WW Clubs and Groups - Turtle Group #144 Closer to Halloween

;) All welcome!
The Turtles Group has been around for a good long time. We are based on the idea that weight loss for us is slow but sure. The race between the rabbit and the turtle had the slow and steady turtle emerge as the victor. We are all on a path to victory and would be happy to have you join us.
Itryharder (for Lin and Lauren)

Thanks for starting a new one, Judy. :) I'm glad you had a good birthday, and I'm glad I could add to your cheer. :)

Bandit, how are things going with you? Check in soon! :)

I thought I had dodged DH's cold, but it turns out it was just incubating. *sigh* I've been down for about 36 hours. Mostly it's head stuff, though, so I'm hoping it will let go soon. It's interfering with my volunteering! ;)

I'm sitting and watching The Biggest Loser, then I'm going to tuck into bed again. I'll have to see how tomorrow goes. I'll plan things if I think I'm going to be able to eat!

Oh, my meeting with Mike went well yesterday. I have direction again, and some understanding. :)

Hi everyone:

Judy - Happy Birthday! (sorry, alittle late) hope you had a really great day.

Things have been busy up here & went to meeting last night & was up .8# so thought I had better stay for the entire meeting rather than just w/i and leave. So it was good & I always feel better when I stay but sometimes things get in the way.

Mousie - hope you are feeling better with that cold and get back to normal eating.

Have a good one, bye for now.

Mousie,
Glad you got to Mike. Sad you picked up a cold. I think the Zicam and Airborne may help you fend off the worst symptoms. Good luck! Glad Mike helped you get some balance back. :cp:

Bandit, sorry you gained a bit, but happy you stayed for the mtg. and are on track. You are fabulous when you are "op", and I know we can all do this. :bravo: thanks for the good birthday wishes. I love birthdays. they are just so festive.

Good luck to us all. I've gotta run. :grouphug:
Judy,
234.6/210/thinner into onederland. Hey!!! I forgot to mention that I lost 1.8# this week and it was a birthday week so I'm mighty proud. (Of course .6# was an up for the week before, but I am still on a downward trend and I am going to keep it going!!!!)

Hi Turtles:

I stayed completely OP yesterday & got in a 1/2 hour walk last night - so felt good about that.

Have a great Thanksgiving! Bye for now.

Yay Bandit! :) It's amazing how to world feels settled when we take time to take care of ourselves, isn't it? I know that I feel horribly frazzled and disjointed when I'm ignoring myself. Or is it the other way around? Whatever. Life is better when we take time for ourselves. :)

Judy, woohoo! 1.8 pounds is great! You're so close to breaking that 200 barrier, you must be so excited. :cb: And during your birthday week--I'm doubly impressed!

I'm feeling much better--still tired, but overall healthy. Cardiovascularly I'm still a bit shy on the stamina/endurance side, but it's getting better. :) Weigh-in is tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it goes!

Weigh-in this morning was a 2.5 pound loss! :faint: Now, I'm assuming this is because I was sick most of the week, and I'll be prepared to maintain or have a slight gain next week. For today, though, I'm going to be happy with it. :)

I've lost a total of 8.5 pounds since I started on July 28. So that's 10 weeks worth of effort, and I can't honestly say I'm thrilled with the total, but I am thrilled I haven't gone UP by that much! So a loss is a loss, and I'll work to be satisfied. ;)

Hi Turtles,
Hey, we're all losing weight in a slow and steady manner. Guess that's why we're turtles.

Bandit, you sound so great getting right back OP and getting in your exercise. :cp:
:bravo: Doesn't it feel great?

Mousie, weigh to go to lose so much this week. Regardless of the reason, you are down and that's a great feeling. Journaling each meal and snack and planning to eat at your set intervals is the weigh to go. :bravo: I know what you mean about losing at this rate. But my sister reminded me that she's gained 40# in the last 5 years while I had a 25# loss and then maintained 18# of those pounds down. Not at all what I wanted to do because I wanted to reach goal and I'm far from there. But now I am losing weight again and it feels good. We'll all get there as long as we keep on keepin' on.

