WW Clubs and Groups - Turtle Club # 30

Hi, Turtle Buddies,

Here it is - my "official" version of the fable:

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the res

ult that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about two years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to learn in order to not only lose the weight, but keep it off and become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Happy turtlin', everyone!

Lin

PS--I wrote a short post today. If you missed it and are interested it's the last one on #29.

Hi, Turtles,

Things are going OK today. Still OP. My dh and I are going for a walk in a few minutes, but I wanted to check in and see how everyone's doing.

One bit of good news. My dh got a call from an agency that has a temp to perm job opportunity. They wanted his resume in a different format and they wanted references. So, we sent the information and we're really hoping this one works out. It's a much shorter commute and should be a significant pay raise. So, say a few more prayers and I'll keep you posted.

Hope you all had a great day.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin

Lin--I have my fingers AND toes crossed for you!

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to get weighed at my meeting tonight or not. I'm going*, I just can't decide if I want to be weighed. I know my weight is up (Chinese food last night, and Mexican food very very late the night before are not good things!) and frankly I don't know if I need the discouragement. But then maybe it'll get my back on track? But then, I'm not off track, at the Mexican place I had some chips and some sweet corn mash-stuff, spoonbread I think, and at the Chinese place last night I had vegetables and tofu. But considering how tight my rings are, there was a lot of salt in those two nights too! Anyway, just wandering around in mental circles.

Hi, Turtles,

Mousie, what a dilemma! I suggest some extra water to help get rid of that excess salt. But you'll have to figure out the scale dilemma yourself. No one else knows your mind as well as you do.

One thought I had, though, is that because you know you may have had some water retention, you probably don't need to make any changes in how you follow the program as a result of whatever the scale says.

My body regularly gains and loses several pounds because of water retention. So, I don't worry about small ups and downs with the scale. I use the scale to keep track of the general trend. Over the course of two or three months, I expect the line on my graph to go down, if I've been OP.

I'm OP today. I've exercised for several days in a row. It's getting to be a record and a habit. I do miss it when I don't do it.

Everything else is pretty much the same.

Hope everyone is doing OK, too.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin

Lin,
I'm sending good vibes for the job opportunity for your dh. Let's hope this works out for him. I think it's great the way you are staying with your program with all you're going through. Good for you. Tomorrow I work half a day and then I've got a nice vacation. I think I've been waiting for this time to get back OP.
Mousie--I love your choices in the ethnic restaurants. They can sometimes be tricky, but you did great. Salt retention is yuckky and I know about the scale business.
My WW leader asked me if I knew I'd be up and I said yes, but that things were improving and I'd be back on track soon.
Am getting to see my son and daughter-in-law this weekend. Hope everyone stays OP and does the right things for themselves. i am going to do this!
Love,
Judy

234/ugh/thinner:lol:

Judy--love your weight/UGH/thinner. It made me smile lots. :)

At my meeting tonight I said I didn't want to weigh, thank you, and the woman gave me SUCH a nasty look! I jumped in and said "I'll pay, that's fine, I just don't care to weigh tonight," and she said "well, as long as you still have stamps (the prepays)". Well, fine then!

So, I don't know how I did this week. But, considering that today was full of studying, rehearsing a speech, fussing with my DH (we were both grumpy, not a good combination), and an unfortunate run-in with doughnuts, I think I did the right thing. I'll weigh next week, and it'll be brilliant! :D

