LA Weight Loss - LAWL Losers & Friends - June '05

Yeah, yeah I know there's three and a half more days until June, but I'm impatient. :lol: See you all here on Wednesday! :wave:

Fiona

Fiona - Yeah - I'm ready to get May over with too. Bring on the June Challenge - I'm pumped :strong:
I want my :angel: status back........

Morning ladies:

Well, had my first day of POP yesterday, so I'm ready for the challenge.

Star, did they really give you a hard time at the COD yesterday? How much were you up? Just wondering as I'm afraid to go back to the COD until at least next Monday.

Julie: Great to hear the NSV (non scale victory) about your friends finally noticing your weight loss. No one noticed that I lost until I had reached about 35 lbs. Guess different people carry their weight differently. I have a big face - guess it took lots for people to see a change. LOL! My DH and DSIL have tiny heads/faces and even when they are overweight, if you just saw a picture of their faces, you'd never guess they were heavy. I think you nailed the vacation challenge on the head, don't allow yourself to get too hungry and you'll do fine. You will be suprised by 1/2ing your bigger meals - it really was pretty easy to do. Can't wait to hear about your trip, it sounds awesome and I'm so happy that your doing so many exciting things this year.

Fiona: What was your interview all about? A real estate job? How did it go.

Mandy: I'm still so happy for you, hope you reach the 140s today!

Gotta run, have some morning checks to do here at work.

Have a great OP day! Hugs, Sy

Morning gals! :coffee:

I will be in RE class all day today (and tomorrow) - I have to do 15 hours of continuing ed (CE) every year, so I'm taking the first in a four-part series called "Realtor Institute" - each part is 15 hours so it takes care of my CE for the year as well as just being a good foundation class. And when I complete all four parts, I'll get to add "GRI" (that's Graduate, Realtor Institute - very clever, aren't they?) after my name on my business cards. :D No one outside of other RE people will have any idea what it means, but it'll look cool. :cool:

Anyway, my point was that you aren't going to see very much of me today becuase I won't be anywhere near my computer until late this evening, so have a fun day, and don't eat anything I wouldn't eat! :lol:

Fiona

Come on down to the 140s! I was 140 on the scale at home this morning after my shower with my wet hair and towel..... :dancer:

Hopefully, I will be at 140 when I go to weigh in tomorrow. TOM has left!

Talk at yall later!

:coffee: Good morning chicks.....

SY - Yes, about my weight gain. The counslor acted like I had committed murder, by going off plan while up north. That really just cracks me up becuz I have come to terms with the fact that there are gonna be times when I just can't be POP 24/7. Anyhow, I did feel bad, but only becuz I gained 3 pounds :( I did enjoy the off plan foods and eating without thinking too much about what it was :lol: Heck I didn't even drink or that would of been another 3 or more pounds. Anyhow I weighed at home this a.m. and I'm down a pound from yesterdays number on home scale. I think if I can lose the 3 pounds by Friday/Sat I will be okay. I'm not changing my ticker til Friday after return from COD :devil: .

Fiona - About your business card looking cool :cool: Well come on, we know that's what it's all about ;) You wear that "GRI" well chickie! We will miss you today. Oh and don't forget today is the first day of our JUNE CHALLENGE :cp: Hope you can start off good, I mean even if you have to go out to lunch or something :?: I'm POP from here on out, actually I started yesterday. So SY are you in on the June Challenge?

Fiona - I missed this post of yours from the May thread:
"Star - how do you survive?!? :rofl: " That was commenting on my statement that I don't have the internet at home. Well FI, believe it or not I do have a life at home, not as busy as yours ofcourse. But at work I have alot of free time and am the only one in the up front office......can we say - BORING?

Okay - Enuf from me....I'll check back later on. Hugs to all! :grouphug:

Good Morning Chickies! I am excited that this is a new month, and I am vowing to follow plan to a T I need too I am still down 9 lbs but I feel like I should be down more! My FI and I have started walking too, so I think that is helping a little bit. I will know more where I stand when I go to WI today after work, although I am sort of dreading that.

I've made June Goals too, today is the first day of a new month so we'll see..Good Luck Everyone!


Oh Yeah does anyone here use the Luna Bars instead of the LA Lites???
Are your results the same with the Luna's?

:wave: Hi Everyone. I hope you all had great holiday weekends. I have been lurking and reading but not posting, haven't had much to contribute. I started reading about the challenge, and, though it will be tough, I WANT IN. I've had a great weekend, but went waaaay off plan, so much that I didn't even think about it after a point. I went to visit my DS in Columbus for the weekend, and there was a whooole lot of rum flowing. I don't regret going and having a great time, but I know I need to figure out a better way to handle such events. Now today is supposed to be WI but I am not going. I am not unafraid, and right now the force is definitely not with me. I know I am up as much as about 4 lbs, but I am not moving my ticker, and by July 1, I want to be down a total of 31 lbs. I need to do this thing, need to get more serious about it and do what I know I am supposed to do. So that's that. June will be kind of hard for me, as DH will want a huge dinner for Father's Day, plus my boss is taking everyone to Cedar Point on June 17. No families or anything, just a workday spent at Cedar Point. She even went as far as to say that if you chose not to go to on our "field trip" she would call your desk and you'd better be there to answer your telephone. How cool is that? :lol: Anyway...that's my deal right about now.

Julie - I too am sorry about your DGM. I am glad you got to see her last year, and glad she led a full life. I don't have any DGPs left, but my DH's DGM and DGGM are still with us.

Well everyone, today is my Friday, but I guess I'd better sign on from home over the next 5 days b/c I have to journal every day or else I won't do it. Let the challenge begin...

Irish -- I have done the Luna bars. I like the LA Double Chocolate better though. The Lunas work the same as the lights, just a treat and are better than candy bars, kinda something that I look forward to. I think the nutritional value is the same. I liked the Luna 'Nutz over Chocolate" the best. Try them and see what you think. Good luck with you June goals and I do think it really helps to actually have goals.

Carmen - Sounds like you had a great Memorial Day weekend! About not going to WI, the reason I went is for some reason when I go and my weight is up, I do better after that. I know it sounds crazy, but it does work that way for me. Besides I know when I'm up and I know why, so it's not like a huge surprise when the scale goes up at WI. I still think the counslors over react.....lol
Your boss sounds awesome - you are very lucky! Oh and welcome to the June Challenge - remember there is power in numbers - the force will be with us...lol

Hi All...

Lurker Supreme here!

I started on 3/27/05 and I'm down 14.4 lbs so far. I haven't gone to the clinic this week because I know I'm going to be up. I haven't gone off plan too badly, but it's TOM on the 3rd and I just feel bloated.

Oh, and what's POP?

I wish I knew how to make a pretty signature like everyone! I'll have to figure that out.

Hi Malzies -
We welcome lurkers, stalkers, etc.
POP - Perfect On Plan
To do your signiture, go to (at top) User CP, then hit Edit Signiture, that is where you put what you want in your signiture line. There is also the ticker option there.
Hope this helps some.

Well, it’s been forever since I’ve dropped in, but I have been lurking and keeping up. I had back to back girls weekends first with some girlfriends here in town and then the next weekend my mom came to visit with a couple of her friends. We spent the whole weekend, eating, drinking and shopping. Fun, fun, fun, but certainly not waistline friendly! I spent the last week working my butt off (literally) to get back to my starting point, I’m up .8 from two and half weeks on hold and will take that as a victory.

My mom and pals were shocked at the difference since Christmas (the last time I’d seen them). I’ve only lost about 18lbs since then, but most of the inches have been in my waist/stomach area, so I’m getting back to the curvy hourglass kind of look. They couldn’t get over it and said I hardly even looked like the same person. Mom made me get on a scale said I couldn’t possibly still weigh 175 and of course said I don’t need to lose anymore or I would look sickly. Well, I’ve got 15.8 lbs to go and 9 weeks to do it…wish me luck.

My center is doing a special this summer that if you visit 10 times in a month, you get a $25 credit, plus if you visit 40 times by the end of summer (August 31) you are entered in a drawing for a $500, $300 or $200 American express gift certificate. Also, my center is running a mini-melt special with 3 bottles of take off, and 7 slim down drinks…not sure how you’re supposed to use those products for the mini-melt, but will get the low down tonight and fill everyone in tomorrow. Or you know, please share ;-)

Julie-Sorry to hear about your DGM, my thoughts are with you.

Sy-Welcome back from your trip.

Star-I’m there with you on trying retain angel status.

Fi-I’m up for the June challenge….desperate to get off this last 15lbs!!!!

Mandy-I’m so happy for you and jealous at the same time…I want to be you when I grow up!!

I know I missed folks, but I’m back full time now, so I’m sure we’ll have a chance to catch up.

Take care,
Jen

:rofl: Jen - Does your mother know my mother :?: I know they have been talking becuz of what you wrote:

"Mom made me get on a scale said I couldn’t possibly still weigh 175 and of course said I don’t need to lose anymore or I would look sickly. Well, I’ve got 15.8 lbs to go and 9 weeks to do it…wish me luck."

My mom freaks out when I tell her I have 18 pounds to lose - she is afraid I'll be so thin I'll go into a coma from lack of nutrition :rofl: And then the part about being too thin makes you look older...... :dunno:

Gotta love em.......

Good morning, chicks!

Not much new to report - having lunch with DF and DS today at Shoney's (jealous Karen/RWF)?

Got some British pounds yesterday to start off with in England, so I'm all set. BTW, if anyone is traveling to Dubai, apparantly, it is better to use your ATM card and exchange US dollars, instead of British pounds - you all never know when this info will be useful!

Welcome Malzies - glad to have you join us!

Irish - I've done the luna's - they are just about the same as a lite - I get tired of all the chocolate choices in the lites, and luna's come in a greater variety -- I love their tropical crisp in the mornings. The lemons aren't bad etiher - and I don't like lemon! They also do a caramel apple which is almost TOO sweet. I bought a couple of lots off of ebay several months ago, and I use them interchangably with the lites. I just mark it as a lite in my diary.

Star - I think everyone would be much happier, if LAWL could give some guidelines as to what to eat when we are at social events so we can both stay OP and not require a separate MEAL! Are we supposed to be hermits?

Metalchick WOOHOO on the 140's - I can't wait until I see that on my scale - I try to visualize - 145 -145 -145 - can't tell if it works, but it makes me feel better! (of course, my eyes are going, so it's a good thing that the numbers are big on the scale!)

Fiona - do your business cards at home, so that as you add more qualifications you can easily update them!

Carmen - the force is with you, even if you don't feel it -- come on, remember that ankle jewelry --- When you go on these kind of office retreats do they have a wide variety of food? or is like a glorified picnic with team building exercises (I've done both)

Hugs,
Julie

Star - I thought about going tonight anyway, but I am not feeling very good about it. I know i fouled up, but right now I feel like I can make a fresh start today with this challenge. I think in the back of my mind if I know the extent of my damage I might subconsciously sabotage myself and become overwhelmed at exactly how much I have to lose. I would like to go in when I have had a NSV at this point, where at least I feel like I might be close to where I was to begin with. I hope I made sense (probably didn't) :rolleyes:.

Julie - I am dying to wear my ankle jewelry. DH and I went to the Improv last Thursday night and I did wear it then...I couldn't resist it. It jingles a lot when I walk. He loved it. I can't wait to wear it again. If I keep allowing myself these setbacks, summer will be over before I feel worthy! Geez! BUT again, that's why I've stepped up to the plate (no pun intended, trust me) with this challenge. The hardest thing to overcome will be the weekend. I plan to stock up on wine though, because I have a hard time getting my fruit in, but no problem drinking so... :cheers: ! Hey Julie on a side note, I thought you in particular would get a kick out of this: Awhile back you mentioned that you were sure I wasn't ready to even think about my DSs and girlfriends, etc. Well, yesterday my youngest (1st grade) came home with 5 digits on a torn off piece of paper. I asked him what it was for and he told me it was his girlfriend's telephone number. He says she asked if he would call her over summer break. He asked if he could call her and I said "sure, go 'head." Of course he could not get through, so I told him that perhaps her telephone was broken. I thought I would have to talk to my oldest about the girls (and have been), but my baby??? What is going on here? I guess I have to count myself as lucky that his "girlfriend" doesn't know her telephone number yet. :shrug:

Hey, no one has journaled except for me so far today. So I will go ahead and ask...HOW'S THE WATER COMING LADIES? For me, its 40 oz down, 24 (+) to go! :cheers:

Star- My mom is somthing else, but gotta love her!

Carmen- Water count for me is at 64oz already...I might be one of those people who need to be careful of too much water.

Julie- I's so jealous of your upcoming travels, we never go anywhere except to visit family. I'm going to start planning a trip for next spring break or next summer...any suggestions????

Jen

WOW Jen, I am already in the restroom at least 2X per hour as it is? How do you handle drinking so much so early in the day? Have you always drank a lot of water?

I've been pretty good about water for at least 10 years or so...I am in the bathroom pretty frequently though! I don't drink too much in the evening though otherwise I'd never sleep through the night ;-)

Carmen - Good for you, we know best when go to COD :devil: and when to avoid it..... I would never want anyone to go if they weren't feeling the 'force' with them ;) Isn't it funny what a mind game this all is :?: If it weren't for this thread we would have to go and get professional help to figure this all out.... :dizzy:
That is too funny about the son's girlfriends phone number, really cute :lol:

Jen - We need a 'swim' icon for you girl - you drink like a fish :lol: I'm only at a measley 32 ounces - gulp-gulp :cheers: :cheers:

Julie - About LA telling us what to eat at special events. Well at a pig-roast there's not salad with ff dressing anywhere around. Sometimes we just have to eat what's provided and I think those are the times the counslors need to realize that not everyone is concerned about our being :angel: Unfortunate but true. Oh and I said I was sorry becuz I'm trying to be nice to the counslors (as of my re-start in April)..... :rofl: No more :tantrum:

Hey chicks - time for lunch. Meeting DDIL and GB Dave - be back soon..... :wave:

Hi Chicks-
I'm at 149.6 today! :cb: Woohoo. Only .6 of a pound to go. Of course I keep having to mention that I will still finish out the rest of my weeks and maybe lose a few more pounds for a buffer. We'll see what happens.

Metalchic-That sounds awesome. Weighing in with wet hair and TOWEL and still being at 140! Well I've joined you in the 140's, but I don't know if I'll get down to 140. Maybe 145 or so.

I can't believe that I'm in the 140's can someone please pinch me!!! :dizzy: Also about the comment from Moms. My Mom hasn't done that yet, but I've had some friends tell me that if I lose anymore I'll look sickly. I had someone tell me that at 185. Anyway, I'm 5'7" large framed I don't think I'll look sickly at 145 or so. It's funny how people react to our weightloss though. I get all different kinds of reactions. Some are happy, some are in shock, some are jealous, some still don't seem to notice (must be oblivious).

Jen- You'll be where I am in no time. It seriously will be here before you know it. The time went by sort of slow for me, but now that I'm almost at goal it seems like it went by in a flash.

Ok any suggestions of something fun to do when I hit my goal? I don't want to not celebrate my 149 goal just because I decided to finish out my weight loss weeks. My Husband is in School, so we are on a tight budget. I wish I could go away for a weekend or something, but I don't think that'll happen. Anyway, any suggestions would be great.

Well, I guess I'll go start my POP day. It's easy not to cheat when my goal is sooooo close. I just hope this .6 of a pounds comes off fast.

Talk to you all later.

Mandy

Mandy - Can't pinch you but here :rollpin: how about a knock in your skinny head with a rolling pin :dunno:
Anyhow - Congrats Chickie - you are doing great - I'm alittle :p with envy and very :cb: happy for you. I'm also 5'7" and you have just passed my goal - it must feel awesome.
Now for the celebration :?: Could you maybe go out for cocktails an dancing :?: :cheers: :dancer: ? I think anything that gets you (skinny) an DH out and about to show off all your hard work, would be fun. (ofcourse your DH might just want to keep you home now ya know :love: :?:

Star-Thanks for the :rollpin: on the head. I'm thinking that going out would be fun. We don't really drink, but maybe going out dancing would be fun. I've been wanting to do that for years now, but have been to chicken to go out. I didn't want my DH eyeing other women. Now I'm sure he'll just be looking at me. (he would have before also, but now I feel better about myself) I'm not sure what DH wants to do. I'll see what he thinks about staying home.:o
As far as almost reaching my goal. It does feel awesome. I just wish that my weeks were up, so I could feel some closure. I just feel like I should finish them up to see where I end up. It's just a little over 4 weeks, so I don't think it'll be too much of a difference. But I want to feel like I crossed that 50 week finish line. I'm going to stick around though because I want to see all of you reach your goals. Hope you don't mind. :)

Well, I just thought I'd check in. Looks like it was a slow afternoon on the board. Hope everyone is doing well on the June Challenge.

Mandy

MetalChic and Mandy: I want to join your party and celebration. Actually what I want more is to join you both in the 140s. Wow, what a celebration. I too am 5' 7", and you both are beyond my goal of 155. I'm green with envy (Star, I'm with you girl) and working on making my goal a reality for me (and if I get lower, I'm be tickled pink).

Star: I'm definately in for the June challenge. I was POP yesterday, and I like you, started on 5/31 - so far, so good. It's amazing what a few added pounds make you fell. Today is the first time in 3 weeks that I could hold my stomach in and it felt like it was actually working. Geesh!

Carmen: I feel like you as far as going to the COD and know I'm up - I think it will make me self-sabatoge myself. Wish it could make me more determined like Star feels.

Audit and Star: Boy, mothers are like that. Okay, I do have 1 comment. I use to hear that if your older like me, and you lose lots of weight - you will look older and more wrinkled. Well, now that I have lost some weight - I don't care what other think about my looking older. I would rather be thinner and look older, than look a few years younger and be fat.

Story about weightloss and my Mom: Funny, my Mom use to say the same think to me about not losing anymore weight (she couldn't believe that I weighed 161, I think that shocked her). Now, I think she understands. She started dieting (I would guess about 180/190 #s), and when she got to 160 she wanted to lose 20 more #s, then she got to 150s and wanted to lose 20 more #s, now she weighs 140 and is still trying to lose (and won't eat, and if she does - she goes out and walks 5-10 miles a day, I'm serious - she has a pedimeter and charts her walks and it up to about 52+ miles a week). Now I'm telling her similar things. I seriously think she's become obsessed with the whole thing. She does look great and I tell her so, and actually she doesn't look too thin - I'm just afraid she won't stop. You see, my other 2 aunts only weigh about 90-95 lbs - and I just hope that she doesn't feel like she has to weigh that amount to make her happy. I only fear that she will make herself sick. She's 79 years old and you'd think she was 40 years old again. I love that part about it, she is so happy too. I'm not discouraging her to her face, I just worry about her.

Fi: Good luck in classes.

I'm going to get some water, another day of POP is in store for me!

Hugs to all, Sy

Good Morning Chicks,
Well I guess I had a duh moment yesterday. I posted early yesterday morning but posted in the May thread..Geez... :o
I made it through my first day of being back on plan.... :cool: There is one thing I have forgotten all about. We are going to Stone Mountain, GA, June 24, 25, 26. We will be camping out. This is with DH's company. So, part of this is just going to be a "life happens" event. I'm blowing the challenge already... :^: But, I will be OP until then..
Congratulations to all the LOSERS... :D
I got on the scales this morning and was down to 173. I know mine is all water weight but it looked good on the scales... ;) I will weigh again on Saturday and change my ticker then..
How is everyone else doing so far with the challenge?
OK chicks, I'm off today but have to go get groceries in alittle bit. I'll check back in later... :D

Here a new good item I dont' think I shared here. You know OP we can have a 4" whole wheat pita for our starch - Thomas' sell them and they are 60 calories. I found a new one.

Joseph's Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Flour Pita Bread (there are 2 kinds, the one that is lower in calories has a yellow square that reads "REDUCED CARB no cholesterol). They are only 60 calories, and have 5 grams of fiber. I have to admit, if you open the pita - they are thin, but if you place your food on them and roll it up like a wrap, makes a great sandwich. I toast them and spread my Laughing Cow cheese on them. Yum!

