LA Weight Loss - LAWL losers and friends Oct. 2006

This may be a stupid question...but I haven't been here long. I see everyone talking about hot lemon water on here. My COD has never mentioned this. Do you just use a real lemon squeezed in hot water or the bottled lemon juice? How is it you make it (ie how much lemon?) Does it have benefits I am not aware of? Just checking. I am not a coffee drinker. I do drink tea sparingly but I am missing my Tim Hortons stops in the morning (if you are from Canada you know Timmies!!!LOL). I would like to have sometihing to replace the hot drinks I used to get in the mornings.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Alannah

Joni - I'm in Monday and Tuesday. I don't want to be on TO on Halloween since we're going to be running around with DS.

Alannah - I will try to find the lemon water thread and bump it up for you. There are a few different ways to make it. I actually have two mugs of it every morning in place of coffee.

Alannah - I like to joke that it is the LAWL substitute for crack. They tell me not to joke about it though bec. one day LAWL will probably start selling it for a comparable price...not that I am sure what that would be, I grew up in a sheltered home and never experienced the whole drug world thing. Any how, it is a natural diuretic and helps flush you out and get rid of water retention do to sodium as well as other no no's. I do suggest the artificial sweetener in it until you have done it a few times...I didn't the first time and whew, my husband almost wet himself when the lemon water went all over the place like something out of a horror movie....

Just wanted to check in and say hi. No time to do a bunch of personals (I always feel so guilty about this!)...but a few comments.
I had to go search for Evette's new avatar on another thread...Winkie is lookin Wonderful!
And I notice we finally have a guy posting...Hi Kevin!! Glad you found us; feel free to ask us anything (haha - like a guy is gong to ask us for directions on anything!!)
LeaAnn - thanks for posting the mexican soup recipe info. I'm guessing hominy is in the aisle with the beans...I don't think I've ever bought hominy, but I'm game.
Cassi - guess we're still on for TO next week - are you doing it on Mon/Tues?
Katie - sorry you've got cooties. I'm so proud of you though for staying OP. You are amazing. Sick, but amazing!
I did hear back from Suzanne (3FC) on my cruise question, but she swore me to secrecy. Sorry.
Haven't made it to the COD this week; I'll go tomorrow to face the music. I think I'm still the same weight, which is okay (better than a gain). Like Cassi, I guess I hovered at this weight a while back, since this seems to be where my body wants to stay.
Stay strong ladies - the payoff in the end will be so worth it!

Thanks Joni, but I had to take the picture off. I didn't like it! :)

Jenni-

I'm here! Just lurking a bit-you know what that means . . .yes, after my fabulous week of POP-I blew it over the weekend when I was out of town. So-back on it again-undoing the damage I did. I see you're in the same boat. I'm doing TO today and tomorrow also. Let's make a pact to do TO and then have a POP weekend. You in?

Evette-darn it! I didn't get to see it!

The adoption process is going smoothly so far. I'm trying not to get too excited though. It's going to be awhile. But really-about the same length of time as a pregnancy. Vietnam is moving really fast . . . .I got all my paperwork in for the homestudy this week and will hopefully be hearing from my social worker soon. AND-I got my first gift for the baby-a hand-crocheted blanket from neighbor! So sweet!

Juliemarie: Sorry!! I'll try to post it again from home. I just thought the picture looked kinda funny! I'm glad the adoption process is going smoothly for you. I'm lurking a bit also. I haven't had much to post weight-wise because I'm still where I was a week or so ago. I've been playing around with the same pound for sooo long, it seems. Maybe, i'll need to to TO...!!!!

Good morning everyone! Back for a record breaking 2nd day in a row!

Thanks for all the thoughts about the non-comments. I know there are lots of reasons not to mention it, but I sure have become a compliment junkie! Maybe I need a sign that says "tell me how good I look, please!" http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/hahaha.gif http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/jester.gif

JM- that's really neat that you already got a gift. Some really good friends of mine adopted from China last year. They blogged the whole thing - it's some pretty amazing reading. http://www.vickermans2china.blogspot.com/

Again, welcome to all the new faces! http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/Welcome.gif I'm glad there are so many people finding this place. There is so much support and knowledge here. This place rocks!

Michelle - a job offer at the COD! I think it's good for clients to see counselors going through the program. There is one at my COD who is failing miserably at the program right now. It reaffirms that we are all human and slip up occasionally. She confessed to me that she's recently gained 5 pounds.

Cassi - well said about standard WI days. I go every Mon, Wed, and Fri - regardless. I count Fridays as my "official" day - that's what goes on my graph, and yes, the graph has some spikes in the wrong direction!

Pearl, I would count the SF hot chocolate as a starch, too. :( I've started to learn "starbucks speak" and can now order a short non-fat steamer with a shot of SF chocolate. Yeah for me! For those just learning coffee lingo, that's a small steamed fat free milk, with SF chocolate syrup. Viola! A dairy version of hot chocolate. Good luck on the Wednesday job.

Hmmmm I had a headache last night too. Mine WAS DH induced, though. http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/bash.gif

I agree with Kim - bring your own stuff next time, Michelle. We've all been sabotaged from time to time (intentionally or not). I find it very easy now to walk into a party or another person's house with a veggie dish (Ohhh, I brought munchies!), or whatever. Most people I socialize with know I'm doing LAWL, so they don't think anything of it if I bring a chicken breast for myself when they host a BBQ. The HARD part is sticking with your plan when all those other yummy looking and smelling foods are around!

Montana Deb- Congrats on moving down a plan! You lose some size to your portions on gold right? I have my red/purple sizes so firmly ingrained in my head, if they changed my to gold, my head might explode from having to relearn new portion sizes! I don't think I'll ever make the switch... I hear that if you are not doing lites, you never go below purple. Guess we'll see. Yikes! I am so lame - I didn't even notice how close to goal you were. Way to go!:carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: Be sure to pick a goal that's healthy for you - we don't want you blowin' away in that Great Falls Wind.

Ok, as usual, I gotta get busy! Have a POP day - With all the support here, we can do this!
http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/i_gather.gif

Cassi--isn't Tuesday Halloween?

Joni--gotta say--we LOVE the soup. The original recipe was a Weight Watchers "free" food. Original: 1 can FF refried beans, 1 can Rotel, 1 can chicken broth. REVISED--by me to make more substantial is the above plus the ground turkey and the hominy. I think you could leave out the hominy and lose some of the carbs but it sure is filling. Back in the day (pre-LAWL) we used ground beef and put cheese and sour cream on top and ate it with tortillas NOW we tried to make it healthier with ff sour cream, light cheese, and low carb tortilla! Still VERY tasty!

JM--great news on the adoption process--thanks for keeping up informed.

gotta run--sorry for the drive by--6 kids today!!! They are all turning into hellions around here!!!

I have been lurking since June 2006 and have decided to come out of the closet. Thanks for all the information and encouragement you ladies give. I will try to offer a tidbit of knowledge every now and then. I have gained (mentally not physically) a wealth of knowledge that will help me through this journey to better health. Thanks again and I will continue lurking...

Lori - I had to laugh at the "Starbucks speak" since I am totally intimidated when I go there. Lucky for me, I don't care for Starbuck's coffee, but now that you've taught me how to order a LAWL friendly hot chocolate, and it's getting nippy outside, I may have to go. I was touched by the Vickerman's site and their adoption of Hayleigh. Thanks for sharing the link. Juliemarie - best of luck with your adoption; I know it will be a ways off, but what a blessing for you.

Cassi - LeaAnn's right - halloween is Tuesday??? So when do you want to do that TO? All this talk about halloween makes me want to eat chocolate....time for an LA Lite!

That's why I'm doing TO Sunday and Monday! Saturday we are having a surprise party for my sister's b-day and I'm catering. Then I'll do TO Sun and Mon and then Halloween we'll be running all night taking DS around trick or treating. DH will clean out his goodies for me. But I don't want to do TO when I know I will be running from work all around the neighborhood. (Sounds like a good day for a Slim Down for dinner, doesn't it? Kinda reinforcing the TO from the previous two days? Darn I'm good sometimes!)

What a cutie Cassi! Is this DS?

And actually I think the slim down is perfect for Halloween night. I am thinking it may be my rescue on Tues. and Thursday nights....forever?
My Halloween night is Sylvan and Karate for DS and then trick or treating from 8 -9ish around the neighborhood. This is good bec. I don't want the pillowcases of candy sitting around here, and how much candy can a kid beg for in an hour anyways! Dinner at 9 would not be good though...so yes slim down it will be, thank you.

Evette - I saw the pic before you changed it and I thought it looked nice!

Cassi - DS is so cute!!!!! What is the costume of choice for a well-dressed almos 3yr old boy in West Palm this Halloween?

Joni - I felt the same way about starbucks - I am not a coffee drinker. http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/coffee.gif I must look like one, though - I have gotten about $50 in starbucks gift cards as a thank you for one thing or another in the last 6 months. I haven't spent $50 at starbucks in my entire life! I have regifted all but $10 of the cards (sadly, now that I know I can order a hot chocolate and have it count as a dairy and a condiment). I can thank a coffee chugging (I think she has a permanent coffee I.V. stuck in her arm!) friend for the enlightenment!

AAARRRGGGGHHHH. Halloween stinks. I see all the little snack size things of chocolate in the stores, and I think - hmmmmm I can freeze those and have one for a treat now and then. BACK AWAY FROM THE CANDY! http://www.soulcysters.net/images/smilies/i_eat.gif

DS has hockey practice right smack in the middle of prime trick-or-treat time, so we are "trick-or-trunking" in the parking lot. I have a mom-van, so I am going to open the hatch, drape it in black fabric, run a fog machine and a spooky sounds CD off the ciggie lighter. Come into my parlor, little one.....http://www.online-thecatsmeow.com/images/Emoticons4/smiley-dracula.gif Hee hee. I love halloween, in spite of my earlier complaint.....
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Good Afternoon ladies-
Master Cleanse went down the drain...yesterday when i went to work out i felt really bad, count work out right (no food of course) then this morning i gagged on the sight of lemon ( i hate lemons) ...here it is: if you ever so vain like i am be sure to like lemon before you go on this stupid fast...it works, but then again starving yourself for 10 days would work too! (LOL) sorry to be sarcastic...just being me!

JM- I am so glad everything is going smootlhy for you!

Pearl- I just remember the BC when i have sex...good option would be to have sex everyday around the same time..would make DH fall in love again, but i like the toothbrushing idea better! lol

guyz, i am going to nagg just a bit..i am tired of not losing weight...have not lost one lbs for a while! its driving me crazy...pls dont offer TO bc doesnt really work with me unless i do with egg whites and i dont feel like doing it that way! i am going to be extra careful and not eat past 7 and lets see how it works!

Lori - Oooh - that sounds cool. What a great idea for the kids at hockey! I know that minivans scare the *&%$ out of me!!!:rofl: Just kidding....

I don't like starbucks coffee either. And DH has issues with starbucks - he refuses to order by their standards (grande, blah blah blah). He just walks up and says "I just want coffee" makes me laugh everytime.

JM.....WOW, I didn't know you were adopting a baby!!! Congratulatioins!!! I know I don't know you, but I am so excited for you!!! There is nothing in the world like a baby. I hope everything goes well. Waiting is can be so hard.

Pearl.....thank you for posting the recipe for Classic Italian Soup. I made it this morning, and I am enjoying a big bowl of it right now. I did substitute cabbage for the spinach. I cannot believe how large the portions are. YUM!!! I also added a dash of red pepper. I have never really liked spicy foods before, but lately, they have been tasting so good. :)

Kim.......my christmas goal sister........I like seeing your face on here....and I like all of you advice....keep it up :)

Cassi.....I am assuming your picture is your DS, and he is adorable!

Joni....I can't wait to try your soup recipe....I love soup!!!

Ok, I have more to say.......but today is one of those "must interrupt mommy every 5 seconds days." I swear, I feel stretched somedays. Today, it is also multiple demands day, and apparently I didn't get the memo. Don't get me wrong.....I love being a stay at home mom......just some days it takes real determination to remember it needs to be a job well done :) gotta fly......I will try to catch up tonight :)

Nicole - the soup recipe is from LeaAnn, but I'll gladly take the credit if you like the soup..

Rebecca - funny that you mentioned the Master Cleanse; I was looking for something about lemon water and the master cleanse came up on a good search. ewwwww..no way I could do that cleanse. Don't be discouraged though; like many of us you're just in a stall. Do the best you can and let us know when you find something that works!! For that matter, if anyone finds the secret to getting over a stall, speak up!

Lori - I was laughing out loud "come into my parlor, little one." I hope your kids realize how absolutely cool their mom is! Too bad your mini van will be about 2,400 miles from me; I'd come check it out.
Also, funny about the Starbucks gift cards. I got two last Christmas and basically used them and got iced tea...expensive iced tea!

Mickey Sue "how much candy can a kid beg for in an hour anyways! " You may be surprised!!