I was talking to a friend of mine, who is also doing WW. She and I went together when we were roommates in Chicago, two years ago, and the program worked. I lost almost 30 pounds in about 4 months, no problem. This time, I'm struggling to stay focused. So we were talking about what had changed, and she pointed out that THIS time, I'm married and I have DH to think about/interact with. DH, bless him, doesn't want me to get skinny. Likes me right where I am, actually. I keep telling him I don't want to be skinny, either, size 12 (as I was when we met) is NOT skinny. He sabotages me intentionally, and if I'm alert and paying attention, I catch it and make good choices. But if I'm tired, or if he's cooking, or if I just don't feel like dealing with it AGAIN, he takes advantage of my lapse in vigilance and "helps" me go off program. I know, I know, I'm in charge of what goes in my mouth. But with him not working right now (and thus the stress of that), and me trying to go to class and work and keep other bits of my life running, in addition to keeping the marriage going (I never thought marriage was this much work! Happy work, to be sure, but still work!), I feel like I don't have the energy to fight when he sabotages me. Any thoughts? Ideas? Hints? For the record, I've tried sitting down with him and explaining that this is important to me, that I would appreciate his help, that his lack of support hurts me, that the sabotaging is undermining my efforts, etc. Any other ideas?

Hi, Turtles,

I love your attitude, Judy! Those positive vibes do spruce up our days. Thanks!

Mousie, you have a difficult dilemma. Dealing with food and weight is difficult in marriages. If their weight changes, most people gain after getting married. I admire your resolve not to let that happen to you.

A lot depends on why he's being unsupportive. If he truly wants you to stay at this weight, you might try reminding him that he doesn't have the right to decide what size your body will be. He can have an opinion, but he can't make the decision. That decision is reserved for the person who must inhabit the body--you. Once you've made this decision, he needs to support you, just as you need to support what he wishes to do with his body.

My dh pushed this issue because he refused to express an opinion on what he thought I should wear, etc. He insisted that I had to live with whatever I wore, my hairstyle, etc., so it was my decision. I agreed with that. I only asked his opinion because, like all of us, I wanted him to like my choices. What I realized was that if my choices made me happy, he would like them, too, because he wouldn't be living with a grump!

If he doesn't know how to cook lowfat, healthy food or thinks (as many people do) that lowfat and healthy equals food that tastes yucky, recreate his favorite recipes with the points shaved a bit. If you need help doing that, let me know. I've gotten very good at turning recipes into lowfat, healthy food that tastes really good.

If he won't cooperate at all, you may have to resort to eating a different meal from his. By keeping some quick to prepare, low point foods on hand that you can eat when he makes higher point foods than you want to eat, you will show him that you are very serious about what you want for YOUR body. (My mom does this because she likes to try new recipes, but her boyfriend is a super picky eater. So they worked out a system that they each cook on different nights and they go out once a week. If they don't like what the other person makes, they fix themselves something else.)

Some men seem to think that eating healthy or lowfat is somehow feminine or wimpy. And they sabotage their spouses because they are afraid their spouse will try to change the way they eat. By eating something else when he eats high point foods, you show him that you respect his desire to eat differently. But you also show him that you are serious about asking him to respect your food choices.

If it bothers him that you won't eat his food, save up points so that you can eat what he likes/cooks sometimes. As he sees that you can stay with your program, but still join him sometimes, maybe he'll be more willing to compromise and support you more.

I hope some of this helps.

This has been a difficult day for me, foodwise. Everything esle has been fine. Looking back over my journals, I realized that I've been eating one meal that's higher in fat and the rest of my meals have been nonfat, rather than lowfat, more frequently than I usually do. I think I need to use that as a special occasion eating pattern and stick to my normal routine of adding about 1/2 point of fat to my mini meals throughout the day. So, regardless of how my weigh in goes this week, I've learned something that will help me in the long run.

Hope the day has been good for the rest of you.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin

Hi all! Lin I am saying a prayer and sending best wishes your way for your husband! I hope it works out and soon.

I do admire your attitude Judy and you know, my one WW leader has said this and it's so true. The weigh-in weight is just a snapshot at that moment in time about how you are doing. You definitely understand that and keep going! That's great. I hope you have a good weekend with son and daughter-in-law.

I was reading (albeit briefly) the latest WW magazine and one of the success stories was about a woman who lost and regained weight regularly. She said that her family always wondered if she was going to regain it when she was thin and vice versa when she was fat. She said that she never knew what her body was supposed to be. But more importantly, when she was thin, her family also thought she was too thin. My mom is like that; not that I have been really close to goal weight but at my lowest, my mother would "warn" me not to be lose "too much" weight. It made me laugh but it bothered me too.