Okay, got another for those in the northeast. The Christmas Tree Shop (the only that started on Cape Cod) recently opened a store in our area. Normally at a regular grocery store, the prices of Laughing Cow cheese varies from $2.99 up to $3.69 per package of wedges (green or blue packaging). At the Christmas Tree Shop a couple weeks ago, I found the Lite for $1.99 and purchased the remaining 6 that were on the shelf. This week, took DSIL to the CTS and we found that they had them again, but this time it was the 'regular' in the blue packaging. It's a great price if you have those shops in your area. I don't get there that often, but will try to get there more often to see if they will continue selling, or if it was just a fluke.

Good morning all,

Was up 1.4 at WI last night for no particular reason...not sure what is going on...very frsutrating. I read on another thread about Oprah's boot camp and think I may try to incorporate that work out plan with our eating plan and see if I can't break out of this plateau (sp?). Just super frustrated right now. I asked about the mini-melt sale with the Take off drink and meal replacements, but they are so used to me never buying anything that I didn't get the sales pitch. My friend who lost 80lbs with LAWL said she did the meal replacement shakes the last couple of weeks to get off that last 5lbs.

Does anyone have the calories/fiber/protein/fat, etc details on the slimdown shake so I can look for a suitable (i.e., cheaper) substitute? TIA!!!

karen-Have you been to Stone Mountain before? They have an amazing laser show at night on the face of the mountain...very cool.

Sy-I like the laughing cow cheese wheels, they come individually wrapped and encased in the red plastic, each one is about 50 calories and I usually have two with a piece of fruit for an afternoon snack. I've been getting them at Sam's. Thanks for the tip on the pitas, will have to check them out.

Take care,
Jen

Happy Thursday Chickies!!

First and Foremost a big welcome to the New LAWL Chickies!

Ok so I am bummed today, I didn't have the best weekend plan wise, and went to weigh In and was at 185.00, 6/10ths of a pound is what the Counsler said. Remeber I weighed myself, before my shower, with no clothing, and it was 182.00, so frusterated it wasn't back to that last night...

However, I have had two good days sticking to plan.

I have finally figured out my routine, and what I eat more of.

See Journal Thread..not going to post here..

My vent...

I started using the Luna Bars b/c I just cannot afford the LA Lites, and I had heard that the Luna Bars, are very much like the LA Lite bars. Well dumb me, I wrote in my journal that I had a luna bar, and she wasn't happy. Of course, I know the only real reason for her being upset is b/c they want us to buy their LA Lites, and not use a bar that is almost identical to theirs but a fraction of a cost. They are $.98 cents each, and that is much more affordable then spending $28.00 for a box of LA Lites. I was annoyed b/c the counslers should realize that we are already spending a good amount of money on the Program, and the food we buy. Our grocery bills have increased b/c my FI and I have completely different eating habits. Has anyone else had this kind of face off with a Counsler?

Jen...We have never been to Stone Mountain. We have the passes for that Saturday which include the lazer show and the "All American Cookout" That will be my big downfall... :lol:

Morning Chicks.....
Things are going good here, 2nd day of June Challenge and all is well. My home scale went down alittle more today. Tomorrow will be my trip to COD for the official WI (everyone cross your fingers please).....I know I will be down from what my ticker shows now but, don't know about the whole 3 pounds......
SY - I love the story about your mom and the determination she has found. My mom is 81 and she use to be a tiny bit overweight, but with age seems like she is just losing without trying. Must be an age thing or something? Also SY, I'm 100% with you on the part about "the wrinkles look better than a pudgy face" idea! However my friend just had a face lift and she looks pretty darn hot.......hum?
Rusty - you seem to be losing that quick gain pretty fast, but then you always do....keep up the good work! Are you still liking WW?
Jen, I hate it when the scale shows a gain and I have no idea why. I think it's easier to handle when I know what I did.....Just keep doing the right thing and with your walking it will turn around and go in the right direction. (Or just give the scale a good swift kick)
Mandy - We would love for you to hang around and remind us how good it feels to be at goal. Hopefully it will speed us up a notch.
Irish - Chances are we have ALL had fall-outs with the devil counslors. But last month I made a promise to myself, to be nice to them, so when I deal with them now I just smile and agree (no matter how stupid their statement is).
Hugs and Hi to all you other stalker, lurkers and MIA chicks......

Star-Thanks for the good advice about just keeping on doing what I"m doing. I did have a momentary thought last night of "Why bother" that even when I'm good I gain, so why not eat what I want...however, the worst I did to myself was have an extra serving of low fat cheese...I'm such a rebel...

Jen

Jen - Low Fat Cheese - How could you :?: You really know how to let loose. Here, take this :rollpin: :rollpin: :rollpin: three swift knocks to the head with the rolling pin....

Now don't ever do that again..... :rofl:

Star... I do really like doing WW. I just can't figure out why I didn't stick to it before. I guess I just got lazy. Geez after all, I can eat whatever I want... :rollpin: Well within the points anyway..I'm really hoping to do better this time. Oh, and I rode the bike for 10 minutes yesterday...WOOHOO.. :lol: Now I have to go do the ultra track in alittle bit... :D

Rusty - Good for you getting back to the exercise.....I know your gettin ready for skinny dipping off that boat soon....lol

Where is everyone today? Oh well - tomorrow can only be better. I think Fiona will be back.......

Getting my hair cut and colored after work - tomorrow I will be a new chick....
Hugs til then....

Hey gals, back from class...

This is becoming a stressful week! I'm waiting to hear back from my mortgage broker about some last-minute stuff - I expected to hear from him first thing this morning and here it is practically close of business and nothing...I'm hoping to hear back from the one realtor guy about the job this week...well, we're running out of week! Sigh.

Have a good night...hopefully things will be looking up by tomorrow...

Fiona

Hey Ladies-
this morning I was at 148.8! I reached my goal! :cb: :dancer:
I'm feeling great. Went to the mall and tried on a bunch of clothes and then ended up going to a consignment store. I bought 2 pair of size 6 jeans!!! and two shirts. I think I'm an 8, but can wear some 6's if they have some stretch in them. I'm just so excited... It doesn't even seem real. DH has finals next week, so I don't think we'll be doing anything fun to celebrate until after that. It's ok though. I bought some new clothes. That is always fun.

I have some more weight loss weeks left (I know I keep mentioning this) So I'm going to keep going until those are up. If I lose more great and if I don't that's ok too. It's just crazy. Some of my "skinny" clothes that I was dying to get into are now getting baggy. Crazy I tell ya... just crazy.

This is going to sound corny, but I just wanted to thank all of you for being so great. You really helped keep me motivated during this last leg of my Weight loss journey.

Sy and Star- No need to be green. You'll be here soon and jumping up and down with me. :) It'll be fun. :)

Talk to you chicks soon.

Mandy

Mandy: CONGRATULATIONS! on reaching your goal. We are all proud of you, and while I'm a little green with envy, I appreciate your confidence in me at getting to my goal. Way to go girl! Glad you treated yourself to some clothes. Your amazing and what determination!

Karen: Glad your back on the bike and liking WW. Are you doing the flex points or the core?

Star: Didn't reconize you with the new color and haircut. I'd like to have the extra money for a facelift - that would be a good start, then the neck, the boobs, the waist/back areas and the knees (what would be left?). If I ever buy a mega-million lottery ticket and win, I'll be seriously thinking about it.

Jen: You wild women! An extra piece of low-fat cheese- LOL! Last summer I thought I was being wild by having an few radishes in the evenings (an extra veggie). LOL!

Irish: Sorry to hear about your slip by admitting that you ate a Luna bar instead of a LA Lite. Don't worry. In the future, if you choose a Luna, just write it down as a Lite and everyone will remain happy. LOL! I know what you mean about an increased grocery bill. It's expensive to eat healthy, but so worth it to be thin and healthy.

So far so good on the June challenge. The weekend will be proof that I'm serious about this! I plan on being OP. What about you?

Check back later, hugs - Sy

CONGRATULATIONS MANDY...WTG... :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: We are all very happy for you.. :cool:

I only have a few minutes this morning. I get to work with the witch for about half the day... :s:
Sy...I am doing the flex and loving it. I'm on day three of both exercising and being OP. I'm alternating each day with cardio and toning and taking Sundays off.. :p
Ok Chicks, she just flew in on her broom. I'll be back later after she leaves... ;)

I went to the COD yesterday! I was still 142 on their scale, but still 140 this morning on mine. I had eaten about an hour before I went in, hopefully, that is why I was the same. Anyways, I had them measure me yesterday. Check out the differences!

Before Now Difference
Bust 46.25 38.5 7.75’
Waist 41.75’ 29’ 12.75’
Hips 50’ 40’ 10’
Thigh 28.5’ 20’ 8.5’ each
Total 47.5’ LOST

I went from a tight 18 to a loose 8. I could probably get into a 6, but I am not going to push it. I have wide pelvic bones, childbirth didn't help any either.....

Congratulations Mandy! :bravo:
I'm so happy you met your goal and that you are in the 140s with me! I went ahead and started stabilization this week. I am not paying for anymore weightloss weeks. I do feel that I have done well. I don't do any of their supplements, bars, snacks, TO, or meal replacements. And, I haven't exercised. I think 88lbs (on record) and 47.5' lost is good enough for me. Although, I still hope the last 2lbs will be off my record before I get to maintenance. ;)

:coffee: Morning my little chick-a-dees....

Mandy, :bravo: :cp: :hat: :cb: :queen: :grouphug: I am with SY and so happy for you. I will be thrilled to join you and hope to be there by my use to be birthday date in July :lol:

Sy - :fr: It's me, that's my new doo...... NO really it turned out good. Got some nice hilites and a shorter cut, shoulder length - I think it lifts my face some. Oh and if you get a lower face lift the neck is usually included. You ask how I know :?: That if my next big treat to myself ;)

Rusty - Now you be nice to the witch or she could cast a spell on you :devil:
Keep up the exercise - it's all good..... :ebike: :tread: :cheer: Yell at me when she flys off on her broom.

Fiona - Please come out and play with us today, it's more exciting with you around. :flow1:

Tomorrow DH is going back up north, we bought some more property and he has to do the closing. I get out of it becuz I really want a girls day out with mom. We go shopping, eat lunch, visit relatives - that kind of stuff. Use to be I couldn't keep up with her, but in the past five years she's had a hystorectomy, hip replacement and knee replacement. Finally, I can hang with her now and not be the first one to say "can we go home now? :lol:

Good morning, chickies!

Sorry I was MIA yesterday - trying to get stuff done, pre trip ---
Bought a bathing suit yesterday at Walmart - did not want to spend a lot for it, since I expect to only get one season's use out of it (I fully intend to be at goal weight NEXT summer :D ) I was able to get a 14-16 for the top, and a XL for the bottom - I just have to tell myself that I will never see these people again -- so not to worry about my legs, right?

Did get my hair colored yesterday, and it looks pretty good -covers the gray at least. Also got SPF 50(!) sunscreen for when I reach Dubai.

However, I am wearing a pair of pants that were too tight the last time I left England, so I know I made progress over the past 18 months! That's a good NonScaleVictory.

Karen and Mandy WTG chickies! You guys are my beacon - showing me that it can be done with persistance - and never say die --

Jen - about the traveling - what do you like to do and see? Actually I've only really been traveling for the past few years - I decided not to wait for the perfect opportunity anymore, and just do it - but for me, it's enough to get in a car and see new scenery. At least in the US. When I'm doing something really brand new, I do wait for people to do it with - like the cruise, or the tour. My friend that lives in Dubai is truly intrepid - and travels all over the world - if she wasn't in Dubai, I probably would not go on my own. about looking sickly - the last time that happened was when I was between 135-140 - I think it's just the way my weight is distributed! No way that is too skinny for someone that is 5'4"!

Carmen - your DH must be a sweetie, to enjoy the tinkle of the ankle jewelry! Also, too cute about your DS and the phone number. It's actually a little sad, that the poor girl will probably spend all summer wondering why he doesn't call -- it sure starts early, doesn't it?

Sy - I think you missed your calling. You should be a chef or a nutritionist at some sort of resort. Star -- can you hear the cabana boys calling?

Irish - sorry that your counselor was a :devil: about the luna's - but luna's are NOT on the plan -- and that's what they go by -- you can always say that you bought lites off ebay to save $$$$, just always check of lite in your diary...Also, do agree that eating OP is expensive, with all the fresh stuff, and all the protein -- after all, you can buy a box of pasta for less then a dollar, but can you buy a pound of chicken breasts for less than 2$???

Star, what will you and DH do with the new land?

Hugs and skinny vibes!
Julie

Star, when is your used to be birthday?

Mine is July 24.

TGIF Chickies!!! :cb:

Went to WI last night with Jeans on because we were going walking I was 185.6 GRRRRRRRRRR I am stuck in the this 186-184 rut, and I can't seem to get out of it. The CO I had last night was so nice, I was honest with her about the Luna's and she said they were fine. I told her look I am already paying a ton of money for the program, plus extra food, plus my wedding, and I just can't afford $600.00 for a bulk of LA Lites.

Does anyone else here know about the promotion LAWL is doing, if you check in 3 times a week for the next 3 months you get a $25.00 gift certificate, at the end of each month??

Water Check *** 18 ounzes down (working on 3rd bottle now) 46 to go***

Good morning!

Wow Mandy!! Congratulations!! :cp: :dance: :woo: I hope by now you have done the Happy Knee-knocking Dance!! :cb:

I've been running circles trying to get stuff done around my house for next weekend and dealing with the car. Finally done with the car stuff - other than having it fixed. :crazy:

Went to COD yesterday for the first time in a week and thought for sure I would be up...and no!! Finally broke my plateau (so hang in there Irishgirl!) :yes: ! As for the June challenge...so far so good! Although I have to opt out of the food diary online - I have not seen my room and pc until I go to bed most nights!

Congratulations to all who are losing and to those fellow-plateauers, hang in there! We can chip away at that plateau until it budges!

Thanks Solocat!!! :grouphug:

Karen - :cheer: :cp: :hat: Girl way to go on the inches lost! Your total loss is about the size of a small child - right :?: WOW!
I use to celebrate my birthday on July 5th. When I was little I always thought the fireworks on the 4th were really for me :cheers: :flow1: :flow1: :rofl:

Julie - I am so proud of you for getting a bathing suit - you deserve it, you have worked so hard :cp: Now you go and enjoy it! I just read a really good article in Self Magizine about "Happy Weight". It was just saying that we shouldn't put events off until we reach that magic number on the scale. It said that a big percent of people, even those who only 'think' they are overweight, hold off living until they reach the number. How many years are wasted just waiting for the number? They said way too many! It was a good article (did you write it?) ;)
About our land, the new lots are in front of our 3 acre lot, right in front of the road, our driveway actually goes on the side of one of the lots. Across the street is the lake. Our total spread ( :lol: ) is now 4 acres. Right now we have a building that is between a pole barn and storage unit, 90x40. It has 3 sections, the large section has a bathroom w/shower, kitchen area, bedroom and tv area. We plan on putting a modular home up there but not sure exactly where. We didn't really buy the new lots for the home, but just becuz it's pretty with just trees on it..... :blah:

Irish - Glad you are so honest, but counslors at the COD :devil: are really from another planet - didn't anyone tell you that :?: Once in awhile a more normal one sneaks in there, but usally won't last.
About the special, I'm going to WI at lunch and I will ask the :devil: .

Solo - Congrats for getting past your stuck spot ;) Here's something I just read this a.m. at the gym about Plateaus.
Push Through Plateaus: When progress stops, and you can't seem to gain fitness or lose wegiht, ask two questions: Are my goals realistic, or am I expecting too much too soon? Do I need to change my program? Athletes, for example, often overtrain. Building in more recovery time could get you over the next hurdle. for what's it worth.

Anybody else here familiar with www.craigslist.com? If you're not, it's this sort of online community message board - they've got sites for almost every major city or region in the US plus a bunch of international sites...they have job listings and for sale listings and personals...I'm becoming obsessed with the furniture for sale board! I check it more often than I check my e-mail! I don't remember if I told you guys about the really nice sectional sofa I missed out on - it was listed for all of an hour when I e-mailed that I wanted to buy it, and someone had beat me to it! Now there's this really pretty round persian-type rug listed for just $50...I don't even know what I'd DO with it, but I want it! :dizzy: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/fur/76746880.html is the link if you want to see it. ;)

So yeah, I don't even know how I'm going to buy my house yet and I'm obsessing over furniture I don't need.... :crazy: I need help.

Fiona

Fiona...I've got you beat. I already picked my new furniture out for the new place I don't even have yet... :lol: We are both nuts.... :dizzy:

Rusty and Fi - I have always known that you two are twins but separted at birth :rofl:

Well, I'm currently high bidder on an even better sectional that I found on ebay...quite a bit more than the one I didn't get but still a good deal if I can manage to stay on top. ;) And I found a nice looking dining room table that I'm going to watch and see if it gets any bids...unfortunately it comes with a china hutch and I already have one that I won't give up because it belonged to my great-grandmother, so I don't know what I'd do with two... :shrug: We've also picked out the furniture we want for the upstairs, I have to call one of these days and find out if they still have any (it was on clearance). So my house is mentally 90% furnished! :lol:

Fiona

Fi - If you get the table with the unwanted china hutch - give it to Rusty. I had a hand me down china cabinet, got a new one. I gave the old one to DS's friend, who is a HUGE NASCAR fan. He displays his Nascar stuff in it. I was so happy he wanted it becuz it was headed for the bon fire....

Hi, everyone!

Haven't been around for awhile, so I am stealthily checking in from work!

First, Mandy and Karen/MC - congrats on GOAL! You both are inspiration to all of us to stick it out!

I started the June Challenge doing the FF/TO again. After Memorial Day weekend, I needed it. However, a friend of mine in New Jersey shared with me the new Fast Forward sheet that she got from her center. It was the same as the two day unlimited except, get this, now you can have 2 slices lite or reduced fat cheese, 1 TB lite cream cheese, 1 TB non-fat nondairy creamer, 1 TB lite mayo, 1 TB mustard: brown, dijon or spicy and any seasonings as long as it doesn't contain sugar or salt. Still free to use butter, margarine or oil in preparing foods. Use oil and vinegar, LA Salad Dressings or light salad dressings on salads. They also added egg beaters to the unlimited protein choices as well as some vegetarian proteins like soy cheese and tofu. I'll post the suggested menu plan from home tonight or tomorrow. I had to do the unlimited as I find the 2 day limited doesn't do anything for me. I think the low calorie consumption just causes my body to hold onto whatever I eat. Last time I gained 1/2 lb.

About the mini-melt: This might be what my center had me do three weeks ago (when I gained 1/2 lb). FF/TO juice with limited protein and veg for the 2 days. Then for 4 days I had to use the slimdown for one of my proteins and starches for lunch and then at dinner I had fish and asparagus, and use whatever was left from my servings the rest of the day. I'll ask at my center tomorrow about mini-melt. They don't always tell me stuff either because I rarely buy.

Well back to the rat race. Congratulations to everyone for losing, maintaining and hanging in there!

Melissa the videochick

Hey girls, my first official post in this thread but I couldn't help myself after reading about Mandy and Karen. Congrats! :D

Fi - um that site could be dangerous for me, it never even occured to me to look for furniture on ebay or a site like the one you linked for us. I'm the person who has grand scale remodeling dreams that will require lottery winnings to accomplish. I have HG TV cravings weekly and waste valuable study time to get my fix. :devil:

I have a question, being a former WW person I have some terrible habits like grabbing 3 croutons for my salad and throwing them on and forgetting about them or getting a handful of potato chips on occassion for my daughter, when I allow her the snack, and I just reach in and eat one! Do you find the once in awhile tiny tiny indiscretions like that really sabatoge you on this diet? It didn't on WW but with WW I found ways to eat 95% of my points with carbs which unfortunately would put me at a very steep plateau? I know this sounds really crazy but its soooo hard to break!

Anyways, I love keeping up with you chickies you help keep me interested and motivated!

