine. If not I am NOT gaining anything back and will continue with my 1lb per week on my own. I needed to let out all that negativity and resentment, and now back to positive thinking.

Here is my plan. Continue with the gym 3-4x week for an hour. Eat on plan 2 no lites and record my foods at sparkpeople (I love it there:) Only expect to lose 1lb per week so I am not continually dissapointed in myself.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hi all,

I have been on the program for 2 months today! Very happy about it,,because this program is really the first one that looks like I can continue on as lifestyle change even after I am not on diet. Its so non-restrictive compared to those no/low card diets out there.

Amy - I buy the frozen veggies at Kroger (10 bags for $10), they are cheap and are easy to cook, I just microwave them for 7-8 minutes and then season them. Fresh veggies are definitely more expensive and much more work to cook!

I agree with Nicole about the LA Lites. I myself said at the beginning that I am allergic to soy and they have never asked me anything after that and that's how it should be.

Erin, sorry to hear you are feeling angry at the counselors but I agree with you, I had similar experience too, it was one girl - she is very nice and all but every time I met with her she would give me wrong advise and then when I go back they tell me "oh, you should not have done that,,she is new, she doesn't know." They actually gave me an additional week because of that. Also, at my center they said the average weight loss is 1.6 to 2.0 lbs per week and not 2.0 lbs as they advertise. Another think they said to me was that after 10 weeks my weight loss will slow down and so I should be prepared for that. I am just sharing all of these things so that you know it happens with everyone and its very difficult to have the promised 2lbs/week loss.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Ana

Thanks Nicole for the encouragement! I didn't realize that the LA lites were soy-based until I read your post. I have an underactive thyroid and was told to limit my soy intake, so that should keep them off my back. When I went in, the manager was in the room with another counsellor so I think she was just trying to impress. Too bad it left me with a foul taste in my mouth when I'm just starting this program.

Does anyone know how exercise affects the results? I workout 3 times per week and do weights and cardio. Will LAWL consider inches lost as keeping OP? I see it as sucess and that's all that really matters...

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend both at my mom's and at my in-laws. Guess I'll be making salads to take!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheryl
:)I'm thankful for a strong, healthy body today!

Erin, I am in your boat, I was getting the same 5 suggestions every time I went in the the COD, and I am loosing 1lb a week now on my own by sticking to the plan. I have all the info I need and have you all to be accountable to.. so all I have to loose is the lbs! Hang in there and keep at it!

We have my family here for thanksgiving this Monday so it will be nice to see everyone. We are all OP so that makes cooking easy... Have a great weekend all! Kids are home today so I was making them clean... now they are off to the park in the rain. *hugs*

I haven't been on in forever but wanted to send a Thanksgiving hello from Canada to all you oldbies and the newbies.
Hope you are all well and I'll try to check in next week.
Miss you and think of you often
xoxox

I can totally relate to those of you having a bad week. I din't go to my centre this week either not because I don't like them but just because I had a bad week. My Dad was having heart surgery, my daughter was at the orthodontist, my dog at the vet and company at the house!!! I did not eat normal all week. I don't think i gained weight but I certainly didn't lose any. Maybe I will go weigh in tomorrow A.M.

HI KRISTEN!!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you.......and to all of you to the north of us :) Have a great weekend everyone.........I am off to Wisconsin to see the folks.

I made a pledge with my girlfriend Julia today. Monday........GAME ON!!! Look out world........I'm bringin' sexy back........yep.
XOXO

Nicole, You go girl.

Kristen, Hi, your girls are still so sweet looking.