I'm going to go out on a limb and ask Mousie if her husband would feel insecure if she lost a lot of weight. Maybe, Mousie, that's the problem? I'm thinking that he himself has been through a lot of changes this year with moving to the States, getting married, etc.

You might want to keep a journal of how and when the sabotages occur. I'm thinking that this might be useful for two reasons. 1) You can figure out your weak points and come up with a strategy for coping with those weak moments (like say for me, it's the first 30 minutes of walking into the house) and 2) you can show this to your husband and discuss this a little more.

I think it sounds to me like he is insecure. It's not right and Lin very articulately outlines why this isn't right.

Dennis used to be a little like that but mostly because I would look SO SAD at my one cup of pasta for example and he would feel sorry for me. I will say that most of the time he reins me in whenever I want to be "bad" but when he doesn't, he is in a bad mood and uses food as a mood elevator.

BTW, Mousie, good job in dealing with that nasty WW person. Jeez.

I have good news to report. I have been eating out all week b/c of home repairs (any excuse is a good one) and it's my TOM. I dreaded going in b/c I just "knew" the scale would be bad. I lost 0.4#. It's a small small loss but nonetheless I'm happy about it. And, the workmen are finished with the house and so as soon as I put things back, I will have my kitchen back to so-called normal.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Take care,

Lori W.

Hello...can I come race the good race??? nice, slow and evenly???My name is Kathy and I just started ww today...weight in at (oh my gosh I am embarrassed...) 202.2...Wow...I didn't know it was going to be so high.

I have been reading all your turtles goings on and I like what you are all saying...I am a horrible eater, but I plan on changing that. Right now today and not tomorrow...It is 1:13 California time and I am still op and 1 glass of water almost complete...I will drink lots more at work...I will try to drink 2 big big big big glasses of water which should add up to a fair amount.

I am planning to join a different gym on Monday. my little place has no pool and after a trip to Hawaii last 2 weeks ago. I found out how much I like water, so I will rejoing the new place (to me anyway) and get some lap swimming in, and maybe even water arobicics. The have some really nice machines there, and I think It will be fun to go there.

Thank you for letting me play..I will report how my first day went...I prob won't do any exercise till tomorrow...

Kathy/harley

Welcome to our merry jaunt, Kathy! Where IS your city? I'm in San Diego, never heard of Ukiah. You must be very small. What part of Hawaii did you go to? I spent years 6-8 in Honolulu (my dad was in the Navy). I STILL miss the water there! So blue, so clear, so warm...oh, ouch. :s: Anyway!

WW is a wonderful program. You just need to figure out how to make it work for you (the way I am, figuring out how to work it around my husband!) and then you're off--and the weight is too!

DH, speak of the devil, has food poisoning. So I've been strictly on my own to worry about meals and snacks (not really a snacker, but anyway). And I realize it's only been one day, but I feel so much stronger when I can make my own decisions! So far today I've had 6 vegetable servings and 20 points (I try to have the majority of my points in the morning, when I'm hungriest) and I'm planning a 3-veg, 6-point dinner. My range is 26-31 (the next higher, per my leader's suggestion) so that'll plunk me down beautifully. Amazing how easy it is when you don't have to work around anyone else!

But, no, I actually adore the man, and my life is better with him. :):):):):):)

Thanks for the thoughts, Lin and Lori. I'm at the moment contemplating both the concept that it's just unfair of him, and HE isn't the one who has to live in my body though he seems not to understand that, and the idea that he's been through so many changes this year that he may not want me to change on him, too. I've not reached any conclusions, yet, but it's given me things to consider. Thanks, guys.

Hello again,!!!

Just wanted to say hi..had a great night at work..Ate lots of vegies and a WW dinner and lots of water...I even passed up on a cake someone brought in..Yeah Kathy!!!. I never pass up cake, in fact I am usually the one who has two pieces before everyone has had one piece!!! I usta be so evil!!! But not any more...I am going to do this, no matter what...