Cassi - you're good ALL the time. So, when DH cleans up the goodie bag for DS, does he sneak and keep his favorites. I think every parent does!

JulieMarie - I meant to say something before, but forgot - Congragtulations on getting the homestudy done! My SIL adopted 2x from Russia and I know what a pain all of the paperwork is (getting apostilles on your notaries and all that). My nephews are beautiful and were worth all of that!!!

I am so happy that you are doing this! Good luck!

Yes, that's DS at the pumpkin patch Tuesday.

DS will be going as the demon sprite he is. Here's a pic of the costume:

http://www.partycity.com/images/full/products/106378.jpg (http://www.partycity.com/cgi-bin/parties/costumes.cgi?parties=Halloween&productstype=Toddler-Boys&start=&originaltype=)

(FYI... that's not DS, but it's the pic from the party city website)

Lori - DS's day care is doing a trunk or treat too. As for the Starbucks, I've been avoiding it, but 14yo DD LOVES Starbucks. I got her a gift card last x-mas and every time I'm at the mall with her I reload it. That way she always has it when she's not with me.

Rebeca - Sorry the cleanse didn't work out for you. I wish I had some suggestions. Would it help if I said you were already beautiful and not to stress about your weight?

Joni - DS isn't really into chocolate. He like lollipops. So DH will be eating probably everything he can from DS's loot.

Lori- Not too bad on gold. Mainly down 2 oz. in proteins and you lose 1 veggie. You ain't a kidding about the wonderful Great Falls wind. It's at hurricane conditions here today. Kinda makes me think I am back in Wyoming. At least I'm not back home in Colorado Springs. They are getting dumped on with snow. About 12" so far today!!!

kytravelbabe- Welcome you big lurker. Join us more often, we'd like to get to know you.

JM- I am glad to hear that the adoption process is going smoothly.

Cassi- Cute little guy you have there!!

Rebeca- Sorry the master cleanse didn't work out for you. Why don't you recommit yourself like you were when you first joined. Go back and look at your old diaries and make the same things you did when you were losing the best. Sometimes just getting back to basics is the best thing to get jump started again.

Ok, did WI this morning and was down .8. We did discuss setting a new goal. According to my book, I should only have 2 more weeks left on my original contract of 39 weeks, when I asked her today, she said I was on week 31. So either they didn't count the weeks I didn't show up all week or someone wrote the wrong number down somewhere. I'm not gonna complain. So anyway, I have 25 week left now. I'm going to go for 150 and if I hit that then I will just see how I feel at that point. Ladies, I haven't been below 165 since probably 7th or 8th grade, so this is all new territory for me, and honestly, I am a little scared. But I can do it!!!

Bizlaw- Owww, thank you!!! Thats a cute custome! I just wanna feel good about myself, and i feel like i am not in the best shape that I could be (the reason all of us are here ehhehe)! I saw a pic of before i got married that i was in a bathingsuit and gosh, whatta a difference a last name makes.... i am 5'7 so i dont wanna be 125...i just wanna be a healthy 150... my body doesnt wanna go there anymore... its so frustrating!

Lori - Oooh - that sounds cool. What a great idea for the kids at hockey! I know that minivans scare the *&%$ out of me!!!:rofl:

Ohhh very funny!http://www.mysmilie.de/english/green/smilies/cheeky/2/img/017.gif

Cassi - what a cute costume! My DH eats all his fav. candy every year on the pretenses that it might be contaminated....I think my DS has caught on bec. he already told DH that mom is checking his loot this year....seeings as I can't horde it all for myself.

My DS decided to be Anakein Skywalker, when his Grandma asked why he chose that he replied "because I wanted a light saber and now mom has to buy me one" what a conniving lil' twerp I am raising! Yes, he got his light saber too! ( IT's really cool though...)

My daughter is wearing her flower girl dress and tiara from the wedding she was in 2 weeks ago and being "Cinderella"...it's a white dress instead of blue, but she's only 2 and fell for it!

Deb - Being scared is natural, but it's also kind of fun getting into uncharted territory. You're doing great. Keep the update pictures coming!

Rebeca - I agree with Deb's advice (she's so wise) - get back to basics and find the motivation you had when you first started. I've kept all of my diaries, and I've found that the weeks I lose are the weeks I usually have veggie burgers and tuna for lunches. Find what worked for you before, and try it again.

Michelle - So DS has learned the conniving ways of the force, huh? At least DD is still able to be fooled. And you actually get a second use out of what has to be an expensive dress you bought. Cool!

MtDeb, I grew up in Wyoming - I know all about the wind there! Montana is really where I'd like to call home. I went to college in Missoula and spent about 5 years working for the Forest Service in the Troy/Libby area. If I could afford it, I'd like to move to the Kalispell/Whitefish area. Dream on! Of course, I'd take just about anywhere on the west side, as long as there was hockey!
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JulieMarie-:congrat: I am so excited for you

Lori - What a great idea for the kids at hockey!

I'm not sure if I've already told everyone yet or not. On Halloween my whole family cames up to my house for trick or treat. Everyone wears a costume some for the family stay at the house to hand out candy and some go with the kids. THen after we are done we a have a birthday party for my DD. My sister always has a Halloween party this year it's on Nov 4, but I know it's going to be a hard time for me to stay op that night, but I did ask for a veg plate this year. My DS is going to be Batman, DD is going to be Robin.

I'm just sitting here waitng to hear fromr my mom and grandma are trying to come home from CA. I have to pick them up from the airport. I hope the get to came home today. I guess something happen to the airplane and they were waiting for a other airplane to bring a part to them. It does sound very good to me.

Hello everyone,

It's been a whirlwind couple of nights for me. I have been at the hospital a couple of times in the last two nights. Unfortunately after the surgery my Dad doesn't even know that I am there. He is having some problems with his heart. He had quad-bypass surgery about 10 years ago and eventhough they tested his heart to see if he could stand surgery, he is having some issues. Please keep praying.

Today hasn't been the greatest day for eating. I had one extra vegetable and a small piece of cornbread. I will be good for dinner, but I was a little bit hungry after drinking a slimdown for lunch.

Deb, you will be just fine. You have done a tremendous job thus far. I am looking forward to getting back down to wedding size and that was 15 years ago, give or take about 8 lbs. But I am looking forward to the new you.

I finally found some scrapbook paper that would describe what I call a journey to losing this excess weight and getting physically fit.

Rebeca, just get back on the horse and ride it. You can do this and only you know it's going to take to get yourself back to that place of motivation. Whatever that it is, find IT again and go for it.

Everyone have a great day. I need to exercise.
Ulanda

I have to laugh everytime I see someone post and call themselves a lurker. It just sounds like it could have been a Seinfeld episode :)

Deb.....I am so excited for you. You are just a wealth of knowlege and information for us.....and LeeAnn, so are you.......and Pearl......and Cassi.....and Lori.........and I could go on and on. If I didn't type your name....I sure wanted to....I just cannot remember all of you yet.

Anyway...Deb....I have always struggled with my weight, but I was the thinnest I ever was after my second daughter was born. I was thinner then, than I was in HS. I am not sure why. It was a really powerful and fun feeling. But, the fear of regaining was always there. Everyday. And, for the most part, I never really had too much trouble until the last few years. So I kind of understand your fear.

Now, can anyone tell me what plan I should be on with my current weight? I think my COD screwed up.

Nicole - I would say Purple if you are doing Lites or Red if you are not doing Lites. What plan are you on?

Kim-Thanks for the well wishes! (Well-all of you, really!!!) But i haven't finished the homestudy yet. I just finished all the paperwork, course, homework (!) required before they will schedule it. It will hopefully be completed by the end of November, 1st week in December . . . .

And I'm still reading the website about the Vickerson's China adoption saga-love it! Has me dreaming of what it will be like to travel to Vietnam and have my child brought to me . . .

yeah......I'm on gold. The counselor said something like......."well, you're really close to gold....so we're going to go with gold so you lose nice and fast." I figured it must be like a 5 or 7 pound difference, so I didn't worry about it. Now, as I am looking at everyone's stats on here......hardly noone is on gold. I am doing lites at this time. I am not hungry. I get hungry, but what I am eating is satisfying me until the next time it is time to eat. what do you think of that????

Oh, and Joni.........I will try to give you credit for everything I love on here from here on out :) :) :)

Nicole-

Weird. I'm on Red w/lites-but only cuz I was training for the marathon and was logging serious exercise hours. Now-I probably should be moved to purple. I'll need to chat with them about that. I've been slacking on the exercise since the marathon. I may end up doing close to 5 hours/week, but maybe not consistently.

Nicole- I was supposed to move to gold at 190 and they just did it 2 days ago. I was on red until I hit 220 then they moved me to purple. You really should be on purple if you are doing the lites.

I started at 222.8 on purple w/lites and moved to red w/lites a month ago as my exercise had increased and I wasn't losing however after a 3.4 lb drop the first week I once again am not losing. Here is hoping Saturday official WI is a loss or October will be a write off of no #'s lost. (positive note - there were inches)

Hello Ladies!

So at WI yesterday I was told I had 1 more box of bars on my credit. When I tried to explain that I don't have the money to continue with the bars (how many ways can you say that?) I just got the same old spiel--put them on Care Credit, No I say I don't want to do that. (unfortunately in a moment of weakness a couple of months back I applied for it and it was denied--obviously I have a horrible credit rating from some really bad choices in the past) Then they say well put them on a credit card--I don't have credit cards (got me in too much trouble before). Then they just look puzzled at me. I guess they've never met anyone with credit problems before, or money issues. So my question for ya'll is this--if I'm on the gold plan, what plan would I move up to without bars? I may need to explain that to them, because they don't seem to understand the concept of a no-bars diet. I guess the alternative is to lie to them and say I'm on bars when I'm really eating the substitutes. But I hate that, and anyway eventually some of the quicker ones will catch on that I'm not buying bars.

Sorry ya'll I am just feeling frustrated. But I am a single mom with a daughter who is a freshman in college and we're trying to do this thing without incurring a huge college debt.

've lost almost 40 lbs since June and I really wanna stick around. I love the bars, but they are just so darn expensive!!

Nicole - My COD said Purple started at 220 and Gold started at 180. That's with Lites. Tell them to check again. If you get no satisfaction, call the 800 number on your Lites box and speak with someone there. They will call the COD.

Martha - See my post above to Nicole about the 800 number for getting something done if the COD manager won't help/listen to you. If you aren't doing bars, you should be moved to purple.

Sorry y'all are having such bad experiences. Like Deb, I really like the girls at my COD. They know what they're doing for the most part, have good training, and seem to be on the same page with each other. Remember girls - YOU are the customer, and YOU are PAYING THEM for a service. THEY need to provide the service. If they are not, go above their heads. For counselors, it's the COD manager. If you need to go further, call the 800 number and speak with someone there. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Martha-you'd move up to purple . . . .

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys... when I went to WI yesterday the regional manager was there. The counselor called her over and she spent about 1/2 hour with me going over my diary and making suggestions as to how to get the scale to move. She basically said I was doing great with getting things in and getting variety, but made a couple of suggestions. Not condescending, but just little things that I could try. She even said not to worry that since I'm following the plan, if I run out of weeks, I've locked in the weight so don't worry about it.

The scale moved down .6 for the first time in a week, and then they did my measurements. I only lost about 4-5lbs last month, but I lost 1.75" from my bust, and 3" from my waist and 3" from my hips. Nothing from my thighs. But I asked her if she was sure she did it right. I was in shock. So... here's hoping the scale moves tomorrow, but at least I know the month wasn't for nothing, and it makes the scale crawl a lot more bearable.

Thanks for the info on moving up to purple. Cassi--I assume that cute patootie in your avatar is DS? :) You are doing so great!! :bravo: stupid scale... inches do matter!!

Wow Cassi.......your clothes must fit much better. My mom always told me not to be so obsessed with the scale, to determine my accomplishments by how my favorite pair of jeans fit. You know, mom always knows best :)

So, do you think I should question my plan, or just leave well enough alone if my WI goes well tomorrow? I hate to mess with a good thing.......but I also hate to mess things up.

Thanks for you help everyone!!!

I would say something. And if that doesn't work, I would say it again and again. You are 36lb from where gold would start, and only 4lb from the highest purple weight. Too little food will lead you to stall. COD will be the first to tell you that if you miss an exchange. Plus... maybe you can convince them to add a week or two (isn't that how long you've been doing this?) since they messed up at the beginning.

Just my two cents...

Hi Everyone
The usual crazy week with the two little girls. I haven't been able to exercise once as DH has been out working every night so I've been on solo duty for bath and bedtimes. Haven't been able to get my own supper till after 9:00 so getting hungry!
Hoping to move closer to Onderland tomorrow, if there is loss for a manic, running all over while POP I deserve some loss tomorrow! Might be a bit too much to expect it by Halloween but here is hoping.
For all our sick girls I hope you are all feeling better!! Some of you have had some really lousy luck on the health front. 2Bfit I hope your dad is better.
To everyone that is stuck I think it was Nicole that said we are too obsessed with the scale and we should measure ourselves by jeans. Let's all try to promise we won't let that ridiculous machine with the numbers on it rule our lives!
I'll get a few of my super recipes in and with some help from Pearl and Cassi see if we can spice up our next few weeks.