Hello all,

CONGRATULATIONS MANDY!!! That is so fantastic and I can hardly wait to be where you are!!!

Metalchick-CONGRATULATIONS!!! I'm sure you'll drop that last 2 pounds in stablization. My friend who lost about 80 lbs, actually lsot the last 5 pounds in maintenance (once she went to one LA Lite a day).

Videochcik-thanks for the tip about the mini-melt. I think I'll try it next week with my own juice and the body by jake meal replacements (they are buy one get one free at Kroger right now--in case anyone is interested.)

Dori-I'm with you on taking just a few bites of things here and there, but think that's what might be causing my yo-yo bouncing now that I'm getting closer to goal. Basically, I don't beat myself over the head about that kind of thing, but if I notice the scale isn't moving I make an extra effort to knock it off ;-)

I'm off to the COD and just know that I'm going to be up...I'm retaining water or something. I think I need to talk to a professional to know whether I'm getting enough to eat while exercising like a mad woman 6 days a week.

Okay, enough of my pity party...goal is stay POP for the weekend and start the mini-melt on Monday....that's TO Monday and Tuesday and meal replacement shakes for 4 more days, see if I can't break this plateau.

Take care,
Jen

PS I'm debating buying more weight loss weeks (they are only $5 now), but it's like admitting I won't make it by the end of July/first of August when my weeks are up, but don't want to buy them at an inflated price then either....any suggestions????

Oops, looks like I will be putting the June Challenge on hold for the evening! I completely forgot that tonight we are celebrating not one but TWO milestone birthdays in my group of friends - my friend Cat turns 21 today and my friend Eric is celebrating the big 3-0! There will be much merriment and drunken carousing, not to mention ice cream cake! :lol: I did WI at home this morning so I will know how much damage I do tonight...:dizzy:

Fiona

Well things were busy at COD :devil: I was down :cp:
Got a new little promotional book called "LA Slimmer Summer Guide" It has helpful hints how to stay on plan during vacation, about adding walking, how to dress and recipes. It also explains the promotion where you come in 10 times a month, atleast 2 times per wk and you get the $25 gift cert. If you come in 40 times thru June,July,August you are put in a drawing form $200 to $500. Pretty cool!

Jen - you have just enuf weeks left to get to your goal - if the world was perfect :lol: Ofcourse that would mean no more girls weekends and no slip-ups. So my advice to you :shrug: I'm in the same boat, but if I run into that weekly Special I'll probably buy like a month more. Once my center had weeks on sale for $3 - that was a steal!

Off to WI, 6 bottles of water down :-) WOOO Hooo I hope I am down today! I will try to post tommorrow before the FI and I leave for Boston

Star...Congratulations on the loss... :dance: :cp:
Fiona...Sounds like you have big plans for tonight... :dizzy: Have fun... ;)

Star-Congrats on the loss! That's exactly what I was thinking about with buying additional weeks, to buy another month and be done with it.

I'm back from the COD and am up another .2 for no apparent reason. Of course, they can't help...all they can say is "well, your journal looks good"...uh, duh....but the scale doesn't. I'm just so frustrated right now. I ranted and raved all the way home and my 16 year old son was so sweet...he said "You look great, who cares about .2 pounds?"

So, I'm going to try to look at it that way and just keep doing what I'm doing...and hope it works!

Jen

Hi, again -

It's me the stealth poster!

Star - congrats on the loss! I cannot weigh in tonight so I'm trying to be POP for tomorrow morning.

Auditgirl/jen - Just curious how long you've been at the plateau? The only reason I ask is that when I had gone to a nutrionist because of my cholesterol, she said that she likes to see her clients stay at a certain weight for awhile so their body can become adjusted - in other words she tries to work with the plateau as a good thing. I wonder if you still are not getting enough food? Maybe on your own add in an extra 1/2 protein and a veg or fruit? I mean they do suggest that active women eat at least 2,000 calories a day. Not sure what Red calorie count is. And your son is right - .2 is just 3.2ozs!

I'll try and drop back in later.
Melissa vc

JEN - "You look great, who cares about .2 pounds?" Now that is one smart boy you got there!!
This was in the article at the gym:

Expect Setbacks. They happen, so plan on them. One week you may be faithful to your diet and still gain two pounds, or maybe you were able to jog three miles last week, but this week you can't get past two. That's part of the journey. Cut yourself some slack. The greatest atheletes aren't those who have never had a setback, but those who persist through adversity.

I just love that kind of reading, becuz it were up to us we would be on plan and lose right along the way til goal.....no setbacks or stalls allowed...lol

Hey got to run - have a great weekend and remember we are doing awesome!!

Hugs

Okay, just finished up having the pond guy (aka eye candy ) start working on my pond (it leaks). He backfilled it and at the moment it looks like a giant phallic symbol! :yes: He did mention that we can shape it up when he comes back next week....all I could do was :rofl: - finally told him why and he laughed.

Been OP today so feeling good. I am off for the weekend and have my OP food with me so I can meet my June Challenge! Have great weekends all!

Good Morning Chicks,
Yep, you guessed it. I'm working the weekend again... :dizzy: I finally get one off next weekend but the bad part is that I have to work straight through next Thursday to have it off... :^: I'll probably be so tired that I'll sleep through the weekend... :lol: That's 68 hours working and 14 hours driving.. :lol: :tantrum:
Ok, now on to better things. I had my first weigh in this morning and I'm down 3.3..WOOHOO My next weigh in is Wednesday. So far so good on my June challenge. Still exercising too. Can you believe that.. :cool: I'm still planning on staying OP and exercising right up until we go to Stone Mountain. I won't even try to be good while I'm gone but I will try to watch how much I eat.. :devil:
My first goal is 17 pounds, then 15 pounds and then the last 14 pounds. It really sounds simple breaking it down like that... :rofl:
Ok Chicks, I'm getting alittle busy here so I'll check back in later.. :D

Hey chickies --

This will probably be my last post for a few days at least --

Almost all packed, just have to go get film! and Toothpaste!

Welcome to the newbies- I'll get to know you better in a few weeks!

Am glad that I'm heading out today - eating past two days has been really, really bad -- one of my new goals is to eat better when I'm dealing with these pre-trip days!

Karen/RWF - WTG on the loss - that's terrific!

Cathy - LOL on the yard work! Good luck on the challenge this weekend.

Jen, do agree with what Melissa mentioned - I think Aphil said this in a post on another thread -that if you are exercising regularly, and not losing, it's because you are not eating enough. Try running your stats (age, height, weight) in a BMI calculator, then figure out your cals (use fitday.com) and see if you're at too big a deficit? And you do have a terrific DS - he's been trained right!

Star - WTG on being down! And thanks for the encouraging tidbits!

Fiona - hope that you had a great time last night -- and have fun planning the furniture! I bet everything is settled by the time I get back.

Mandy, I am so pleased for you! When I come back you'll be that much closer to the stabilization plan.. . I'll be able to live vicariously thru your success.

Hugs to all, and skinny vibes!

Julie

Hey Julie...Not sure when you are leaving but you have a wonderful trip...We miss you already.... ;)

Hey chickies!

well, here's a shocker - I was DOWN this morning! :goodscale: I ate light yesterday in anticipation of the big birthday spread, which ended up being a couple bowls of chips and one pizza for 10 people. :( So I guess I lucked out - I was down 1.6 (mostly water and not eating enough yesterday, I'm sure) just hope I can hang on to it. :)

Julie - what day do you leave and when will you be back? We'll miss you!!

Fiona

Hello there,
Thanks for all of the Congrats. :) I'm feeling good today. I'm at 148.4. I ran into some people I went to high school with last night at a restaurant and went up to their table and talked to them. When I got back to my table. The friend that I had came with said "you would have never done that a year ago". It was so true. So this is a non scale victory for me. I have my confidence back!

Julie- We really do miss you already. I just love reading your posts and you just always seem to know the right thing to say.

Karen/RWF Congrats on the 3.3 pounds!!! That's great. You know how you were talking about breaking it up (mini goals)... that really is the best way to do it. I think it seems less overwhelming that way.

Cathy/Solo Hey there:).. your post made me laugh. Way to go with being OP.

Metalchic-Wow!! Congrats on the inches lost! I think I'm around 38 or 39 inches lost right now. I'll post my final inches lost once I start stabilization. Let me know how that goes for you. I'll be starting it in a few weeks.

Fiona-Congrats on being down. I'm trying to prepare for a 4 day family reunion in the middle of June. I want to lose as much as I can before because I know that I'll gain while I'm gone. Good luck and have fun at your Birthday celebrations.

Well Chicks, I'll talk to you later. Hope you're all having a good weekend. Howdy to Star and Sy :wave: and all the other Chicks.

Mandy

Fiona...I know my 3.3 loss is water as well but I'm claiming every bit of it... :lol:
Hey Mandy... :)

Hello Chicks,
Geez, where is everyone... :?:
I'm just sitting here at work doing nothing. I was going to watch the race but it's on FX instead of FOX and we don't have cable. I'm going to have to talk to the owner about this one... :s: But atleast DH is taping it for me. I guess we will watch it when I get home tonight. He's getting the boat all ready for next weekend. I guess we'll we doing the boat thing on Saturday and the bike thing on Sunday.. :dizzy: I'm just so excited to finally be getting a weekend off. I can't wait... :D
I had my big points day yesterday and we went out to eat last night. I did really good. I had soup and salad...WOOHOO... :lol:
As far as the exercising goes, I'm still doing it..I was going to take Sundays off but if I do that right now I might not start back on Mondays. So, I decided to do cardio on Sundays and give my muscles a rest from toning.. :o Boy, I sound like I know what I'm talking about huh?.. :lol: Believe me, it's all from Star in the past two years... :lol:
Ok Chicks, I guess I'll go find something to get into for the rest of my time here today. Talk to you all in the morning...

Julie - it sounds as if you are just about ready to go! Have a great trip!

Well, the pond held water, so the pond guy can put the skimmer in and finish up with it! Yay!

I was OP, although yesterday didn't get all my servings in. Went by a bakery as we were walking around and of lordie the temptation to go in and have a cinnamon roll. DB said he wouldn't taunt me by doing that...awwwwww....

Tried the LA Slim Down shake today and it wasn't bad at all. Made my getting my foods in while I dropped by work easy at least.

Hope all of your Mondays are good!

Hi everyone.

Julie, I miss you already. Have a wonderful trip! Can't wait to hear your tails!

Mandy, Great NSV at the resturant and making the first move at talking!

Karen: I'm so proud of you for exercising and beign down 3.3.

Mandy and Video, got any words of encouragement? I need some motivation, I seem to be slipping lately.

Did great all last week until Friday night - slipped a little. Did great on Sat and Sun - not getting all my water in, didn't measure the beef I ate on Saturday, but did pretty good yesterday. I'm not sure, but weird things are happening to my body. I can't seem to hold in my stomach and it seems like weeks. Last month I didn't have TOM and I should have had it this month and haven't. I can't say that I have had a hot flash, but I do seem to feel warmer than normal and sometimes I just feel plain hot. Most of you ladies are too young for the menopause thing, is there anyone out there that is going through this yet? I do have to make a doctor's appointment - I think there is a test that they can do to actually tell me if I am or not.

Cathy/Solo: I think I'm going to get a pond too, so have can see some nice 'eye candy', LOL!

Hugs, Sy

Good Morning Chicks,
Happy Monday.. :^: Well, I didn't get the cardio in yesterday so it looks like I took Sunday off anyway... :lol: But, I did get up and do it this morning.. :D
I'm still taking baby steps with it but atleast it's more than I was doing... :lol:
DH got the boat all cleaned up and ready to put in the water this weekend. When I got home from work last night, I climbed up in the boat and just sat there. We are so ready...We are just as excited about having a weekend off together again. I've had to work the last 5 so we are ready for sure... :cool:
Still OP and my next weigh in is Wednesday morning. I'm just hoping to be below my last weigh in of 172.8. That will be my goal for each weigh in. I don't care how much, just so it's below... :dizzy: Good luck to everyone that has weigh ins today...

OK CHICKIES... Lets get posting... :lol: Hi Sy.. ;)

Hey Chicks-
Hi RWF. Great job on being OP. I'm jealous of the weekend off with DH. I shouldn't complain though. We get to spend every Sunday together. He's usually doing homework on that day though. :) I'm looking forward to this summer when he is just working. I also need to start taking some baby steps. I haven't been to the gym in weeks. Once I get out of the habit of going it's hard to go back. Even though I don't mind it once I'm there. I guess getting myself and DS ready to go is the hardest part. I think I've just talked myself in to going today. Wish me luck with that.

Well, I'm doing pretty well at being OP. I'm still losing slowly, but surely. I guess it isn't slowly, but I just wish sometimes that I could lose a pound a day. I guess that wouldn't be too healthy though. :)


Mandy

I'm new here, can I have some, help, encouragement, and maybe a swift kick in the butt!

I can't seem to stay on plan on the weekends! I'm pretty good during the week, and then when the weekends come, I'm totally off. I've always had pretty bad eating habits (skipping meals, not eating healthy) but lately, my mind is telling me I want any and all foods not on my plan. I've never been so addicted to food. I'm constantly thinking about what I can and can't eat next.

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated, I'm tired of wasting my weeks, they cost too much! And I spend all week losing the weight I gained over the weekend! :?:

hmm I don't even know what to say today except Im trying to get back OP and im so emotional right now that its hard.. Thanks for giving me hope that I'll be at goal at some point... I told my son before he went to the bootcamp last night that when he comes home he won't reconize me when he gets back.. Now I have to stick to it and lose this flab... Boy I didn't think that your kid leaving home would feel like you lost an arm and leg... Im lost and can't even think of anything to do but sit here... Oh well I'll shake it off tomorrow is workout day for me again.. Does anyone do the easy step tape?? do you like it and does it seem to be an ok workout??

I bought that tape off of Ebay and the package is still sealed... :lol: I forgot I even had it. That might be good for me to try over the weekend... :cool:
Mandy...The only thing that works for me is baby steps... ;)
Star..Where are you? :?:

:wave: Hi Everyone. Welcome to all the newbies.

Mandy and Metal - CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanna be like you when I grow down! :lol:

Julie - Have a great time. I'll miss you!

Mzmar - Weekends and evenings are very tough for me. So far, this is how I deal with them. On weekends, I try to stay out of the house, finding something to do. I always have a bottle of water and a Lite in my bag. That way, if I find myself hungry, I have something to snack on. The other hint I can give you is that until you find yourself automatically making good choices on the weekends, maybe jot down your goals in the kitchen near the cabinets and the refrigerator. It helps me to have a visual reminder of what I am trying to accomplish. Hope it helps!

Buttons - I can only imagine what you are going through. Just keep the faith that he will return to you a more well rounded, disciplined young man, and we will all pray that he remains safe as he goes through the service. I'll bet there's a whole lotta pride mixed right in there with all those other emotions ;) !

Well everybody, I thoroughly enjoyed my very long weekend off. I spent the majority of it cleaning house. I got up everyday and cleaned for at least 6 hours per day (most days more). Now I'm done and there is NOTHING left to be done. To top it all off, I sent the DSs to my DM and DDs for a full week. EXHALE! I spent the weekend OP. I didn't cheat at all, but I missed some servings (veggies) on Friday. I'm not going to sweat it though. WI is Wednesday. I am going to the COD and I'll see how I'm doing with the challenge. I've been walking about 6500 - 7500 steps per day, and I think that's pretty darn good so far.

Water Check - 32 oz down, 32(+) to go...how about you? :cheers:

Great job Carmen for staying on plan, and thanks for responding! I'll try to stay out of the house and away from food!

As far as the easy steps, I used to do it, it's just not much of a workout for me anymore. I used to love the way it made my arms feel. Fortunately, I've worked my way up to doing a 3 mile walking or 2.5 mile walk/jog workout with Leslie Sansone, sometimes she really kicks my butt!

I'd be ok, if I could just get my eating in check.

If that tape isn't much of a workout, then it should be just right for me... :rofl:

:wave:

Just got back from COD :devil: - was down a tad. I'll take it!
Really busy at work today :comp: Check back later..... :hat:
Oh - One thing I did want to mention. I'm on Gold but really like 1 TLB of PB on my morning toast. I was thinking of going to Blue for the extra 1/2 Protein and an extra starch. The counslor altered my Gold plan by just adding 1/2 Protein, making us both happy ;)

Hi, everyone -

Count me in as a weekend wimp! I have a really hard time staying OP then too. Mostly because I associate food with relaxing, hanging out, etc. So, it's more of a problem for me to be out of the house than in my house, where I have very little off-plan food since it's only me and the cats. However, I was very proud of myself yesterday for having just ONE slice of pizza as a CC. I could eat 1/2 the pie usually. I had a POP glitch on Saturday when I had an extra starch, at least it was an OP starch.

Anyway, my plan is like Carmen's I try to have something with me: lite, fruit, water, sometimes even a tupperware with lettuce and a pouch of tuna. Especially if I'm going to my DM or DS house. It's really about planning (which I'm not so good at).

Star - I like your counselor - an extra 1/2 protein is heaven on gold! Yes, that's my life folks, daydreaming about 1/2 a protein!

Julie - if you're out there: Have a good trip!

Congrats to all our losers, maintainers and those of us hangin' in there!

Melissa the videochick

Quick end-of-night post!

I love coming home and reading of all the successes! Thank you for the inspiration!

Got up this morning and put ona pair of my Sz 18 pants and looked in the mirror and thought "Boy those look pretty baggy!" Lo and behold, got out an older pair (same color) and the 16's fit! Not sure if all my 16's fit, but it sure felt good to have these ones fit. Went to the COD this afternoon, and by then was feeling full/bloated from lunch, snack etc....but I was down a tad again! I may just make the 20 LB mark by my birthday! This weekend is the weekend of all the company, but I may just live on veggies and water...(yeah right).

Star - I was switched down to the purple plan today and I lost my 1/2 P which was my 1.5 TB of P-nut Butter on my 1/2 English Muffin, so I can relate! I LOVE P-Nut butter!

I'll join the ranks of the weekend wimps. I am either away from home at the DBF and don't get in all my servings....or I am home and tasking and forget to get them in. Then I tend to "taste-test" things my daughter might have....and she is built like a stick!

Hope your Tuesdays are as good as today or better!

Solo-Congrats on the size 16's! Also congrats on being down a tad. :)

It's late right now, but I can't fall asleep for some reason. So I'm just checking out the boards. Cleaning off my desk etc. :)

I had a good OP day today. Also went to the grocery store and stalked up on some more apples. I get stuck on a certain food and if I don't have it then my day can go from being POP to Off plan in a snap. Well, I hope you all have a good morning. I'll probably still be sleeping when most of you log on in the morning.

Mandy

Good morning ladies!

Julie: Thinking of you and missing your posts already!

Button/Beth: Welcome to the board. I don't blame you for being emotional at this time when your DS is headed off into the service. You will find your balance.

Mzarlycia: Weekend are tough for all of us. Have you tried posting in your diary on the weekends? I kind of plan my day like any other day. I do get up and get out early Sat mornings, we have a local regional farmers market and I'm addicted to seeing what's the next fresh veggies that is available and there are so many bargains compared to the grocery store. The only thing that I do differently on the weekend is to have what DH is having. Saturday's are his day for grilling or cooking a good meal. I look forward to having that actually doesn't taste like chicken. I eat in moderation, still trying to stick to plan - and it's like a 'real' treat having something with flavor.

Carm: Great job at walking!

Video: Great job at stopping at 1 slice of pizza. I have to admit, I don't have it often - but when I do, I really enjoy it! I'm so choosey at my pizza choice since being on LA. It has to have 'real' yummy cheese and lots of veggies. If it doesn't look good or doesn't look worth eatting, I skip it all together. At work, this woman brings in pizza from a local shop - a frozen pizza looks and tastes better than that, so I don't even take a second look. I also like real yeasty type of dough. If I'm going to have a CC - it's got to be worth it!

Star: Great at being down. I'm going to the COD today, or that's my plan. I'm thinking we'll be going head-to-head on the weight. It's it too bad, I'll PM you the bad news. LOL!