Erin, I do think that the 2 pounds per week thing just sets people up for disappointment. If you look at it rationally, you have to cut 1000 calories a day from your intake to lose 2 pounds of fat per week. I went online and calculated the approximate resting calorie rate for someone your height and weight is about 1700 calories a day, so you add on whatever exercise (including housework or active work) you do a day on top of that, so perhaps you average 300 calories a day.... so that would put your calorie expenditure at 2000 calories, to lose 2 pounds a week you would have to go to the dangerously low (below what they will put you on for LAWL) 1000 calories a day. So it is just not possible to sanely lose 2 pounds a week in your situation unless you were burning more like 700 calories a day or more in exercise, on average, every day. If you did lose at a faster rate, you would have to be losing muscle mass as well as fat, and you'd end up prepped to regain the weight quickly at the end of your weight loss. That is what happens when you go on a crash diet and lose very quickly. It is not fat you lose, but your muscles, so when you attempt to go to maintenance, your ability to burn calories is severly compromised and you have set yourself up as more likely to gain the weight back. So please just have patience with your body, and don't expect it to drop pounds faster than it can really do.
This is a good plan to end up lean and healthy and ready to maintain that for life at the end.

I had a super bad day myself. My niece who was 20 died in her sleep Wednesday night. Very unexpectedly, who expects a 20 year old girl who has no major health issues to die like that. She did have some epilepsy, but it was under control and I believe it had been a while since she had a siezure and there was no sign that she had a seizure on the night that she died. My whole family is totally reeling. She was my sister's only child, so my sister is beyond devastated. Anyway, even though my heart is totally broken, I decided that it is not a reason to go out and binge... although I did have a glass of wine.... just one though... to help me sleep last night, because I was just sick with the thought of my sister stuck in Chicago trying to get back home when she found out her daughter was dead.... She went to a conference. It was nice that Verizon (who she works for) sent someone with her home, so she didn't have to think and didn't have to drive herself home, since she was just so in shock. Anyway, I think a trip up to Seattle is in my near future.

hello kristen! so great to "see" you!

barbara--so sorry to hear about your niece. i'll be thinking of you and your family.


just wanted to post that i rented one of those baby heartbeat dopplers from an online website (to surprise DH) and it arrived today and we were able to find and hear the heartbeat! :) i haven't had a dr appt yet, but i have my first next week (on friday) so it was great to finally hear the baby and know that it is indeed in there! :) this is DH's first child (and my third) and he started to cry. it was so sweet. i have the doppler for a month (only $20) so excited to keep using it.
anyways..just wanted to share my excitement and joy.
hope everyone has a good weekend and happy thanksgiving to the canadians.

Oh my gosh Barbara I am so sorry for your families loss. It is so sad that a young womans life was cut so short. My thoughts are with you and your family. I can only imagine how devastated your sister must be.

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and realism. Your right I could never be as fit as I am and lose 2lbs per week. I definately choose fit and healthy over a lower # on the scale.

I appriciate you all sharing your experiences similar to mine, it really does help to make me feel successful in my w/l battle. I suppose we all want to believe what they tell us...but as the old saying goes if it sounds to good to believe, it is.

Jillian it sounds like you really have a great man by your side. How exciting to hear a heart beat growing inside you!!

Hoochie, it sounds like a horrible week. Shake it off and get back up, you can do it :)

It's great to see you excited and motivated Nicole, when you bring sexy back send a bit this way :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians. I am thankful for my health, family and friends and for all of you my fellow losers :)

Hey Everyone

After my terrible terrible week I have managed to stay steady at my weight no gain, no loss.

I plan to work hard starting on Monday ( tomorrow is thanksgiving) I plan on eating smaller portions at dinner tomorrow and eating on plan throughout the day. I am also contributing a veggie platter to dinner, so will know I will have options.

Hopefully next week is better emotionally and eating wise

Barbara- I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your niece! I hope you and your family and doing okay.

barbara, i am so sorry to hear about your family's loss. my thoughts and prayers are with you and your sister.
~susan

Hey guys, I am home from my trip to Arizona. I will post more tomorrow, but I wanted to say quickly:

Barbara- I am so sorry to hear about your niece. What a terrible shock to your family. I will be thinking about your family.