Have a great weekend.
Love,
Judy :cool:
234.6/210/thinner into onederland

Tough night last night. Lots of emotion and I ended up eating just to eat instead of because I was hungry. I think the lucky thing is I didn't have any junk food in the house, so what I ate didn't do much damage on the scale. However, eating because it would stifle emotions sure ended up making me feel depressed and like I ruined my eating plan. So, now I have to get up, ignore what I did, count it in as points, and do the right thing today. I can, I have, and I will. How are you guys doing? :grouphug:
Judy
234.6/210/thinner into onederland

Awww, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, Judy. :grouphug: You know you can turn to us if you need us, right? I hope everything gets settled very soon. :)

I'm working very hard to quash that instinct to turn to food to handle my feelings, too, but I have to admit that some of the bigger/more painful ones still get themselves fed. I try to just *have* the emotion, even if it means just sitting on the couch staring at the wall and thinking "I am feeling <X>. I am feeling <X>. I am feeling..." etc. Other times I try to distract myself and get busy. The house becomes very clean at those times. ;)

I'm doing fine, DH's relatives (aunt and uncle) were in town and we had dinner with them two nights in a row. Once was a mexican restaurant and once was a meal I cooked. So at least I had control over the ingredients once, right? :^: Due to eating big meals two nights in a row I'm up on the scale by 1.5, but it's not official til friday. So I'll see if I can whittle that down!

The house is immaculate (to impress the relatives) so I guess I can spend my whole day exercising! :lol: I should also go plan my day eating-wise. Take care, Turtles. :grouphug:

Mousie,
Thanks for the kind words. Glad you did so well and thanks for the tips on just feeling the emotion. I can do that and will put it into practice. tomorrow is my official WI and I'm hoping for the best. Good luck to you on whittling off the 1.5#. Much of that is probably water retention.
Hey Bandit, how are you doing? Hope all goes well.
Love,
Judy
234.6/210/thinner into onederland

:bravo: I am in virgin weight territory! Brief history. In 2000 I lost 25#. The next year all I did was maintain that weight loss. In the next three years I have yo-yoed all over the place. At the end of August something clicked and I have started this next roll of losing weight. I am down about 13# and have hit the original 25# weight loss. Yay~~:cp: At this point I am .2# into virgin weight loss. My next goal is to get into onederland. I am so excited. Thanks for all your support Mousie and Bandit. Sonia, Choosie, Lin, Lauren, Miata hope you're all doing well and chiming in once in awhile.
Love,
Judy
234.6/209.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

YAY!!!! :dancer: :dancer: :dancer: Judy, that is fantastic news! You should be very proud of yourself! :dance:

You're on a roll now, watch out world! :lol:

Yay Judy!!! You go, girl!!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am hanging in there - did the big Thanksgiving dinner on weekend & have lots of leftovers, trying to get in some walks to help.

Bye for now.

Hi Turtles,
Bandit, good for you for walking and getting in exercise! Canada's Thanksgiving is at a different time than ours. USA celebrates the 4th. Thursday of November. I love the traditional foods, but leftovers are verrrrrry tempting. Good luck with your resolve.
:cp:
Today I havvvvve to get on the treadmill. These last few days have been very busy and I haven't been making time to do that. Getting on the treadmill helps me to keep up a weight loss and that's very important to me. Everybody take care and give us your tips for losing weight. Keep up the good work.

Judy
234.6/209.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

Good morning turtles! Good to hear from you, bandit. Walking to manage increased intake is definitely a good thing! :)

Judy, get to that treadmill punching! :tread: :lol: I'm impressed that you've taken a stand, even just with yourself and us, to say, "this is important to me". Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to admit these things. :)

Today was weigh-in and I'm up 0.5 pounds. After the 2.5 loss last week, I was expecting it, so I'm not crushed at all. Actually, if I could just continue the trend of "lose 2.5, gain 0.5, lose 2.5, gain 0.5" I'd be thrilled! :lol: I have a haircut this morning, I'm going to be dyed bright fire-engine red again. Yay! :)

Keep on keepin' on, Turtles!

Hi Turtles,
Mousie, fire engine red hair sounds so exciting. :cp: for making yourself happy.
As far as the .5# gain, I'm with you: losing 2.5 and then regaining only .5 is absolutely wonderful! You must be so happy that you kept most of that weight off.
Now we're onto chipping away at the next pound, and then the next, and then the next until we're at goal and try our hand at maintaining. This is such a help to me.
Thanks Mousie and Bandit for getting this all together and lending such great support.
I did punch my treadmill for an hour today and my arms are getting svelte. (Well, I can wish). In any case tomorrow will be beset with challenges, so i have to plan ahead to have good food with me since I'll be hanging out at my daughter's. Everyone have a great weekend and keep on keepin' on. And as far as admitting my weight loss is important, I have finally put myself on the top of my list and I want to keep this roll going. I am successful right now, I know what to do, and I have to work very hard not to sabotage myself. I know that sounds weird, but I've been around this weight for a long time and it's kind of settled on me. I hate it, but change is tricky too, so I have to outsmart myself to lose weight. Talk about complicated!!!!!