I like in Northern Calif 2 hours north of SF on Hwy 101. Very nice little town that my kids totally hate and that is why they went and grew up and moved away..Oh one daughter does live here with her new husband but they are homesick for Kiev Ukraine, there real home...And they tell me when ever they see how much they miss home...It makes me sad that they are homesick..My othter daughter lives in Shreveport La, and is in the airforece...I don't know why I ever told them they should grew up and see the world...

I went to Maui for my vacation. It was a wonderful vacation that went way too fast..i have been waiting to go for 35+ years and them wamo!!! it is over!!! I learned how to snorkle which I am very proud of...

Well you all have a nice night!!! I have the next two days off so I am one happy camper!!!

Kathy

Kathy, you have the same problem my parents have--they encouraged us to see the world and explore new things, too. Now my brother lives in Texas, my sister lives in Pennsylvania, and I'm married to a Brit and we're talking about moving back to the UK when I finish college!

Must have been positive vibes out there, because I had a great day too. Ended up with 28 points for the day, 8-10 veggie servings (still not quite sure how to count veggies, but I KNOW I at least had 8), all my water, vitamins, etc. And I managed to drop the water I was holding, I've lost 3.5 pounds in water from yesterday to today! WOW!

DH still has food poisoning, and is curled up in bed. I've got classwork to do today, so I'm a bit restricted, but I'm still planning to go out and have a blade before the sun gets hot and the crowds get stupid. Here's to another OP day!

Hi, Turtles,

Welcome, Kathy. We admit all comers to our untraditional race. Just to put things in perspective--Kathy, your starting point is smaller than where most of us turtles began. Congrats for starting before you got to the 272 or so that was the highest weight I can remember for me!

I love water, too. I've been swimming a little lately in the great pool our apartment complex has.

Congrats on passing up the cake. Those spur of the moment high calorie foods can be a problem. Something to think about, though-- It's good to plan to have some of your favorite foods in once in a while. When you get the hang of banking points, you'll see that it's easy to fit them in, but usually in smaller portions and less frequently than you might have eaten them in the past. Most of us agree that deprivation is one way we end up sabotaging ourselves because we start to crave whatever we've decided "we're never going to eat again!" And cravings often lead to eating over points or, sometimes, binges.

Lori, mucho congrats on that loss! Every little bit that moves us in the right direction is to be celebrated.

Mousie. I'm glad you're feeling better about how your journey is going now. I'm sure that in time, you and your dh will work this out. And you will get to your goal. OTOH, I'm sorry your dh has food poisoning and I hope he feels better soon!

I'm doing better. My food choices have been better since my last post. I need to get some exercise in today. I've slipped the past couple of days. I'm not upset about that, though, because I know how long it takes to build new habits. So, I figure that it's just a matter of perserverance and I'll find myself exercising more regularly.

I envy you who have been to Hawaii. It's one of the places I want to visit someday. I'd like to take a cruise to and around the islands.

Hope all of you turtles are having a great weekend. Looking forward to hearing from all you lurkers soon. Mousie, you're using one of my very favorite motivational sayings as your signature line. I appreciate having it there every day. So, I decided to add one of my other favorite motivational quotes as my signature line.

Happy turtlin'! :cool:

Lin

Lin--that's one of MY favorites! You rock! :)

DH still feels, in his words, "squiffy", so I'm still on my own for meals. 27 points and 7 veggies/all my water/vitamins/exercise/etc yesterday. It's SO much easier when I can just make my own choices!

Well, folks, I'm amazed that I managed to do this, but in the past six weeks, I've managed to gain a whopping NINE pounds. It blows my mind. I really wish I had been writing down what I ate, because it just didn't seem like all that much. I certainly didn't binge. But I didn't track, and I didn't exercise as much the past few weeks. I ate out a lot due to having almost constant company and being on vacation. And then there's the business travel.