Karen/RWF: Thanks for the greeting. I may be MIA lots this week as I'm working alone, coworker is away at training for 1 1/2 weeks. Congrats at sticking OP, and as long as you have exercise in your head - I'm proud of you as I know what a struggle it is for you. LOL!

Hugs to all, Sy

Hi chicks,

I did pretty well this weekend, but Sunday nights are a killer for me, so I did break down and have a bag of popcorn...will be glad when it's gone because I won't be buying anymore until I get to goal. Way too much temptation for me.

I'm on the second day of doing take off on my own. Was down 1.8 lbs this morning at home, so hope I will be down at WI tonight. I also bought the Body for Life meal replacement shakes and plan to use those the rest of the week for protein/starch at dinner. As I'm sure I've mentioned in the past I'm so desperate to get off these last 15lbs.

These are tips my successful friend used, so I'm going to give it a whirl. She said the last couple of months she used meal replacement shakes mon-thru, then ate the normal plan fri-sun, she also swapped her dinner and breakfast portions, eating basically her bar and veggies in the evening, so I'm taking her advice and trying a few things to shock the body into losing again...I'll let you know how it goes ;-)

Take care,
Jen

Good Morning Chicks,
Cathy...Congratulations on the size 16's...I just love going down in sizes. It sure helps the feelings.. :cheer:
Mandy...I have to have things on hand as well. If not, that's an excuse right there for me to blow it. I even keep eggs boiled and oatmeal made up and portioned out so all I have to do is pack my food for the day... :o
Sy...I've been working really hard at doing this exercising everyday. I really have to make myself do it..(and I'm only doing as little as possibe) well for now anyway until I get used to it and maybe even liking it. (as Star does) :D
Jen...I know what you mean about popcorn..I can have it on WW so I buy the 100 calorie snack size from Pop Secret. It only has 2 points in it and I have it every night..I like the tips your friend has used. I'll have to remember that when I get close to goal (long way from now)... :lol:
Star...I sure hope you will be posting more today... ;)
Julie...Ditto what Sy said... :)

:wave: Hi Everyone!

Congrats on the losses. I am not sure if I have made a dent in what I did over Memorial Day weekend as of yet. Tomorrow will tell the tale. I must say though I did have a NSV. My boss, who is pretty much oblivious to a lot, told me yesterday that I looked fantastic. She and I have weekly status meetings every Thursday morning and I usually start out by giving her the news from my weigh ins on Wednesday nights. I once told her that I didn't notice any visible changes in my body and it seems hard to believe I had lost over 15 lbs. She said she never notices anything, but she is very encouraging and always asks how things are going with The Plan. So I was really shocked when out of the blue in the hallway she told me how great I looked. It was so totally unexpected that I actually said "Who me???" She laughed and said yes you! I see changes! So that gave me the confidence today to wear a short sleeve fitted shirt (which I never wear) and dress pants with sandals today and I must say I DO LOOK PRETTY HAWT. Normally I look admittedly sloppy because I am always wearing shirts that are too big. So I'm pretty happy about that.

Jen - I wondered about that as well. I wondered if my body would react better if I ate my heavier foods during the day and left the veggies for night time. I know that I have a problem eating late at night, and I am working on it. So I figured a good place to start would be to eat the veggies later on so that I have less on my stomach when bedtime arrived. I am also trying to get to bed earlier so I can get to work earlier now that the DSs are out of school. So far, so good.

I have a question for you ladies who are a bit further along than I am on this journey: What are/were some of your biggest pitfalls along the way, and how did you overcome them?

I don't know if this will help anyone or not, but every night for dinner, I have a plate of veggies, I measure out a cup of broccoli, cauliflower and caggage and put it on a plate and top it with onions. Then put alittle garlic powder, lite salt, pepper and butter spray on it. Then pop it in the microwave for about 8-10 (depending on how you like it) It is really filling. Then sometimes I measure out 3 or 4 ounces of chicken and put that in the chopper and dump it on top. Very good... :cool:

That sounds really good. I'm so tired of chicken. I have the cookbook and want to try something different, but time is limited. Maybe this weekend...

Hi...back from CA, had a great time but hard getting going today. Came home sunburned and with a stomach flu. Slept most of yesterday.

Saw Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake while in Bishop, CA! I was with my cousin's 12 yo daughter, who was so excited about seeing them.

I have gained, i can tell, not sure i want to go to WI this week. But i'm on plan today.

Rusty - Helpful tips is what this board is all about.

Now, what time do you serve dinner? I need directions please.... ;)

Hugs

Good Morning!

Solo- My congrats too on 16!

Mandy - I get on a food kick, too. For me lately it's been bananas, because they were a limited when I first started the program. Last year I was on a shrimp kick. In one of those studies of people who have kept weight off, most of them said that they ate pretty much the same everyday, that way there was no room for temptation. Which makes sense, even though the powers that be suggest that we have variety in our diets, sometimes the wealth of variety is detrimental - like me and the new plan, the option to have PB everday is just too much.

Sy - I could eat pizza everyday. And yes, I find that I try to be more picky about my treats, even hamburgers, if I'm going to go off plan, I want it to be absolutely delicious, not just a fast food version.

Jen/audit - Thanks for sharing your friends suggestion. So, she would use her proteins and starches and breakfast and lunch? This maybe easier for us to do now that it's warmer out - salads, grilled veggies, etc. Grilled portabello mushrooms are quite filling and almost like having meat!

RW - I'm with you on the exercise. The past two mornings I have gotten up 1/2 hour earlier to do a cardio videotape. Nothing too hard, as I want to master the habit of waking up earlier, that is the first hurdle. Then I'm going to work on increasing the intensity/duration.

Michelle - Welcome back from CA. So how do "the stars" look in person? It was vacation, a break from the ordinary, so I know you will get right back on plan. Vacation is to enjoy yourself.

Star - This is from a few posts ago, but I am trying not to drink any alcohol either while being POP. The weight you have lost since coming back from your trip and being an angel OP, is great encouragement for me to follow suit.

Carmen - Congrats on the compliments from your boss. I'm with you on the short-sleeved shirts! Though I had to break down yesterday and bear arms in the heat wave we're having.

Gotta go post my journal.

Melissa the videochick

Melissa - :tantrum: about no :cheers: Hey - are you close to goal now :?: I know you didn't have that much to lose and I lost track (I have a hard enuf time keeping up with me ;) ) Oh and I noticed in your journal that you lie pb and banana? Me too :hungry:

Michele - Welcome back from :sunny: Calif! Wouldnt you just like to move there? I feel in love with it when I went in April! Glad to have you back and not much has changed around here. Some of us are 'lifers' here :lol:

Carmen - Congrats on people noticing your loss :cp: I remember awhile back we had the conversation about 'when do people notice?' I think several of us said around 20 pounds, so I guess we were in the ballpark....
I'm way behind on my h2o today - gulp-gulp Heck I just looked and I don't even know where my dang bottle is :dizzy: found it, it was on the guy's pinic table...

Jen - Those were some good tips about how to bust the last :devil: pounds til goal. Let me know how they work. I wish they made a pill for that :lol:


Solo - Congrats on getting into a smaller size pants - that is the best! :cb:
hey I'm really enjoying your pn-butter 1/2 portion - thanks! I was so glad my counslor suggested that and surprised too.

Mandy - I'm way like you in that I have to have my OP foods to be good. It is too easy to eat off-plan when the on-plan stuff isn't handy. And I don't need too much of an excuse anyhow :nono:

SY - Hurry back and PM me about what you mentioned earlier - I'm dying to know :?: You will probably do better at COD :devil: WI than you think. You know all the tricks to this plan and stay pretty much right on track - the force will be with you..... :)

Rusty - I'm gonna PM you...... :callme: Your doing really great with getting back to basics on your workout :ebike: :tread: :cheer:

Hugs to all chicks and especailly the one's I missed....... :grouphug:

Wow, I'm having a hard time keeping up with everybody, but I'll catch on eventually!

I was POP yesterday, and I plan to do the same today.

I try not to have starches at dinner. I try for just a protein and veggies. Whoever posted about the cabbage, brocolli, and cauliflower, is it fresh or frozen? I would love a quick and easy way to cook some tasty cabbage!

Have a great day everyone!

Marly - the one that posted that dinner suggestion of veggies was Rusty.....
She also knows how to cook dinner for 40 on a hemi engine hotrod in the Nascar camp ground :rofl:

Michelle...Welcome back... :cool:
Melissa..I had to master the waking up part too. That took forever. Now, as soon as my alarm goes off, I get out of bed, give myself time to wake up and get some coffee in me and then I get started. It's working so far. But, if I hit the snooze, I'm a goner... :lol:
Marly..The veggies are all fresh, that way you still get a cup each because it is raw and they are microwaved. I made sure of that with one of the counselors. If you get 3 veggies a day, it works great. You get them all at once and very light but filling for dinner.. ;)
Star...you are always welcome at my house...Now get your butt down here... :lol: Geez, all the cooking that gets done at the races, you would think we were serving 40 for dinner.. :cool: I do have to admit though, that Rick does most of the cooking when we are camping out..I have such a sweet DH....aaahhhhhh :D
Hello to everyone...

Hey Chickies sorry I've been MIA!!

Haven't been to weigh in since last Friday, I am nervous though, I haven't had the best weekend, although the past 2 days have been really good for me. I feel so bloated, and like I haven't lost, my fiance says I have though, and he's seeing a difference, How come I don't feel like there is a difference, I found stretch marks yesturday too, and that makes me sad :-(

Anyone else ever feel like that?

Irish, I have so many stretch marks it isn't even :lol3:

I've had mine since motherhood! :(

hi all. i am loving la weight loss so far. curious tho, when we stay POP why is it we are still nervous to get weighed? :?: it's weird. there is always this feeling about maybe having gained a bit or something. :( i don't know. also, i was wondering how many of you use the supplements trimax and the fb500 or whatever. do they actually help with weight loss? $99 is alot of money to put out on something that isnt going to do anything. :dizzy: well, anyway, hope to talk to everyone soon! oh, i guess i will sort of intro myself.... my name is linda, i am 25. i have two children ages 8 & 7. I have been married for 9 years. I got married early and i weighed 160 lbs. then i gained 100 lbs during my first pregnancy. Lost about 10 lbs. and got pregnant again. Once again, gained almost 100 lbs. Have tried lots of diets to get rid of the weight. from slim fast to dexatrim, calorad, trim spa, thermogenics, pretty much everything out there. I did weight watchers for a while, and lost about 59 lbs., but gained it all back, plus an extra 33 lbs. :( so now i am on l.a. weight loss. it's goin good so far, and i know i will be able to stick to it alot easier than weight watchers. anyway, that's me! :p

Ive been taking the supplements for almost 2 months now, I don't know about helping with the weight ive been losing slowly. I think they just said ive been avg at about 1 pound a week..it seems to be picking up now that im workingout.. I will say my nails are stronger and are growing better... :lol:

Beth,
Quick note, See where I'm keeping my stats under my name now? Well if you go to Quick Links up at top, then to Edit Profile, then to Custome User name - you can keep triack easier that way......
Oh and by the way - Hi Chicks.....I'll post in afew.....

Thanks that is much easier... Soon I hope it'll be dropping to the 190's.. I can't wait its so exciting... :lol:

Good Morning Chicks,
Well, I got on the scales this morning. I didn't make it to the 160's but I'm so dang close. I weighed 170.8...WOOHOO... :D My next weigh in will be Saturday...
Oh and by the way, I have now been exercising for a whole week... :lol: :ebike:
Star...I'll yell at you in a few. I have some things I need to do this morning...YUK... :^:
I'll check back in alittle bit... ;)
Hello everyone..

:coffee:

Karen - :cp: Way to go on the NICE loss and :cheer: on the :ebike: !!!

Beth - Your at an exciting spot - almost entering ONEDERLAND..... :cb: Come oin the water is fine....... Anytime you go into the lower ten spot it's a great feeling BUT when you make ONDERLAND - that is special!

have to get ready to go to the doctor, be back later.....

Hugs :grouphug:

Karen woohoo Im excited for you, I can't wait until Im where you are...
I went peanut butter shopping yesterday and after comparing all the brands and reg vs lowfat, this is what I found... man its sad when thats a highlight of your day :lol: Adams 100% natural, salt free. has 0 sodium and 0 sugar, just a tiny bit more fat (not the bad) then low fat.. I figured its better to give up 180g of sodium and whatever the sugar is for 2 grams of good fat.. :lol: and for those of you who haven't tried it yet pb on triscuts (rf) if yummy and a life saver for the crunchy pb pms treat.. :lol: 2TBSP is 1 protien and 3 Triscuits (RF) is 1 starch.. Or the PB helps dress up the cardboard disk thats 1 starch as well... I have a hard time getting my starches in so I guess the flying carboard disk is it for awhile.. :lol:

Hi ladies:

Our internet access at work is being monitored, so I will only be posting in the lunch timeframe.

Well, went to the COD last night. Sure glad I didn’t go last week. I went from 161 prior to vacation to 165.2. Yikes is all I can say. No wonder why I feel like I can’t hold my stomach in, and although my clothes still fix, they are not as loose as they were. I knew I’d be up. Geesh, I was hoping it wouldn’t have been that bad.

Well, I’m not doing the same type of exercise that I’ve always done in the past, and I have joined a golf league. Last night instead of going to the gym, I took a lesson and tonight is league night. I explained this to the counselor and she told me that I should still stick to the Blue Plan – that all I needed was to work out 2 hours or more a week (others have said at least 4 hours). She wanted me to do the 2 or 3 day take-off. I put her off and told her that I do better with that at the beginning of the week so she didn’t get to sell me the drink now. I’m sure she documented it so the next person will ask me on Friday when I return. Well, I’m going to do some tweaking myself – since she wouldn’t budge on changing me back to the Gold Plan, I will be doing the Gold Plan and if happen to be hungry – I will add a starch or ½ protein. I’m going to see if I can stick to this until Friday. Guess I will have to fake out my diary and add in what I didn’t really eat (that will be a reverse from my past posts… LOL!). I haven’t lost more than a few pounds being on Blue, they don’t get it – it’s not working for me. Whoever I get on Friday, I’m going to ask them to switch me officially back to Gold. I purchased 15 more weight loss weeks at $5/week. Sounds like a lot, but I have another week of vacation coming up. I’m going to try my best to stick to plan much better than I did on this past one. And, if my body and mind will get with the program, I should be able to get to my goal.

I know I asked this before (with no response), but will do it again. Anyone out there in the perimenopause stage of life? I haven’t had TOM last month of this month and I’m wondering if it’s a hormone thing that is causing my body not to give up this weight?

Check back at lunchtime.

Hugs, Sy

P.S. Star, thanks for the tip on how to edit our profile, I wondered how you go your numbers there... It will be an honest reminder to me that I really do have a goal! LOL!

Hi Sy,

Don't feel too bad, you were on VACATION. That weight will be off before you know it. You know what you have to do, better than any ole counslor! Go on the Gold, and if you need more do exactly what you said - a half protein or starch. However, right now might not be a great time to judge the color of the plan, since you are post-vacation..
About being perimenopause, can't help you there becuz I didn't go thru that due to my emergency Christmas hystorectomy (Dec 23)..... Your symptoms sound like what many of my chick friends experience prior to menopause. Weight gain is surely another mid-life crisis - ain't life great?
have to run - be back later.
Oh golf sounds like alot of fun, but I don't know that you will feel like you have actually exercised. I mean like your use to ....

Hugs,

I keep reading about all the great deals y'all are getting on your weeks. I paid $11/week...ouch! And I still haven't heard anything about any promos. DO your COD advertise them in the waiting room or do you ask? I did notice something on TV about the COD's in this area.

Karen woohoo Im excited for you, I can't wait until Im where you are...
I went peanut butter shopping yesterday and after comparing all the brands and reg vs lowfat, this is what I found... man its sad when thats a highlight of your day :lol: Adams 100% natural, salt free. has 0 sodium and 0 sugar, just a tiny bit more fat (not the bad) then low fat.. I figured its better to give up 180g of sodium and whatever the sugar is for 2 grams of good fat.. :lol: and for those of you who haven't tried it yet pb on triscuts (rf) if yummy and a life saver for the crunchy pb pms treat.. :lol: 2TBSP is 1 protien and 3 Triscuits (RF) is 1 starch.. Or the PB helps dress up the cardboard disk thats 1 starch as well... I have a hard time getting my starches in so I guess the flying carboard disk is it for awhile.. :lol:


In my book it says 3TBSP is a protein serving? :( why is that?

Sy,
The Drs have been telling me that im going thru peri meno for years now.. I started early I guess.. However ive never missed any, mine just go crazy where im afraid to go out because, it never fails it ends up like a horror movie gone bad...The last 2 since on LA have been actually better though so maybe it does do something to it.. It probably has to do with what were eating and the fat loss...The Drs should be able to tell you though..

Linda, what plan are you?? Im on the gold..

Linda-Red plan is 3, while gold plan is 2 so that is probably the differece you're seeing.

:wave: Hi Everybody! Welcome newbies and congrats to all the losers!

Nothing much new up my way. Heatwave! Its been sooo hot here the last few days. We got no spring. It seems like it went straight from the 40s to the 90s. What's up with that? I won't complain though. This is the first time since I started the program that getting all of my water in has not been a chore. Well, normally tonight would be WI. I will still try to make it there, but I also have to pick up DS and get him to his scout meeting after work. We shall see how it goes. I feel the force is with me though, so either way I'm fine. If I don't go tonight, then tomorrow night for sure.

Michele - welcome back! I hope you feel better soon.

Sy - Keep your chin up. How long were you POP on blue before you found it wasn't working for you? I wonder why the :devil:s are reluctant to put you back on gold. Hmm...

Jen - How is it going so far with switching your foods around?

SuperStar - Howdy!

Well you guys, I have a busy day at work today as well. I'll be in touch when I can.

P.S. About the cost of the weeks...I signed up at $3.50 per wk. I got 40 wks of WL, 6 of STAB, and 52 wks of MAINT for less than $350. Guess that was pretty good.

Hey Chickies!!! I feel so out of the loop I haven't been on the forum alot lately...:-( Well I went with my Fiance last night to his radio gig, and I was bad! I had a blueberry Wheat Ale Beer, and they had this shot called a cherry bomb...that was my biggest weakness!! It's raspberry vodka, 2 cherries,whipped cream, and swirl of Choc. Sauce.... :love:

Needless to say this morning I am feeling :stars: :tired:

I am going to WI today after work haven't been since last friday, and I am actually kind of scared as to what I will weigh. Hopefully I went down a lb I havent been bad with Plan as far as food goes....

Yesturday I had a Yogurt, an Apple, a Tuna Fish Sandwich, and Chicken with melted cheese, salsa, and grilled veggies.....I try and eat more veggies so I am full...I am stuck in this 184 zone just like I was stuck in the 185 zone...feeling helpless lately....

I just realized after reading many of your post's why my weight loss has been SO SLOW, they put me on a shift worker plan because thats what I was on when I joined before as a RN who works 12 hour days. But I am presently out on of work after a fall and which is what the case was when I rejoined several weeks ago wearing a walking boot and all...I was placed back on the blue plan.

I called the Center and told them my thinking process and that I would be in tommorrow, she told me to drop off 1/2 protein and 1 starch until then....so I am excited that this may help me to lose more.

Thanks again for this site, it is a blessing to me!! :angel:

Star and Buttons: I guess I better make a doctor's appointment. I'm pretty regular and nothing the last 2 months, but I seem to experience all the others symptons. My DH thinks I have lost my mind I can get so moody. He says black, I say white (and I actually know it's black, but I can't help myself - I tell him it's white). Are either of you taking HRTs?

Solo: I saw a TV ad this week for the deal on the weeks. $7/week is normal for our area, the special was for $5/week. I had to grab them while I could. You know, when I started last year - I got the weeks for $3/week (and I was going to WW at the time, it was such a deal I couldn't pass it up). Now it they would ever have a special on the LA Lites, but haven't seen any in months.

Irish: The cherry bomb sounds awesome. I'll put that in my memory bank if I'm ever in the mood for shots. LOL!

Daisy: Cutting out the 1/2 P and 1 S - what plan would that put you on? Blue or Gold?

Thunder: It seems like I have been on the Blue for a while, a least 2-3 months and I lost weight the first week and not much since. Of course, I wasn't losing on the Gold either, but I was exercising harder/longer at that time too. I'll talk to the center again on Friday and tell them how I'm feeling.

To all: Honestly, I'm getting the feeling that they want me on the Blue so I can keep buying WL weeks, that would mean that I would have to keep buying the full supply of LA Lites as well. I'm telling you, I don't believe a thing that a person tells me when I know they are giving me a sales pitch. The counselor I got yesterday has a high sweaky voice, and actually would sound sweet to me if she wasn't always pushing products on me. Okay, now that I said that - sounds more like a PMS statement. I better make a doctor's appointment quick! LOL!

Have a great afternoon. Thanks for all the comments! Hugs, Sy

Hey Chicks-
I'm on my way to the COD. I'm at 147.2 this morning! Yipee. I don't know how much further I'll go before I decide to start stabilization. I technically have 3 or 4 more weeks. But I don't know if I should go below 145. I'm 5'7" Large frame. I do have some more fat that could be lost, but I think that now what it is going to take is some hard work in the gym. :) We'll see. Anyway, just wanted to say hello to everyone.

RWF-Congrats on the loss

Sy-You'll be just fine. I've gained about 8 pounds back a few different times and I've gained about around 3 or 4 a couple of times too. I think that's a good idea about tweaking your plan. Good luck. :)

Well, I'll talk to you chicks later. Have a good day!

Mandy

I'm on the red plan. Thanks for the info :)

Mandy...Congrats to you too... :cool:
It's been alittle crazy here at work today...I'm just waiting for 6 o'clock to get here..Then I'll have one more day to work and then I'm off for 6..I like that part but I don't like working 8 ten hour days to get it. Hopefully we can work something out on this crazy schedule we have... :dizzy:
Also, congratulation to all you other losers out there.
Ok Chicks, just wanted to check back in. Talk to you all later..
Julie..we are still thinking about you... :D

Just a fast post.
SY - wanted to thank you for mentioning about the $5.00 per week 'special' rate right now. When I go WI tomorrow I plan on buying about 5 more weeks too. I think I'm good til July 17 - BUT have a vacation prior to that too. The last weeks I bought I think I got them for $3.00 per wk. The devil counslor said the $3 per wk special won't be anytime soon. (whatever).
I'm also with you about them guiding us in the direcetion of needing more weeks, more products, etc. I have thought that for a long time. I use to think that's why they don't really push cardio, cuz you might lose quicker? Who really knows? I'm blonde so I don't like to think too hard about all the politics of LAWL...
Check you chicks tomorrow......

Hey Chickies - long time no see (what, three days??? Feels like forever!)

I've been majorly stressing out over this house-buying business - things are not going very well, won't get into all the details right now. Feel like I've been on the go nonstop, have been eating like CRAP, current weight is somewhere around 207. :mad: Part of me thinks I need to just go in and face the music at the center, get a fresh start...but I know I'm nearly at the end of my weeks and I'm NOT buying any more, just ain't gonna happen, so not sure what I'm going to do about that. Sigh. It's just more stress!!!

Anyway, it's the end of the day, I'm going to drive home and maybe post some more then. See ya!

Fiona

Fiona- Go in, get a fresh start and then put your file on hold for a while, while still following the plan. Good luck to you. I hope things ease up for you soon.

Hello to everyone else. :)

So, I had this CRAZY :dizzy: idea on my drive home...

Assuming that I can get the COD to work with me without having to lay out any more $$$, I think I'm going to dedicate myself to weighing in at COD - EVERY SINGLE DAY (except sunday cause they're closed). Fact is that I weigh myself at home everyday anyway, and if I don't like what I see then I don't WI at the COD and that's what starts this vicious cycle. It'd be darn near impossible to "cheat" and think that I can "get away with it" because I've got 2-3 days til my next weigh in, ya know?

What do you all think - am I NUTS or what???

Fiona

Well....down .2#....shouldn't complain! Asked about the Cedarlane frozen dinners. I noticed they are packaged (some) in portions for 2...even though they aren't very large! Yet the book doesn't make referance to eating half the box.... Yes, yes, I ate the WHOLE thing last night.... :lol: So at least the counselor I had today is going to ask the nutritionist. Hope that doesn't cut into her soap opera time :D (just kidding). And of course I forgot to ask about promos.... :dizzy:

By the way Fiona...I think your idea is a great one! And being nuts is a good thing!

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I have posted, I have been extremely busy, but things are starting to become slightly normal again. I have been doing pretty well, with staying on plan and had a bump in the road this past weekend but I am back on track.

Hopefully everyone is doing well, I haven't gone back to read the post but I will do that soon.

I just wanted to check in and say I'm back.

Hi, chicks!

I tell ya' - I thought the end of Wednesday would never come. Work has been, you know, the b word. Just tomorrow and then it's TGIF.

I also bought 5 weeks to take me past Labor Day. Here in NYC it's usually $7, but reduced to $5. Last year I bought weeks at $3, too.

At weigh in on Tues was down a whole 1/4 lb from Saturday - woo hoo! Luckily, I showed constraint in consoling myself because wouldn't you know there's a pizzeria right next door to my COD.

Sy - I do the same thing on Gold, if I feel the need, I bump up to blue using an extra S and 1/2 P. I try to keep those choices on the lower end of the calorie scale. I've been going through perimenopause, but I haven't missed a period. My body went the other way, my fibroids are worse (like they want to suck in all the estrogen I have before I have no more) and my cycle is short. Don't even talk to me about PMS. My symptons started when I was about 38 and I'll be 42 this month.

About fudging the food journal. I had one counselor tell me that I could split one of my proteins as long as it was the same protein ie, 3oz chick and 3oz chick, so I could have some protein at each meal. Well, when I went on Tuesday, I had written that down in my diary - big NO NO! According, to Tues night counselor.

So I played along "Why, it's all going to the same place?" Her answer, because not eating the full serving of protein at one time will mess up my digestion! You just can't win at the COD. Now I could understand if I wrote down that I had Mcdonald's, and then beer, and then ice cream - that would mess up my digestion, but eating on plan but breaking the protein down to spread it out - What's up with that? So, if I think I need to split my protein I will, but I won't be recording it that way.

Gotta go exercise. Hope everyone has a pleasant evening!

Melissa the videochick

Fiona- that sounds like a crazy, but good idea. I say go for it. Sometimes we just need that extra push/motivation to get us going. Maybe that will be just what you need. Good luck.


Mandy

Hi everyone. I just have to say, I love this thread. You all make me smile when reading the posts.

Mandy: Thanks for the comments that you actually had some slip-ups along the way - I know I'm not alone, but sometimes I just feel like such a failure. You made me feel better!

Star: I was hoping for $3/week special too, but thought that I better take advantage of the $5 before I had to purchase them for $7. Last year they had so many more specials at the COD. They can't be losing money because their LA Lites are higher than ever.

Fiona: I read this today at the end of someone's email "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result" - so you see, you can't be nuts as you know you have to make a change in order for you to stick with the program. I think that going to the COD everyday is a great idea and your right - there will be no room for cheating.

Video: Your story sounds so familiar, do you go to my center? My COD is right next door to a pizzeria too! They have awesome pizza, the kind of pizza that if I'm going to have a slice - it would be from there. Certain times of the day it's a killer going in while they have the ovens going. I can't believe that the COD would give you such a hard time when splitting proteins - you make me laugh. I laughed even harder at their explaination, did they know that losing weight has to do with calories and not when you split proteins. I guess why want to feel superior and they have to find something to say at times.

Well, I'll say it again - I played golf last night, and I have to say - I SUCK! Although, I did improve from a 93 to a 91 (for 9 holes). It's only my second week on a league, and I hope to improve before they kick me off. Most of my score was from missing the ball. I was happy that on a Par 3, I did make a score of 4. After the night, and listening to the ladies, then DH - if I hear "keep your head down" 1 more time, I'll scream (I was keeping my head down, don't they get it - I can't golf!). 1 hole, I swong (is that how you spell that?) at the freakin ball 5 times before it moved (I almost cried).

Glad I took a lesson on Tuesday. Okay, enough about that. Hope you all have a great OP day.

Hugs, Sy

Morning chickies!

It is "Africa hot" (From Biloxi Blues play/movie) here this morning! I don't have the AC in so I'm not sure what my exercise will be this a.m.

About the blast, while I was purging papers over the weekend I found my old travel cards from LA. I used to weigh in at three different centers because I was working outside the office so much at different sites. Anyway, since we've been talking about losing the last 10 or so pounds I thought I'd share my weigh-ins from summer/fall 2002. I had first joined at the end of May 2002 at 176. The first 16 did take 8-10 wks, but as you can see, the last 10 took forever and I did not lose a consistent 2lbs a week.

Mon 8/12 - 159 3/4
Mon 8/19 - 156 then
Wed 9/18 - 153 3/4
Wed 10/30 - 152.4
Sat 11/2 - 151 1/4
Mon 11/4 - 152.4 (must have been all that Halloween candy)
Mon 11/11 - 149 3/4
Thur 11/14 - 149.6
Fri 11/22 - 148.4
Wed 11/27 - 147.8
Fri 12/6 149.6 (I guess Thanksgiving and the start of holiday events)
Mon 12/23 - 148/6
Thu 12/26 - 149 1/4

147 was the closest I got to my goal of 145 at 5'6". Stayed in the 147-150 range for almost two years, then in 2004 slowly worked my way back up to 160-163, which is the 3lb range I've been stuck at for the last 18 months.

I think Carmen asked what some of our struggles have been in the journey - well one of mine is changing the mindset that if I lose, I can cheat a little. If I had a nice loss, I would reward myself, you guessed it, with food! Thinking I could manage it. I think because I never actually got to the stabilization/maintenance phase I haven't learned how to manage treats, etc. One of my other struggles, is putting off other goals until I lose weight, but that's another story that I think I've told before.

I've been trying Jen/auditgirls suggestion of switching breakfast & lunch and using the slimdowns so we'll see what happens on Saturday.

Wish me luck as tonight I am going out with some of my old co-workers to a BBQ joint - Virgils in NYC. Thank god for the internet, because I looked at their menu and my plan is to have the grilled vegetable platter. If i try to save servings of protein/starch for tonight, I'll be eating the tablecloth when I get there. Since it's been so humid, food is not really what I fear, it's the ice cold beers they'll all be drinking!

Congrats to all the losers, maintainers and those of us hanging in there!

To all the northeast chickies - keep cool. At 5:30 a.m. it was 76 degrees here.

Hugs -

Melissa the videochick

Hello chicks,

super busy day at work today, probably won't be able to check in very often, but just wanted to share that I was down 2 lbs at WI (earning myself a new avatar)! Take off actually worked this time and I had a shake for dinner with a salad and my la lite last night...I was kind of hungry when i went to bed, but not terribly so. This morning I tried a new breakfast, the Morningstar sausage, on half and english muffin with 1/2 serving of low fat cheese....my own version of the sausage mcmuffin...pretty tasty ;-)

Hope everyone has a POP!!!!

Jen

Hey chickies went to WI last night at 186.00 GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR'

I never realized how "stern" some of the counslers can be. I am due for my period, and I've been wicked bloated for a couple of days now. The counsler I had last night was so rude!!!!! I said to her well I am bloated and due for my period, and I've been stuck between 184-186 for a month now! Can we try a different plan! She goes no b/c you're not sticking to plan! I was like WHOA!!!

First and foremost I pretty much stay on plan, but everyone has slip up's it happens! Secondly, sometimes I don't get all of my food in b/c we are so busy somedays I don't get to eat lunch, and the nights my fiance has a broadcast I don't have the same selection of food as I do at home, so she goes "pack a cooler bring it with you!" WHAT!! You mean to tell me if I showed up at your restaurant with a Radio Station, and I brought my own cooler of food, instead of buying from your restaurant (which is why people have these things at restaurants) then you'd be accepting of that! NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! She pretty much is telling me that I always have an excuse, and when I'm on plan I loose...I am pretty much always on plan with the exception of the days that I do'nt get all of my food in! But I do what I can...I am paying over $400.00 for the program, and some weeks I can't afford all of the steaks, and all of the food, so I do a bit at a time...go and buy and bulk up on basics everyother week,and during the weeks go back for salads, fruits, yougurt, and stuff like that. She just really made me feel worse about being stuck in this plateau, and I really feel like telling the manager I will never deal with her every again!

Audit: What TakeOff did you do? Can you go into details so I can do the same as they want me to do it next week.

Irish: If your PMSing, maybe the counselor sounded more rude than normal. I have to say, I agree with you. My brother would kick you out of his restaurant if you packed a cooler and brought it in. Yikes, does that counselor get out much or what? I can see packing a cooler and bringing food and eatting it before or after DBF eats his dinner in the restaurant. Couldn't you eat your protein before/after and just eat a salad or something light at the restaurant? Maybe a 1/2 baked potato and a salad - depending on what they serve. If it's a fastfood joint, I wouldn't bring the cooler but I would put my food in my purse before entering, get a table and eat what I brought without being too obvious. Just trying to help as I have done that and it does work out okay.

Melissa/Video: Hot here too and I'm loving it. Hit 94 degrees yesterday to set an all time high for June 8th. I do have air cond in our bedroom, but not in the house. DH works at home and his office is upstairs, he likes it hot - but he had to admit yesterday - it was HOT.

Well, gotta run. Sy

:wave: Hi Everybody! Congrats to the losers and maintainers, and :grouphug: to all those who are hanging in there.

Well, I didn't make it to WI last night. I was too late getting away from my DPs house with the DSs after work. To top that off, when we got to our Scouts location, no one else was there. We were supposed to watch the little league game together. So the DSs and I sat there and watched a couple innings and waited but no one else showed up. I never got a call saying our meeting would be cancelled so I don't know what's up :dunno:. Anyway, as it was Africa hot :lol: we left and went to Baskin Robbins. I was good, and had a cup of their SF RF ice cream. It only had 3 grams of fat, and it tasted DELICIOUS. SO, that was that. As yesterday went, I didn't get hardly any water in. I was really busy at work yesterday at work and couldn't keep going to the restroom so I had to limit my intake. Today will be busy too but I have to do what I have to do for me...meaning DRINK MY WATER! I also missed lunch yesterday, so I don't know how things will look for me at COD tonight. Its been a crazy week! Oh well...

Jen - thanks for responding to my question. I know that is one of my biggest problems now. Whenever I have a nice loss, I usually head straight for something that's not so great for me. Before it got warm it was always McFries on Saturday afternoon after the DSs swim class. It was like sitting there watching them swim made me so hungry (or that's what I told myself). Now my question is, how do you get yourself over that hump? What do you tell yourself to make you walk away? I think your loss so far is awesome by the way, and the fact that you're maintaining so well is inspiring.

Good morning chickies! :flow2:

Well, I haven't been trying TOO hard to stay POP the last couple days but am at least trying to make better choices - having a salad and a sandwich instead of DD's mac-n-cheese for dinner, NOT eating an entire bag of popcorn and then a regular meal too! - and the gain has been sliding right back off (water weight, I know, but it's still encouraging). Tuesday I was 207, this morning 204.6. I've been having a big problem with soda again lately, but when I woke up this morning and saw the scale, I was all psyched up to get back on the H20 wagon and have NO more mood-enhancing beverages :lol: ...of course, someone thought it would be great to bring in TWO DOZEN Krispy Kreme donuts today!!! :dizzy: I admit I ate ONE, but I still want to see if I can get back to 203 (where I started the month) by the end of the week, so no more for me!

Fiona

:coffee:

Jen - Congrats on you loss and your new avatar - you wear it well :cp:

Solo - a 2 oz loss is a loss, therefore much better than nothing or a gain ;)

Fiona - I was wondering where you were :?: Okay about going to the COD :devil: daily? Honestly, I don't see you doing that, only becuz you are always so busy with "As Fiona Lives" :lol: BUT if you can swing it - go for it.
I'm having a hard time going three times a week. I mean how much torture can one chick endure :?: About not signing back up for LAWL - you know if you put your mind to it - you could do it yourself, here with us :grouphug:

Haylo - Welcome back to the coupe, we have missed you!

Sy - Well I can't go to COD :devil: today becuz my office supplier is having open house and DIL and GB Dave are meeting me there for lunch. DIL knows my salesgirl from there. Anyhow, I have been POP and I will roll there tomorrow. I plan on buying 5 more weeks becuz I don't think with vacation I will make it to goal by Jul 15.... Hey you should let you golf club slip :o and bonk DH in the head....... :D

Irish - Well, the :devil: counslors can be pretty rude, but as long as you keep in mind they are from another planet - remember :?: However, she does have a point that if we don't stay on plan, we can't expect it to work. For me I can't cheat at all or I gain. So maybe she was doing you a favor by being honest. they do get really silly with what they expect us to do in order to be POP, like carrying a cooler into a resturant :rofl: Did you ask her when the last time she lugged her cooler into Applebees was :?:

Hi Melissa, Mandy and Carmen......Hugs to all.........

Hi all,
I've been sick since i got home. Flu bug, really bad tummy. Couldn't make it to work yesterday, but in today. Not good timing, just get back from being on vacation and then I have a sick day... But i need to get OP and i think i'm doing okay so far. I need to get to the grocery store and get some fresh veggies, salad and fruit. HAve some left over but the grapefruit is getting old. My stomach has been so bad, i haven't felt like eating much anyway.

Someone asked what Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake looked like, well, they both obviously didn't want to be seen. They walked past us going into the bakery, both looking down, had another girl with them. Cameron had no makeup on, and a baseball cap down low. She was tall, about my height, and very thin. I would have liked to have said something but i'm very nervous about doing that and wouldn't. I saw Barry Manilow years ago (like when i was 15 yo) in Palm Springs, he was in front of me in line at Aaron Brothers, an art store of all places and i knew it was him and asked for his autograph. He was SOOOO RUDE, he grabbed my booklet out of my hands, scribbled his name, never said a word, threw it back at me....I just was so stunned and that's why i wouldn't say hello to Cameron. My cousins 12 year old daughter who was with me when we saw Cameron, well the expression on her face was priceless!! She loves her from that show Trippin' i guess, it was so fun. And we heard that they (Justin and Cameron) have a vacation home in Mammoth so it would make sense for them to be there.

Hi all....they put me on Gold ( Was on blue) today, I couldn't believe I only lost .8 after 5 days of staying on plan, I have been to one wedding, 4 grad parties, and one bridal shower and vacation at the in-laws in a three week period and WAS SO GOOD :angel: and have only lost 2.8!! My metabolism is very slow but....my clothes are showing my discipline and I just have to concentrate in my how my clothes are fitting, how I feel other then relaying on the scale !

Hopefully the gold plan will do it.... Hey, they told me that on Gold you only have 4 oz milk not 8 oz like Blue plan but...looking at my book, it says 8 oz??
Anyone know??

Blessings and success for you all today.... :cheer:

Good afternoon everyone.

As far as the rude counselors, I let them know what I will tolerate, and what I won't tolerate, and then they back off. But most of the time I have them cracking up anyways, I'm like you expect me to do what?!? They are crazy, but whatever.

I go get weighed in this evening, I'm still up .5 lb on my home scale from my lowest weight, and guess what's coming up?!? The dreaded weekend!! Now don't get me wrong, I love being off work, it's just I eat well when I'm at work cause I pack my food, I have no direction on the weekends. But I'm working on it.

BTW, I really admire everyone's strength, courage, and dedication! Keep on keeping on!