In any case, here's a :grouphug: to us all to keep going.
Love,
Judy
234.6/209.4/thinner onto onederland :cool:

Okay, Turtles! I'm working on restructuring my book and it's not going well, so I'm taking a break. There's something to be said for working on paper...it's hard to visualize when you can only see half a page at a time on the screen!

Yesterday was payday and I went to the grocery store, and got enough food for 2 weeks. We've got no money to eat out til next payday, due to paying bills, so this will be an experience. I'm concerned about veggies and fruit, but I'll deal with it when it becomes an issue. No eating out for a fortnight should be interesting--what a change! :dizzy:

My hair is "subtle". Next time I'll go more shocking. Right now it's got red streaks throughout, underneath the top layer (which is 2 shades lighter than my natural color). So when I move, especially in the sun, you see the red. I want something more punk rock, though, so next time I'll have him chop it off again and dye it red and black a la Natalie Portman in Closer. :D

Anyway, just needed a break! Keep on it, Turtles! :)

Hi Turtles,
Bandit, hope the weekend is going well. I love that you chime in here. :bravo:

Mousie,
did you get a contract for your book? this is so exciting. Good luck with it and I'm glad we're here for you to break with. Hey, I think you'd look great with Natalie Portman hair. Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't end up with a shocking red shock of hair.
Next time it will be. Payday and food sure go together. Maybe we can think of some canned fruit or frozen veggies that might help you out.

All goes well here. I'm trying to keep food tight today so that I can knock off my pound this week.
Love,
Judy
Itry 234.6/209.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

I am very proud of myself this morning, Turtles! :D

I woke up around 6am and decided to get up and take a walk before the day really starts. Put my clothes on, got my shoes on, picked up my iPod...and the battery was flat. Someone (ahem) in the household had taken it off the docking station to charge his own iPod. :chin: I briefly had a mental fit, whined and complained...and then I went out the door anyway! :strong:

It was a nice walk, even without music to get me going. 58 minutes, 3.1 miles. A friend in town and I are planning on doing a couple of 5ks this winter, so I'm working with that distance and getting that time down. Today was my day to clock myself...just time it and not push, do an easy walk to see where I am. Onward and downward from here! :)

Just needed to be happy about this for a minute, Turtles! Keep on keepin' on! :)

Mousie,
You are amazing! Your "just taking it easy" walk is my really pushing it! So glad you got out the door even though your iPod didn't make it. Weigh to go! Thinking about getting ready for the 5K walk is such a good thing. I think it's wonderful to make time for exercise. It's taken me a long time to realize it's the best way for me to assure myself that I'll lose weight. I really hated to exercise and now I find that I can build it into my schedule and it makes a difference in my losing weight.
Keep on keepin' on. Good luck and :grouphug: to us all. My WI is coming up on Wednesday and I'm hoping to lose another pound. Wouldn't that be great?
Judy
234.6/209.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

I have my fingers crossed for your weigh-in, Judy. I'm so excited for you--more than I am for myself! :lol:

I did the walk again this morning--woke up at 5:30! :faint: So I went out the door at 6:04 and stepped back in at 7:01. It rained in the night and the roads were slippery, wow that'll slow you down! I've got a lot to do today, including going to the hair guy again. 'Subtle' isn't working for me, I need my punk rock red! :lol:

Have a good day, Turtles!

Hi Turtles,
Wow Mousie! Talk about making good use of your time! Good for you for getting out so early and getting in a nice long walk. Wonderful. Good luck with the red locks. I can just imagine what you'll look like and it's a great vision. Have a great day. :bravo:

Bandit, here we go--another WI coming up tomorrow. :cp: Wow, my WW leader is sure right when she says we might as well do this program because the time goes by anyway. I am working hard on accepting the small weight losses. I figure in a year and a half I'll be right where I want to be. Exercising and watching what I eat--and I do love the Core program--allows me to lose a bit a week. What is different this time is that I am fighting to stay OP as close as I can. Before the end of August I would eat when I had a trigger to eat. Now I'm trying to interpret the triggers. Not easy, but it can be done. Gotta run and sweep some floors.
Love,
Judy
234.6/209.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

You know, Judy, I really struggle with the time thing. I mean, if I do this for 2 years, what have I lost (besides weight)? And yet...and yet I still get frustrated and angry, especially when I hear how fast others are losing.