Hang in there girls and let's go get em this weekend!

Hugs to all

Wow, you ladies are a chatty bunch! I can't keep up!!!

JM, congratulations!!! You are such a great person, you will make a great mother. I will keep you in my thoughts as you go through the homestudy process. And make sure you keep us posted!!! That is so exciting!

Deb, congrats on taking the plunge to the lower weight. I know just how you feel! I don't think I have been below 170 since my sophomore year in high school, so I will be charting unfamiliar territories eventually too. Of course I have a lot further to go than you do, but I know I will get there!!!

Cassi, DSs costume is adorable!!! (and so is he! :))

Lori, I, too, am uncomfortable with Halloween! We have these little candies "hidden" in the house (like I don't know where they are hidden). I am trying to remind myself ... if I go eat that candy, I am deliberately saying "no" to losing today. So far, I am able to hold off. But I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to!

MickeySue, my DS (almost 4) is going as Spiderman, my DD (19 months) is going as Cinderella. Of course that was a mommy decision, but she is going to look so cute! :)

Jamie, Batman and Robin -- how cute!!!! I tried to do something similar with my little ones -- but DH was not having any part of it. Oh well. I'll settle for Spiderman and Cinderella.

Nicole, I'm no help for the plans. I have been told I will be on Red until I reach goal. I don't do lites. They told me if I do lites, I'll go to Blue. So I'm not sure what weight they are switching people to purple/gold?

Ulanda, I'm so sorry about your situation right now with your dad. I know it must be hard! We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers!

Martha, don't let them pressure you into making purchases you can't afford! You CAN be successful without the bars. There are plenty of us on here who are testaments of that. It does seem like some CODs pressure people more than others. But, again, getting yourself physically healthy at the risk of total fiscal unhealth is not , what I consider, a good compromise. (But that's my humble opinion!)

KrispieD, you are SOOOO close to onederland!!! I can't wait to be there!!!

Katie, I saw your posts about the credit issue. How long will that take to get corrected?

All, since I have not been around in a while, wondering ... do we still hear from Deetsmom, shennie, carmen, milca, barb, heatherCP, heatherPP?? I miss those ladies!!!

Hello All! Had to brag....even after my pizza party disaster....no lettuce?....I finally made it to onderland!!!!!! So proud of me...maybe my DH will help me celebrate....gotta' go! Mayb eI should clarify, I am bragging about onderland after pizza party not celebrating...as DH is still watching the Cardinal game, I am going to bed, to sleep.

Hey girls! I have had the worst headache all day. I had it when I woke up so it wasn't because of TO. I think I've done pretty good on the TO today though. I hope it works because my home scale was up 4 pounds this AM. However, after the fiber fest and what it did to my insides just after lunch.... I'm willing to bet there's a loss!! TMI I know, but hey....

Second day of TO tomorrow, and it may be a little tough. They are doing the birthday breakfast at work for me and 2 other girls, and then tomorrow night is the Harvest Day at my kids' school, and they are having a dinner and dance tomorrow night that I'll be going to. Hopefully there will be meat and green salad for dinner!!!

Congrats to you losers! I am going to WI tomorrow even though I know I'm up, but I am not bringing my diary. It was almost done, so I'm going to tell them I ran out of pages ans need a new one..... I just can't face them knowing how bad I've been!! Isn't that awful???

Anyway, I'm headed for bed and hopefully this headache will be gone by morning.

Hugs,

Michelle.......congrats on onederland!!!!!!!!!! I won't even tell you how many days it took me to figure out just exactly what onderalnd is :) I would be dancing on the ceiling if I were you!!! I also got a kick out of your non-celebration with DH because of the Cardinals game. Is it the entire state that becomes one tracked during "red october?????" I am not originally from MO, so I am just blown away. My kids had no homework yesterday, so they could watch the Cardinals. They have, "wear your cardinals gear to school day," every year at this time. I think it is good to have team spirit, but it is a bit over the top. And I do know about team spirit, as I am originally from WI, and am a die hard Green Bay Packers fan. I just really get a kick out of the Cardinals fans. And, I am pretty happy that they won last night :)

Tonight I have my mom and sister comming into town. Tomorrow, I have two of my Aunts and Uncles comming. They will all be here for the weekend. I have to cook delicious food for them. Tomorrow, we are celebrating my DS's 2nd birthday )the actual day was yesterday). I have to make him cake. Cake is the devil. I make great cake. I make delicious frosting.......and I make pretty cakes........I have all the tools to decorate any kind of cake you can imagine. I used to make the cakes for all the special occassions for my family, friends, and their families. Oh, and I love frosting. Did I mention I love cake? I am not super worried, but I have to admit, yesterday it was pretty hard not to finish my kids' dinners, and eat the rest of the cantelope. I think the newness is wearing off, and temptation is going to be all around me this weekend. I really hope WI goes well this afternoon, because that is the best kind of encouragement there is......and I will really need it to stay strong this weekend.

Oh heck.........my baby just woke up........and I wasn't quite ready....ok, well, I have to run......I will check back later this a.m.

EVERYONE.......have a great POP day!!!

Well, WI this morning and I was down another 1.2 lbs for a total of 5.8 since last saturday am when I started. I am on red with no lites as I refused to use them. I didn't get any flack over it either, they just changed my plan. I get weighed again on monday.

Bye for now...Be back later

Alannah

Quick question. Does anyone know what you would count this Oatmeal as far as exchanges.? I've never been an oatmeal lover, but I here so many good things about outmeal and the hungry girl site rated a bunch and this one appealed the most.

Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal

(1 packet of 45g: 160 calories, 3g fat, 260-270mg sodium, 29 carbs, 6g fiber, 1g sugar, 7g protein)

This popular new oatmeal is a lot like Quaker's regular hot cereal, except it has 6g of fiber and 7g of protein and it's very low in sugar. This is GREAT because both fiber and protein are proven fat-fighters. Quaker Weight Control currently comes in 2 flavors: Banana Bread and Cinnamon. Check 'em out. We love the stuff. (3.5 calories per gram)

Hey girls,

Congrats to everyone's losses. I don't have time for personals, but know that I've been lurking and keeping up on all you are saying!

And to those of you complaining about the bizarreness of your TOM, I hear ya! I've been there several times, and they tried just about every type of BC there is. I would HIGHLY recommend the NuvaRing. It's amazing...once a month, and you don't even know it's there. And, it doesn't compromise your liver.

As for me, not doing too well. I've been somewhat sick, and super stressed about grad school stuff, and pretty down emotionally. I skipped WI on Wed. b/c I slipped and had a cookie (God forbid!) on Tues. night and I just didn't want to hear about it. I've been semi-OP, but not perfect. I don't have the energy or motivation to cook, so I've been getting lots of salads at restaurants or lean cuisines. We'll see how it plays out at WI today.

Gotta go, but have a good day everyone!

Nicole - Yes, us Missouri folk have wonderful spirit...and "the spirit of St. Louis" is a well known fever in these parts....St. Louis Rams, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues....It really doesn't matter the season we find a reason! We are the red and the blue true and thru. But isn't it grand? I really don't think I would live anywhere else. Are public school has been wearing red all week! We are actually wearing red until the World Series is over to wish our team well. (Thankfully my children actually have wardrobes that include Cardinal everything...even their under britches have the cardinal logo thanks to their good ol' dad)

Jenni - sorry to hear about the headache, hope it is gone this a.m., and good luck with the TO today! That is going to be hard but I know you can do it !

Joni - I love oatmeal, add some honey to it, and go for it! Let me know what you like so I can get me some. My favorite hot cereal is actually grits though...but I prefer real grits not pre-packaged.

Alannah........that is awesome.....keep it up :)

Joni............my aunt told me once that the combination of oatmeal and fresh fruit for breakfast will keep you satisfied longer than just about anything you can eat. I know a lot of smart old ladies :) My DS loves oatmeal.....I make him the old fashioned oats (quaker). I am not an oatmeal fan, but I have tasted his, and it is pretty darn good. I am just not fond of the texture. My DH thinks I am a weirdo with the whole texture thing.

Apparently, I am out of oatmeal, as I just walked into my pantry to check out the nutrition label and cannot find it. That does not necessarily mean I am out of it, it simply means it is missing. That happens around here. I have found my garlic press in the play-dough, cans of tomato soup at the bottom of my basement stairs, and lots of money down my heat registers. There's always something new and exciting going on around my casa.

Joni - I've had that oatmeal, and it is tasty! (pre-LAWL).

Yesterday I was talking with the mgr of the COD (hey - I actually like her!) and she said that oatmeal was a starch. We were talking in terms of what food to avoid right after doing TO - harder to digest.

Those nutritionals look a lot like a Lite...

Kimphin: Could it be a Lite....please let it be a lite! I would love that! I think that would be an excellent solution for me!

Meagan : Step away from the cookies! I had a cookie a couple of nights ago and had a WI gain of 1lb. the next day.....step back, making the beeping sounds as you go, turn around and run screaming in the other direction. You will feel better.

Quick question. Does anyone know what you would count this Oatmeal as far as exchanges.? I've never been an oatmeal lover, but I here so many good things about outmeal and the hungry girl site rated a bunch and this one appealed the most.

Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal

(1 packet of 45g: 160 calories, 3g fat, 260-270mg sodium, 29 carbs, 6g fiber, 1g sugar, 7g protein)

This popular new oatmeal is a lot like Quaker's regular hot cereal, except it has 6g of fiber and 7g of protein and it's very low in sugar. This is GREAT because both fiber and protein are proven fat-fighters. Quaker Weight Control currently comes in 2 flavors: Banana Bread and Cinnamon. Check 'em out. We love the stuff. (3.5 calories per gram)

Nutrition facts for fruit and oat lite:
serving size: 47g
calories: 180
total fat: 4.5g
sat. fat: 2.5g
sodium: 65mg
potassium: 105mg
tot carb: 29g
dietary fiber: 3g
sugars: 16g
protein: 8g

So, pretty similar, except it is higher in sodium.

My carmel deluxe bars have 120 gm sodium.
40g serving
170 cal
5g fat, 2.5 sat fat
90 mg potass
22g carb
17g sugar
8g protein

I've got Quaker Quick oats (I usually use the ones you cook too, but I had these in the pantry for cookies)
in 1/2 cup dry (which is about 1c cooked)

3g fat
0.5 saturated
1g polyunsat
1g monounsat

0 cholesterol
0 sodium
27g carbs
dietary fiber 4g
soluble fiber 2g
insoluble fiber 2g
1g sugar
5g protein

Joni - if you give me an idea of flavors you might like - I can forward some of my oatmeal recipes to you... I have many, as DH and I used to have it everyday for breakfast, and we now have it about 2X week. (He will only eat it if I "do" something to it!)
That way, you can do quick oats or the cook ones in the microwave, add a few things, and have your own version of the stuff you're looking at now without all the sodium! (and it's SUPER SIMPLE!) I promise!
Hope that helps!

yep, that's about the only difference. Hey.....check this out. I finally looked at my measurements that they took on my intake day. I just didn't really care what they were last week.......anyway.......after reading the what size pants do you wear thread, I got curious, as I wear a 16W in old navy jeans, or an 18W in most others......and holy cow......my left thigh is the same measurement as my waist was just 6 short years ago. I couldn't even get upset because I was laughing too hard. Now, there are not a lot of people I can tell that too, so I hope you all enjoy this chuckle with me :) Have a good day,,,,,,,,,,and make me get to work here.

Nicole - At least you HAD a waist 6 years ago!!! :rofl:
That's all I'm gonna say about that!

Ditto that - I had a neck that went to my ankles.

I had a 34/24/36 figure prior to my first child....and didn't touch 100 lbs. My H.S. Cheerleading Skirt won't even fit on my neighbor's 8 yr. old who only wears a sz 12 in girls.

Now I just got down to an 18....I don't like reminiscing about that! But, I don't really want to be the small ever again either....I would love to see 125 but my goal is 150 and trust me I will be delighted to get there.

Hello chickies:

Nothing new to report here! Waiting to hear more on my Dad. He has a mild heart attack yesterday due to the stress of the surgery and I don't know what's going on this morning. I haven't been able to get a hold of anyone. So I am just praying!

WI is in the morning. I am really hoping for another week like last week. 3lbs. I was thinking of mentioning the 21 day boost that I am going to start on November 5th, but I think I will not say anything and just do it. I feel like I am losing really slow and would like to at least hit the 15lb mark by the end of November.

Has anyone heard what the 6 week challenge is for LAWL. It's on our COD's counter, but they didn't offer the information. I guess you have to ask them. I didn't ask. I just wondered if any of your centers were doing it.

Why is it that there are so many COD's that don't give you what you are paying for. Many of them don't really have a clue why you might be up one day and down the next. All they can see are $$$$. That is really sad. It's especially sad for people who really need that extra dose of motivation and encouragement, because you don't get it from them. That's for sure.