Hello Chicks and congratulations to all you losers.. :dance:
It's been crazy here at work today. It figures since this is my Friday... :dizzy:
There has been alot of chit-chatting going on today. It took me awhile to get caught up... :cool: Now this is how it should be... :lol:
I'm still OP and still exercising..Can you all believe that. I was so tired this morning but I did the toning anyway..WOOHOO..I'm really glad that I'm not off today because I would have slept the day a way. I think I have my first wind going now. I'll be looking for the second one to get me through until 6... :lol:
Well, we go tomorrow to crunch some figures on this property..This should be interesting... :s: I'll let you all know about this later. :o
Fiona...I hope things are going better for you with your house..Keep us posted.. ;)
This is for everyone that switches back and forth between gold and blue. For my 1/2 protein and starch. I would eat egg beaters and lite toast. It only amounted to 70 calories...
Ok Chicks, Getting busy again so I'll check back in later.
Star...I'll be with you in alittle bit.. :D

The lowest plan that I have been on is purple.

What is on blue, gold, and green?

I'm just curious :shrug:

Karen..Blue plan....1/2 PP, SSS, VVV, FFF
Gold Plan PP, SS, VVV, FFF
Green Plan PP, SS, VV, FF
Of course all with dairy, fat and lites...

Gold is 2p 3 v 3f 2s 1d 1 f 2lites Blue is 1/2 protien and 1 startch more I believe

I like the blue plan the best. It's really easier to stck to because of the extra 1/2 protein and starch (instead of gold) I think the blue is just easier to plan meals with.. My counselor (the one I like) says that is the best plan.. :cool:

Went to WI this morning and geeze nobody was there that I know all the people are new.. whats up with that?? Maybe the aliens stopped in and changed the clones.. :lol: Hey has anyone tried to make their own jet start or maybe a green tea drink like it?? The cost is crazy (im poor now they've sucked all my money from me) :lol: so Im going to try to do my own I think.. I just went to wild oats they had a green tea drink that you add milk to and they said its good...So I thought Id try it but I bought nf soy milk, That stuff dosent have to be put into the refrigerator until you open it :0 if anyones intersted I'll post the info on it cals names stuff..

Buttons...You can also substitute the juice with oranges or cantaloupe. Someone on here knows how much you can eat... :D

Hi everyone. Well, I have been OP all week and I don't feel any thinner. As a matter of fact, I feel bigger. Yesterday I drank my 64 oz of H2O before leaving work, then at the gym (no air cond) I drank over 2 bottles of water (so that was another 48 oz). I worked out 60 minutes, and I love'd it - I slept like a baby. As a matter of fact, I was just going to read a little of the paper before I fell asleep - and woke up (2 pee, can't image why - lol) and was on top of the covers with the light still on (DH was up late working).

It's been so warm here, and I'm loving it. Past 2 days it has reached 94 degrees. I know you probably never dreamed you'd hear me say this (and I'm biting my tougne while typing it) - we do need some rain. Our grass looks like Virginia in July. I'm also loving that it went from winter to summer instantly this year. It's my time of year!

What are everyone's plans for the weekend? I have a suprise 40th BD party tonight. I may save a starch for an ice cold beer, or is that a fruit and starch? Anyone remember?

Have a great OP day, and TGIF! Hugs, Sy

Thanks for the info....

It looks like I would rather be on BLUE than purple......

:D

:wave: Hi Everybody. TGIF!!! Also thank God its payday! I need some groceries :lol:! I am out of EVERYTHING I need to remain OP, with the exception of fresh meats. I need veggies really bad, yogurt and cheese, some simple starches, and fruit. I haven't had fruit in about a week, but somehow I manage to keep an open bottle of wine :dunno:?

Sy - In my book it says that a light beer is a starch while a regular beer is a fruit and a starch. Keep up all the hard work, it looks like you're doing great. Your body will show your efforts.

To everyone else - have a wonderful :angel: day!

Good morning Chicks,
I just wanted to drop in for a minute. I'm getting ready to go get my hair done. I don't really feel like it but it needs done bad... :^: I've been up since about 2:30 this morning and I'm getting alittle tired. Wonder why.. :s:
I don't weigh in until tomorrow morning so I don't have anything to report on that end, but I did get up and do my cardio this morning. I'm really on a roll... :lol:
Oh, I have to tell you all about my dream.. I had a dream that my DH was cheating on me (don't know where that came from) but when I woke up, I punched him in the arm. He said, " what, what's wrong" I said I better never catch you cheating on me.. :lol: :lol: :lol: He looked at me so dumb founded and said, Can I go back to sleep now.. :lol: I reminded him of it this morning and he said he thought he was dreaming... :lol:
But anyway Chicks, I have to run..
Star, I tried to yell at you this morning. I'll get up with you when I get back.. ;)

Good morning!

Anyone have a blanket and pillow and quiet corner? :yawn: My kids have all arrived for the weekend and it looks like a bomb went off in my house.... :dizzy: I think between my three DD, they could open a department store complete with cosmetic counter! :rofl:

Made it through the first night. Ordered pizza for all of them and the 2 DBF of theirs. Managed to eat a salad and some Boca burger patties. Went to the pinning cerermony and did eat one piece of pizza. :shrug: Weird thing was...it didn't taste that great...

Pond Boy has been here all week and is doing a great job.... :yes: . Okay...I think he could do any job and it would be great! :D I have given him free rein to tidy up my yard....he is even going to use his truck to go to the dump for me. Super nice (cute too) guy....said he would do the same thing for his mom. Mom??!! :eek: Oh well, there goes that fantasy! :rofl:

:crossed: Hoping I can stay OP through this weekend with all of the company. Wish me luck! And I hope all of you have great weekends!

Rusty - :rofl: Poor DHubby ........
Way to go with working out. BTW, go to 'Exercise Yard' to read something about the benifits of working out. ;)

Solo - Your pond boy story reminded me of something my beautician mentioned last time I was there (she's in her 40's). She said "You know at our age we have nice rides/cars and our hair looks great from the back? Then you see this hot guy pull up next to you, you look his way, notice he is 20, he then turns his head real quick and speeds off - realizing we're his mother's age?" :lol:

Be back later........Hugs

Oh Karen and Cathy, you two are too funny! :rofl:

Tummy is better so i'm hoping to have a better OP day today! Lots of water! But i've decided I must get rid of that sourdough bread i got on my vacation.

Hey girls!!! Well i have popped in from time to time since my last visit but i have been so busy with things here that I just kept saying oh ill post later. Have been doing the same thing about being OP too. However I keep inching up a lb here and a lb there soooooo I am trying to get my butt back on track. I plan on going in for an official WI on monday they did call from the center and leave a message on my home phone so at least i know they were looking for me lol. I am in the process of making out a list of what im gonna get at the grocery store. The first thing im going to do is clean out the fridge/freezer and pantry(also the snack stash cabinet lol) my dad went to the doctor last week and they told him to cut out his sugar. So my mom has said that from now on they are only gonna eat what I can eat. This will help me out a lot because if i fix something that is just supposed to be for them like a starch and i dont have left i can have well if you just have one spoon it will be ok NOT!!!! I am also gonna do a scrapbook about my weight loss and start doing a weekly page about it. I didnt go back to the center this week because its TOM so i figured that next week would be just fine. Once i get a good stock of healthy food in the house i think it will be easier for me and them.

I will try to get caught up on reading the post soon lol. Wish me luck with that haha. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will check back in later.

Britt

:mad: - lost anothe post. Geesh, it drives me crazy. It has something to do with the mouse and I haven't figured it out yet!

Karen: You make me laugh. DH did have a chance, and got punched for no reason. :rofl:

Solo: Mmmm, I wondered if you would find more work for 'eye candy'. Too bad about the comment about his Mom. Of course, he Mom could look very hot so it could have been a HUGH compliment! WTG with ordering pizza for the girls and their DBFs and not having any. I think you have joined the :angel: status with Star. You did so good last night, if you put your mind to it, you can stay OP over the weekend - company or not. Good Luck.

Star: Your stylist is so right. But, it works the other way around too. Did you ever see a nice looking guy from behind, and once you see him face to face, he's older than God? You see - we still have it girlfriend! :rofl: My DH says that I'm an old man magnet. :o

Hugs, Sy

I'm hoping to lose this 5 lbs before I go to the :beach: on vacation.

Okay sorry you all I just have to share this... For the first time in my life I had a cherry tomato that tasted like candy! I don't particularly care for tomatoes, but if all of them tasted like this that would be a different story. I love summertime!

Went to COD :devil:
:goodscale Down one pound....... :hat:

Sy - I know what you mean about old man magnet :lol: That's becuz we are too old for the young ones (pond guy) and too young for the old ones (older than God). There is a flaw in the system becuz the one's OUR AGE only want women young enuf to be their daughters :dunno:

Carmen - Honey you must have broken your taste buds too :lol:

Latest installment of AFWT...

I mostly just need to vent because this mortgage business is screwed up to the point where I'm ready to tear my hair out and almost ready to call it quits on the whole business, except that I LOVE my (hopefully soon to be) house and there's not anything nearly comparable on the market right now.

Long story short (I don't recall how much of this I laid out in previous "episodes" :lol: ), when our new car loan suddenly showed up on our credit reports in the middle of May, it tanked our credit scores to the point that our ability to qualify for our mortgage is in jepoardy. I immediately paid over $1000 toward some of our credit card balances, in hopes that lowering the balances would bring the scores back up at least enough to qualify, if not all the way up to where they were. Well, even though all of those credit card companies "supposedly" sent their updated information to the credit bureaus as much as 10 days ago, the reports STILL have not updated to show the lower balances. :mad: And as far as I have been able to figure out, there is NOTHING I can do to speed up the process, and if they don't get updated in the next 3-5 days, I'm SCREWED. :cry:

Sigh - just had to get that off my chest. Thanks for putting up with me. :^:

Fiona

Hmm you guys are too funny.. :lol: it seems lately that all the men that feel the need to talk to me are about 30 or so...I don't think their thinking of me in a mom sort of way either :lol: but hey its ok with me it never hurts to talk.. :lol:

I don't know what is going on with me, but I attract ALL ages. I mean from teenager to old men. My son and daughter have had friends or their friends older siblings make comments about how HOT I am :?: I get comments, looks, and everything you can imagine from males of all ages. It's kind of scary, but nice at times. I also get carded all the time for alcohol. I even ask them sometimes.. How old do you think I am?.. before I show them my ID. They tell me 17 :D You should see the looks we get when my children call me mom out in public and I answer :lol3: , they think its a joke :joker: Although, my son gets creeped out when people think that me and him are a couple :nono:

I updated my profile picture to one that was taken at my graduation last month. It's only a head shot, but you can tell what I look like in the face better than the other one. I need to put a new body shot up too. I would like to somehow find a way to put a before & after picture up. It is amazing what the difference is. I look so much more like ME than before. I know that kind of sounds strange, but I was starting to look like someone else, if that makes sense. Before LAWL, I had gained 30lbs in 6 months without knowing why.

Anyways, everyone have a great weekend. :D

Fiona - Sorry to hear about your mess. It is a shame that the credit reporting companies take so long to get something right, but that has been my experience with them also. I guess they just get over loaded with information. I know that doesn't help you atl all. Maybe your mortgage company will let you write letters detailing your recent payment transactions?
On the bright side, does stress cause weight loss?
Hugs....

Karen - No wonder the males are goo-goo over you - you look FANTASTIC - Really nice picture! And congrats again!! ;)

Oh and you do look 17 (that was intended as compliment) :)

On the bright side, does stress cause weight loss?
Hugs....

Oh, I wish it did for me...it seems to be the opposite.

Oh, I wish it did for me...it seems to be the opposite.

Yeah, it sure does except when it makes me want to eat everything in sight. :lol:

Fiona

Thanks Star :o

Wow you guys are funny today. Metal - you're v. pretty, and you do look like a kid. I only attract geezers, not the young ones, but then its always been that way. Funny thing is, I look young for my age. I get carded all the time. It may be due in part to my voice, as I'm told it is squeaky and high pitched, but I like to think of it as sexy smooth and siren-ish (and no, not as in an emergency siren!) :lol3: Heh heh.

Anyway, you all have a great weekend! By the way, how's the water coming? I am at 40 oz myself.

Chicks - Have a great weekend (On-Plan ofcourse ;)

woohoo down 1.2 at WI today and I got my sons address.. Im going to vegas sunday and I'll be back tuesday so Im thinking wih all that heat and walking I might make it under that awful 2 mark by the time I get back... The girl that did my weigh in told me I need to start wearing a smaller size in clothes, she said she knows im in there somewhere.. :lol: that felt great... Have a great weekend and stay OP everyone...

Congrats Beth! Way to go. :)

Wow, it was a slow weekend on the board, summer time kicking in. I can't believe that I can actually say this, but it was too hot to turn on the computer on Saturday. LOL! I'm not complaining, but it has sure been warmer than I've seen in it June in Upstate NY. Overall, I love the hot/sunny weather, but this weekend - after a week of 90 degree says - I was beat.

Carmen: After being on LA for a while, I think out tastes change. Wait until you try grape tomatoes, they are even sweeter.

Fiona: If you have lots of credit cards without balances and don't use, you should also close those accounts as they can subtract from your credit rating as they give you the potential of charging that amount even if you have no intention of using them. DH and I use to open credit cards when new stores came in the area - the deal that they would give you an additional 10-15% off your first purchase. We had tons of them - no balances. A few years ago, when I got my Visa card with an interest rate of 10% - I closed all the department store credit cards. Another thing, my Visa card limit was up to $40,000 of available credit. I wrote them a letter, had it reduced to $7000 and told them I never wanted it raised. Geesh, I could have bought a Corvette or a nice Harley or 2 for $40 grand. Okay, I did all of this after reading an article in the paper telling you how to improve your credit rating. Even if you always pay your bills on time, the amount of credit that is available to you to charge is counted against you. Also realized that department stores charge +19% interest, so now I only use my Visa if I'm going to charge something.

MetalChic: Congrats on the graduation and your beautiful. Nice to look so young!

Button: What a compliment from the COD. Did you take their advise and get a new pair of slacks/shorts?

As far as me and the weekend, I did okay - but not POP. Doing much better but still need to work on it. Have a great day, can't wait to read some posts. Hugs, Sy

Sy - I have done a TON of work and research into credit repair and credit scores (DH and I went through a bad patch 3-4 years ago and while financially we are okay - obviously, as we're buying a house - we are still trying to recover "on paper") and most of what you read is incorrect and/or are misconceptions about how credit scoring works. But that's a whole different soapbox of mine - lol! ;)

Fiona

Fiona: I had heard horror stories of people trying to get their credit info corrected/accurate - most find out these things when they are going to buy a house. All were financially fine, paid their bills on time and going for a mortage (and some loan companies are pickier than others if your getting a good (low) interest rate - while others just need to see a pay stub and you've got the loan). You have the determination and know-how to get your problem resolved. Good Luck!

Hey girls. I have had a really rough weekend. My husband is doing LAWL with me and watches me like a hawk. He thinks he is supporting me but instead I feel like I am being reprimanded when I am not perfect. Anyway, I am getting close to my period so I am having more cravings than normal. Yesterday I REALLY was craving peanut butter and chocolate chips. So I got out a spoon and took a little bit on a spoon (maybe a teaspoon size), ate it and then threw the spoon in the sink telling myself I don't need it. Then about 2 hours later I took another spoon and got about a tablespoon size and ate it, but then stopped telling myself I didn't need it. Then maybe 2 hours later I got another spoon and did the same thing. Before being on the plan I would sit down and just eat right out the jar, so while it was cheating I knew today I would get back on the plan and I wasn't extremely mad at myself because I knew it was better than what I used to do.

Well, my husband was doing the dishes last night, came across the spoons and got totally ticked off at me. Before I could explain he was telling me how disappointed he was in me and how we were supposed to do the diet together, but I wasn't doing my share and all this stuff. I've lost 14 pounds, but he thinks since he lost 20 that I'm not sticking to the plan. I need to close 50 pounds and he needs to lost 90. Of course, his will come off quicker.

So that started an all out fight and it ended up with me going to my girlfriends house for the evening which in our 6 years together I have never left totally for an entire night.

I'm just very distraught right now, can't even keep my mind on my job, and am just totally upset about everything. Unfortunately, I am an emotional eater, so I am trying hard not to be around tempting things to avoid a gain.

I know this is a diet chat, so I'm sorry for bringing personal stuff into it too, but I just needed a girlfriends ear for a minute and you all have been so wonderful to chat with. I read all the threads, but normally I am too busy to keep up, but I really enjoy the comraderie of this group.

Thanks for listening.

Amy, it will be alright. Your husband is a typical man. He doesn't understand that we have cravings that they don't. He doesn't understand that he will loose weight at a faster pace than you simply because he is male.

When I get those TOM cravings, I try to have just a small amount (like you did) to keep from going on a binge. If you can control your cravings and satisfy them with much smaller portions when you have to, you will be fine.

Nobody is perfect! Not me, not you, not your husband; you just haven't caught him ;)

Don't worry about it, he probably feels like a real jerk right now...as he should :sumo:

Amy
Next time DH has a :tantrum: Give him a :rollpin: to his thick skull..... :lol:

:wave: Hi Everyone. Happy Monday :stress:. Welcome new chicks!

Well, I went to COD finally because I ran out of bars. I was down a lb. I'll take it! Guess my little indiscretion at Steak N Shake has not shown up yet. Does this mean I've blown in in The Challenge? Ah well...I'm back on plan and hope to have a POP day today. How was everyone's weekend?

Hi Amy. I'm sorry you had issues with your D:censored:H. Your DH was so so wrong, but he probably will never see it that way, and that's okay. You just need to remember that you are responsible for you, and he's not. I know its hard to get over the remarks that people make when they know you're dieting and you have something that's not on your plan, but you will have to turn a deaf ear to them. I think you did a great job of defeating your craving. BTW, what plans are you guys on? Peanut butter is allowed on my plan.

I am on the purple plan and peanut butter is on that plan too, but I had already had my allotted protein for the day so this was over and above what I should have had. Thanks for the support. It's nice to know that I am not just being over dramatic on this. :)

:coffee: Morining Chicks...

Carmen - Hi - well you ask about my weekend :?: Well I did :ebike: (real bike) 20 miles Sat. Was feeling very :angel: Then went to graduation party my D :censored: H made me afew :cheers: . Well I did great with the food, ate on plan, but the :cheers: were my downfall. My body just does not know how to process those :devil: calories. Then yesterday I was back on the :angel: plan, with tons of extra water. However today I still weigh 2 pounds more than I did on Sat. morning..... :rollpin: :goodscale (That means I'm gonna smash my home scale).......

So now, does that mean I'm out of the challenge too? I guess we need to re-visit the concept of the June challenge right? I'm with you Carmen, back on plan today and from here out till July 1st when my vacation starts.....I guess if nothing else Ill be on my own challenge. My challenge should be to never drink again, it just isn't worth it.

Hi to all.........

Hi Star. The bike riding sounds awesome. There is nowhere scenic for me to ride mine nearby. I do need to get on it and just enjoy the boring scenery I suppose. It would be good for me...

About the :cheers:... The jury is still out on what my body does with calories from alcohol. It seems that when I drink a lot of rum but remain OP with eating, I lose like crazy. My body seems to treat the alcohol like a laxative. Don't know why :shrug:. Its when I drink and eat anything except veggies that I have a problem. Anyway Star, I wouldn't feel too bad about the :cheers: at the party, nor should you smash your trusty home scale. You did a 20 mile bike ride! When is your next visit to the COD?

About the challenge...do you think it is still salvageable? I would have to lose 3 lb per week to meet my original goal. That's NOT doable at this point, but I can sure try for 6 more by month's end. If I am able to add some exercise, I might actually lose more, but we'll see.

Carmen -

Thanks for the two thumbs up on the bike ride - it was really fun. The Macomb Orchard Trail is right across the street from my new place, so it makes it pretty easy to get there :lol: The trail replace an old railroad track, so you get to see ritzy backyards, swamps, parks, towns etc. Way cool!
I never have any trouble with the exercise part, it's the eating/drinking part that pops up and smacks me in the head sometimes..... :o

About the party, I only ate veggies too and I saved my starches, and then didn't eat them....if vodka/cranberry :cheers: worked as an laxative on me I would think I died and went to heaven :angel:

If you noticed I took down all my June Goals. My thinking is I'm suppose to do all that stuff on plan without reminding myself daily :?: For me, I'm still having a JUne Challenge, which is to stay on plan, exercise and NOT DRINK anything until my July vacation (and maybe not then). You can still make strides in June, so come on let's keep going.......

About COD :devil: I'm suppose to go today, but I already know the news would be bad and I would have a public :tantrum: I'll go on Wed. that will give me two more days to work off the :cheers: weight gain. And thanks for the vote on keeping my home scale. I do really like it and it did colst $50.
Hugs

How many pounds or partial pounds are normal to gain before/during T.O.M. I am so nervous about weigh in today. Last week was only my first week, and on my third weigh in, I was only down .2 and she asked if my T.O.M. was starting, and I said yes, because it was due yesterday. (actually got it today)... but I am just really nervous about weigh in due to this. Also, my husband is away for work until late Thursday night, and I am going through that depression where you don't really feel like eating, but i know i have to eat, because when I don't eat, I gain weight. linda

I usually gain around 2-3lbs before TOM, and it takes me until the following week to loose it. It's been really hard on me since my weightloss has slowed down so much. It seems that I maintain during the month because if I do loose weight, I gain waterweight :( After my TOM passes I have suddenly lost 2-3lbs, then the cycle starts all over again. I have been so frustrated about that lately. I know when I go to the center this week it's going to be bad. I can tell that I am bloated, and I gain my waterweight a week to a week and a half before. And, I am expecting it in a week.

I'm doing stabilization now, and I am actually having a hard time getting all my food in. I have added fruits, veggies, a dairy, and now a starch to my daily intake. I'm STUFFED :halffull:

I'm doing stabilization now, and I am actually having a hard time getting all my food in. I have added fruits, veggies, a dairy, and now a starch to my daily intake. I'm STUFFED :halffull:

:no: :hun: :no: That is too funny - who'd of thunk :?: :rofl:

Yes, I know.... :lol3:

It is funny... I am now eating 2 1/2 P, 3 S, 7 V, 2 F, 2 Dairy, & 1 fat. I didn't eat this much when I was 230lbs. It feels like I am eating :eating2: constantly.

So I'm either cooking :chef: so I can eat, I am eating :eating2:, or I am planning :write: on what I am going to eat next. :chin:

:halffull: I'm not sure how I am supposed to eat this much everyday for the rest of my life.......

Well Karen - From where I sit your plan is looking awfully good - 7 V? It's a good thing you graduated cuz you wouldn't have time for work, school and all the fixing/planning/eating.....lol

Yes, 7 vegs, it's supposed to be 5 V and 4 F; but there is no way I can eat 4 fruits a day. I've been on a modified plan the entire time with more veggies to compensate for the fewer fruits.

I know you are right about time to do all of this fixing, planning, and eating if I was still going to school.... :crazy:

Don't forget all of the shopping I've been doing. I actually got to eat some beets the other day. I am also planning some saurkraut this weekend. When they add foods, they add more varieties of foods. This week is adding a starch and new starch choices. I think in two weeks I get to add another fat and more fat choices. In the last week I get sweets :hun: :D

I'll bet it really does feel 'strange' to have to eat all that food. I mean after you had to be so careful for so long, then they tell you to like double it. Are you scared of gaining the weight back if you follow the 'more food' plan? I think I would and if I make it to stabilization before I go into the nursing home, I know it will be a challenge for me.

I don't do the lites. I'm on purple. I am sure you wouldn't have quite as much to try to eat in a day with a lower plan.

Hey Chicks-

Karen-How is stabilization going? Which week are you in? I'm probably going to start the end of June. I hit my goal weight but I have a camp out reunion that I'm waiting to get over with before I start stabilization.

912go- I usually just maintain during the T.O.M. and then when it's over I lose a pound or two. So I'm thinking I'm still losing weight, but I'm just holding on to some excess water weight.

Star- I wonder the same thing too about stabilization and eating more food. I know that I'm scared to do it. I'm scared of gaining weight back and It's going to be weird to just be happy with maintaining.

Well I hit the 90 pound mark!! So I've got my new fun avatar. I'm starting to get worried that I'm never going to want to stop losing. I don't know what that magic number is that I'll be happy at. I'm starting to think that it just keeps getting lower and lower. First it was around 150 or size 8. Now here I am size 8/6 some 4's and 145.4. and I'm still not satisfied. We'll see what happens.

Well the Michael Jackson verdict is going to be read soon. I'm gonna go tune in to the news. Talk to you chicks later.

Mandy

Well, I survived my weekend...sort of! :hat:

The DD's, DD's DBF's, the ex and his :censored: g/f have all departed and the DD who lives here is at work. No magically appearing empty cans, dishes, glasses, garbage, etc.

I have officially blown my June challenge. Maybe not as badly as I think, but I am sure when I go to the COD I have gained a couple of pounds. I did okay until the ex and the :censored: g/f appeared on the scene. :stress: How can one woman be soooo opinionated and need so much attention ALL the time? :chin:

I did start and have been OP today....and am gulping down water. Figure I will do the COD Wednesday and accept what is after that!

Meanwhile I am about to have my kitchen redone (mid-July is the teardown of cupboards) and yes, yes...Pond Boy is still coming by and working. :sssh: I'm not sure what I will do when he is done!! :lol:

Mandy - wow! I see you are now at -90 pounds since I have been able to read posts! Congratulations!

Karen - I agree with the others....you do look very young! And your graduation picture is beautiful!

Fiona - my middle DD struggled with financing for one property she looked at...she had a mortgage guy say he could finance it (the land was what was worth the price), string her along to where she gave notice where she is living now, and 3 days before closing say he couldn't find anything! Thank heavens she hung in there and found a condo that she qualified for financing right away. So hang in there!

To everyone else....it's good to be able to take time and catch up with everyone's successes (and struggles too....).

Hello everyone, well I kind of fell off the :angel: status. I had a tough week, they increased my thyroid medicine so I felt nauseated most of the week and then went to austin and ate out a lot so needles to say I gained some weight, but that is okay; because today I am on the right foot and intend to stay that way. As a matter of fact I plan on being so good that I am not going to adjust my tracker to indicate that I went up, that way I don't have to change it when I go down again.

Well hopefully everyone is doing well, eventually I will get a chance to read through all these post from this week, but right now I have to study. So congrats to all the loser, keep you head up if you gained and keep on trying hard.

Hey chicks. I'm finally brave enough to post my weight loss blog. http://mandysweightlossjorney.blogspot.com/ You'll have to scroll through it. I have before and after pictures mixed all together, but I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference. I'm going to post some full body after pictures soon. Anyway, take a look if you want.

Mandy

MANDY!!!! WOWWW!!!!!! You look like a totally different person!!! No wonder DH's coworkers don't recognize you. :D So, you mentioned that sometimes in the mirror you don't yet see the "new you" - does looking at pictures do it for you? I'm always shocked to see pictures of myself because I still see "skinny me" in the mirror! Maybe that's why I find it so easy to slip up - I don't really "see" the damage it does, lol!

I started a blog a while back, but I think it's currently got ZERO entries because the perfectionist in me keeps going behind my back and deleting them 'cause "she" doesn't like how they sound when "she" re-reads them. :lol: I really should try harder...but then, I've got no incentive thanks to THIS board since HERE I get feedback! :gossip: :lol:

AFWT...we are out of the woods on the house thing!!! We went in to see my mom's banker and were approved for an FHA loan at a terrific interest rate in about 15 minutes flat (okay more like two hours). We had to push our closing back to next Friday, though, cause there just wasn't enough time left this week to get everything processed. Oh well, what matters is that we're closing!! :dancer:

Have a good night everyone!

Fiona

P.S. Mandy - I showed my DH your before-and-afters, and he said "WOW" and then he said, "now you just need to do that." ;)

Mandy: Congratulations and I checked out your pictures. You should be so proud of yourself! I sure am proud of you! You have really given me some inspiration that getting to my goal is a real possibility! Your change is profound. I didn't have time to read your website, but will make it a point! HOW HAPPY YOU MUST BE!

Star: I just love your posts! You always make me smile!

Fiona: Congrats on the mortage and getting the house of your dreams!

Metal/Karen: I feel like a proud mother that you have reached your goal. I can't share the great feeling yet, but you know that Star and I will be coming to your (and Mandy's) side of the fence real soon (right Starlynn!). Wow, that is a lot of food to get in in 1 day. My DH will definately think that I'm trying to gain my weight back once I'm on stabilization (he can't believe what I eat now). LOL! We are living proof that it works (I'm just having a hard time getting there). I'm so happy for you!

Solo: The good thing about the June challenge is that someone has to win, and we are human and will have some bumps in the road. Of course, we didn't have a D-EX G :censored: F to deal with like you. Just think what could be in store 4 you in July when the kitchen remodeling starts, their may be another piece of 'eye-candy' that's single and a little old than pond-boy. Hey, you never know. ;) So, the challenge is still on!

Carmen: Sure wished ice cold beer would act as a laxative for me (as I had 2 over the weekend). I'm switching to rum to see what happens. LOL! Maybe over the 4th of July vacation (I'll hold out until then). Only thing is, I think I would have to add some pineapple juice and coconut syrup - now that would be a treat. Pinacolata (still can't spell that drink).

I'm doing well trying to stick to the Gold, and if I have a minor slip up - will be on Blue like the center wants to think I should be at. I will probably head for the COD tomorrow before golf. Hugs, Sy

:coffee: :wave: Wait let me get more :coffee:

Wo - so many kewl posts...love it!

Mandy - You look fanstastic :love: I love the picture of you and your little man - really nice! Fiona is right, you don't look like the same person. I know you feel wonderful, enjoy the feeling - you have earned it :bravo: Just remember, you can't always see yourself in the mirror. There will be a point where you don't need to lose anymore.

Cathy - I'm sorry :sorry: BUT what was the occassion that you had all the family including X and gf :devil: :devil: around? Yor not out of the June Challenge, you just took afew days off that's all. Several of us have done that, and we decided it was legal :gossip: :dunno:

Haylo - Your still in too....come on keep flying :angel:

Fiona - :cb: :hat: About the progress with the new pad. I know you are really happy. About never seeing yourself in the mirror. When I was at my heaviest, I never saw it either, only later in pictures. I always thought I looked good :rofl: I think I did try harder, more makeup, perfect hair, etc. :dunno:

Sy - We will make it to goal :cheer: I'm getting closer. As long as I can stay away from :cheers: I'll do fine.... ;)

Karen - please keep us posted on how your doing with all the water, food, fixing and eating - geez - do you have time for anything else :?:

As for my progress on losing the :cheers: weight gain. Today I am down 1.4 pounds on my home scale (thank Carmen). Still drinking extra water and being very careful to be POP :angel: I think by tomorrow I'll be okay with my WI at COD :devil: However in the future I'm switching my drink of choice to something without fruit juice. Maybe straight shots of tequila :hat: (maybe not) :rofl:

Hugs to all you other chicks.....

Hey Everyone

I've been away for quite some time. Things have been very hectic. We have been trying to settle back down from all our excitment, between trying to find my SO a job that will not complicate our lives any further, moving in a friend who was in need of a way out of his dreadful situation, and then picking up in the middle of it to head off for a long vacation which was wonderful, but man it seems terrible coming home after a while and having so much to handle from when you were gone. Bleh.

I tried my first Carb Craver on vacation. Pizza!!!. It was a great snack, but me and my SO decided that I am never doing a carb craver again, because after having such a naughty food, all I could think about was cake and cookies, and cheesesteaks. I was craving junk food so bad I was getting mean. I did much better when I just avoided anything that was normally a big craving for me completely. I have been losing weight. My SO is my little slave driver. Everytime I look at something not on plan I get my reminder that it's bad. But its helping. I have been losing about 4 pounds a week and have lost a total of 20.4 lbs. So I can't complain.

Hi Firey - Welcome back......
What is SO?
You are doing great!

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... tried the la twists..they are sooooooo good. i love crunchy snacks so these are just awesome. the bbq ones are my favorite. i also got the pina colada smoothie mix.... also awesome!! :) I got the trimax, fb500 and the carb enders too..hopefully they help to speed things along! lol :) love this site and these boards....i have tried other la weight loss boards in various sites, but they are not this active. so happy to be here!!

:)

Linda - Good to know about the snacks. However, I don't use them. I did get some Biscotti's - the problem is I don't want to give up a starch and a fruit for one....?
About the FB500 and Trimax, I didn't mention this before, but I started taking them when I rejoined and in one month I lost 4.75 inches - I was impressed!

Linda - Good to know about the snacks. However, I don't use them. I did get some Biscotti's - the problem is I don't want to give up a starch and a fruit for one....?
About the FB500 and Trimax, I didn't mention this before, but I started taking them when I rejoined and in one month I lost 4.75 inches - I was impressed!



awesome! so happy to hear that about the FB500 and Trimax. :) never tried the biscotti. is it good? i am on the red plan w/o lites, so right now, i don't mind giving up a starch for the twists. way to go on the 4.75 inches!! woohoo! losing weight is awesome..lol.. sorry if i seem weird, i am just happy and hyper....
linda :lol:

Linda - Hum you are hyper? Are you drinking the Jetstart? Those are really good, but again I have to give up a dairy and fruit. The biscotti's are awesome, they come in TRIPLE CHOCOLATE........
As for losing the 4.75 inches. I know it was the FB & Trimax becuz I workout alot and that's the first time I've ever lost that many inches since joining LAWL. The only downfall is that I'm not that good at remembering to take pills, so actually I missed quite afew......

Star-What are the benefits of the FB5000 and Trimax? Never want to ask at COD, afraid I'll start getting the sales pitches. I had a bad, bad weekend with TOM cravings....up about 3lbs...dumb, dumb, dumb...okay, back to the positive self talk. I too am giving myself a couple of days to get back to start point before going to WI tomorrow. So far I have been POP since Monday.

:wave: Hi Everyone! Mandy, you look terrific. Congratulations again. Like I said, I want to be like you when I grow down :lol:.

I had a POP day foodwise yesterday, but I can't find my work ID/restroom key so I can't drink all the water I need during the day. Bummer. My DB and DCs came by last night and we had rum and coke and played cards. Good thing I had the starches left! I shouldn't have had the regular coke though. Ah well... Today is another day. Hopefully the laxative theory will hold true again, right Sy?:lol: I am having a hard time trying to figure out how I should handle Friday and Saturday, as Friday is my workday at Cedar Point, and then Saturday I will be BACK at CP with the whole family (minus stick in the mud DH) for my DBs company picnic. You can't bring your own food into the park so I'm guessing they will probably have some healthy choices there.

Ladies I am getting noticed left and right. Though my loss is reallly slow IMO, it seems like everyone is noticing at once, even though I STILL HAVEN'T DROPPED A SIZE. Another coworker, my DAunt from Pittsburgh, and the deaf guy who lives across the street from my DPs all said something about my weight yesterday. Well the deaf guy signed it but you all know what I mean. I like the way he communicates...he told me I was "shrinking." I thought that was v. cool!

Fiery - 4 lbs per week? Awesome. I know they say we are not supposed to lose that fast but I'll bet it sure feels great. I'd sure do it if I could.

Star - I started taking the FB500 this week too. Don't know if it will work but, I figure its worth a shot. I just don't want my loss to become dependent on it. I hope I can see some of those awesome results you are seeing!

Well you all, that's all from my side of the tracks. I hope you all have a nice and POP day!

P.S. Julie - miss you much!

Nope, no jet start. just a bit hyper not really sure why. LOL mmmmmm the biscotti sounds really good!!

linda :dizzy:

Jen,
FB500 are Fat Blockers. Tri-Max - Speeds up metabolism and decreases craving for carbs. I started taking them becuz my counslor at the COD says she takes them and they really help her. I didn't believe her at frist, but then when I got measured I became a believer.....
Sounds like we had the same bad weekend. On the bright side - most of my weekends are usually pretty good (as far as being on plan goes). Looks like it is gonna take me 3 days to ditch my 2 pound gain from the evil party on Saturday. As you said Jen, dumb,dumb,dumb......lol

Carmen - Way to go with all the attention! Your new nickname is 'Shrinker"
Healthy food at Cedar Point? That just seems soooooooooooo wrong.....lol

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Congratulations Mandy :bravo:

I started week 3 of stabilization yesterday. I have been having a hard time getting all of the food in. Also, I have been journaling my calorie intake; and it hasn't changed that much. I am still under my required calories for the day. I was doing around 1100-1300 and now I am doing 1200-1400. According to the calculator that I used from Wake Forest School of Medicine/Baptist Medical Center, I should consume about 1900 for my weight, height, and age without any additional exercise. I figure that I am doing alright. I am bloating for the horrid TOM so there is no telling what the scale will say when I go to weigh in this week. Although, I don't know when that will be. My truck wouldn't start this morning so I had to call my FI to come and take me to work. I guess I will have to ride with him again tomorrow. My mechanic/ex-FIL can't come to look at it until after work tomorrow :(

Oh well, I am having a bad week. Several different things are going on other than PMS, truck, and diet. Hopefully, it will get better soon.

Starlynn - SO is significant other. I can't exactly say DH because I'm gay and my marriage is actually a domestic partnership to another woman. SO is about the most discrete way to say it without putting everything out there and sounding off the alarms.

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about quitting smoking and weight. I 've decided that with my weight loss I have been feeling so much better on a daily basis and the only thing holding me back is my smoking. Bleh. An eight year habit that has been a thorn in my side for quite some time. I want to quit, but I don't want to slow down my weight loss. I also don't want it to bring on any weight gain. I considered that maybe if I stop smoking I should take a metabolism booster to even things back out, but I hate the idea of taking pills to maintain a good metabolism, because then I feel like I will almost always need them even after I reach my goal weight. Plus, I wouldn't even know where to find a safe pill. Those things are so scary to me and I'm certainly not paying 70 to get them from LAWL. Has anyone else quit smoking while on plan, and what did you do to fight the drop in metabolism?

Melissa - Thanks for the lesson on SO......my SIL has a SO, I guess I should have figured it out, but duhhhhhhhhhhh.... :dizzy:
Are you getting in any kind of exercise? That would help combat a slowing metabolism.

Metal - Hope your week gets better ;)

Well I am not getting as much exercise as I would probably should or would like to get, but I do get some in. I definately could pump up my weight loss hours if I quit smoking. I am nowhere near 5 hours at this point.

Melissa - I have taken the Lifetime Fitness (it's a gym)-brand metabolism booster/weight loss aid called "LeanSource." I really liked it, although I couldn't quote you results off the top of my head - I fell off that wagon about the same time I stopped being POP and have since gained back everything I lost while I was taking it...but anyway...you can read about it and order it on their website www.lifetimefitness.com (go to "Shop Online" at the top,). It's $27 plus shipping for a 30-day supply (4 capsules a day, if you only took two it would last twice as long ;) ), and if you join their "auto-ship" program you can get it for as low as $21 (have to buy a 3-month supply to get that price).

The two main "active" ingredients in the LeanSource are CLA (can't think of what that stands for at the moment, if I ever knew) and Chromium, if you want to look at metabolism boosters at a GNC-type store, those are the ingredients you should look for. (The LeanSource also contains a "patented micronutrient" that "stimulates thyroid activity and boosts metabolism blah blah blah..." )

Fiona

Also - meant to add - on the smoking thing - in addition to metabolism changes, a lot of people gain weight when they quit smoking because they unconsciously turn to food to satisfy their "oral fixation" (that phrase is way too Freudian, but you know what I mean - it's that reflexive hand-to-mouth action). Being on a diet, maybe that extra awareness of what you eat will help combat that urge? :dunno:

BTW, I forgot to say that I REALLY applaud you!!! I have a friend who quit smoking cold turkey when she found out she was pregnant, and she's told me stories of getting through those first few weeks, plus her DH still smokes (although not as much as before) so that's a challenge for her too. My mom, on the other hand, has smoked for 35+ years and has tried everything on the market to quit and hasn't managed it yet...I'm still rooting for her, too. :cheer: :lol:

Fiona

Hey Ladies -
Yesterday was my birthday (yeah for me I guess :D ). I was really good all day long but last night my DH took me out for a great dinner and I ate a fantastic dinner - plus dessert....
Its the only time I've fully cheated and I'm nervous about writing it in my journal and getting in trouble. I'm back on the wagon again today and doing fine and I'm not up any weight today. I shouldn't get in too much trouble right? :s:

Shar - First, Happy Birthday...... :gift:
About eating dessert - well you know the counslors at COD :devil: don't actually have brithdays :?: Becuz they are from another planet.... ;)

I think if you aren't up in weight that is a real plus. Explaining eating dessert to them is another story. BUT - it's over/done your back on track, they should be able to deal with that :shrug:

I find it's always easier to just put everything in my journal, then if the scale is up, they can atleast look at everything and try to help me from there. Sometimes they just want to :rollpin: me.... :lol:

If the counselors are "doing their job" :rolleyes: you will probably get some song and dance about staying OP through those "life happens" events. Depending on your center, you MAY get a sympathetic counselor who can look at your WHOLE diary and see that this was a one-time special event, and roll with it. Whatever happens, if your counselor doesn't have a great attitude or gets condescending/judgemental, just let it roll off. :)

Happy birthday!!!

Fiona

Fiona - Do you have time to be an LAWL COUNSELOR? Becuz You would be awesome!!

Ya know, they were hiring in my area and I called, and they never called me back - I think I was too nosey about how they get paid. ;) :lol:

Fiona

Hey ladies- Thanks for the compliments. It is sometimes hard to realize how much I've changed, but when I look at those old pictures I can't even believe it was me.

Thanks for the comments Fiona. You will do it and you'll have the same type of before and after pictures.

Karen/metalchic- I think that somewhere later they add more servings of starches. Maybe that's when your calorie intake will increase? It'll be interesting to be on stablization. I hope you don't mind me asking you questions once I get there.


Happy Birthday Shar! :hat:

:wave: Hi to Sy, Star, Chkli and all you other chicks!

I'm at 144.8 today!!!! I'm going to go to the center tomorrow and Friday I'm off to the the family reunion campout for 4 days. I'm planning on going prepared, but there is going to be A LOT of temptation there. I'm sure I'll stray, but I'm going to make sure to at least get all of my fruits/veggies and water in. I figure that'll be a good start.

Oh yea, I went to the gym last night. I haven't been in weeks. It felt sooo great! I'm going to go again tomorrow and try to do a pilates tape today. I just need to write a note to myself reminding me of how great it feels when I'm working out.

Ok chicks I'll talk to you later. Have a good day.

Mandy

Hello everyone,

mandy: wow great before and afters

Well I have been on track, I even got my exercise in yesterday. Today I have been POP and plan to stay that way. I am a little off on my water though, so I guess I need to start drinking away. You know what the funny thing is, if my water was a margarita I would probably never forget to drink it. Well talk to yall later and have a great day everyone. Oh yeah tomorrow is back to COD, yesterday when I went they were nice to me, and I promised myself and cod that I would be back tomorrow. Hopefully, with my weight back down

Mandy has inspired me: I'm resurrecting the weight loss blog I started months ago (and then deleted). It's only got one entry so far, and no pictures (yet - I plan to work on that tonight), but feel free to keep tabs on me at http://fionasdietdigest.blogspot.com/ :)

Fiona

Fiona - Aout working at LAWL and asking too many questions. :dizzy: Don't you remember - they don't like to answer even simple questions. let alone questions about employment terms. For that they would have to call the 'human resource manager'. (same work ethic as 'nutriionist) :lol:
checked out your Blog - I forsee many cool things on there in the future ;)

Mandy - Hi :wave: back at ya skinny. Haylo - I've made promises to the counselors too. I think my last one was to be a 'nice' client and not have any more :tantrum: in front of other good clients....... :lol:

Bye chicks....

Hi all. Just been reading and catching up. I gained 1.5 and have just been holding for 2 weeks. Been pretty faithful on plan, lots of water. I started the TriMax last week. Hoping something will give. On the purple plan no LA lites. Just tried a Luna bar today. How do I count it? Not quite sure, and don't want to use up all my real food for a bar, but want to stay legal. Appreciate the help.

Kat

Mandy, You are such an inspiration! I see myself in the mirror sometimes and think there is no way I can lose all the weight. Of course, saying that only makes me run for the peanut butter. I've been working hard on positive self-talk, but it sure isn't easy around that TOM. Whenever I am getting down I plan to go to your blog and see how you are doing. I am so impressed with you and congratulate your progress!!!! WAY TO GO!!!

Hello Chicks,
It's been awhile but I'm back. I wasn't OP Saturday, Sunday or Monday but back OP today. I'll have to get on the scales in the morning to see where I'm at. I guess I'm out of the June Challenge...Maybe we should do daily challenges... :lol:
I just wanted to check in and I'll be back in the morning... ;)

Amy- Thanks for looking at my blog. I just wish I knew how to put into words how I managed to stick with it and all of that other stuff. I'm not very motivating, but at least the pictures can do the talking. Now that I've lost the weight my goal is to try to help other people. So that is cool that you'll be checking up on me. :) I'm the same as you. I've been trying to work on the positive self-talk also. It's a hard adjustment, but we have to do it. Every time you think something negative about yourself you need to correct it and say something positive instead.

Fiona-You're so pretty. :) I read the blog. I'm going to put it on my favorites list and check up on it. So you have to update it. :) Even if you don't feel like it. I wish I would have done it all along. But I didn't start it until recently. I just post whatever I'm thinking and hope that whoever reads it doesn't think I'm a complete nerd.

Well chicks. I have some bills to pay and other "fun" stuff to do. I'll check back later.

RWF- Howdy. :)

Mandy

wow a lot happens here in 3 days... Mandy you do look like a totaly diff person in fact you look a lot younger now! being overweight ages us I think.. Congrats to everyone else too... I spent the last 2 days in vegas where omg its hot! ha I think I swelled twice my size well I was there.. not enough water or margaritas to help with it... anyway I don't think I ate too bad of course I didn't eat enough but I didn't over eat either, when I did eat if that makes sence.. vegas the land of all you can eat buffets, and I still couldn't stuff myself... We paid 35 bucks each for a seafood buffet that hubby had to go to, then he just looked at me and said thats it well shaking his head.. I couldn't eat that much.. :lol: I did eat all I could of the shrimp and lobster though, even though it wasn't that much I still got my fill of it..
I didn't buy new pants before I left I should have because its awfully hard to keep your pants from falling down well your walking and trying to carry a yard glass of margarita too.. Thank goodness I was able too.. :lol: I did buy some new shirts though.. I have an issue buying clothes right now.. I don't really want to buy them yet.. I walked from one end of he strip to the other both ways both days and with the back and forth between it was probably at least another full time.. I asked the cab driver how far it was and he said to FAR... :lol: he said about 2 miles each way with all the diff ways they have you go plus up and down the steps.. so now that ive started the walking and my calves are sore anyway, I'll be hitting the beast (treadmill) starting tomorrow...

Mandy, I loved your blog. Such inspiration. Thanks for sharing. You look great!
Kat

Mandy - :thanks: that's nice of you to say! Thanks. :) I don't know why *I* didn't think to bookmark it - but now I've done that so it'll be in my face everyday.

Buttons - that's a lot of walking! It probably compensated for some of the margaritas. ;) I'd like to visit Vegas one day, but definitely not in summer! :hot:

Have a good evening everyone - DD is in bed and DH had an evening meeting so it's just me for a while - think I'll curl up in bed with a chick flick (and my H20!) until DH gets home. :corn:

Fiona

P.S. This has bugged me forever - can anyone tell me why the code for :jeno: is "jeno"????

Hi chicks,

I'm still hanging on to some TOM weight gain, but will break down and go in tonight for WI. I've been POP since Monday, but am still up 3lbs on home scale....I'm not going to sweat it and I'm sure it will fall off and then some next week when body gets back to normal. So, I'm not updating my stats until then.

Mandy-Congrats and I can hardly wait to be where you are...at GOAL!!!!

Fiona-Maybe it's because of Jeno's brand pizza????

Take care,
Jen

:wave: Hi Everyone. I am feeling really sluggish and full today. The rum took effect last night but I still feel so bloated. I have not been drinking all of my water, because I really need to find my restroom key before I can do that. Ah well...COD is tonight. Guess I'll go in and see what's what.

Everyone have a great POP day.

Hey everyone!!! I was MIA over the weekend due to death in the family. Every time i get ready to get back on track something seems to happen. However i didnt eat to bad certainly didnt eat everything i was supposed to but i am happy to say that i went to COD today and was at about the same weight as the last time i went in to the center which was almost a month ago on 5/18 the counselor said i was up .25 however according to my record of my last WI i was down .25 i think maybe she just said the wrong thing. Anyway have been POP today stopped by the grocery store on the way back to work from COD and got me some OP stuff for lunch and fruit fruit fruit!!! I am enjoying catching up on how everyone is doing. I am also exctied to get my butt back OP im hoping i can lose maybe 10 lbs before i leave for vacation on July 12 that is less than a month but just maybe i can do it. I will do TO sometime in there.

~mandy
wow girl you go on with your bad self! You look amazing keep up the good work!!!

~Karen/metal
congrats on reaching your goal and i love hearing about your start into stabilization.

Everyone else hope you have POP day and keep up the good work! Drink Drink Drink water that is!

Britt

Well I am brand new here, and there is no way that I can possibly read all the background information on everyone, so I have decided to jump in and get my feet wet.

Let me just tell you that I have been looking for you ladies for a long, long time! I joined LA Weight Loss last Sept, and although I have the support of a few key people in my life, on a whole, my friends don't want to hear about it. I have lost a total of 68 lbs, and I think that my friends believe I am secretly harboring a magic pill that I just won't share with them. Nevermind the fact that when we all go out, I order wine, instead of a giant mug of beer or a carb laden fru fru drink. Forget that when we are eating dinner, I get a grilled chicken breast with vegtables, instead of something fried smothered in fatty sauce and a loaded baked potato. Don't even mention the fact that I have cut out my daily lattes, which happens to be a sin in the pacific northwest! No, it isn't consciencious thinking that is making this weight loss occur, it's osmosis, and I am just being selfish by not sharing! :rolleyes:

So far, I am over the halfway hump of my weight loss goals, and I feel great about doing things on my own. But it would be nice to have some buddies going through the same process.

So here I am! Hope y'all are ready for me ;)

~ruby

ps - I am going to need some major help translating all your abbreviations :s:

:wave: Hi Ruby - We are ready for all newbies ;)

your wrote "ps - I am going to need some major help translating all your abbreviations"

Give me the ones you don't know and I'll translate right now.....

About what you were saying - how friends think there is some magic pill to this weight loss :lol: I have found when people ask me what I'm doing, then I start to tell them, step by step. They kinda lose interest - like "oh yeah - seems like too much work - I was hoping your had the easy plan :?: " :rofl:

Sounds like you are doing fantastic :cheers: Welcome to the coupe....

Welcome Ruby :wave:

We will cheer :cheer: :cheer: you on your weight loss journey.

Star is right, people want the EASY way to loose weight. Automatically they think you found it, but they aren't willing to make changes in their eating habits.

Ask us ANYTHING... I mean anything, we will answer it.... :blah:

Thanks much! I am excited to have found this outlet!

Star - Here are the biggies I have found so far: TOM - POP - COD thanks :)

Star & Karen - The things I notice are that the friends who actually stay past the intial speech of what I am doing, then want to know what it costs. You tell them that it is rather steep, but that it is worth it if it works, and they want a copy of the plan. Which cracks me up, because they still aren't putting any personal committment on the line, and then ***** when it 'doesn't work'. So of course, my next question is, 'What did you have for dinner last night?' "Well I had a grilled chicken breast, half plain baked potato, asparagus and a small salad." 'Hmmm....well it sounds like you are sticking to it, so maybe your body is just trying to readjust.' "Well then we went to Cold Stone Creamery for a small treat since I have been doing so good this week." :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Or then you have the friends that tell you that the cost is outrageous, but then turn around and say that they are saving up for some form of weight loss surgery!!!

Anyway, enough of my moaning, I can stop complaining now since I have found a group of people putting in the effort, just like me :)

~ruby

Ruby,

Hum is Cold Stone Creamery on the copied plan that you gave the friend? I'll bet NOT! What color plan are you on? I'm on Gold, with an extra 1/2 protein.

TOM - Time of Month
POP - Perfect on Plan
COD - or COD :devil: - Center of Doom (LAWL Center) for WI - weigh-in

Hope that helps.....

Ruby-Welcome! I started about the same time as you and have lost 60lbs. I'm at a serious plateau right now, but refuse to give up!!! I'm about 15lbs from goal. I know exactly what you mean...everyone wants to know the 'secret'. I tell them lots of fruits and vegetables all fresh, nothing out of a box or can and exercise...they don't want to hear it. Everyone wants weight loss in a bottle...as all us chicks know...it's tough, tough work...it can be incredibly heart breaking, but the rewards are so worth it!!

TOM=Time of the Month
POP=Perfect on Plan
COD=Center of Doom (our pet name for LA)

Jen

Star-We must have been posting at the same time. I'm getting ready to head to the gym and to COD for WI...not looking forward to it...i know i'm only up temporarily, but i hate any gain to be recorded in my 'permanent record'

Jen :wave: Hey, I've heard thru the grapevine the LAWL 'premanent record' does not follow you to the pearly gates ;) Your concern must be the numbers cruncher in you showing.....

Good to know...hopefully little white lies in my journal won't either ;-)

As long it is only to the counselors at COD :devil: 'little white lies' slide too:-)

Star - Thanks for the code help, I am sure I will need more eventually, but that gives me a boost. When M told me about the ice cream parlor, I just laughed at her and walked away. I started on the red plan last Sept, and then moved to the purple plan roughly 20 lbs ago. Not sure what plan I go to next and when, but I concentrate more on the now, it helps me get through the rough patches and reminds me what I am doing it for.

Jen - I hit a plateau when trying to break the 200lb mark, I think it was a very strong memory point for my body, as I haven't weighed less than 200 lbs for over 8 years. Now here is my two cents, what it took for me to break it. I don't think that the TO works, at least not for my body. I think my body holds onto more when I try that crap. What I finally did that broke through my barrier, just recently, was the Slim Downs for lunch. I am constantly on the go, so missing my lunchtime meal wasn't a huge ordeal for me. But with going with Slim Down for over a week, I finally broke through the 200lb mark and celebrated.....of course, it wasn't by going to Cold Stone Creamery!! LOL

I am actually a Star Wars fan girl ( :o ), and so I held out buying the original trilogy on DVD, and told myself that I wouldn't watch or buy it until I finally got into the 'onesies'.....and last week when I finally broke through, I left LAWL and went immediately to Best Buy!!! :D

~ruby

I really don't have the money to put out on the L.A. weight loss cook book, and I was wondering if anyone could give me a recipe for dip for veggies, and how much of it is a serving, and what it counts as (ie, 2 TB count as 1 dairy and 1 fat or something) I'm having my son's birthday party this weekend and want to make sure that there is something I can eat.. Thanks in advance!!

Ruby-Thanks for the tip about slim downs. I actually just started trying that last week after talking to another person who has had success with the program. I lost about 3 pounds that week, but with TOM I have that 3 lbs and another 3lbs, so I'm going to wait until next week and see if it works again. I did TO Monday and Tuesday and replaced dinner with the shakes the other days it seemed to work. I'll know for sure next week ;-)

Hum ....I'm gonna be buying some chocolate SlimDowns....How much are they, four pack, 6 pack?
I suppose it would work just as well if you replaced dinner with a Slimdown too.....

912go - I don't have the cookbook at work, but I will look that up for you and post it when I get home tonight!

Jen - for TOM, I always have my gain about 2 days into it, and go up about 1.5 to 2 lbs, and don't drop it for at least two days after its all said and done with. Sucks, but a fact of life for us gals, unfortunately. I just stay positive knowing that the scale only knows the numbers, not the causes :D And that will probably work really well if you have tried it before, but the take off just affects me so negatively.

Star - At my COD, the Slim downs come in 4-packs, and they are $11/each, or three 4-pack for $30, which is how I get them because I love the chocolate ones. The others just don't do it for me.

As for which meal you replaced it with, I am sure dinner is probably a better replacement than lunch, but I am a night owl, and so I have my most hungry times in the evening, I think replacing a meal with a shake at that time could very well break my reserve :yikes:

Ruby,

I'm a early riser, at the gym by 6 a.m. Work 8-5. Home, dinner done by 7:30, in the 'coma chair' by 8. The shake would fit in for dinner fine.
Up until 2 1/2 years ago, I was a night owl, now I"ve changed to happily married but boring........

Star - More power to you girl, I can't drag my *** outta bed anytime before 7 without dying. As for the exercise thing, I have seriously seriously got to get that going or I know I am going to stall soon. I just truly hate it because it bores me so. I just need to find something that entertains me while getting me fit.

HOLY COW!! I was just reading up about LAWL in the Buyer Beware section, and I cannot believe how many negative experiences some have had with the program. The only real complaint I have about my COD is that they are horribly understaffed, so it seems like my appts take longer and longer. Anymore I breeze in, if there are more than three people in front of me, I go back to the scale, weight myself, then write it down next to my name on the sign in sheet, and breeze back out. My time is more valuable than wasting it sitting in a plastic chair.

As for the pushy sales, I haven't really experienced that, but maybe they just realized that I wasn't a buyer? I mean, I went in there last Sept under some pretty awful circumstances, but I looked the counselor in the eye and told her the truth, that I wasn't looking for an easy out, but a long term solution. Lisa (who is no longer there, but I will never forget her name), said "We can do that." And they have. My life is dramatically different since starting the program, not because of the weight loss, but because of the accomplishment of goals I have set for my self, and the very different way I view my world now.

So I feel horribly for all that have had bad experiences with the program, but I think that it has to be the difference in the centers, because for my money this entire journey has been a wild ride that I don't want off! Just my two cents worth I guess. :D

~ruby

Hey girls just checking in this afternoon! See and you thought it would be another few weeks before i popped back in :lol: I am still POP and planning out dinner in my head as we speak lol. Im so glad im back OP because my body doesnt feel nearly as tired as I have been feeling and i really just started back today. I have one more bottle of water and i will have all of my water in for the day i havent done that in forever. I still have a few things to eat but Im right on track!!!

~Ruby
Welcome!!! Congrats on the wonderful success you have had so far and keep up the great work. Congrats on breaking out of the 200's i cant wait till i reach that goal. At the rate im going it will be a while lol. Im not new but getting back to the program. I am also going to start back with exercise today as well. Im trying to decide what im going to do either my treadmill or The Firm tapes i have plenty of things to choose from lol.

~Star & Jen
I have also been thinking about doing the slim downs but just havent decided if i want to as of yet. It would be helpful when i have evenings where im on the go and need something that is OP fast instead of "Welcome to McDonalds Can I help you?" Let me know if you decide to get them and how well do you like them? I think someone on here said before that if you freeze them that they taste like a frosty? do you remember that?? Or was i just dreaming lol.

~Linda
I will also look in my cookbook tonight for you is there anything else you want me to look for? Thats so great that you are thinking ahead for yourself. To many times that has been my downfall. Yet im a planner who would have thought lol.

Ok well its time to leave work now so ill check back in tonight! Everyone have a great night.

Britt

Okay....finally slowed down enough today to be able to read AND post!

Had a doctor's appointment this morning and found out my weekend resulted in a +2# gain. Not as bad as I thought...phew! So, back to the trenches and getting back on track.

I have the slim-downs up at the DBF's house. The chocolate ones are great! Think I may pick up some for my house tomorrow when I finally (sheepishly) go to the COD and let them know my "plan of action" for the weekend had serious flaws (like Costco cake and ex's g/f's!).

Well, off and running...Pond Boy is finishing up so I want to go catch my last glimpse of the eye candy. Happy Hump Day all!