There's a woman on here that posts her daily menu and is monitoring her weight loss by making it public, and it's like watching a car wreck. I can't look away. She celebrates when she eats less than 1200 calories a day...which in itself is a painful thought, but the things she eats! :faint: No veggies, at all, very very little protein and none of it lean, most of her calories from sugar and fat. And she's losing weight! :tantrum: It drives me batty because she's following none of the advice for healthy eating...and yet she's losing! Not fair not fair not fair! (Notice how there's no "stamp your foot" smilie?) I really wonder what it is that makes our bodies different. And generally I feel that mine must be "wrong" somehow.

But again, if I ate that sort of crap I would not only gain weight but I'd feel horrible. :barf: So it's not that I envy her what she eats...it's the fact that she's not "doing it right" and she's still getting the rewards! :tantrum:

But I try to comfort myself with the idea that I'm 'healthier'. ;)

I try to keep in mind that old question, "where would you be in two years if you didn't do this?" Time's gonna pass, anyway, might as well be in a better place! :)

Hi turtles:

Sounds like you guys are really doing great.

Mousie - way to go on all that exercise!

Judy - good luck on your w/i this week.

I go tonight & not looking forward to it. I have good days then not so good days.
2 steps forward & 1 back.

But, I am going to go swimming after my w/i & I like that. Got a membership at our local Holiday Inn & you can use the gym (which is small) and the pool & hot-tub. So my goal is to get down there a few times a week for a soak & a swim.

But my eating has been terrible since late last week. I have felt guilty about it & that just seems to make it worse & I eat even more crap. So, someone slap me into reality and I am sure that is what will happen at my meeting.

Enough complaining from up here and keep up all the good work.

Bye for now.

Hi Turtles,
Bandit,
You'll snap out of this because you always do. I have confidence in you. Let's all take baby steps to keep on doing the right thing. Swimming and a hot tub sound heavenly and a wonderful way to get exercise into your routine. So glad you looked into it and investigated it and signed up. Weigh to go!!!! :bravo: Congratulations on doing the right things and here's a :grouphug: to let you know we know you can get it all together!!!!!!!

Mousie,
Isn't that aggravating? I mean why doesn't someone just post, "Today I ate 16 candy bars and four Pop Tarts, but I didn't eat a leg of lamb, so I'll probably lose only 42# this week. Poor me." You know what I mean. The only thing I can offer is that we are who we are. We can't be someone else. We have to deal with our own bodies and our own minds. We have to outsmart ourselves and not allow bad spirits to make us wish it were easier for us like it is for other people. It's why I so respect the Turtles because all of us lose slowly but keep on perservering. You can do this. Try and ignore the others who seem to have an easier time. Eating for good health insures good health and a trimmer body. That's what we're working toward. You can do this. You've got the exercise down pat. How is the food lately? I'm finding making a quick homemade chicken soup with root veggies and couscous is on Core and very tasty.

Guys--I did great this week. I'm down 2.6# at my official WW WI. Hooray! Now, since 2000 I am down 27.8# and it feels so good. My aim is still to be into onederland by New Year's Eve and to my goal weight in 1 1/2 years. Mousie and Bandit, the time is going by. Let's figure out ways to keep OP and on track and do our best.
Love,
Judy
234.6/206.8/thinner into onederland :cool:

WOW Judy, what a fantastic loss!! You go girl! :cb: You must be feeling great! :dancer:

I keep telling myself that the time's going to pass anyway. Coming here to Turtles helps too, though! :)

Hi turtles:

Judy - great job on your weight loss this week! Good for you.

Mousie - sounds like you are doing wonderful with your excercising. Keep up the good work.

Well I was up 1# over the last 2 weeks at meeting last night. But stayed for the whole meeting and felt good when I left. Got in a nice hot-tub & swim (did 10 continuous laps) so that is my start-point & will try to improve every couple visits.
My mom lives near there so dropped in & had cup of tea with her & refused some cookies.

So overall stayed OP yesterday & got in some exercise and have stayed on track all day.

Have a good evening & talk soon.

Bandit,
I think a one pound gain for over two weeks is actually terrific. Good for you and I love the pool and hot tub idea + tea with mom sounds extra nice. Yay!
Judy

Bandit--it sounds like you're back on track! Yeah, you had a small gain, but you went right out to exercise, you did something soothing and caring for yourself...sounds on track to me! :)

I had a sore throat that just got worse yesterday, and by last night I had lost my voice. I spent the night waking up and spraying my throat (those sore-throat sprays taste like bandaids smell, don't they?) and trying to get better. Well...I didn't. :( I woke up at 5:30 and decided I was going to go out and walk, anyway. You don't need a voice to walk! What I didn't realize is that increased breathing irritates an already sore throat (duh) and now I can't even get water into me. :( I did my walk in 60 minutes, and by the end I was soooo happy to get home! Wow, I never realized a sore throat would affect so much!