I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude. Yesterday I was pretty depressed, as you can imagine. How could I have done this?? What was I thinking? I've gained back all the weight I've lost this year! But moping and kicking myself around the block and feeling despair isn't going to take care of the problem.

So yesterday I tracked, and I exercised. I stayed within my points. Today I'm tracking again. I'm determined to get these nine FREAKING pounds back off in short order. I'm not sure yet what that means, but I'm truly sick and tired of maintaining and gaining. No, I'm not going to jump onto a crash diet, but I'm going to make some changes. The one that leaps to mind most immediately is to cut back on sugar and flour again, maybe limit them to three days a week. Or possibly I'll try the Wendie plan, where you vary your points from one day to the next in an attempt to keep your body guessing.

Right now, though, I'm focusing on just tracking and exercising. Next week I'll move to the next level.

Kathy, welcome!

Lori, way to go on your weigh-in this week.

Mousie, I wish I had good advice re: your husband. I hope things improve there.

Lin, I love the idea of your entering a cook-off!

Onward and DOWNWARD,

Lauren
274/223.5/down

Hi, Turtles,

Mousie, I'm glad to hear you're doing fine. I hope dh gets back to normal soon, but I also hope that you'll be able to continue to make your own choices. I know how important that is. I need to do it that way, too. So, I took responsibility for my own decisions. If my family doesn't want what I make, they can (and do) fix something else for themselves.

Lauren, I can feel your disappointment through cyberspace. I was in about the same place you were re: weight and this program at the end of May, right after dh lost his job.

I know that what has worked best for you in the past is to keep that journal going. Go to the local office supply or teacher supply store and buy yourself some gold stars or pretty stickers. Put them on the top of every completely filled out journal page. I've found that when I do that and get a streak going, I start making an effort to be sure I don't have a stickerless page.

The other thing I do that seems to help is to keep that journal handy so I can keep track as I go along. Somehow, looking at those blanks that need filling in helps me to do what I need to do in order to be able to fill them in. It also helps to be looking at it throughout the day. It keeps me focused.

I think that a deep breath to calm yourself down from the desperate feelings might be in order. Give yourself a month or maybe two of just writing everything down, weigh and measure portions, if you need to, stick to your point range and your exercise program before you make any other, more drastic changes in your program.

I admit I'm not a fan of eliminating foods or groups of foods. I also don't believe that there is a magic combination of food that will make anyone lose weight. But, there are foods that are better for one's health than other foods. My goal has been to eat more of those. So, I try to choose complex carbs more often than refined carbs.

I don't remember what you said about why you're eliminating or reducing white flour/sugar products. If it's because you tend to overeat on them, I have a couple of suggestions you might try. Never eat them alone. Eat them with a bit of protein or protein and fat. Don't eat candy, etc. between meals. Use them only with a meal. Doing that prevents those blood sugar spikes and quick drops that are often the cause of wanting more and overeating refined carbs. The other reason is that after a meal you're already pretty full, so smaller, lower point servings are enough, especially if you eat them slowly and really savor the taste.

Regarding the Wendie plan: I'm not sure I personally would use it. I know it has helped some people, but I'm not willing to follow any rules about how many points I ought to eat in a day. I prefer to let my hunger be my guide for making that choice. I also don't like the idea of planning to eat way over points one day every week.

My main purpose is to develop a lifelong, healthy lifestyle. I want to lose the weight I need to lose to be as healthy as I can be. Once I do that, my main goal, obviously, is not to do the dieter's yoyo dance. I doubt I'll succeed in preventing that little dance unless I learn to listen to my body's hunger signals and satiety signals. I think the Wendie plan, by setting rules about eating at a specific place in your range for a certain number of days, and someplace else for a certain number of days, etc. would get in the way of my building a habit of listening to my body. It was, after all, an inability to hear my own body because I was trying so hard to follow all of the food rules dictated by my mother and the diets I was on (and off and on and off and. . .) that got me into this fix in the first place.

Some hope here--As I said, I was about where you are, Lauren, at the end of May. It's a month later and I'm down a total of eight pounds, including the 2 pounds (Yippee!) I lost last week. All I did was to follow the plan. I've been doing my mini meals, eating all the fruits and veggies, getting my calcium, exercising more, etc. I wasn't perfect and I still managed to lose weight. I'm on a roll, and I know that soon you will be, too.

The other thing that has helped, as it always does, is this thread. It helps to keep me focused. So, I make a real effort to come here every day. Without the turtles, I know I'd be back where I was three (or was it four? I've lost track.) years ago.

My dh still hasn't found a job. He hasn't had an interview anywhere, yet. Just that one call and we haven't heard anything. So, please keep us in your prayers. Thanks!

Hope everyone else is doing well!

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin

Hi Turtles,
I'm back from a weekend away. Lauren, don't despair. I've gained at least 11 pounds these last few weeks after only losing 28 to begin with. It was only a few weeks ago I was closing in on 200 and now here I am again.
I;ve read all the posts and have to fly around here straightening up the house and staying OP, but I'll be back online soon.
Love,
Judy
234/ugh?thinner

Thanks for all the suggestions, Lin. I hear you about eliminating foods, being too controlling over what we eat, etc. But I'm not sure that just going back to business as usual is helpful to me right now. Last August, doing something different -- in that case, eliminating sugar and flour -- was the ticket in getting me excited again about moving forward. I never planned to do it forever, just for a couple of months. It worked wonderfully at that time -- I got interested again, and I saw the weight come off.

Last December I started to lose interest again, gained a few pounds -- and started to exercise January 1. That was my new "kick." It helped, too.

I'm not sure what I'll do this time to shake things up, but it's going to be something, and it won't just be doing what I was doing in March and April. I'll continue to exercise, continue to make better food choices, and -- as you wisely point out -- stick to my journaling. I like your suggestion re: stickers. I'm going to do that.

I won't do anything drastic yet, unless I find I'm just not motivated enough to keep tracking without a big change of some sort. For one thing, work is too crazy -- I've got more travel this week. If I can just track and stay within points this week, I'll be happy. But I'm going to keep thinking about my next "phase" and how I'm going to make it interesting.

Judy, well, maybe it's something in the air, then! Hey, can a person get fat breathing air? Sometimes I feel like I can! What ideas do you have for motivation these days?

Before I forget it, welcome, Kathy! Are you a motorcycle fan?

Well, work continues to be interesting. A group of guys I especially enjoy working with, including my mentor in my current career, have left to start a new company. They are currently finding projects and funding, and it looks like they may be close to their first big deal. If that happens, they'd have the money to hire me, which they would like to do. But because of legal complications, I'd probably have to be laid off first. So today I actually asked my boss to lay me off! He said he'd see what he could do. We're having more layoffs the end of this week, but it looks like I'm probably not among them. Life sure is strange, isn't it.

Lin, I will continue to pray for a good job for your husband and for you.

--Lauren

Hi Turtles!!! Harley here...In case you guys were wondering...My husband usta ride Harleys' until his getting hit with a wrecking ball and becoming disabled...he loved them very much and I did ride along when I could talk him into it...He always liked riding alone better...Now he has a Kawasaki which he can ride about 10 miles then he has to put it back in the garage...He says biking is addicting and he couldn't give it up no matter what..so he gets on his bike, goes 60-70 mph then brings it home and dies of a bad bad back ache..It makes him happy. And....Our last name is Davidson!!!!

Had a kinda good day here...Went to my moms which is about 3 hours away...took her to lunch and had the teriki chicken (hawaiian style it said!!! guess I am still wishing I was back) and it had white rice pilaf..The steamed vegies looked really boring so Ididn't eat them, but I did eat all the chicken...I drank ice tea instead of coke which is a big deal with me..I love coke..or did until a week ago..I fell out of love with it for no reason known to man so I don't mind giving it up...Ice tea is a very good alternative!!! I did eat maybe 10 bits of my moms cobbler...but considering I would have eaten my own plus dinner I think I did ok. Just to make sure I didn't over do tongiht...I will eat 3 cups of popcorn... I made a good choice at our stop over place inbetween our house and hers...instead of having chocolate milk and maybe a donut..I had coffee. Jim had the donut... Anyway I think I am doing ok..I know the exercise needs to get put in there, and hopefully I can get joined up tomorrow.

Lauren. I think giving up or cutting down on the sugar flour stuff is a good idea. I swear I can lose 5 lbs just giving up the sugar...It is hard though. It is so addicting. I give it up for one day and my brain says it has been weeks, and then I have to think...."No brain...you are lying..it has only been a day...so shut up" I am sure it will work...

Lin..I like what you said about this being a life long thing...I totally agree with everything you said...

And Mouse...How do you get 8 servings of vegies in one day...Could you like put down what your meal plan is like for like a day that has 8 vegies??? Do you have like 2 cups of vegies (cooked ) for lunch and 2 for dinner or are they just vegies all day long...Vegies are hard for me...Please help us to be good vegies eaters!!! I need help getting them all in...

On a very happy note...I have been praying that someone would buy my jeep...It is only 2 years old with low mileage and the price is high, but within blue book as it is in very good condition..We got no calls and it has been months...I want to buy a little red Honda Civic EX with 5 speed. It will go great with my new body!!!and it is so fun to drive...It is like sports car..or what I think a sports car should feel like..While we were gone to sAc..the only lady who even looked at it came by with the money...She wants to buy it!!! So I will get my civic after all!!!!

Thanks for listening..

Kathy

Harley, my married name is Davison! Too funny!

To explain my veggie counts: I'm a vegetarian. My meals are veggie-heavy simply because that's the space I don't occupy with meat. So if I have, say, Smart Ones Ravioli Florentine (one of the few, surprisingly, Smart Ones that doesn't have chicken fat in it) then I'll steam a bowlful of broccoli and cauliflower and mix it with the extra sauce. I never bother to measure the amount of veggies, they're free and I enjoy them, so I just fill up one of my large bowls and zap 'em then mix it up. I also eat baby carrots (and no, I don't count them, though I should, I just can't see my way clear to doing that). For breakfast, because I go straight to the gym in the mornings, I eat lunch-type foods. So I'll have baked veggie eggrolls, or half a homemade veggie calzone, or something like that. I also LOOOOOOOOOOOVE soup, soup makes me happy. I invented a soup recently that contains lots of veggies (zuchinni, onions, celery, tomatoes) and has some pasta in it. So that's an easy way of getting veggies. :)

Lauren, pick yourself up, try forgive yourself, and move on. Just don't dwell on it! Too funny about asking* to be laid off, especially considering the job market and your worries in the past! I love your boss' response...he'll see what he can do? Um...? "No, I can't possibly fire you, you must work here forever!" :lol:

Judy, glad you're back!

Another good day, DH was still feeling "squiffy". So, I went to the gym, got...um...7 veggies, 31 points (man I was hungry after my workout today! Yeeesh!). So, life rocks. :) Had veggie chow mein for dinner, probably I'll regret that from the water-retention angle, but oh well. Weigh in isn't til thursday night! ;)

Actually, Mousie, because of the bureaucracy of my company, my boss *can't* just lay me off, even if he wanted to (which he doesn't). He turned in a list months ago that ranked everyone in our group, and the upper muckity-mucks have been working off that list when they lay us off. I'm near the top of the list, which means there are about five people who would need to be laid off before I could be. It's possible my boss could ask them to reorder that list. We'll see what happens.

Harley, I love that your last name is Davidson. :)

I'm still eating well. Got my exercise in this a.m. TOM is ending, so I'll at least lose that water weight.

--Lauren

Hey turtle buds!

Glad to see everyone here - lots of great posts. I lost 3.5 at weigh-in on Saturday and got a star for 40 pounds gone. Yay!! Usually, this past weigh-in is a big loss because it's right after TOM, but I'm lucky it was anything at all. We had food-oriented events five days out of seven last week. I just did my best to have small portions of high-point stuff and fill up on veggies and fruit. I did go over several days, and did my best to stay lower other days, but I still felt kind of out of control, which I hate. I'm doing better this week.

Kathy - Welcome! Sounds like you're very enthusiastic about the program - that's great! Have you ever done WW before? I really like the new program and I think the support you get here and at meetings is excellent. My husband compared my WW meeting to going to church - which in a way, it is - gotta get revved up for the week! The turtles are wonderful, too, and are always here when you need them.

Lin - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your and your husband's job situations. I'm sure something will come along soon. Eight pounds this month - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!:) You should be very proud of yourself - and you did it by following the program - that's the way to go. Sometimes just doing the program really pays off at the scale. It's amazing that you're still learning things after doing this for so long, but it truly is a lifelong process, isn't it?

Lauren - good luck with your job situation - it sounds like a change will do you good. Sorry about your gain - I know how you feel. My weight can also come on incredibly quickly. I gained over 100 pounds in the two years from my lowest WW point until I rejoined in March, and that included several serious attempts at weight loss and exercise. I'm not much of a binger anymore either, but it's the constant nibbling and noshing that did me in, and especially the lack of activity. Do your best with the program, especially with journaling, and they will come off. I like to think that recently acquired weight will come off a little faster, but you never know, and any progress that you make is something to be celebrated. I've seen the Wendie plan and the thing that I noticed is that I've been doing something like it without even really noticing - I usually have at least one day where I go significantly over points (usually on beer or other drinks) and try to have at least a couple of lower-point days to help make up for it. I don't think I could plan to do that, though - sometimes I don't know when I'll be going out and will want to go over points. Good luck this week.

Mousie - Great job this week! How long have you been a vegetarian? Are you vegan or lacto-ovo? You're lucky that you've got lots of great veggies to choose from year-round - the recent improvement in selection and quality up here in the Great White North really makes me realize how little we have the rest of the year. I hope your hubby gets better soon, and I want to tell you that mine has some of the same problems with my weight loss as yours does. Right now, he's happy that I'm losing weight, but sometimes it seems like he wants me to do it without changing anything, especially when it comes to our lifestyle. Last time I lost lots of weight though, I found that the smaller I got the more sabotaging he became, and as I started putting the weight back on, he did nothing to help me to stop it. I was about a size 8 or 9 when we met (10 years ago), and he had a lot of insecurity issues because he had never had a serious girlfriend and was afraid that he would lose me. It also didn't help that every time we went out, guys would hit on me (with no encouragement from me). I also had dated a lot before we met, and I think he was worried that I couldn't commit. I would hope that he knows by now that I'm not interested in anyone else, but I think it still bothers him to think that other men will find me desirable again when I'm thin (although being in my thirties is a lot different than being in my twenties!). Maybe your husband has some of these same issues - I don't know. One solution is to give him extra loving and spend more time doing that rather than eating together - he'll enjoy that, I'm sure!

Lori W - Good job this week - it's really hard to keep OP when you don't have as much control over your food choices. Very exciting about the kitchen - I'm sure it will be beautiful when it's done. We have a new pantry here at work and I love it more than my kitchen at home! About the "too thin" comments - I've gotten those in the past too, usually from family members who have a vested interest in me staying fat - hey, as long as I'm fatter than them, at least they're not really fat themselves, right? I hope to get those comments again someday, but I know how aggravating they can be.

Judy - keep on fighting - you can do this! You've done it before and you can do it again. I know it's a pain to have to retrace ground, but in the end, it will be worth it. The changes you're making will help you in other ways besides just at the scale, as I'm sure you know. Sometimes when I feel depressed about having to lose this weight all over again, I think about how much better I feel, even with such a long way to go. Just doing something so positive for yourself is encouraging.

Have a great week everybody!
Kimmers
332/290.5/269 (2nd 10% goal)

Hi, Turtles,

I'm going to start thread number 31. This one is really long and probably about to go over into 2 pages.

See you there.

Happy Turtlin'! :)

Lin