Everyone enjoy your day!

I love weight control oatmeal! I've been eating it and figure one packet is one starch...I like that it has added protein and fiber to keep full longer.
The bananna bread is particularly yum!

Wow, where is everyone today? Is everyone posting somewhere else? It's really quiet. Well...I just got back from WI.....down 2.4!!!! WHOOOHOOOO. I hope everyone's WI went/goes well today!!!

Also.....they did change me to the purple plan. The girl I saw today is very good and she was blown away that they had put me on Gold. I saw her on Wed also, and she appologized for not noticing then. So, I will very much enjoy the extra veggie and larger servings of protein. Thank you ladies for helping me out with that :)

Great Job Nicole! Aren't you lovin' the scale today...I am glad they put you on purple, I don't know why but the Gold plan does not sound like my friend....but my COD says I won't have to go to Gold till I hit 175 lb. I got a ways yet.

Weekends tend to be slow like this....but yes, I agree it's a snail pace out here for this chatty bunch today. Hope all are feeling better and just out starting their weekends early and not ill, over worked, stressin'

I got a PM from Dolphn asking for the oatmeal ideas and after I typed them up - I thought I'd throw them out here. Since it really isn't a recipe exactly... I didn't think it belonged in the recipe section...
Here goes.

Using "cook" oats (the best for you) or "quick" oats (almost as good) but NOT instant oatmeal (don't bother!) = 1S each serving and we're making 2 servings

Choose 1 portion of fruit (you can mix a couple if you like but keep it to one serving because we're making 2 portions of oatmeal!) = 1/2F each serving

Frozen (NO sugar added) blueberries, peaches, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, etc. (I cook my still frozen fruit for 3 min. in the microwave and then chop them up - except berries)
Fresh peaches, apples, berries, whatever you like...
Sugar free applesauce (throw sliced apples in your food processor!)

NOW choose one or more of the following:
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice but do not combine with other spices as some of them are already in these.
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp butter flavor extract
1/2 tsp maple flavoring

Now choose:
splenda
splenda brown sugar
sugar free pancake syrup
sugar free chocolate syrup
(I also use DaVinci's sugar free almond, hazelnut, vanilla, caramel syrups)

now you may choose if you want to: (add 1Fat or 1condiment?)
1 tsp toasted chopped walnuts, almonds, pecans.

Cook oatmeal (I microwave mine but you can stovetop it if you like) in LARGE microwave safe dish for half the time according to package directions - using WATER, lite salt and only 1/2 cup oats

Next add in your additives and stir.
Finish cooking until thick.
(After it cooks, I always add a little 1% milk to mine - DH likes his without milk)

Here are a few that we particularly like:
applesauce with splenda brown sugar and cinnamon (with nuts is the bomb!)
peaches and blueberries with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg (walnuts are great!)
blueberries with lemon flavoring (or lemon zest), cinnamon and splenda
cherries with vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar splenda (almonds are great!)

OR you can do the oatmeal without fruit - just experiment with the flavorings and spices, the Davinci syrups, lemon or orange zest... there's all kinds of things to try!
Let me know how it goes! I just might make an oatmeal lover out of you yet!
AND - if you make enough for two but only need 1 serving - keep the other portion, add a little water and warm it the next day!

Dolphn - this actually turned out better than the PM I sent to you (I think!) so, I'm sorry!

Hello All
Okay now I'm craving Oatmeal! I was down 2.4 lbs for the week so now 3.6 pounds away from Onderland. Had my killer Body Flex class this morning, the things that woman does to us and our bodies should be illegal! I'm counting down the 3 hours until the girls are in bed so I can jump in a hot bath! I'm on solo duty tomorrow with a rainy day ahead and trying to figure out how to entertain my little ones. This time of year is BLECH!
Sunday luckily we have church and then are visiting family so we'll be gone all day.. actually headed to my SIL house and she just joined LAWL too so I'll be in good company!
Still contemplating doing Takeoff but I am thinking since I am losing consistently for now I should save it for a Plateau.. why torture before necessary!
Have made the Shrimp Fried rice from the cookbook and tonight trying Mango Prawns. Keeping track of all to give some feedback and get some posted.
Pearl I am going to dig a few of my recipes I have from WW days and a great vegetarian cookbook to see if we can figure out to count them and I'll share them with all the ladies, and gents on our site.
Have a great weekend, Nicole I'm glad you got moved to purple and congrats to everyone on their losses, staying the same or just gaining a bit.

Good evening ladies,

It's rather quiet around here. I just finished my exercise and dinner and thought I would jump on to see what's happening.

I am thinking that this program is rather expensive and it's so great that so many of you have the knowledge that you have to share about what things can be substituted to give you the same results.

I mentioned earlier, how upsetting it is to have counselors at your center who don't know what the heck they are doing. I think I could do a better job and I would not pressure people into purchasing the products.

I don't want to sound negative, but I often wonder.

Have a wonderful evening.

Ulanda

Quick check in. Was gone most of today. Thanks for all the info on oatmeal. I think I'll try the weight control version and count it as a starch. I'm too lazy to actually cook it up (especially since I'm pretty convinced that I'm not going to like it). I did read your post Pearl with how to do it the healthiest way and I may try that AFTER I try the easy way.

So it's an ugly day in Atlanta and major rain storms. On my way to weigh in, followed by another appointment, I decided traffic could be bad so I skipped weigh in and went to my appt. About 1 PM my fav LAWL counselor calls (she has never called before), and says it's open house and I should stop by. Egads...the thought of weigh in in after 2 meals (Breakfast and lunch), a large diet coke, etc., wasn't too appealing, but I went in to see what "deals" they were pushing. I was up 4/10ths of a lb, but I'm going to weigh in the morning and I think I'll be back to my regular plateau weight. They did not push products or anything on me, but I wound up buying 10 more weeks (on "sale" for only $5 a week). I figure I need some holiday accountability so I don't totally go bizerk. So, I'm in this game until the end of January and if my number is still hovering at 160, I'll ask the folks at LAWL to come up with a plan that works for me...haha.

Nicole - you are doing great; your post about finding these all over the house made me laugh. I don't have children, so if something's gone I can only blame DH or my failing memory. I was also wondering about your plan color since I'm on the gold plan (w/lites) and weigh 160. Glad they got you on the right plan.

KrispieD - you're doing great too. I made the shrimp fried rice and enjoyed it. I put too much lo-sodium soy sauce on it and felt a bit bloated the next day. But actually, even shrimp by itself tends to bloat me, so I just dealt with it.

Mickey Sue - Keep up the good work. Grits are another southern delicacy I've never latched on to; the gals at the Waffle House just don't understand me!. The only hot cereal I have ever liked is cream of wheat.

Jenni - hope your birthday was fun, and that you lost your headache and maybe a few ounces!!

Everyone stay strong and hang in there. What have you got to lose, except a few nasty lbs!!

Okay - I'm through with TO!!! YEAH!!!! :whoo:
Lost 3 pounds yesterday... I'll weigh in the a.m. and see about today.
Had some sad news today - but before I share this, let me say that my family is not close - my mother kept us torn apart and the relationships were severed beyond repair even after her death.
My dh called me and said I had had a death in my family. My 45 yr. old nephew died (evidently a month ago) and they are having a memorial service for him Sat. afternoon... Well, of course, I was surprised!
BUT THERE's MORE!!! As dh read the obit - he said, "and it looks like your brother died too!" Apparently the obit says that my nephew was preceeded in death by his father (my father's son, my half-brother)
I am saddened that I was not notified of my brother's death and allowed to pay my last respects, however I can not mourn what I never had.
I did realize tonight more than ever that the relationships I have with the men and women we worship with are MY family relationships! As I told my friend tonight at church, I'd be much more upset if it were one of them!
So, it took me a little while to settle it in my heart and deal with the shock of it, but I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life, and those are relationships not blood relatives, but closer than my own brothers.
My first TO went well. I got the hint from DH to spread out the food throughout the day - so my first lite bar lasted 3 1/2 hours. :) I only took a bite when I felt a hunger pain. Did the same with the chicken and brocolli - and it worked! Satisfied all day! (we did "celebrity Juice" yesterday - YUM! and Hollywood juice today - YUCK!!) We'll stick with the celebrity juice from now on! Less sugar, sodium, and carbs.

We've got a "festival of heroes" tomorrow at church and it's HUGE!!! 5 churches have gone together and put together a free carnival for all ages. We've got cake walks, all sorts of carnival games, one of those HUGE blown up slides, $4000.00 worth of door prizes, free hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, chips, drinks, and all sorts of sweets! And who is in charge of the cotton candy, popcorn, and sweets?!? - ME of course!!! :shrug:
So, I'll be packing my food tomorrow along with my water for the day!
We're expecting 4000 people between the hours of 12-4!
Last thing - my son was given a car last night by a friend of ours! A Chev. Corsica and he's sooooo excited! It needs a water pump and a belt. Low mileage, new tires, gorgeous interior... did I mention how excited he is?!?
This is so cool, because a few years ago we gave our car to a family in need of one when we purchased our van... So now, we are reaping what we sewed!
Okay, time for sleepyville - getting back up at 7:30 a.m.!
Blessings,

Pearl - first, I am sorry to hear of the passing of your family members. I agree with what you said though - I have a couple family members that it really would not phase me if they passed, but I pity the person that has to comfort with me when some of my dear friends are taken from me.
Sounds like you'll have a big time in Powhatan, VA. Geez, I didn't know there were 4,000 people in all of VA!! LOL
I totally believe in the whole "Pay it Forward" and/or "what goes around comes around" theory. I do good things because I really like to do them for others and I hope if I'm ever in a bad situation, that someone will do the same for me (of course there are no guarantees, but one can hope). Hopefully someone can help with the repairs and then you won't have to get up at o'dark thiry to take him to work. That is great news.
and finally, congrats on your TO loss. I can't wait to hear what your scale said this morning.

Evette, Katie, Bobby18, Lisa, Carmen, Heathers 1 and 2, and everyone else in lurking mode - wassup??????? Hopefully not the scale!!

Good Morning Everybody! :wave:

Well, I just got back from WI, and [drumroll please]
DOWN a TOTAL of 4 lbs this week since starting TO! I plan on going back in again on Monday, so hopefully that will keep me on track for the weekend!!

Pearl – Thanks again for the oatmeal recipes.
Also, even though you’re not close with your family, my heart & prayers go out to you at this time. You are such a strong person!
Congrats on your loss after TO as well!! WTG!
:dance: :dancer:


Congrats to all those who have lost! :goodluck: to those who still have WI.

Here’s to a great pop day everyone! :cheers:

I was down 2.8 lbs for the week! Woohoo! :) Look...my little chickie on my signature is moving!

Still not feeling 100%, but it's getting better.

Pearl-I'm sorry to hear about your losses, and even more sorry that you weren't close to your family. But I'm very glad you have a family type relationship with your friends. I don't know what I would do w/o my family and close friends.

Pearl - I am sorry to hear of the passing of your family members

I've seen a lot of talk about the plans everyone is on. It makes me wonder if I'm go the right plan. When I started back in April I was 169.5 they put me on gold w/ lites. Then I didn't buy the lites they moved me to purple w/o lites. Then on Wed I brought 10 boxes to see if it helps, and they moved me back to gold w/lites at WI that day I was at 153.6. Does that seem right to anyone.

My mom and grandma made it back to Canton Oh by midnight. After 12 hours of not know where they were.

I don't make to my 3rd WI this week, since I was not of town.

Jamie - it sounds to me that you're on the right plan. When I started at 191 I was put on Purple with lites and when I got to 179 I went to Gold with lites. I will stay on Gold until I reach my goal (some people go down to Green but I didn't need to last time and I probably won't this time). How much do you exercise? My COD only moves you up a plan if you exercise more than 5 hours per week. So, at your weight either Gold with lites or Purple without sounds right to me.

Good afternoon everyone! I haven't been able to post for a couple of days and am trying to catch up on all the posts. Boy we are an active group!! (I LOVE it).

Cassie- Love the DH "cake comment" so funny he is...:D the costume for your litte one is too cute and oh so appropriate .. I adore little boys. :devil:

Michelle - Congratulations on making it to Onderland!!!! Even the Pizza party didn't hold you back. I know it's hard to go over to friends or to a party and not have anything to eat. I think the ideas from the other girls are great! Just bring your own - or agree to make the salad, veggie tray etc.

Pearl - I am sorry to hear about your loss. You are in my prayers. I also wanted to congratulate you on your TO loss. GOOOOOOOOOO Pearl!! Thank you for the oatmeal ideas, I desperately needed a new breakfast item to add to my meal plan.
You are such a treasure. How wonderful and exciting that someone was generous enough to give your son a car! I too believe in paying it forward. Those who do good deeds are rewarded! :carrot:

JulieMarie - Congrats on your adoption!! How exciting. I can't wait to see the progress, will you post on a blog??

Rebecca - I did the Master Cleanse about 8 months ago and it was really hard. I did not really see any results and felt tired and hungry :(
Hang in there...you know we are all here to support you!

MTDeb - Congrats on (almost) meeting your goal! You have so much to be proud of and I am happy you are here to share your knowledge with us newbies. I too wondered if I would feel that way (unchartered territory w/meeting my goal weight). It's scary but you know what, you look FABULOUS and you are probably in the best health you have ever been in. That is no small accomplishment. I hope you are treating yourself to something really special.

Lori - I love Halloween too! I wish I could drive by your Haunted Minivan :D
As for Starbucks, I must admit I am a Starbucks Snob. I usually order a NF, SF hazelnut Latte with 2 splenda, grande (medium coffee, skim milk, sugar free hazelnut, with splenda) it's soooooooooo yummy. Now that I am trying really hard to be POP I skip it and drink regular coffee in the morning - still Starbucks but nothing fancy.

Nicole - Welcome to the board! I am not sure if I extended a welcome so I wanted to be sure to do so now. I am glad you had the COD change your plan, I would starve on GOLD right now.

KrispieD - - Congrats on the Bodyflex class! YOU GO!!!! :strong:

As for me...I am down 2.2lbs this week!!! :cheer:
I have been trying really hard to stay OP and come to find out I was eating one hardboiled egg for breakfast and counting it as only 1 protein...imagine my suprise and delight when I found out the serving size is THREE eggs!! whoo hoo ( I know, it's the little things that get me :smug: ) I also took home a box of the vanilla shake mix and am going to start making smoothies for lunch (yogurt, fruit, vanilla mix). My goal this week is to really plan out all my meals. Of course Pearl has me totally hooked on oatmeal so it looks like this weeks breakfast will include an oatmeal delight of some sort.

I hope you all are off to a great weekend!
Hugs :hug:
Debbie/Nashville

Debbie! Way to go.. get that ticker moving!!!

Pearl thinking of you as always!

To the rest of the ladies.. working hard on hitting Onederland next week.. planning to throw myself on eliptical machine in 20 minutes after girls go to bed... sooooo tired... okay tired but motivated.. think of me!!

Hugs to All you Skinny things!

Hi all,
WI yesterday went great. I am finally down into a new decade. Woo HOO!!! It has taken me months to get here, of course, that was because of my own stubborness and lack of motivation. You all have helped me to refocus and dedicate myself. This morning, my scale said I was down another 1.5 from yesterday morning. I don't know why but I am so excited. I liked Repo Girl's idea of paying herself when she was POP so I talked my DH into paying me $1 for everyday that I am POP. So far $2. but I have had days where all I forgot was a glass of water or one vegie or one thing. THE SCALE IS FINALLY MOO-MOO-VING!!!! WOO-HOO!!! Thanks all for the encouragement. Just a quick question. My friend does LAWL also and is doing TO next week, just wondering since the scale is finally moving whether I should join her or not. What do you all think?

Pearl- Sorry to hear about your loss and your strained relationship, but glad that you have the people at church to be your family.

Tweeteach - Congrats on your WI and your $2! If the scale is moving for you, I don't recommend doing TO. We all seem to like doing TO and seeing the great results (down 2 to 3 lbs in just a couple days), but for many of us, our weight then seems to stall......so, I say keep doing what you are doing!

Krispie - I have this visual of you "throwing yourself" on the elliptical..hope you didn't hurt yourself!

Debbie Nashville - Congrats on the loss and your determination. I know what you mean about watching our portion sizes, although unlike you, I've been giving myself too much!

Jamie - Gold with lights sounds right to me. If you are exercising hard (5+ hours) it should be blue with lights. The only difference with blue is you get an extra 1/2 protein and 1 extra starch. At one point I told my COD that I thought eating 2 lites each day was just way too much sugar. I asked them how the food plan would change if I just ate 1 lite per day. They said my food exchanges would not change at all.

Meagain, Dolphn - Wow - great job on the losses! You all are making me very, very jealous! My weight is hovering at 160 and doesn't want to move. But, I'm hanging in and know that in time, it's got to give.

We're off to the dog park today and just plan to relax and enjoy a beautiful fall day in Atlanta. Our mission is to get some good photos of the kids (I'm talking 2 boxer dogs here) for our annual Christmas card! This is no easy task.

Good morning everyone!

I started my day off with Pearl's Oatmeal delight - Oatmeal, Splenda brown sugar with fresh peach, it was SO yummy. :hun:

Yesterday I made one of my favorite soups, cabbage with onion, yellow and red pepper, diced tomatoes and ground turkey. I add, spicey Mrs. Dash and morton's lite salt, pepper and garlic --- soooooooo yummy.

Today my goal is to drink lemon water (2X) and to get my water in. I am also going for a long walk in my neighborhood. The weather is so beautiful I want to take advantage of it while I can!

Here's to a POP sunday!

Big hugs - :hug:
Debbie/Nashville

Good morning girls!

Quick check in, no time for all the personals, but I have a few...

Pearl - I am so sorry to hear about your loss, and your family situation. You are so blessed to have DH, DS1, DS2 and your church family to help you through this rough time. You're in my prayers.

Sherry and Nicole - WTG on the losses.

Michelle - Congrats on Onederland!

As for me... scale finally moved down 2.2 on Friday! However, yesterday was my sister's b-day party, and I overindulged a little. I chose to be the designated driver so I wouldn't drink, and my mom go chicken wings so I ate the celery and carrots, but there were some other items that I made that I love, so I had a few of each. Darn scale was up 3.6lb this morning! But I planned for last night, so I am on TO today and tomorrow. And chugging lemon water. But even with the extras, I planned well and saved my exchanges for the night, and what I did have was probably 1/4 of what I would have had pre-LAWL, so that's a plus. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Gotta run - going shopping for a new kitchen today. I am sooooo excited. We found someone to install some pre-made cabinets, so we're off and shopping. My house was built in 1982 so things are starting to fall apart. Getting new tile, new countertops, new kitchen cabinets. I am a happy girl. If this can get done before Thanksgiving, I'll be thrilled!

Have a great day girls.

Cassi- So cool on the new kitchen. We re-did ours last year. DH used to build houses, so he does all that handy stuff and I really like doing it too, so we did it all ourselves. We used the cabinets we had and DH just built new doors and laminated the existing cabinets to match the new doors. I picked out the laminate counter top and he built the new counter and laminated it on there. We put tile on the wall the floor. I love my new kitchen, makes it so much fun to be in there again. Have fun and enjoy it.

Ulanda- How is your dad doing?:hug: Hopefully he is getting better. The 6 week challenge is kind of like the 21 day boost. TO mixed with subbing one slimdown for food and eating regular plan. Do a search on it in the LAWL forum, there is a thread from a few months ago. Sorry you are having issues with your center. I believe that every single person that works at LAWL should be a former customer or have been on the program for a certain period of time before they are even allowed to work there. It really makes a world of difference on the service you get.

Michelle- I know this is a few days late- but YAY on ONEderland!!!:carrot: :cp: :cb: :dance: :grouphug:

Alannah- You are doing great. 5.2 lbs. is wonderful!!:hat: :dancer:

Pearl- Sorry to hear about the deaths in your family. I understand, because my mom has had issues with her family and they waited for a month after her dad was buried before anybody even told her he had died. She has said for many years that the only family she has is my dad, my sister, me and our closest friends.
I hope you are having fun at your "festival of hero's".

Sherry- WOOHOO on the 4 lbs.:woo: :dance:

Nicole- Congrats on the 2.4 lbs. :high:

Meagan- YAY on the 2.8 lbs.:cheer2:

Joni- Did you get any good pics of the kids? I did photos of ours 2 years ago by the Christmas tree. I was plum wore out after a while. I'd like to get a family photo of all of us, but I think that might be even worse. Maybe I can cut and paste good photos of everybody individually into photoshop and make up my own. Might be less of a hassle.:tired:

My COD is having kind of a party on Mon. and Tues. :ghost: You get a free prize for coming in, :bat: a halloween recipe book and you can bring in a recipe or make up the recipe of your favorite LA acceptable halloween treat to share with other clients. :spid: Then if you come in again on Wed. or Thurs. and you have lost at least 1 lb. you go into a drawing for a $100 LAWL gift card. I have to work Tuesday night to cover for my boss, so Halloween is not going to be a problem for me. :witch: DH hates handing out candy so I haven't even bought any.

Oh, Pearl, I made some of that crock pot apple butter. WOW!!! It is delish!!!!:drool: And way less work than the way my mom used to make it.

The weather is NASTY here, so I'm curled up here at home and checking in on a Sunday - very unusual for me!

Pearl - I'm sorry that you have lost some members of your family. I understand what you are saying about not feeling as deep a loss as if it were some close friends. It's more of a grieving of a lost relationtionship.

Dolphn, Meagan, Debbie and Pearl - great results this week!

Jaime - glad your mom and g'mom made it home OK. It must have been a tense 12 hours for you!

Tweet - Since your body is in Loss mode, I would not do TO. Why torture when things are going OK?

Cassi - Here's hoping that this AM's gain is temporary... I love the way that you stay positive about these things. Remembering that the choices I am now making are so much better than what I would have made really helps keep me from getting too far down. Thanks for getting that mantra in my head. New kitchen!!! Ooohhh - very jealous!

I did manage to get back to ticker weight. Yay! Hopefully I can join all of you on the losing train now.

Hi Everyone! We're having such a beautiful day here in San Diego! I'm going shopping in a few, so I'm just popping in to say "hello" to all! Hope everyone is doing well. I'm still here, lurking more that posting. I'm not gaining any weight , just staying at the same weight of 143. (Maybe this is where my body wants to be?) Shucks....I want to at least hit the 130's! Ah well, I'm still staying POP, hoping that this 2 week stall starts moving soon!

Oh, by the way.... to my Secret Santa (ornament exchange pal) Thank you in advanced. I received the package and don't worry..... I actually have it hidden in my closet so that I'm not tempted to open it! :) I can't wait to see what I got!

Joni: I re-posted the picture! haha! :)

Cassie- How exciting for you to redo your kitchen! I would love to see the before/after pics if you are taking any :-)

Congrats on the -2.2lbs. Don't worry about the little cheat, you deserve one!

Debbie/Nashville

Deb,

Thank you for asking about my dad. He is coming along, it's a long process ahead of him, but I am very thankful to God that it isn't cancer. He is making progress each day. Please continue to pray for him.

WI yesterday was a bust. I was the same, but of course they couldn't find a reason, so she asked me if I had written down everything that I had that week. I said YES, just as I do every week even if I slip. So I didn't really hear what she said from point. So I am planning to do the 21 day boost on November 6th. I am not sure if that will help me, but I hope that it will give me a little boost. My birthday is on Friday so that is a planned cheat at least for dinner.

So I will need something to get me back in line.

Pearl, sorry to hear about the loss of your family members. Eventhough your blood family relations are strained. Thank God for your church family.

Have a great rest of your Sunday evening!

Hello All!

Pearl - I am sorry for your losses. I will be praying for you and yours.
Enjoy your time at the festival, handing out all those no-nos. And Congrats on your weight loss. You are such a jewel!

Deb - Happy Birthday Early! Glad to hear your father is doing better. The scales are rigged...I just know it!

Evette - WOW! Start calling you Skinny Minnie. I can't believe I will ever look that good...I can't wait!!!

Cassi - We need a Kitchen makeover so badly! We started in Master bath, Master bed, son's room, etc....The kitchen scares us both!

I wanted to let those of you who are not fans know that the ST. Louis Cardinals won the World Series...and I am happy 0- go -lucky about the whole thing! I was down .2 lb.s at WI and that was in jeans, and with a full bladder as someone else was in the BR.

Off to finish cleaning up before bed...a 2 yr. old in a bath tub, sounds exciting .

Good Morning Everybody! :wave:

Well, I made it through the weekend. Not so bad. Yesterday was getting a little tough though. Had a couple extra bites, but not as bad as usually would have. Had a couple bites of hot italian sausage with my pasta for dinner. Had a bowl of frozen FF cool whip as a snack to stay away from any other sugar in the house.

Today I have alot of running around to do, and haven't the slightest clue how I'm going to eat. Have appointments back to back all day (9, 11, 1 & DH has to be at work by 3; then I work 6-9). I will probably have to hit a drive through somewhere, and salad it will be!

Evette - your new pic looks awesome! You look so happy! I am so jealous of your weather there in sunny San Diego. We had snow flakes here! Nothing stuck, just scattered flakes every now and then.

Cassi - a new kitchen, how exciting! I have tons of plans for my house (just not tons of money to go with it - LOL). But DH is not the handiest person in the world, so ...

Congrats to all those who have lost, and :goodluck: to those who still have WI!

:wave: to everyone else!

Here's to a GREAT POP Monday!! :cheers:

Good (yawn) morning everyone! :coffee:
I haven't weighed today, but dh and I were both UP 2 pounds yesterday after TO and a VERY POP day on Sat.
The Festival of Heroes was awesome! We served over 2000 people. It had rained the day and night before and the wind was horrible all day and got worse as the day progressed, so we assume that is why the numbers were lower than we expected, but all in all, a huge success.
I had cotton candy in places I didn't remember having when I got home... the wind literally blew it out of the maker before we could get it on the stick and in a bag - but somehow we managed... (I didn't even lick my lips!!!)
One of my younger friends help and was coated with it like I was... I told her at least her dh could have some fun when they got home but MINE was on a DIET!!! (not that ain't fair!)
I packed tuna and a salad with my fruit and bars and didn't eat so much as a popcorn kernal!!! (of course, I didn't have time to get the fruit it, I was lucky to get the salad in!) But I did drink all my water so... :whoo:
As for my family - decided not to go to the funeral home... didn't want to upset anyone by being there unexpectedly. Don't know if I'll try and reach my SIL or not... Kind of over the whole thing. I did post a sympathy on the newpaper obit online - a commemorative "book" you can add your memories or notes to the family, provided by our Richmond Times Dispatch... A neat idea if the family ever looks at it!
Well, gotta go. Got my ds ready to go to work and Mom's gotta take him!
Hugs,

Good Morning everyone,
Before I say anything else, or forget anything I want to say....I am very sorry for all of the heartache you are going through, Pearl. I am sure this is not going to be an easy time for you, no matter what your family situation is/was. It is wonderful that you have good support all around you. I hope these next few days/weeks/months pass quickly for you, and your heart gets back to normal soon.

also...GO CARDS!!! WHOOO.......

also, congrats, EVERYONE, on their losses. I am very happy to see that. I keep getting nervous that my loss is just a joke, and that one of these times I am going to get on the scale and it is going to roar an evil laugh, and this whole thing will be over. I know that sounds crazy, but I still don't really feel like this is going to work, or that I am making enough of a sacrafice or something. I have always dieted in a much more extreme or painful way. I feel pretty good, and that seems impossible. So, please, tell me this is not a dream. Not to say that this is not difficult.........but it is rather manageable.

Thank you for the warm welcome Debbie. And Ulanda, I have not yet written directly to you, but I sure can empathize about your dad. My dad is in good health right now......but there was a time a couple of years ago when we almost lost him due to a lung tumor and subsequent surgery. I was with him when his lung collapsed because of internal bleeding, at the hosp. and he was rushed into surgery. The worrying and the waiting was just about unbearable. And seeing him in pain, and medicated was so difficult. It is hard to watch the strongest man you ever knew in such a weak state. I made myself feel better by frequenting the hospital cafeteria. And let me tell you, hospital cafeterias have come a long way. YUM. Anyway.......I will be thinking of you, and sending you will power to stay out of the cafeteria.

I stayed OP for the most part this weekend, but had a hard time getting everything in now that they switched me to the purple plan. I am working on it though :)

Have a great day everyone!!!

Pearl - well the gain after doing TO totally stinks for both you and DH! - wonder how his COD will explain that outcome??
I have a visual for the cotton candy coated bodies...how funny. Congrats on being so good at such a big event.

Dolphn - Sounds like you stayed focused on your weekend; did you really have a "bowl" of FF cool whip??? I know 1T = a condiment; what's a bowl equal? I had some strawberries last night and I know I put a huge spoonful of FF cool whip on mine and stopped myself from putting on a second spoonful since I figured I already had about 1/4 Cup on there! But, jeez, 1T is not very much! It's those little things that seem to get me. I need to measure, measure, measure and not pretend I can eyeball things!

Cassi - Sorry I'm not joining you on TO today; but I'm planning a POP day with quite a bit of exercise and figured I needed some real food. Good luck though and GL at weigh in today. Hope your kitchen shopping went well!

Evette - thanks for checking in and I do like your new picture. You look great!

Have a great day everyone; hope to hear from our regulars on how they are doing!

Nicole - the beauty of this program is that it's a lifestyle change. So if you can look at it that way instead of being a "diet", it may seem more real to you! :)

Joni - yea, I really did eat a bowl of frozen cool whip. :eek: It was like eating ice cream, only much better for me. I didn't even know how to count it. But if that's my worst cheat on a WEEKEND no less, I can deal with it!

Nicole - I agree about the hospital food! I always ate there when visiting or volunteering...and it has come along way! And yes, your weight loss is real. I'd pinch you if I was in St. Louey.

Pearl - sounds like an interesting day! Cotton Candy Meyham! Wish it could have been FF Cool Whip Meyham for ya! Yeah on staying OP.

Dolphn - good work not straying to far. I had to do McDonald's over the weekend myself I did 2 side salads and 2 apple dippers w/out the carmal with a slimdown, I took an apple and an orange with me and used them both in smy salads. diced the apple and squeezed the orange for dressing. Pretty yummy.

I am never very good at the whole set your clocks back thing...so tired here.

Wow, Michelle, I just checked out your ticker......did you really lose 16 lbs since september?????

Well, had WI this morning and I was down another 0.8. Total 6.6. However, I am nursing a migraine today so I don't know how long I will actually be at work. I may have to go home early if it doesn't ease up a bit later on, but the weekend was good.

Not much new here. Hope everyone has a great week!

Alannah

hey there buddies....finallty got to an internet site..We live about an hour from any sort of internet actuvity...I really miss you allll......

<LOOK AT ALL the new pics....My avatar is from our ranch here in Baja...That is my studio...Have not done any pottery so far..worked on the house after the Hurricane ,,John hit our area directly.<

:carrot: i am stayting POP but have no way to weigh in which really is fine...Doing a hour of exercise daily..Walking or working in our community garden....For my nightly cocktail I have a COFtail...That means iced coffee with non fat milk....it is great::::Had one margarita one nite.....That reallly was not that great..Feeling good and looking good feels better...still lots of lemon water....and lots of exercise...I will be going into Cabo tomorrow and might have time to read and check up on all of your lives....

I think about all of you often and really miss my healthy buddies.

<it is lovely here...right on the beach,..not a soul on the beach unless we know them usually....quiet and lots of time to relax and exercise and eat healthy....thanks for listening...:hug: check in later I hope.....

just got back from COD.......lost 0.6 lbs. yeay!

Nicole - yes, I have lost 16lbs. since mid-September. But look at you! Your ticker says you've already lost 9lbs! You are doing great! I average 2.4 lbs. a week is what they are telling me...we'll see what they say tomorrow.

Allannah - Sorry to hear you are not feeling great today. Hope you are better soon.

Nance - Glad to hear from you! We miss you too!

Good Day, all! Hope everyone's off to a POP start! WI was up nearly a pound... no one but myself to blame. (Too much eating out and giving in to tempation this weekend)

My son's grid-kids football team made the superbowl - football will finally be over on Wednesday night. WOO HOO! I am really tired of having practice of some sort or another 5 nights a week. Now we will get Fridays and the occasional Monday off! Yippee. The Superbowl should actually be fun. I think the kids will get a limo ride to the stadium - they get to play in the High School stadium, under the big lights. It's really a big deal, and Bryce has worked really hard for it this year.

My hairdresser up and moved away with no warning.... what's a girl to do? I've had two people cut my hair in the last 7 years. I've been growing it some, thinking I would get a perm to add some body, but now...I'm afraid I'll end up looking like this:
http://www.drdudd.co.uk/homelife/haircut.gif

I have exciting news! I heard from my brother's first wife via email! She read my posting in the memory book online and emailed me! I'm soooo excited! She asked about my life and I replied and asked her to tell me what she knows about my brother's death and their son's death! Then, about her life and other son and daughter that I played with... (remember, I'm older than dirt, so this lady must be in her late 60's-early 70's!)
I truly believe God will take something meant for bad and turn it into something good and I've been waiting to see how that would turn out...
Got more news about Ds's "new" car. According to my friend, it's in great shape and the inside is immaculate!

Joni - Hmmmmm, FF cool whip... dh could have that! As for the weight gain, I swear our scale is demon possessed! You're supposed to get three of the same readings in a row to know that is your weight... well, it just doesn't happen!!! DH gets on it and wham - 3 in a row! I get BACK on it and wham - demonic!!! I weighed 5 times this morning and I went from what I was on Sat. to +7 pounds!!! And let me tell you, if I gained 7 pounds since Saturday - I SHOULD have had more fun with that cotton candy!!!

Reddeborah - WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Isn't that vacation over yet?!? It feels like you've been gone a MONTH!!! (I hope it feels that way for you!)

Evette - You are one gorgeous chickie! I really don't think you could take a bad photo of yourself - nor could anyone else!

Well, got out one of the skirts from my "friend" in Texas that I couldn't wear 2 weeks ago and, and, it didn't fit! IT WAS TOOOOOOOO BIG!!! It was so nice, I decided to wear it anyway, so I wore it with a sweater set (from her also) and I got lots of compliments! My friends were walking up to me and saying "WOW!!!"... Of course, a couple of them grabbed the skirt and started laughing FOR me - because it almost fell off! (pretty funny!) My DH told me to hold on to that skirt or there was going to be more revelation at church than we needed for one Sunday! (I just love my Honey Love Sugar Babe!)
We're getting higher tech at church and I'm feeling a little over my head... starting to work on a project where we would record all services directly onto the computer hard drive. Also going to work on running MIDI files on the keyboard or laptop to provide "live" music when I don't have some of my band members...
Good grief! At least I don't have to worry about a keyboard taking vacation or leaving the church!
Well, gotta go and start keying (again). DH told me if our church does hire me eventually in the office - I can stop the transcription! YEAH!!! (the pay really does stink!)
Blessings everyone for a POP day!

PS - Nicole, this is the way it should be done! No "eat everything in that category", no fads, just smart, healthy choices that we CAN do for the rest of our lives! Maybe that's why all the other "diets" have failed all of us! Because they weren't plausible for a life time change! Congrats - you're doing great! Keep up the work (and I know it is work) because you are worth it!!!

Morning Ladies! (I really have to get the internet at home, it is hard work keeping up with you ladies).

Pearl-My sincere condolences on the losses in your family. I hear you about family separation. The only time I ever speak to my father is to let him know someone had passed away in the family.

Lori-I so hear you about losing your hairdresser. I am in the search of a new one now at the moment myself.

Evette-Love the new avatar!

WTG on the losses everyone!

As for me, I had a busy weekend. I was hiking all day with my puppy (the weather held off, thank goodness). Sunday was a weird day, weatherwise, it could not make up its mind what to do. I finally managed to rip out my tomoto plants for the year, and now all I have to do is fine some time to make my salsa. I am off to the COD tomorrow. I hope everyone has a good evening!

Nance - Glad you are enjoying your time in Baja - I was just wondering how you were doing. It's great to hear from you!

Nicole - .6 closer to x-mas onederland!

Pearl - You are NOT older than dirt - you are like a fine wine - better with age! Glad something good has come of your shocking news. You are going to have to try your new-to-u clothes on more often, or you will bypass the whole lot! Good thing you didn't have that skirt on here in NY yesterday, it would have blown right off of you.

Lori - Ain't it true??? Finding the right hair stylist can be more difficult than finding the right man to marry! And don't even get me going on breaking up with a stylist.....

Well tomorrow had better be the day I finally hit the 10lb mark - or I will have to resort to removing unneccesary body parts. How many ounces do you think an appendix weighs????

Good evening ladies,

I hope you are all well. First let me say that my father is doing fine and making pretty good progress. They allowed him to have all the popsicles he could hold basically today as long as they didn't irritate his stomach. I wasn't able to visit him because I have lost my voice and I didn't know if I had some type of virus. With him being in ICU, I didn't want to expose him to anything. I found out that something is going on with my vocal cords, so they are sending me to a Ear, Nose and Throat specialists. I really don't think it's anything serious. So I am not worried.

Anyone looking to start the 21 day boost? I am going to be trying it on Monday, Nov. 6th. If anyone wants to join me, I would appreciate it!

The weekend went by so fast, I couldn't believe it was already time to start back to work. It didn't even notice the extra hour of sleep. We set the clocks back 1 hour Saturday before going to bed.

Well, I better go and try to rest a little before going to bed.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Good evening ladies -

Pearl I totally sympathize with you! I lost 2.2 last week, went to the COD today and was up 2lbs! My counselor thinks it's sodium and she suggested I not eat red meat. I only ate one hamburger patty...who knows!

Needless to say I am bummed. I really want to get on the weight loss train and I am feeling a little down and out.

The rest of week is boot camp for me!:boxing:

Congrats on the WL Nicole and Alannah!!!!! :carrot:

2bfit- glad to hear your dad is doing better - you all are in my thoughts and prayers.

Hugs!
Debbie/Nashville

Debbie- I stalled out for 5 weeks quite a while back. The COD had me so scared of eating red meat that I didn't eat it for like 4 months. Then I start getting really fatigued and get blood work done and found our I was anemic. Darned if I do and darned if I don't. I don't let the small "red meat" gains get to me anymore. When I eat red meat, I eat it the same night that I weigh in so I have one whole day to get it out of my system. Plus I've got a whole stinkin freezer full of beef and venison that needs to be eaten.

Ulanda- I am glad that your dad is doing better. Hopefully he is on his way to a full recovery. I actually am just ending my 21 day boost. I will do TO tomorrow and Wed.

Evette- The new pic is way cute!!

Nance- Glad you checked in. Baja and Cabo sound so wonderful right now.

It is really flippin cold here today, a whopping 14 degrees now, and topped out at 22. We didn't get the amount of snow that they predicted, but I think that is because the wind was blowing so hard that it blew it somewhere else. Not supposed to get much above freezing all week long. What the heck happened to fall?!?!?

Kim - quite a sense of humor you've got and I do hope you hit your 10 lb mark tomorrow!
Nance - good to hear from you...thanks for checking in and a big pat on the back for keeping up with your new healthy lifestyle!
I did a step circuit class at the gym tonight so it's Advil tonight and prayers that I can walk tomorrow (the class instructor was a lunge lover and lunges always kill me - but I know how good they are so I did them all and will pay tomorrow!).
Thanks to everyone that's been posting on the recipe threads....yummo! Cassi - are you on a first name basis with the LA Chef folks?? LOL.
Happy Halloween; beware of all things chocolate!! :haphal:

Hey gang :) I've been slacking again and haven't posted in a couple days, but anyway.....

So yesterday morning I had lost 3 of the 4 pounds I gained on birthday binge, but this morning, all 3 were back?!?!?!? I refuse to believe it! I'm going to look again tomorrow morning.

Congrats to you losers, and keep up the good work!
Hugs,

Good morning chickies! TO is over!!! Here's a long post, but I'm catching up from the weekend:

Deb – GL at WI. Did you make a recipe to bring in to the COD? YIKES it’s cold in Montana! I got chills just reading your 14 degrees.

Kim – WOO HOO on the ticker weight! It didn’t take long for the vacation weight to come off! I am staying positive on the gain because I knew that that my sister’s party was coming, and I consciously made the decision to splurge. We have so much coming up between parties and holidays and concerts, that I have chosen certain things to stay OP and certain things that I know I’ll go over. I’ve made those very few so that I can enjoy them guilt free. So, this was one of them.

Here’s my schedule: Halloween I am staying OP, I have a grand opening cocktail party on Thursday for work for one of our developments, and I’ll stay OP. Next weekend I am going w/DH to Tampa for his college football game. There is a steak place there that is so good! I am ordering the steak, but no beer or potato – double broccoli so I stay OP. The following Tuesday is Jimmy Buffet concert – I will stay OP with food, but probably have some beer and go a little over. That Saturday is the Ratdog concert, and I will be the designated driver so I can stay OP. Then comes Thanksgiving… I will NOT be OP that day, but will not stuff myself. The next day, I am giving myself permission for one turkey sandwich and one portion of my Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole – which is so not OP it’s not funny – but I only make it once a year, so I’m having it. And that’s not even the start of holiday parties yet! So you see, if I were to enjoy all of this, there would be no way I would lose. I am picking my battles. I have made a calendar of holiday parties too, to decide my strategies, but I have found that being a designated driver really helps. DH likes it, and since I have the kids with me at a lot of the parties, there is no way I would even have one.

GL at WI tomorrow! Oh, and I think an appendix only weighs .4. Maybe you could throw in a kidney too??? LOL

Debbie – I will be taking pics thanks to your suggestion! I would have probably thought of it after it was done. I will definitely take some before demolition. As for the WL, the last time I did TO I lost 3lb and then gained 1lb the next WI. I then stayed there for 1 1 /2 weeks. No explanation. Just remember that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, so you need to give your body “honey”. (Not literally). But be sweet and nice to your body – give it good food, stay OP, maybe treat yourself to a nice flavored tea for a treat, and don‘t stress over it. It’s a waiting game, and you can wait your body out.

Ulanda – So glad to hear that your dad doesn’t have cancer. His recovery is in my prayers. As for WI - that scale will move eventually. It’s a waiting game sometimes.

Michelle – The kitchen is scary. Very scary. But we bought pre-made cabinets from Lowes and we have a good and highly recommended installer. I’m hoping it goes as smoothly during construction as it has so far.

Sherry – A bowl of Cool Whip??? You cracked me up. That’s a novel idea to hitting the sweets. I know about the tons of plans, but not tons of money! We bought the house last year and took advantage of the appreciation in the home and refinanced this year and pulled out the cash for some home improvement. The house was built in 1982 so it needs some love, but it has big potential.

Pearl – Up after TO? That must be a demon scale if I ever heard of one! Was DH up at the COD too? As for the cotton candy – the visual on that made me laugh out loud. WTG on packing your own lunch. Great NSV. And I am so glad you heard from someone after your guest book post. And congrats on DS’s new car too.

Nicole – I know what you mean. When you’ve never learned to eat properly – it’s either overindulge or starve yourself – this moderation thing is scary. I remember when I went on vacation I thought that going off plan would cause me to gain everything back in a week – and that was after losing 25lbs. You’re doing great. Have faith in the program and in yourself! And WTG on another loss.

Joni – Was it a tennis marathon that was your TO downfall? Oh well, even staying OP is still a victory! As for the LA Chef, I just keep sending them in. I’m thinking of sending in my Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole just to see if they send me back a message that says “Tilt” or “This does not compute” or “What, are you crazy?!?!”

Alannah – WTG on your loss!

Nance – So good to see you check in. Hope you’re having a ball. Congrats being able to stay OP during your time away.

Lori – The superbowl for DS sounds like a lot of fun. Love the limo transportation. Nice touch for whoever planned that one! Sorry about the hairdresser. Both my mom and sister and hairdressers, and how often do I get my hair done? About twice a year. It’s like the shoemaker’s kids never have shoes. GL finding another one. I know it can be difficult.

Carol – Good to see you check in!

Jenni – Stay strong. It was a fluke – must be a demon possessed scale. It will be back to normal.

As for me, we picked out the kitchen stuff on Sunday, and DH will bring everything home Friday afternoon. Construction starts next week. Even more good news… I work for a developer and one of the girls heard me talking about the new kitchen and she told me about these 16” travertine tiles that are sitting at one of our properties. She called one of our senior management and he said I can have them. I will either get them at $1/tile or free – depending on what the owner of the company wants to do. He said I’m doing them a favor because they have to move less of them out. How cool is that? And I found a discount on granite and I think we might actually be able to afford it.

After we bought the kitchen, I was just in shock. I’ve never had a nice kitchen since we’ve always rented, and then when we bought out townhouse, even though it was new construction, they had already done the kitchen and it was just plain white laminate. I felt like I didn’t deserve something this nice, even though we had bought the house with this in mind and did a refinance for this purpose. I know I shouldn’t have felt like that, but we definitely didn’t have nice stuff growing up, and I guess this is a holdover. We weren’t poor, but we definitely scraped by. And we sure never got anything like this new. But I am very excited. I can’t wait to cook in it.

Also, I filled out my application and paid my fee for culinary school. I will either start in January or April, depending on DH’s schedule. He’s doing his teaching national boards this year and everything is due March 31st. That means January through March will be pretty intense for him, so I may wait until April.

Katie, Lea Ann, Rebeca... come out and play!

I was up .8 yesterday at WI. Which is weird because I didn't eat all my servings this weekend. So I blame eating too little for my gain. ?? I must be retaining water, that's all I can think of, because I didn't indulge at all. :?:

My first grad school application goes out in the mail today, for Boston College. I'll be SO glad when all of this is over! Four more to go. Oh, and ladies...if I don't get into any of these schools, I'm going to eat my way into oblivion and you'll all have to send the special forces in to get me out! School's going okay right now. I'm taking prerequisites right now, and I currently have a 4.0!! :) That'll hopefully help the grad school apps! :book2:


Michelle- congrats on Onederland!!! I cannot believe you lost that much in just over a month! That's crazy. I started the end of Sept. and haven't quite hit 10lbs yet. Argh. But yay for you! How do you do it?!

Cassi-I'm envisioning you going to the "Kitchen store" and pointing to one and saying, "I'll take that one", and sticking it in your trunk.

Evette-you're looking marvelous as always! Look at you, you hottie!

Ulanda-I must have missed something in my days away from the board. What's going on with your dad? I hope everything's alright. You're in my thoughts!

Debbie-congrats on your first 2lbs!

I keep getting nervous that my loss is just a joke, and that one of these times I am going to get on the scale and it is going to roar an evil laugh, and this whole thing will be over. I hear ya! :lol:

Lori-That stinks about your hairdresser. I've been living here for 2 years and I STILL haven't found someone I trust to cut my hair. So I get it cut when I'm visiting my parents, so I can see Trish, who's cut my hair since I was 12!

Well tomorrow had better be the day I finally hit the 10lb mark - or I will have to resort to removing unneccesary body parts. How many ounces do you think an appendix weighs???? I was thinking about my spleen. I bet if you took out the spleen, the appendix, and a couple of toes, you'd have a pound! And who really needs all of those intestines anyways?

Jenni-good to see you girl! :hug:

Everyone-have a good Halloween! :haphal: And remember, the candy is NOT worth it. It will not taste as good as you remember! Hold off and let yourself cheat on something worth it when you really need it! (like REAL chocolate...not the Hershey's fake waxy stuff!) :witch:

Cassi - can you PM that pre-LA Chef Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole (or direct me to a link if one exists). We go to the beach for a week at Thanksgiving and there are four families staying in the house we rent; this may be something special to share with everyone. Why do I equate food with "something special?"
Your kitchen plans are so exciting; and culinary school? This is the first I heard about this. Now that's doubly exciting!
Finally, I'm glad to see someone's ticker moving! I know you can hit that 50 lb mark!

Meagan - just hang in there; that scale will adjust! And with grades like that, the grad schools should be recruiting you!

Happy Halloween!

Megan - I think I have "cheated" 2x so far: 1X was an M&M cookie (gained a lb.) the 2X was a stupid pizza party where the promised lettuce was missing so I had two pieces of sausage thick crust pizza and the lettuce when I got home. Surprisingly enough I was 2 lb.s down after that one!

Other wise, I have taken everyones advice and eat my fruit and starches early in the day and try to have either a protein or a lite with breakfast. But, I have not exercised since my first week....Even so at my 1 month mark I was down 13 1/2 inches! You are doing great and when I stall out you will still be losing, you're stressed over school and what not, don't compare my apples with your oranges girl!

Cassi - Culinary School, Free tiles, hairdressers in the family....I want your fairy godmother....tell her to give mine a call.

:ghost: BOO!:spid:

Did I scare anyone?

Kimphin - Are you getting high on the candy fumes???? You are to cute!

Hello All -
Save one of your LA Lites, I suggest the Double Chocolate, for tonight. So when the kids come home with sack full of candy :chockiss: :m: and dump them all on the coffee table, and your DH & DKids indulging in chocolate, YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING SWEET TOO!! :haphal: :dust:

Kimphin - You're too cute!!

Cassi - That's awesome on the Cultinary School!! I bet you will excel in that field :)

Meagain - Good Luck with your Grad School applications!! 4.0?? You are on top! Can't get better then that!

Happy Haloweenies chicks!:haphal:

YAY YAY YAY YAY - moved the ticker... Oh happy day. I can keep my appendix, spleen and that extra kidney! Woo Hoo! Down 1.5#!!!:dance:

Still have not purchased any halloween candy - I'll have to run out later and get some, or I will surely get tricked. Some kids have already wandered into my office and I have nothing for them (I just shrug and cite the school's wellness policy! They still like me though-I give them Sacajewea dollars for their birthdays!)

So, yesterday I go into my gym and there is a table there with ... donuts, cookies, candy, and cider!! What's with that!!!!???? How about some fruits and veggies people?? To top that, they cancelled all classes for today with a note that said... stay home and eat candy. Like I need encouragement... I guess they are guaranteeing that they will stay in business.

Anyway... some ghostly greetings...

Ulanda - glad to hear your dad's news was good. It is scary to see that happen to someone you always thought was indestructible. Sorry you can't go see him.

Debbie - Hang in there. As frustrating as it is to lose, then gain, eventually your body will catch on.

Debster - Holy friggin cold!!!! It's supposed to be 60 here today, and I am thinking of sitting on my porch and handing out candy! I am so not ready for temps like that.... but they will be here sooner than I think. You stay warm, y'hear?

Joni - Hope the Advil has kicked in! Just think of the lovely scuplted butt and thighs you will have.

Jenni - Here's hoping that your scale is bewitched.

Cassi - I agree with you that you need to plan for certain non-POP moments. Since I have such a long haul to get to goal, it makes it bearable to allow for some small indulgences. Your plan sounds like it will really work out fine for you. I was wigging out on the cruise at one point and DH (who is very supportive) just said to me, look, it's called LIFE - it's all about the choices you make. It really helped me eat most of my meals OP.

Your kitchen sounds really nice - hope the travertine deal goes through! Preparing yourself mentally for the upheaval of construction, I hope? Don't feel guilty about it - you deserve it, plus, since you are going to culinary school - it's a professional necessity.

Meagan - Miss smarty pants! Hope you get in to ALL of the schools you apply to. :book2:

OK, I'll tone down the goofiness - the school where I work has been all weirdness this week (red ribbon week - yesterday we all wore our clothes backwards because drugs screw you up!) and I've gotten caught up in it.

Have a BOO- tiful day, ghouls. (oops. I mean girls - sorry, see above)

Meagan - It's water retention - leave it at that and don't stress about it. You're doing great, and the grad schools WILL work out. Have faith.

Michelle - When you put it like that, I really am blessed! We've struggled with this house and lots of financial pressure since I have a 2yo in daycare which costs between $800-$1000/month depending on if it's a 4 or 5 week month, that I guess it's about time some good stuff came my way. 13 1/2" is awesome! You should be so proud of yourself.

Nancy - The idea of having the Lite after trick-or-treating is a great idea, and one that I will use.

Kim - WTG on the loss, and the keeping of your body parts!!! I like the backwards day for red ribbon - I'll have to pass that on to DH for his school.

Oh... and if anyone wants the Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole, here's the recipe. It is SO NOT ON PLAN. I did e-mail the LA Chef to convert it, but I know it won't be the same. But if you want a splurge, here ya go...

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely crushed herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
1 cup cooked, diced turkey meat
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups leftover mashed potatoesDIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour. Slowly stir in evaporated milk and water, then season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir sauce over low heat for 5 minutes.
In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Blend in the dry stuffing mix. Place the turkey in the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over turkey, then sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spread mashed potatoes over cheese. Top mashed potatoes with the stuffing mixture.
Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven.NUTRITION INFORMATION

Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 366

Total Fat: 19g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Sodium: 844mg
Total Carbs: 33.8g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9g
Protein: 15.5g(Told ya it's not OP)

Afternoon chickies,

How are ya? This is one holiday that I am not at all bothered by. I don't do Halloween. We do have a harvest festival at our church for the kids which includes a talent show, that's about it.

Deb, when you did the 21 day boost, did you use any substitutions and if so what did you substitute? Please share your results. You have done so well thus far, I am just interested in knowing how it went for you. I can't remember if you were planning on losing more and if so how much?

My center doesn't even know wthat the 21 day boost is! I am wondering how to write it in my book or maybe I won't.

Cassi, I think you should open a center. You would be the best at creating menus and recipes that clients would actually want to eat.

Pearl, you could head up the motivation department in our new center. We are all on the program so I think we would be able to help people out a little bit better.

Evette, I forgot to mention it yesterday. I love your new picture. You look great!

Thank everyone for asking about my father. I will go and see him tomorrow. They did remove the draining tube and he is going to be able to finally eat some Jello. He is pretty upset about not being able to eat anything since last Tuesday.

Enjoy your day everyone and stay away from the Candy!

Congrats on your loss Kim!!! I agree...........Cassi and Pearl could totally kick butt if they had their own center. The LA chef is probably stealing Cassi's recipes as we speak. I hope everyone is having a great day......and good luck with all of the candy. I love candy. So far, so good for me. I just bought my candy, because I didn't think I would be strong enough to keep it in the house for too long. I usually let my kids eat all of theirs in the first few days........so hopefully the candy demon won't be around for too long. :)
Happy Halloween!

Hello Everyone
Have missed you all. Has been crazy with life, Halloween, weekend etc.
I spent Sunday at my sister in laws passing on red wine, baked brie and chinese food and instead nibbled on my carrots and sipped my mineral water.. not quite the same but I WANT Onederland. Was rewarded with 1.2 pound loss on Monday so now at 17 lbs total and 2.4lbs away from 200! Won't happen tomorrow as the lovely TOM just showed up but I'm sucking on lemons like you wouldn't believe!
Sunday we are headed to Buffalo to see the Bills play the Green Bay Packers.. for all of you I will confess to being a cheesehead! I LOVE THE PACKERS. .. so challenges will be eating as we are there for an overnight. And I do confess to loving my cocktails. Since I started 5 weeks ago I've only had 3 ounces of wine and one spritzer so I would LOVE to have a beer.. or two.. but we by fluke got tixs in the family section so no booze allowed. That will help for gametime and I'm already scouting out restaurants for the evening so I can stay OP. Then I'm hitting a grocery store so I can stock up on some of the SUPER products we can't get in Canada! I'm loading up!
Other than that I managed to be able to walk after Pilates last night.. teacher was trying to teach us how to throw our legs over our heads.. yah right! Maybe if I was reaching for a chocolate bar with my toes or something!

Sounds like you are all doing well and I'm off to get ready to dress up my darling little girls for Halloween this evening... Keep on plan gals!

Well, I have made Orange & Black Rice Krispy Treats, A Carrot Cake (Spider Web designed Icing), Ghost & Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, Brownies W/Skull Rings as dec., Ghost Suckers, Popcorn stuffed plastic gloves W/ Candy Corn Finger nails, Carmel Apples, and Apple Cider for the Kids Halloween Party where we will be making Masks, book marks & Haunted Houses and participating in an apple Bobbing contest. I am off to entertain...wish me luck !

( I will be good though because I have WI @ 5:00 p.m.

I'm heading to Michelle's to eat all those treats!!! Who's coming with me!!!!

Hi all--just a pop in--my "day off" has been everything but!!

I first want to CONGRATULATE all you LOSERS--whether in pounds or inches--WTG!!!

Second--I am a little green with all the "new" stuuf--kitchens, education, etc... We all love new stuff, huh?

Third--my good news (wouldn't call it NSV or scale related) but my second mammogram came back fine--whew!! Therefore, didn't need the sonogram or the biopsy afterall--I wish they hadn't even mentioned the biopsy and just saved it for today if/when necessary. Anyway--after NUMEROUS shots and re-shots of ol'lefty he decided it was calcification and now we have a good baseline and I don't have to have another til I'm 40--again--yeah for me!!

It's been crazy and I won't lie about being OP or POP because I've been everything but--fortunately only up a couple--and after our 3 day getaway I'll take it. Well, off to run errands before the girls have to be picked up from school. I want a day off that I don't have to do a stinkin thing for anyone but me--haha--do they make such things??

Ulanda - we don't do Halloween either... and I'm still recuperating from the Festival of Heroes! (My back is still having muscle spasms from leaning over that cotton candy machine!)

Okay - candy, candy, candy... I think we all should give out apples and oranges like they used to, or you could hand out licorice (if you don't like it!), what about stickers, pencils, erasers, party favors... There has to be something you guys could have on hand without fear of eating it!!!

I was supposed to have a meeting at church at 8:30 this morning but the goober forgot! So, instead I waited around and went in the office and offered to help out for a few hours... (I actually start tomorrow at 1). They didn't take a second to take me up on the offer and 3 hours later, I left for home. It was really busy and I love that atmosphere! I'm definately blessed with an administrative gift, so juggling several things at once is fun. Our Pastor wanted to "dictate" some letters and the other sec. doesn't enjoy writing down his letters and then typing them, and neither of us do dictation, so she asked me to do them. Then, Pastor asked me if I wanted to try keying the letter as he dictated it instead of speed writing it... I was game if he was since I do transcription - how bad could it be?
It was pretty funny... he pauses to think often enough that I could easily keep up and actually wait on him... I guess I made my first "impression" and the other sec. is forever in my debt and she REALLY hates doing them!
I think this could be a great thing... we'll just take it a day at a time and see how it works out...
Gotta go - got keying to do...
Blessings,

Pearl - I hand out candy, pencils, erasers, keychains, coloring books w/ crayons, cups, and a juice box to each trick or treater....I also have granola bars and fresh fruit on hand in case I get a diabetic child ... and you would be surprised how many diabetic children trick or treat just so they don't miss out on the experience. We only get around 25-50 trick or treaters.

Michelle,
Is trick or treating and Halloween a super big deal in MO? I was blown away my first trick or treat here. People bring their fire pits out onto their driveways, and have the kids do actual tricks to get their treats!!! What a fun tiime for everyone. Is it like that in KS also, or is it just my crazy neighborhood? It seems like whatever the occassion, STL celebrates it in style!!!

KrispieD.......have so much fun at the game. I LOVE the Packers...my hometeam. I am from WI.......Kenosha to be exact.....about 2 1/2 hours from Green Bay. I have yet to go to a game.........tickets are like gold in WI. Have fun, they are having a real good streak right now. And.......CONGRATULATIONS on being one step closer to Onederland!!!!!!

Nicole - We just are all family here...My neighbor hood rocks at Halloween! My neighbors rent the BIG Bounce Houses and each kid has to either give a treat or do a trick to bounce...whoever chooses not to bounce gets a piece of candy...the donated candy! I set up a Large decorated Table in the front yard and lay everything out Then I put donated Trick or Treat bags (another neighbor is a volunteer fireman and he gives me a bunch of the bags from the fire department to use) so the kids can load them! I also set out my short daycare tables/chairs so if the kids need a break from the bounce house they can sit and enjoy their juice boxes and candy and color in their coloring books I give out. The adults get a Hot Cocoa or a cider...My Other neighbor does ihis whole basement in a haunted House and allows you to go threw the house...at the end you get a gift certificate for a Dilly Bar for the DQ the whole neighbor hood does it! But we are about 15 min. outside of Jefferson City. Not to far but far enough that noone from town ventures out here for trick or treating except families that have moved to town and they come bec. they know it's safe and a lot more entertaining then walking for miles knocking on doors. There's alot to do and about 25 hoouses. Most of them participate if not at their own house then at someone elses.

We also have neighborhood baseball teams that are mixed w/ adults and kids w/ a dj for music and a big b-bQ about 4 times every summer and 4th of July here beats anything going on in Town at the Capital!

Being you all are talking about Halloween, I’m coming out of lurking to chime in. Halloween is huge at our house. We get over 700 kids (and we live in a small town). Most of my neighbors get dressed up, we all decorated like the Griswolds, play Halloween music and some of us even set up haunted houses in our garages or houses. Being this will be the last year of "just the three of us", we're dressing up as the 3 Musketeers! We get out our fire pit also, but only because we need it. It’s going to be a high of 19 degrees w/ the wind chill tonight. It gets a little crazy and expensive, but it’s so much fun.

Hello Dawn! We like it when lurkers come out of the closet! Halloween brings out the Mayberry! 700 kids...YIKES! That would get expensive! But I bet it makes it more interesting to stay home than go out! I love the 3 Musketeers thing!

Michelle - I'm coming to your house - I already LOOK like I've got on a costume...
We used to give out candy even though we don't do Halloween because I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone did... The first year - not one. The second year - not one. The third year - the "neighborhood" had grown and we got one. I think it's because we live in the boonies and it's soooo far between houses. Oh well, my german shepherd would give the poor little ones a coronary anyway! Of course, they'd love little Digger man!
Sounds like you all are going to have a ball! (just make sure it isn't a popcorn ball or gum ball!)

do you think huffing reeses peanutbutter cups counts? they sure do smell good :)

KrispieD
Pilates . . .. teacher was trying to teach us how to throw our legs over our heads.. yah right! Maybe if I was reaching for a chocolate bar with my toes or something!
I'll have to think of that next time I try Pilates!!! LOL!

Wow you guys sound like you had so much fun today. My school had a costume parade and then of course it was time for class parties:devil: Luckily for me, my state legislature has decided that schools can no longer pass out unhealthy items. At first I thought this was a little strange but, I was happy today. There were cookies because they have a little bit of nutrition. We served veggies, fruit, crackers and cheese. There were also some chips but they had to be Baked chips. :carrot: :carrot: :carrot: I didn't even look at cookies. When I got home it was time for the trick-or-treaters. I purchased a single bag of Dum-dum suckers. I don't like them so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. We had a total of about 15 kids. It just wasn't too exciting. I did have some FF SF Ice cream today, extra starch. But, Tommorrow is another day and I will be POP:D Have a great day!!!

Wow - all of you did so much yesterday... you must be all tuckered out!

We didn't have very many kids, maybe 50? It swings wildly from year to year, so I never have any idea how many to expect. I bought gummy crabby patties and sweet tarts to give out - I hate them, so it worked for me.

I hope all of you and your kids and neighbors had fun!

Luckily for me, my state legislature has decided that schools can no longer pass out unhealthy items. At first I thought this was a little strange but, I was happy today. There were cookies because they have a little bit of nutrition. We served veggies, fruit, crackers and cheese. There were also some chips but they had to be Baked chips.

Tweet - It's not just your state. The Federal Gov't mandated that all schools participating in free/reduced lunch program have a wellness policy. Each school district had to devise and adopt it by Sept 06. There was only a 'template' to follow, so some schools might be more strict than others. I know this because I was the chairperson of our wellness committee, so I'm the one with the big target on my back. We chose a middle of the road policy that encourages healthy snacks, but allows one unhealthy item per party. We had a big booth at open house and I had the kitchen cook make fat free cookies and other items that met our policy. People were pretty suprised at what was allowed, they had expected it to be a lot worse.