I'm going to take care of myself today and try to eat/drink cold things (protein pudding, cold water) and stay away from the "comfort" of ice cream! :lol: Have a good day, Turtles!

Good luck Mousie and feel much better soon.
Judy
Itry

OH MY GOODNESS TURTLES!! I lost 3.5 pounds this week!!! :faint: This means I've lost 11.5 total, AND I've made my first goal! :cb: Woohoo!

Now, this could have a lot to do with the fact that I had such a sore throat yesterday that I could only eat 6 Points (of protein pudding). I drank 3.5 liters of fluid, though, so I'm not dehydrated. My throat is still very painful, but I've discovered that Excedrin is manna from the heavens, and when I take it I can eat. I'm very hungry, and I'm eating oatmeal right now (the warmth feels good on my throat). Some of this loss is likely from such low consumption yesterday, so I'll be prepared for a gain next week.

But this week I'll enjoy this loss! :dancer: :cb: :dancer:

Mousie, you are awesome!!!!!!!! Congratulations on making your first goal!!!! :cp:
:cp: :bravo: :goodvibes:

Glad you're eating oatmeal and hope you feel better soon. Regardless, you've lost another 3.5# and you're doing great. Weigh to go!!!!! What a cheerful note for this weekend.

Love,
Judy Itry
234.6/206.8/thinner into onederland :cool:

Thanks for the kudos, Judy. :) I don't intend to do that every week--please let this throat heal soon!--so I guess I have to be braced for a gain next week, too. :shrug: Remember I was saying that I could live with a 2.5 loss one week, 0.5 gain the next? I guess someone heard me! :lol:

In running my monthly review (the date was yesterday) I realized I've lost 7.5 pounds this 4 weeks, and 11.5 pounds total in 12 weeks! I was sick twice this month, too, which I supposed has a lot to do with it. I'm working on a couple of ideas here, though. One is that a friend in RL yelled at me about abusing my body and expecting results without giving it what it needed to succeed (ie, not eating enough), and the other is that I have a very smart body and it adapts quickly to whatever new thing I try. So I'm going with a higher-Pointed Wendie Plan idea...not strictly so, but the same concept. No same Point values two days in a row, that sort of thing. I know I've said this before, but the idea is scary to me and I have to keep reapproaching it. Hopefully someday I'll find my courage, right? :^:

I also realized that I've lost 10% of the total weight I have to lose til goal! :cb: So I've been feeling good about that all day. :dancer: I have no lofty aspirations of reaching that goal quickly, of course, but it's nice to know that I'm 1/10th done, anyway. :)

Have a good weekend, Turtles!

Happy Monday Turtles!

Sounds like you are all surviving, so that is good.

Mousie - hope your throat gets better soon and weigh to go on that loss. Even if some of it is sick related enjoy the fact that it is such a great loss!

Judy - keep up the good work.

I had a busy weekend & had some things I shouldn't of once again. But I did get in more swims on Thurs & Sat. Also walked a conservation area on Sat before my swim and that was fun. Seen the movie Dreamer & loved it - was so good.

Have my w/i Tues so hoping for at least a maintain.

Bye for now.

Mousie, weigh to go!!!! :cp: you're doing great. This month was a real eye-opener.
I say go for the Wendy-like program because I too believe it's very important to trick your body and keep it off guard. Bodies like nothing better than to stay the same and you can think I'm whacko if you want, but I think it's important to keep our bodies guessing. Works for me! :bravo: on the 10%. You're making such wonderful progress in doing the right thing for yourself.

Bandit, holy moley, can it be that all of us are really trying hard at the same time????
This is wonderful. I love that you're swimming and taking advantage of your membership at the hotel gym. It's also great that you're getting in a lovely walk in the conservation area. How terrific! I bet you do better than maintain this WI. I've got my fingers crossed for you. :cp: :bravo:

Two tough days for me, but Halloween party is over, tempting foods are gone, and I just got off the treadmill after walking three miles, so I feel back on track. Had a nice weight loss last week at WI. Right now my home scale shows me up in weight, but I've got today and tomorrow to knock off some. I'll be happy if I can show a maintain or hopefully a .2# loss. Good luck and :grouphug: to us all. I'll start a new thread.
Love,
Judy Itry
234.6/206.8/thinner into onederland :cool: