Weight Watchers - Supporting Each Other on Our Weight Loss Journey

Well, we have a group of great people who are posting what is going on in their lives and we are working together. Sometimes I feel like our group is kind of like a mini dose of a WW meeting on a daily basis. We're making it work and helping each other.
C'mon and join us and we'll help each other. We talk about what works and what doesn't work. We share recipes and we applaud and we sympathize!

We're here to help and enjoy with you!
Linda
:cool:

I did it! I completed the five day challenge! I get a reward, as I promised myself. I have to think about it. If I continue to do this challenge thing as my motivation to work out, regularly, I can't promise myself some kind of big and expensive reward each week, but this first week - I truly SHOULD do something for myself!
My reward, though, was to have a slight loss at my weigh in today. .4 off, better than nothing. Some people have huge losses, but for me it's something like .2 or .4 at a time. I'm really concerned about Thanksgiving weekend and putting some of my measly 5.6 pound loss back on.
I am psyched to continue this. I think I will re-start and try again for five days, but recognizing that it must be 5 out of 7 days in a week to meet this challenge - which I like as it truly MADE me do the exercise.
At any rate, it's good to be back exercising again.
Today was a bad food day, though, and this cannot continue with Thanksgiving weekend coming up.
Linda

Thanks Linda for starting the new thread. I agree, the old one was getting long.......but that is good!
Take the .4 loss with a big smile. The scale is a funny thing- and sometimes it takes a week or so for it to catch up to dietary and excercise changes.
Don't dispair! Don't give in or up! Congrats on making the challenge.

I loved the step class........fun music and lots of laughs.
The next 2 weeks promise to be difficult. All kinds of demands being made on me by work.....and of course Thanksgiving. Sneaking in a meeting Thursday and then Tuesday next week.
Have a great nite.
Ginny

Good morning all! For some reason I'm just feeling really excited to start the day. I have class tonight, but this morning I'm thinking about taking dds to Walmart to have some xmas pictures taken. I would really like to get one taken of the three of us for one of dh's xmas present. I think that's pretty good, considering that I'm usually a "camera avoider!"

So last night I put on my suck-em-in panty hose and put on that black dress. Man, it is SOOOOO close. It zipped up no prob, it's just a tiny bit snug on my hips. I started to do lunges and squats yesterday, so maybe that will help a little. I showed dh, though, and he was like WOW!!!!! However, I realized something. The dress fits great on the top (especially in the arms, which awhile ago when I tried it on it was really tight in the arms) so I'm wondering that when I lose enough for it to fit on the bottom, if it will be too big on the top? Hmmm, oh well...time will tell! At this point, I'm just so excited that it is so close to fitting!

In the previous thread I had posted about my classes for next semester; I think I figured it out...I think I've decided to do an online class (which I had really been avoiding) but I will only have one class on Monday that is during the day and one on Wed night, so I have NO EXCUSES not to get back to the Y. Especially since we are paying for it every month, AND since our insurance company gives us $ if we go a certain amount of times in a 6 month period.

Ginny-Good luck on the next few weeks. I know how you feel...the next few weeks for me are quite demanding as well. I have a HUGE project with an oral presentation due on Tuesday, and then another one due the following week. And yes, Thanksgiving...ugh...we're going to the Macy's Parade. Whooptiy doo. LOL.

Hope everyone has a great day!!!

Paige

Morning

WOW Paige - you are getting there!!!! You will be in that dress for Christmas I just know it.

I'm still on the Daily planner from our meeting and struggling big time with the oils and milk. Somehow, some way I have to find a way to get them all in. I can hit either all my milk or all my oils but only 2 times this past week have I hit them both in the same day.

Again, I'm asking the question - should I use some of my flex points to get them in?

I just have to add...I am definately moving my WI day to Wednesday. From the last thread, I had pondered doing that because I feel like I'm sort of on a modified Wendie plan...I don't eat as much during the week (usually under pts) and the on the weekend I'm over pts. The Wendie plan says that you are supposed to WI at least 3 days after your high day, which for me is usually Sunday. Wellllllllllllll, I just weighed myself, and had to step on and off the scale about 15 times (literally) because I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm down 3 more lbs from yesterday (my normal WI day)! HUH?! WHAT?! NO WAY! I even used up all my pts yesterday. I think that some of it was from last week that didn't show up in the scales until Wednesday. Quite interesting.

Rose- if it were me I would not use extra points to get those oils and dairy in. Unless you are also gaining a food that you really want to splurge those points on.........hope I am making sense. And seriously, I get all my dairy in usually in the course of a day. The oil? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
I can ask at my meeting when I go Thursday or next week.

Got the 2.5 mile walk in this am........so much to do........better go.
Take care.
Ginny

Paige!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Congrats on the dress and Dh's great comment!!!!!!!!!!!! I am SO happy for you.

Ginny - that's been my feeling too but I wasn't sure. I can ask at my meeting tomorrow

Drive by post for now! Still OP, did the Slim in Six video again today. Catch up later!!!!

Ipa

Hi everyone! You guys are awesome!
Ginny, watch yourself with all those "demands" on you... that is the kind of thing that gets me in big trouble. I get busy and being on program goes right out the window!
Paige, THE dress is on and it fits!!!!! I know you'll do whatever it takes to wear it for this special event. I should get out one of my black dresses, which I seem to have a collection of, by the way, and see if I can crawl into one of them. I bought this awesome black wrap dress with glitter on it that has a very low neck that I have never dared to wear - the right occasion has never come up. I wonder if I could even get in it now? I'm really a prude and buying this dress was one of those whims. I thought I'd wear it once, and then never did. Maybe one night when both kids are out and we have dinner by ourselves, I'll be daring? ; )
Macy's parade for real, Paige? Wow, that is a mob scene for sure, but I hope you have a great time. We are eating out on Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to it. BUT, the big challenge will be the rest of the weekend. We're going to my MIL's on Saturday and Sunday of that weekend and I will have no control over the food, or how it's prepared. There will be alcohol as well as appetizers. I am really worrying.
Speaking of getting oils in, I take a huge Omega III fish oil capsule each day, I'm wondering if I can count that as one of my oils? Does anyone know for sure? I think it would be great as I am very bad at the oil thing and I am also very bad at journaling these last few days. I've started each day well enough, but ended the day rather dismally. I'm really worrying about losing control next week. I might try CORE starting tomorrow as I won't have to journal, other than Flex Points. It's so hard when you are wildly busy, racing in the car from one place to another, eating out and stressed. The things we are supposed to be doing, tracking and working on are somehow not getting done.
At least, on a positive note, I did my dance DVD just now after supper! I completed my 5 day challenge. It would have been quite easy to say, "well, I did it, now I can take a day off". But, I didn't and that felt amazingly good!
Tomorrow, my goal is to drink all my water for a change, have my oils for a change and really, really try to get back to basics as far as my food intake goes. No eating out! Planned meals and snacks!
Take care and have a great night!
Linda, re-starting with day 1, completed no. 1 challenge/exercise!!!!!!!!

Speaking of dresses...when I got married last year, I had this dress I'd bought and expected to wear. And COULDN'T. I ended up last minute wearing a suit that still sort of fit me. Still ticked at myself about that. :stars:

When I get to the 5lb mini-goal after the one I'm working on, I'm gonna have a "re-match" with that dress. And find someplace to wear it!

Ipa

Good Afternoon Ladies,
Hope you are all having a wonderful day :)

I have to tell you that WW is the best thing i could have done. See after losing down to 140 from 220 i started weight lifting and eating clean and my calories were WAY to low. I got down to 121 then my body revolted and i went up to 130. I couldn't lose the weight to save my life. It just hung on. Then i joined WW and discovered i needed to eat more. Something i was scared to do. I thought if i ate a carb or cheese i'd get fat. I have learned you have to eat to feed your body but you have to eat the right kinds of food from ALL the food groups. Sometimes when i tell people...family that i'm on WW they look at me funny and say you are so small why are you doing that..and i tell them for the wonderful friends and support i get here online and at my meeting...something i wasn't getting from them..
Thanks for listening...you all are great..

Vanessa

Darn! My thread notification wasn't working again, not sure why. I didn't know there were posts here.
Well, two things here to report.
First, I did CORE yesterday. I decided that it might be easier on me for the next week before Thanksgiving to try this as if I use barely any flex points, maybe I will do better on Thanksgiving? My leader was saying how CORE foods are really very good on Thanksgiving, which is true when you think about certain foods that are part of a normal T-day dinner.
I did NOT work out yesterday, it will have to suffice as my day off in my challenge for this week, I just didn't have a moment and that was true, I was even out the entire evening at a meeting at my daughter's school. I have to forgive myself for things like that and remember the reason why I started a challenge that consisted of some form of exercise for 5 out of 7 days a week is that I knew there would be days where it would be impossible. I plan on doing something this morning before I take my shower and start my day, though. :)
So, how are you all doing? Are all the sites and sounds of the holidays starting to "get" you all? I find myself with my mouth watering for certain foods that seem to only be around this time of year. I am going to have to be extra careful. :?:
FF, SF chocolate pudding made with skim milk, a CORE food, saved my life last night!
Linda

Well, so I just spent the last three days pigging out. Ugh, what is wrong with me? Yesterday was the worst. Ugh. Now today I physically feel rotten. Bloated, heartburn, and just feeling the weight of all that food. I don't even know why I did it. I'm at the lowest weight that I've been at in 5 years; Wednesday morning I was so excited, and then I don't know what went wrong...I keep trying to get myself back on track, but it seems like it's getting worse instead of better. I always have such a hard time on the weekend, and today is Saturday...grreaaaat. At least tomorrow I am spending most of the day with a good friend who is also trying to lose weight; hopefully we can keep each other on track. I just don't get it, though...I'm so stinkin close to my xmas goal, why am I trying to ruin it? I know it's not worth it because after I overeat know I'm going to feel like this, but yet I still do it. Ugh...just having such a hard time shaking this one off.

Sorry it's getting so rough Paige. I was having a couple of weak days myself but my meeting leader really gave me the pick me up and helped me get back on track. I know that you don't go to meetings but go read my post in the Thanksgiving thread about figuring out your Thanksgiving day food. It was a huge eye opener for me.

Have you planned out your day and have good food that appeals to you? The weekend would be a good time to do that. Let us know if we can do anything for you

We're actually eating in Times Square for Thanksgiving, so who knows what they will be serving...actually, maybe I'll go online to the restaurant and see if I can find a menu.

I'm kind of wondering if me feeling like this has anything to do with pmsing...it's like the week before, and I remember last month I had a really hard time with it. Maybe? Stinkin hormones...before my last dd I never had a problem with pms. Now, look out!

Paige, I think you are very brave going in to NYC with two young girls (right?) and not having an official plan. But, I guess in NYC there would be lots of places open knowing they have a captive audience?
Will you be doing a traditional Thanksgiving meal later in the weekend?
Also, Paige, don't get down on yourself. You've been very good for very long, we all have very week times. Rose had some good suggestions for you.
I think what I would do is start over, I've given myself the gift of starting a new journal mid-week, when I totally lost control and blew it more than once. It's technically cheating WW, but I don't care when it comes to my "head games". By throwing away my "tarnished" journal and starting a brand new day/week with 35 new flex points and a new outlook, I can begin anew and forgive myself. Think about it. It's only for extreme emergency weeks, but it helps me to get back in my "groove".
As for me, my thread notifications aren't working again... sure wish they would fix that kind of thing on this site. It works about half the time, so I'm not always getting notices when there are postings on threads I subscribe to. I am still staying on CORE since Wednesday, it's a refreshing change for me and it's allowing me to eat a few items that I would dare eat before, like a whole banana instead of a half one, sugars free calcium added hot cocoa, and eggs.... I love eggs and having a whole egg once in awhile for 2 points is such a luxury, it's a small thing and not awfully filling for 2 points in my opinion. I had one egg mixed with 2 egg whites and had sauteed peppers and onions in my 2 tsp of healthy olive oil ahead of adding the eggs. I ate that with a bit of salsa on the side and dipped eggs into the salsa and it was good. I had a half grapefruit with that for breakfast.
On core, though, I am having a hard time dealing with lunch choices, I like my bread servings with lunch. However, I am getting by so far. I don't want to use my flex points up for bread, as I am saving those for special things.
We had take out food for dinner last night and I ordered from a mom and pop (single, one owner) place near here. I had minestrone (core) and a salad with grilled shrimp on top. They make their foods fresh, the salad had no croutons or cheeses on it, so it was all core. I spent 8 flex points on Italian bread, real butter (oh so good and it's been ages) and a glass of wine with it. I was in heaven with this meal as I could have the bread and butter and wine without worry as I've been so good on not using flex points throughout the week.
By the way, Progresso Lentil Soup is CORE and that was a good lunch with sliced turkey on the side. I didn't crave anything after lunch, as I often do. I did have one s.f./f.f. hot cocoa mid-afternoon, but didn't want anything else with it. Usually, I finish my lunch and I am just starving still and spend the entire afternoon trying to calculate what snacks I might be able to have without blowing my entire program for the day. I didn't snack all afternoon yesterday.
Dare I say this, on my home scale (not an official WW weigh in) the scale did go down another pound. However, nothing official until weigh in on Tuesday!
One other thing to, my daughter is sick with a nasty sore throat, headache and a fever. I'm hoping we can get her well before Thanksgiving and that no one else in our house gets it!
Linda

Linda-My mil made reservations at the Mariott Marquis for their Thanksgiving meal...I think it's a buffet, but I'm not too sure. I am really going to try to be good. At least if it's a buffet there will be a variety, so hopefully it will be more likely that there will be healthier choices. I am really nervous about taking my girls down there...yeah, they are only 20 months and 4yrs. At first I thought I was so aggravated because it was going to be a lot of work (we're going down on Wednesday so they can see the balloons being blown up) but then I realized it wasn't that, it is because I'm nervous about there being SO MANY PEOPLE. I told my 4yr old that I'm taking a Sharpie and writing our cell phone numbers on her and her sister's legs just in case (I'm being serious, too.) The good thing is that besides dh and me, there will also be my mil, bil and his gf there, so a few extra eyes.

Linda, your "menu" gave me some good ideas...I think I'm going to have dh grab some peppers and fresh mushrooms when he goes to Walmart today (he's taking dds xmas shopping)...and maybe some bananas and apples. I think I need to have other foods in the house to snack on other than snacky-type foods. I like to get the 100cal packs, but lately during my binges I end up eating more than one, so it kind of defeates the purpose.

Anyway...I must be going. I'm meeting up with a good friend today and we're going to a big craft fair that they are having at the college. She has also been trying to lose weight, so we should be able to keep each other on track. Should be a fun day!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Paige

Good Luck today Paige. It sounds like you are figuring out a good plan for Wednesday/Thursday and that is a good thing! I know some people can only concentrate on maintaining through the holidays. Myself, I'd really like to lose some weight but these next six weeks are going to be really really tough.
Keep coming back here for support. We'll try to help you and anyone else who needs it. I'm counting on you guys to help me through too.

As for me, I am off to work this morning in a bit. I work part-time at a funeral home as a receptionist and door greeter along with my full time job. It helps get my kids extra stuff and their band trips. I'm working a 6 hour shift so I need to take my breakfast and lunch with me and that can sometimes be pretty dicey as I am not a big fan of sandwiches and they get old very fast. I did make up some Pasta Fagiola yesterday and have a serving of that ready to go and not sure what breakfast will entail (I can't eat when I first get up - I have to wait a couple hours). Maybe a packet of instant oatmeal and fruit. Anyway, I ramble. I plan to take a notebook with me today to finish my planning for the week and to get my Thanksgiving meal grocery list going.

HOpe everyone has an OP day!

Rose- hope your busy day goes well for you. Of course we are all here to help you get thru this holiday season. It can be tough......Laura, my WW leader usually mentions 3 possible strategies for getting thru holidays- either a controlled gain (perhaps 5 #.....but she does not really like this option), maintaining, which considering all the possible obstacles is a good choice- or losing. I think to avoid total burnout of the members she finds all options good......just have to figure out which one is best for you. I am going to try to lose over this time period. Perhaps if we all turn it into almost a game- a holiday survival game- we can lose together. :hug: Got any great recipes (of course WW friendly ones) to share that might help? Or do you need any? Good luck planning the Thanksgiving meal. BTW, did you ever try that pumpkin mousse? (one point per serving). Great stuff.

Paige- enjoy the craft fair! And I hope it is a huge one, so there will be lots of walking......;) Love your game plan with the sharpie and your girls. And I can't say that I would do any different. My kids could always tell when we had left home and were going somewhere I considered less than safe.....they swear I would hold their hands super tight. Enjoy the buffet and the city.
Scan the buffet first- pick your battles and the foods you REALLY want.....leave the rest. You'll do fine.

Linda- you have hit on the one snag I have with core, I don't want to give up my 35 points on bread (and I like a sandwich on WW bread for lunch). I too love the Progresso Lentil soup.......love bean soup even more and it is great that both are core. Minestrone is great- I get that lots of places because it is usually safe and WW friendly. Congrats on your home scale going down. (hope the official scale fairy is kind to you on Tuesday). How is your daughter feeling?

Vanessa and Ipa- are you having a good weekend?

Last nite was my youngest's bday party. (her real birthday is 12/18- we usually have the party early to avoid a collision with Christmas). We went to see Happy Feet (it was cute, but too loaded with social statements for my taste). I blew it with some stress eating......but Friday I did very well.
Thursday I finally got to a meeting- up 1.2# but, then 12 hours later my period showed up. So perhaps it was water. This week I am going on Tuesday- just too darned much to do Wednesday. This morning I got a nice 45 min walk in and have been really good staying OP and journalling.
Oh, BTW, I LOVE the idea of throwing out a bad journal-(great idea Linda!).
WHat a good way to refocus and gain some momentum.:carrot:
Gotta go do some online shopping. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Ginny

Hi guys!
I hope to continue losing throughout the holiday "season" as well, however, will be content with maintaining or even a teeny tiny gain over the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, those other weeks in between are what to watch out for. It's hard to resist all the cookies, pies, and the wonderful "special" foods that we have every year.
One lifetime member (who is at her goal and staying there quite well) recently spoke at a meeting I was at. I truly like her perspective on things. She had gone to a baby shower and eaten lots of stuff that she knew was the wrong choice. She is a CORE lifetime member and said that was how she finally got to her goal, hmmm..... perhaps I should take note of that? At any rate, she said that it's the "long run" that we have to be concerned with vs. just one day. I think she is right. You can't persecute yourself over one day's indiscretions. At that meeting it spurred a long conversation about not allowing a birthday to become a "birthday WEEK" and Christmas, New Year's or Thanksgiving to become a "season" of indulgence.
I don't know all of your religions and am not even thinking about making any kind of religious statement here about God, so please don't take it that way, but think about WHY we celebrate Christmas. I sure don't think that God or Jesus intended any of the indulgences our society allows itself in the name of Christmas. I get angry with it all at times and am trying to bring that fourth to my daughter, in particular, who gets caught up in the Santa, snowmen, Grinches and all sorts of huge blow up displays on people's front yards. I'm trying to get away from the figurines of those images in my home, but allow in angels, nativity and holiday greens and such. I won't throw out the older things that have memories, but won't buy new stuff that is not what I personally approve of. Our society gets very carried away and commercial, from the foods to the lights and glorification of it all. It's getting worse with Halloween as well, people are really making that part of the "holiday season" so giving them permission to really add foods all the way from October through Jan 1st in a way.
Is this religious event, or a day Abraham Lincoln declared as a day to set aside for giving thanks as our first National Holiday an excuse to eat thousand of extra calories and overspend ourselves into debt? I'm just not in that mindset, yet I go along with it all for the sake of family unity - especially my husband's family who goes totally overboard with gift giving.
At any rate, I want to focus on the beauty, the thankfulness, the togetherness and our lives. I think losing both my parents this past year is also putting things in a different perspective. I'd trade every single mouthful of any of my holiday favorite treats for just 5 minutes with either of them. I'd trade all the nice gifts anyone has ever given me as well. So, I guess, (said with a tear in my eye) I have learned the hard way what is important and what isn't here. Food is not going to make or break any of our holiday happiness for sure.
I have two less people giving me gifts this year and to buy gifts for. I have one less family social event to attend where there would have been food. Hmm... maybe that will keep off just one pound or so? I'd rather put on that pound, of course, if mom and dad were here to enjoy the holiday.
At any rate, just ONE day of a certain week of abandon is not going to make or break any of our successes with our weight loss plan. What will totally change things for us if if we allow it to span into an entire 6 week binge, ending in one massive New Year's Eve "blow out" with remorse as we drag our heavier bodies back to a post Jan. 1 WW meeting. I've sat there the first two weeks in January and seen the same faces come in again and again. They drop out each year around May, having "lost" what they wanted to lose, but never seeming to be at goal or really looking as sharp as they could look and being as healthy as they could look. I've seen them smile as they lose their 2 pounds a week when I struggle time after time to lose my .2 or .4 all through the year. I don't think I want to go back "there" again. I want to continue, kind of like the tortoise and the hair, "slow and steady wins the race".
Sure started off my day with some interesting "musings", I guess... I'll be more than motivated to be back on my treadmill today and to stay on my core plan. By the way, I was totally 100% ib CORE yesterday and didn't have a single bite of anything non-core to record in my flex points. Since last Wednesday, when I started back on CORE, I have only used 10 flex points in total. I have through Wed. on this journal and still have 25 flex points left to use by then... don't think I'll blow them all, but maybe I can allow myself a grilled cheese made with two slices of lite bread and 2% cheese???? I use non-stick spray and make this lovely sandwich. It's not totally like the old gooey grilled cheese (with buttered non lite bread and full fat cheeses) that I've enjoyed in the past, but it will do. That, with some cream (made of ff milk and CORE) of tomato soup at lunch might be a nice treat? I'd have to use three flex points to have this sandwich, but I'm OK with that, I think.
Linda, with many musings for the day

Linda and Ginny - THANK YOU FOR POSTS!!!!!! I'm trying to get some work done here at work before I'm off for 10 days and I'll try to chime in more in a bit - I just want to acknowledge that I read what you posted and it is FABULOUS!

Hi all...

So I had a pretty good day yesterday. We did end up going out to an Italian restaurant for a late lunch (so much for my friend helping keep me on track!) but it's a small town (Ginny...outside of Loch Sheldrake, by the college, NO WHERE to eat!) I did fill myself up on a non-cream based split pea soup (my FAVORITE, I was so excited that they had it!) and then we split a few dishes, and I had just small portions, and my friend took the rest home. I actually felt pretty good about it. DH had made my pizza recipe for dinner, so I had a piece of that, and that actually was all I had to eat yesterday. I did probably use up all of my pts, though. DH got me some peppers and fresh mushrooms yesterday, so I think I'm going to make an egg white omlette here in a minute for breakfast. I'm also going to plan out my lunch so when I get home from dropping dd off at preschool I'm good to go.

Not much else happening today...I have to finish up a project for school that is due tomorrow, and then dd and I are going to start on my xmas cookie orders this afternoon. I finally decided to order an upright freezer; I have really gotten A LOT of orders this year, so I need to start making the ones that can freeze now or else the week before xmas I'm going to be bustin butt to get everything done. I did that last year and was stressed about getting it all done. DH isn't happy about me ordering the freezer, but I think he will be later when I'm not going crazy! LOL! I have about 20 different varieties of cookies and candies that I'm offering this year. I'm thinking that I need to "hire" an official taste tester.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Paige

Paige, you will love having a freezer. It will help you during times when you are preparing things to be be sold (really cool that you do that) but it will be wonderful, you wait and see, at times when you want to make bigger batches of soups, stews, casseroles and take advantage of things on sale.
What a fiasco grocery shopping was today for me... a mob scene in the store and lots of the things that I normally buy were out of stock - people grabbing at stuff for Thanksgiving.
I spent nearly $300.00. But, I am so proud of myself. It was a very healthy shopping trip. People were buying junk like crazy, but my order was full of healthy choices. I sampled several veggie/soy cheese to see if I could find a few new things that are CORE and ok to eat. I really liked the soy veggie provolone cheese slices I tried with my lunch. Really tasted like Provolone in a way, but with a creamy texture. I went off my CORE a tiny bit (one point) for lunch and had roast beef, a slice of the soy provolone and I bought these soy blended pita breads that are one point each. I ate it and had a banana afterwards and feel nicely full and not starving and looking for something else.
I had cream of wheat cereal with skim milk drizzled over top of it with Splenda and 1/2 grapefruit for breakfast and I am not feeling shaky and starving. I really like that!
I'm kind of worried that I might not be getting enough protein in my diet, though. I also have to work in those _____ healthy oils by the end of the day.
What are you all eating today? : ) Paige, the egg white omelet sounds yummy - I really like those.
Also, I bought huge portabella mushrooms. I am going to make mini pizzas using them as well as make a pizza with polenta crust.
Linda

Linda- you have had a tough year........and I understand how that impacts feelings about the holidays(I am a Christian, my father passed away many years ago on 12/16......sort of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?).And this year will be the first for my husband w/o his dad, no biggie for me but I know it will be tough for my husband. I also become irritated by the running around, commericalism.......nonsense......when I know that is NOT what this is about. Not even close. Hugs to you at this difficult time:hug: . Congrats on doing so well on Core. (it sure does seem like an answer to plateauing, doesn't it?)

Paige-wow, good luck baking all those cookies!!!!!!! I have only seen Loch Sheldake as a sign on the quickway- been to Liberty, Manor, Roscoe, Fallsburg ,Monticello.......just not there. You made a great choice with the pea soup! Great!!!!! (I love soup for that reason, the ultimate comfort food too!)

Rose- glad you could read the posts............at least we know you are ok!

Step class tonite.......such a busy day. Going to just WI tomorrow, so that I can spend my mid day at home cleaning and baking. (I really wanted to attend the meeting but it just takes too much time).
Better go finish dinner preparations. Have a great nite!
Ginny

Ginny, thanks for your kind words. I can sympathize greatly with your 12/16 loss several years ago, that must have been an awful Christmas, with it all so fresh.
You're right, I think CORE is the answer to plateauing too. I'm not dropping off weight in terms of dozens of pounds at a time here, but after the long time just "sitting" here at the same weight, even a pound is very welcome. I'll find out tomorrow how well I've done. I usually go to a later afternoon meeting, but I usually wait for my daughter to get home from school and go with her, but she's been really sick since Saturday and I don't think she'll end up going. So, going to a morning meeting instead of an afternoon one might also help the scales?
I have to bake a pumpkin pie for Thursday tomorrow as well. I will eat pie as well as my entire meal without remorse. One of the reasons why I am being extra good this week is because of Thursday. I really want to be able to eat what I want to for just ONE day and one day only.
Linda

Hi Linda-
I usually find that WI better at the am meetings.......as I really control what I eat for breakfast so that is not a variable. I hope the am meeting works for you too and that you are a loser! I hope your daughter is feeling better too- perhaps in time for Thanksgiving. Have you had to take her to the Dr?
BTW, the first Christmas without my dad was best described as one on auto pilot. We went thru the motions, but nothing felt right. It was too close to really feel the loss, we were numb. I know that for my husband that will not be the case, as he lost his dad in February.

Enjoy making and eating your pie. Enjoy Thanksgiving. We are not living to lose weight, we are losing to live. I don't think anyone should be a slave to staying OP and being as you have done so well all week, well one day will not hurt. Just get back on core Friday.

Step class was great. Off to the shower.
G'nite
Ginny

Up .2 from last week.......but this was an evening WI and I was wearing more clothes than last week......no biggie.........gotta go nite!
Ginny

Ginny up .2 isn't bad at all, and even if you had on different socks and underwear, that could do it. I try to remember which underwear I had on and wear that on weigh in days if I can. I wear jeans, but try to also wear the same pair each week, this way I know it's my loss or gain vs. the clothing's loss or gain. Sometimes it is hard to remember which shirt I've worn and there will come a time very soon (it's 24 degrees here today) that I will just have to give in a wear a warmer shirt, but for now I am putting a sweater on over top and taking that off to weigh in. I also take off my watch and belt, do you all do that?
Well, I had a very good weigh in this week, but it was the AM vs. PM meeting, so that might have had something to do with it. But, I lost 2.8 pounds. From when I started back with WW last June, that is now 8.2 pounds, my tracker here says it's more than 8.2, and that is true based on what I weighed when I started back on a weight loss effort last Spring. I was at an all time high a few months after my mom died (and dad 4 months earlier) I was self medicating myself with food.
My daughter is still sick and I did bring her to the doctor's office yesterday afternoon. We are keeping her on the same antibiotic she's been on since Sunday and hope for more improvement by today when she wakes up? At least there is no school from today through Monday due to Thanksgiving, she'll be resting and sleeping and maybe back to her old self?
I plan on being on CORE today and am hoping to be on my treadmill as well. Lately, I like to watch part of a movie while I am on the treadmill and don't allow myself to sit there and watch the rest of the movie at any other time than when I'm walking! I have a TV with a DVD player right beside the treadmill in my bedroom. I have been watching the movie of the Broadway show RENT this week and I'm looking forward to getting back to the next segment of it this morning. What a good show and it's a great way to pass the time vs. being bored. My treadmill has a reading rack, but I've found it too far way from my eyes to read and really use that thing.
I looked through my recipes and found the polenta pizza crust recipe the other day. I'm going to make polenta pizza with diced tomatoes and ff mozzarella. I also bought these big portabella mushrooms and will be making mini pizzas out of those caps as well. The rest of the family will be eating Papa Ginos, delivered, but I will have my CORE foods instead.
I can freeze what is leftover for another day, I love my freezer!
Where are some of our other people? I guess everyone is caught up in getting ready for Thanksgiving?
Linda

Hi all...

Do any of you have issues with the dr's scales? Yesterday I had an appt with my neurologist, and their scales are so far off from mine. It always seems like the dr's scales are about 10lbs higher than mine, but yet when anyone comes to my house and steps on my scale, they tell me that MY scales are 10lbs too HIGH (I've had several people tell me this!) Plus yesterday I was a little annoyed because I was in a different room, and had a different nurse weigh me. The last time I was there, the nurse took off 2lb for clothes, and actually waited till the scale balanced out...this time the nurse didn't even wait and didn't take off the 2lbs. LOL...I guess they can't read my mind to see how anal I am. My dr had put me on meds a few months ago for preventing migraines, and one of the side effects is weight loss, so she was looking at my chart to see how much I had lost...she said only 6lbs. Ummm, yeah I KNOW it is more than that. I think the meds might have contributed a little bit in the beginning to weight loss, but not anymore. Anyway...don't know what the point of my story was...

So we are heading out for the "big city" (as dd calls it) after lunch. I guess I'm getting a little more excited about it. I still have to pack and stuff since we're staying overnight. I can't wait to take TONS of pictures. I'll post one or two maybe if you guys don't mind?

For some reason I'm starting to really miss cooking my usual Thanksgiving dinner. I have to laugh at myself sometimes; I think I must live on stress. I had told dh that I DID NOT want to cook for either Thanksgiving or Christmas this year, but now I'm really missing the preparation. We're going to dh's dad's on Saturday for their Thanksgiving, so I even called them yesterday and offered to bring a pumpkin pie or something else, but they said no. I had wanted to alter my pumpkin pie recipe to a low fat. I just need to find a low fat crust.

Linda- When I went to meetings, our leader would tell us to have a "WW uniform" and wear the same exact outfit every week. It was actually kind of interesting to do that because you could see in other people how much weight they were losing because you could see the change in their "uniform!"

Anyway...I still have so much stuff to do before we go, and I'm really procrastinating. I guess I should get a move on. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Paige

Just popping by to say hello! I'm a little crazed (actually a lot LOL). I'm not going to make it to a WI this week. I know that's not a good thing but it's just not going to happen.

I've been working my butt off so I'm hoping I'm burning some extra calories. Got my game plan in place for tomorrow and will report probably on Friday how it went.

Have a Great Thanksgiving Day everybody!

Hi ladies!! Just popping in for a sec...

Weigh in is today - wish me luck! My scale at home showed some results, so I'm hopeful. I was out of town last week, then I will be this week too... also some MUCHO stressful stuff happened this week family-wise. I was angrily chomping on 100 cal packs instead of anything worse, though.

My coworker started WW with me, and she's down 6 lbs in her first 2 weeks!! :) I'm so happy for her.

Good luck to everyone this week! Remember to go small on your plate - you can always go back for more, but once it's on your plate, it's bound to wind up in your tummy!!

Paige, I hope you have fun. I know what you mean about missing the usual preparations. I told everyone that I didn't want to cook this year as well, and I am kind of regretting it. Plans and reservations are made, so that is that!
Next year, I'll be in the swing of things better and will do it, and plan several things ahead. I always forget about how you can use your freezer and prepare lots of things ahead of time. I hope we have a nice/memorable day.
Paige, I wish I could get my hands on some of that medication that might make you lose weight, wonder why they don't market it for that reason? : ) Oh well. I get "lucky" to be on two different meds that are known for weight gain. It makes it really hard for me to have any kind of loss.
I find doctor's scales off (weighing me more) than my own and also the ones as WW weigh me about three pounds more than mine at home. I have two here at the house and they are about two or three pounds off from each other as well.
I guess the way to accept any weight loss is to always use that one same scale as your decision maker. You can only rely on ONE scale that you are regularly on to make that determination, all other scales are approximates.
Rose, good luck with that game plan! I blew it last night already. I was supposed to be making my mushroom cap and polenta pizzas and my daughter hogged the kitchen ALL DAY (really) baking cookies. I ended up having two of the cookies as well and we had take out pizza for dinner and mozzarella sticks. I also ate dessert, I won't even "go there"... but I need to be careful.
Freeda, I hope your weigh in went well. I look forward to hearing how you did. Does your co-worker have a great deal to lose? Is she doing anything different?
I love to hear how people that have had good losses are achieving this. It inspires me and I try to figure out if I can incorporate something they are doing in with what I am doing.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I am thankful for all of you to chat with. You keep me sane.
Linda

Another quick pop in - this is really hard over the holidays. I'm not having a great few days. I plan to be back on track today. More company and more craziness. Hope your holiday weekend is going well!

Hello all...

I am so glad that this week is over. Thanksgiving was pretty terrible. The weather on Thanksgiving was so yucky...we had bundled the girls up for the parade, and had actually gotten pretty close to the street, but from a stroller they still couldn't see anything. They were soaking wet and miserable. On top of that dds and I developed colds. Ugh. I guess it was the pessimistic in me, but I knew that was going to be the outcome. Darn rain! We stayed in the city and had a Thanksgiving buffet. I actually didn't eat as much as I had wanted...but only because where I was sitting at the table I couldn't easily get out. Dd (little one) was sitting next to me and was antsy and all over me, too, so I only went up to the buffet one time and had gotten a little bit of some different things, figuring that I'd try stuff and then go back and get more, and just never went back up. I felt bad that I didn't eat more, too, after I accidentally saw the bill (MIL paid) and saw how much it was...$70 a person!

So I have successfully managed to gain a lot of weight over the last week and a half. I don't know what is my issue...why can't I get myself back on track? My jeans that were pretty loose aren't anymore. Every day I keep telling myself to just forget it and move on, but that doesn't ever seem to happen. I am really wondering actually if this has something to do with hormones and pms, because I know I did the same thing last month. My period should be coming tomorrow...last month the week before my period started I couldn't control my eating, and my mood swings and stress level was out of control as well. Right before my period ended, I just snapped right out of it, no problem and was right back on track. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see what happens. I know that it happens every month with my mood swings and stress levels, but I'm thinking that I'm only just noticing the affect on my eating habits because I haven't been in control of that until the last few months? I have my annual obgyn in a few weeks, so I'm going to have to mention this. At least for my mood swings...I feel so bad for my family when I have pms. But seriously, when I add the stress of not being able to control eating, it just upsets the whole thing even more.

Anyway...enough about that...

I hope everyone has had a good week and a great holiday. I am really ready to bring on Christmas this year. We have already put up our decorations and went and got our tree yesterday (we usually wait but then have a hard time finding a 9 footer.) So today is actually going to be a busy day. I have to finish painting the bathroom (didn't have to pull a fast one on dh...he actually let me do it!) decorate the tree, and I am in desperate need of starting on my xmas cookie orders, especially since I am NOT getting my freezer (dh realized that the only place that we have to put it, it would be on the same circuit as the fridge.) Very upset about that.

Anyway...apparently I'm also very chatty today! Have a great day all!

Paige

Paige, as far as a freezer is concerned, what about a long heavy duty extension cord so it's not on the same circuit as your fridge? Just a thought. Sounds like your husband is trying to discourage it, though?
Well, I'm back from our very long weekend. I did eat what I wanted to on Thanksgiving, and pretty much over the weekend. I am not hanging my head in remorse, truly, as I wanted to eat over the holiday. I hate feeling deprived and miserable while everyone else "parties". I could have done worse, though, I guess? But, it is time to get back in control. The one leftover pie that was here is now in the freezer and can be eaten at another time - by my husband, not me! : ) The eating that began on Wednesday night was great, but it's over now and it's time to get serious. We have about four weeks until Christmas and it's not an excuse to party/eat the entire time!
As of last night, I went back on the WW CORE plan and had a meal that was CORE and had a frozen WW cake/dessert that was 3 points for dessert last night.
I am going food shopping today and have planned to "get back on the wagon" and do it right this week. I have a meeting and weigh in tomorrow, I shall go and if I had a gain, I can live with it. Next week, I'll be OK. Remember, everyone, to drink lots of water to flush all the overeating out of your system!
As far as the holiday and weekend went, I am feeling pretty blue. I have nieces and nephews who give us annual Christmas lists and I feel like cramming them (torn up) down these kids throats. Sorry, but I am just venting here. This is my husband's side of the family. These kids barely say thank you and pretty much "expect" nothing but the best. They are ungrateful and there is not even one reference to the actual reason we celebrate Christmas on that side of the family, not a single thing. I get frustrated with it all, but "when in Rome".... it's just one of the things you put up with when you marry into a family, I guess. I bite my tongue and go with that side of the family's traditions. It's best to keep the peace.
It gets more depressing each year for me as we buy them nice and expensive things (as the family tradition dictates). We go into debt every year to buy expensive stuff for ungrateful kids who are not charitable in any way.
My husband goes off to work (not really his fault, he is just our breadwinner) and I get to do all the shopping, put up with it all, do the wrapping and then, as usual, do all the work associated with the holiday.
I'm in a pretty bah-humbug mood, I guess. I probably won't be over eating and celebrating much due to my mood, though? So, maybe that is a good thing as far as weight loss goes? However, I could get into some emotional eating if I don't watch it.
I must find my own way to handle Christmas and do my own thing. If I were a mean spirited person, I'd probably toss the Christmas lists at my poor husband and tell him "It's your family, YOU shop for these people". But, it's really not his fault, it's how his family handles this.
Do any of you have family situations like this to deal with? I'm so fed up and it ruins my own holiday each year. Again, sorry to be venting here.
I have to find peace of my own, find a way to deal with food and emotions. Thanks for being here, everyone.
By the way, wonder where you all are? Has everyone lost control over the holiday? : )
Linda, not happy in NH

Morning!!!!!
Boy am I glad this weekend is over. Just so much nonsense..........I love and hate this time of year all at the same time.
Today is insane....might not get back to read and really say hello until later or tomorrow. Hope everyone survived the weekend. (sorry to be short)
Ginny

Hi Everybody!!!! I didn't quit - I just got swamped and work has been busy as all get out today.

Thank you Linda!!!! You're absolutely right. Today is a new day and it's time to get on with it!!!!

I'll be back later with more chatty stuff - gotta get some rushes out - just didn't want everyone to think I forgot you! Or worse - quit - no way - no how

Hello again........snuck on the scale this afternoon......if I continue to behave myself I should do well on Wednesday's WI. Not great, just well enough and not a gain. Got to step class tonite- gee it felt good. I danced like a madwoman, which is, frankly, what I am anyway. Tomorrow I will be back- read the posts and get personal with everyone. (I feel selfish just posting,but have to get my stinky self in the shower after step).]Nite and see ya tomorrow!
Ginny

Ginny, I admire how you stick with your exercise. I think it's time for a post-Thanksgiving 5 day exercise challenge again. I sure need the motivation!
So, I claim today day one for me.... I will try to do at least 10 minutes of some kind of exercise five days out of the next 7 days!
Anyone else care to join?
Linda

I'm game Linda - I'll go for it. 5x out of 7 days huh? Okay

Man getting back on track is really, really hard. I'm struggling here but aiming for a OP day. I'm still so tired, so it's really hard to focus. So far I'm in for 5 pts for the morning - got part of my water in and my multi-vitamin.

I'm noticing that the veggie and fruit selection here is getting smaller with the colder weather. I did buy BOGO bags of oranges over the weekend. (Too bad I left them at home today - duh). But I'm having canned chicken noodle soup and a salad for lunch - that should be okay.

I'll really try to get back on here tonight after my walk to let you all know that I'm really serious about this - Have a good day everybody

I will join ya Linda....but I am sort of a cheater as I usually get my 10 minutes in anyway. (already have 15 in).

Not as much time today as I hoped for- forgive me for not getting too chatty.

Rose- still up to your eyeballs?? (how we all understand that! try to get some time for yourself to avert stress eating)

Linda-hope you can get some excercise in, sure helps elevate a crummy mood! I too have ingrates for relatives, except these are my sister's kids. The thank you's are far and few between. It must hurt you so to lay out so much time/money/effort into those who do not appreciate it. I try to put that kind of thing in perspective a bit- my MIL can be VERY demmanding and quite a moron (just had an awful time with her the past few days) and I can sometimes calm myself down by telling myself that I am doing this for my husband, and he is a wonderful man. (ok, it does not work all the time, but helps). Good luck on core........it is a great program.

Paige- hope you have reinspired yourself!!!!!:hug: How are you feeling?? When is your Dr appt? Hormones can make life miserable and really wreak havoc with eating and emotions. (why do men not have to deal with this?)

Gotta go get dinner started. Dd has piano this evening, so if I do not cook now, there will be no dinner later! take care
Ginny

True confession, I issued a challenge and didn't do it myself. Tomorrow, I'll do better, I promise! I am really having a hard time jump starting myself again into exercise. It's cold, damp, rainy, miserable weather and it's hard to get motivated, but tomorrow is another day?
I plan on doing Christmas shopping with a friend tomorrow and we'll be walking a great deal, I think, so shopping and exercise will be combined. I like that! Accomplishing two things at once?
I went to my meeting today and I did gain back one of the 2.8 pounds that I lost last week. I'm OK with that considering that I basically took the entire weekend off from WW.
Ginny, I like your suggestions about telling yourself that it is for your husband. Maybe I'll do a better job if I keep doing that?
I hate being presented with a list of expensive items from people who barely say thank you and hardly see at all throughout the year. Gosh, both my parents died this year and these nieces and nephews didn't even bother to say a simple "I'm sorry about your mom and dad", not even a word. They don't bother with the practice of a thank you note and yet I am expected to spend money on them. It's hard to bite my tongue and pretend to be part of a jolly family experience with people like that.
I sure miss my own parents when it comes to being charitable, I was taught to write thank you notes, speak kindly to those who have had a loss and to do good deeds during the holidays. It's a tough thing to be part of a family that differs from your own upbringing.
You are right, I do it for my husband. It's his brother's family.
Linda

Linda,
I do not understand all of your pain, and would never want you to feel that I was trying to belittle the hurt in your heart. I do know what it is like to lose a parent, and have complete and total ingrates for relatives. The only way I get thru this is because I love my husband- and do a lot- a lot that I really would not of my own do- because he is a great husband and father. I have been truly blessed in that respect. His mother is a complete ******* (pardon the language, but the intensity is needed here for brevity). And I put up with immense amounts of total garbage for him. Easy? Not all the time.

Hopefully your husband has been kind, loving and supportive to you throughout this difficult year and will continue to do so during the holidays.
Perhaps these loser nieces and nephews really need a good example of what loving one another is- and you can provide that (even if you can't agree with the financial burden of their gifts). Obviously they are not getting it from their parents (that is how I handle my own ingrate niece and nephew- hope that maybe a good example will somehow be remembered).

I will pray for you........try somehow to reframe this so that you can live with it (die hard WW'er that I am, using reframing as a tool for living!:carrot: ).
Hang in there. Know that your parents were kind and giving......honor their memory with pride and grace. :hug:

Ginny

Good morning - sheesh - I make all these promises to get back on and something always interrupts. DH decided to replace the CD burner in the computer last night so I didn't get back on.

YES!!!! I went for my walk with my dog. Or should I say she walked me? She really likes to explore everything so we go at a pretty fast clip. There's no talking for me except for me saying "PEARL" when she decides to stop to sniff a tree or something. I stayed OP last night and I'm proud. I'm telling you. Once you go off for a few days, getting back on is definitely hard. I have my day planned out today and shouldn't have any trouble (hopefully) staying OP.

What's up in your world?

Rose- you are so right about having a tough time getting back on plan. You are not alone, many discussed this problem at this mornings meeting. What was discussed was the importance of taking the time for you.......and all that that entails. Getting back on program.........planning those meals, getting the water in and, of course workouts. And how much better we all feel when things are kicking in. Hope you can find your stride! I am proud of you too for staying OP yesterday!:carrot: Keep it up!

Down a whopping .6.........glad to see that though!!!! My meeting,(Laura for those who know her) was awesome....she was on fire.
Better get back to work.
See ya-
Ginny

Gee, did I scare everyone off?????;)

Hope that it is just plain busyness........and that everyone is ok!
Busy here too- but I did get a 25 minute walk in this am. Please don't be impressed- if I did not walk you would probably find me in the police blotter for some strange crime.....my walks keep me sane.

Have a great day!
Ginny

Gosh I thought I replied to this thread already yesterday (confused as usual).

You didn't scare me off whatsoever. I had my weigh in - it was a 2 week one as I didn't make it last week and I lost 1 1/4 lbs!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!! Total this month of 4 pounds gone and it was during a crazy holiday month. I am so proud of myself I'm beaming like a kid at Christmas.

I know what you mean about the walks keeping you sane Ginny - I find them very therapeutic and find out the world isn't such a crazy insane place after I've completed a good brisk walk.

I just posted my 10% goal in the holiday thread. It's a whole 6 lbs but with good planning, I know I can do it!

CHeck in everybody - Linda where'd ya go hon? Paige? Christian?

Hi everyone I would like to join in here. I have not read all thge enteries but I could use a place to drop in and record. I finally Joined ww this week. Whoo, I have been trying it on my own and failed horriably. Anyway, I was amazed at my weight gain so I am glad I went. My scale is soooo offf. I actually like my scale better. My goal is to lose weight if poss over the next few weeks.If not I need to maintain my weight. So far so good. I have recordrd for 3 days and know that is my down fall. I do have a thyroid condition but Doc gave me the ok to start ww, so Again I hope you all do not mind me hanging around...

djmommy - WELCOME!!! I am in awe of anyone who starts during the holidays! Stop by whenever you need to!

hi there. i normally post on the core thread but thought i'd jump in here, too. like djmommy, i haven't read all the posts on this thread, but i plan to do so in a bit. dh and i are traveling right now. we've been away from home since october 27. i lost almost 5 lbs the first half of our trip but have been gaining the past 3 weeks. i'm struggling and need to get my focus back.

i look forward to getting to know each of you.

just finished reading this thread. i recognize a few of you and am glad i found where you are posting.

i am too far behind here to respond to everything that's been posted, but i did want to comment on this: " We are not living to lose weight, we are losing to live." what a wonderful statement! i wish i'd read this sooner. i have a habit of "living to lose". i also have the habit of "living to eat." i definitely need to work on "living."

i am so happy to have met each of you and am looking forward to getting to know you all better.

as i said earlier, dh and i are on an extended stay away from home. it's been like holidays for us since late october. we're having our last family get-together for the year tomorrow night. we're meeting at a mexican food restaurant in ft. worth, tx. saturday dh and i wil be competing in an archery tournament then sunday we're heading back to montana.

i will be able to be online till sunday am. after that i will be away from net access for at least a week. i'm just telling you all this so you'll know what's going on with us right now.

i have gone to ww for wi 4 times while on this trip. if we're in pocatello, idaho next fri, i'll go again. if not, i'll go when we get back to montana. as of monday's wi, i am the same weight as i was the end of october just before we left home.

tomorrow night should be my last "tough" meal. eating while on the road is easier for me.

linda, i read something about a challenge going on now. i didn't see what the challenge is, but i'd like to hop in if possible. i need some motivation to get me going again.

i apologize for this being so long. i hope i haven't bored all of you.

i'll be back later. i hope all of you are having a great--op!!--day.

Welcome Ontarget and DJ!!!!!!!! This is a happy supportive thread.....I really love the new friends I have made here. DJ, I have 2 WW members at my meeting who have thyroid problems.......it can work well with those with thyroid problems and you can lose. On target- well, being the same is good......you did not gain, right?

Rose- congrats on the 1.4#loss!!!:carrot: Especially this time of year!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you.

Gotta go get dinner on........nite!
Ginny

ginny, thank you for the welcome. i appreciate your support. i'm hoping to have a loss when we get home in a week or so. time will tell.

rose, congratulations on your weightloss. that's impressive for sure.

I'm here, I'm here...I've been reading, just not posting. I actually feel like I've been a bit more on track the last few days. I'm telling you, I am so positive it is because of pms and hormones that I get so off track every month for that week and a half. Sooooo frustrated with that. I guess maybe now that I really recognize that and know that is what it is, I can prepare myself better. That's the theory anyway. :eek:

I ended up gaining back about 4lbs. :cry: It kills me to have to change my stats and my signature because 204 was the lowest that I've been in 5 years. I know I got there once, I'll get there again....just sucks. And I have come the the sad conclusion that I do not think I will be wearing that black dress next Friday to dh's xmas party. As it was, at 204 I needed to probably lose another 5lbs to really feel comfortable in it, and I'm just not thinking that 9lbs will be coming off in a week. :(

On the bright side, I still have time to make my xmas goal of being in ONEderland. I WILL BE THERE. I've gotta keep saying that because right now I'm not feeling so confident!

Sorry I haven't been posting much...I've been trying to tie loose ends with the end of the semester. I turned in that huge (huge, huge, huge) project that I had due for two of my classes and got an A (actually better than that because I got 100%) I still have a term paper due on Tuesday (with an oral presentation) and then three finals and one certification test. :stress: I can't wait for this semester to be over.

Anyway...it has taken be about two or three hours to write this...so many interruptions! Hope everyone is doing well...

Paige

Hi Everyone, Thank you for the warm welcome.... Boy do I need it. I did awesome today. Dh Ask to go out to eat and the place he suggested was not good.SOOO I called him up and told him to change places. We did and I had a great low pt meal.I have recorded everything and stayed within my pt range. I am only using 1-3 extra pts. I may do well at this this time around. I just need to stay motivated. Congrads to all of you with weight loss. I can not wait to tell you some loss next week. We will see.Tom is coming I can tell ....oh well. Chat later.

Good morning all! I am really feeling so much better today, much more motivated and feeling "back on track."

Welcome to all the newbies! I love the girls on this thread. There is no way I would of stuck with it the last few months if I hadn't of been posting here. I can't wait to get to know all of you!

Ginny- I have been meaning to ask you, the next time you are at one of Laura's meetings, would you ask her if she has a copy of the 7 days poem? I don't know if she has ever read it to your group, but it's a little poem about how you start off the week thinking you can slip up a little because you have 7 days till your weigh in, and each day you get closer and get further off track. Ever since she read it (like 4 years ago!) I've been trying to find it and can't. It's a great poem and makes you realize how just that one little slip up can snowball. If she doesn't have it anymore or doesn't know what I mean, that's ok. Thanks!

Rose-Congrats on the 1.4! Such a great thing, especially during a holiday.

Anyway...lots to do again today! I'm having a "girls only" naughty-type party (*snicker*) tomorrow so I've gotta get the house clean and go to Walmart to get some ingredients for the appetizers. I'm trying to have a few things that are healthier, too, as I'm finding that those are things that usually go over really well, and then I can snack on those things instead of the not-so-healthy things that I'm making.

Hope everyone else has a great day!

Paige

hi there, chickies. tonight is our last get together with family before we leave texas to head back to montana. i confess i'm not op today but i am watching what i am eating and trying not to overdo it. tonight is going to be emotional. i hate having to say good-bye to my son, dil, and granddaughters. dh and i won't get to see them again for about a year.

enough whining, though. we will be able to keep in touch via email and telephone.

paige, i gained over 4 lbs the past 3 weeks. all i know to say is, "we lost them once; we can lose them again."

a ww leader i once had told us that there are just 2 reasons why people don't lose weight:
1. they don't know how.
2. they don't want to.

i know i gained cuz of #2. weightloss took a backseat to other priorities. starting sunday, it's going to be foremost again.

penny, are you reading here? i'd love for you to hop in and join us.

dj, i applaud you for joining during the holidays. i'll bet you're feeling better physically and emotionally already. i know i always do when i'm op.

Hello from the yucky stormy midwest. We got hit with an ice storm late last night early this a.m. Got up at 5 a.m. to check out the weather. Went back to bed to wait for daybreak because I WILL NOT travel on ice expressways where fools drive in the dark and to see if school was cancelled. Yep it was cancelled. I got my shower and went downstairs and BAM out went the power. Estimated restoration 4 p.m. TOMORROW!!! I headed to work. DH was home all day and the temps kept dropping at the house. Snow kept falling. I finally got home after a couple of errands after work. Went potty and came out of the bathroom and the power restored!!! VOILA!!!! But it was 7:30 and I was starving. DH kept me on task though and I came through the day keeping OP, healthy and wise. Thank the Lord.

Whew - let's hope tomorrow goes better. I did not get my walk in. I also refuse to walk on icy surfaces after my double hematomas last winter/spring. I'll just have to get some in the house exercise in the next few day.

Here you are! Sandra, I'm so sad to see you go! Where are you all meeting tonight? I hope you have a great time and a safe trip back home.

I've been doing Flex for the last week and am really having a good time with the online tools. If someone doesn't go to meetings or do the @home or @work versions, I highly recommend the online membership. It's about $65 for 13 weeks, then goes to $16.95 a month after that. Our @work hasn't started back up and the in-town meetings aren't exactly convenient for me given my kooky work schedule. Anyway, it's just a thought.

I hope everybody's having a good day. I have a feeling I'll be posting in here a lot.

Welcome Kathy!!!

Sorry for being short........just a drive thru visit here. Paige, I will be sure to ask Laura about the 7 days poem when I see her Wednesday.

Today I have been good.......made a WW deep dish pizza for dinner. Easy and surprisingly good (I would use less meat.....other than that it was good and only 6 pts a serving).
Gotta go......my youngest has her piano recital tomorrow. gotta go iron her outfit for that.
Nite
Ginny

hi there. we've been gone all day to an archery tournament. sure had fun. i did overeat. tomorrow is day 1 of the new me. we'll be traveling for several days pulling a travel trailer. i should do well. rather--i will do well.

hi, kathy. it's good to see you here. last night we went to mi charitas in ft worth. our family visit was wonderful. we did early christmas as well as some birthday celebrations. it was a good evening but i was sad to have to tell everyone goodbye till next year.

Just finished WW French Onion soup - I got it off their site this week and it's really, really good. Well tonight was Meet the Team night and the official 2006-07 basketball season has begun. My butt bleacher friend has started WW again though so hopefully, we'll help keep each other on track.

Oh my gosh I was so excited, I had a friend ask me tonight if I have been losing weight!!! It happened, it happened. I told her yes and thank you. It felt so good for someone to notice!!!! More people should be noticing soon as I cross over the 20 lb mark in the next month or so. It feels SO GOOD!

rose, that's a wonderful nsv. i am so happy for you.

I don't think I've ever heard of that one, Sandra. When we eat Mexican in Sundance, we usually go to Mi Cocina, on Main Street. Judd always has to stop in to Flying Saucer or 8.0, and I do mean ALWAYS. I don't think we've been to Sundance once where we didn't have to go to at least one of those places.

I miss Juanita's though. Did you ever go there? It was by Riscky's right across from the Worthington. When I worked in the taller of the two Bass Towers (in '93) we went there for lunch regularly. I guess it closed in the late 90s and now there's another Mexican restaurant in its place but it isn't as good.

By the time you read this, you'll probably be on your way home. Safe travels to you and Curtis! :hug:

Never tried the WW French onion soup......many points Rose? Glad your friend noticed the weight loss!

Sandra- how is your "new day" going? Hopefully well!

Hope everyone else is having a great weekend....... Kathy, I am in NY so all of those restaurants are mysteries to me......think we are headed to Outback tonite.....after dd's recital.

Gotta go.
Ginny

Ginny, come on down to Texas! Actually, all those I mentioned are one-timers ... no chains unless they're local ones with 1-2 locations. There's a very cool and historic section of Fort Worth, Texas that still has brick streets and old buildings. There's also still a daily cattle drive (http://www.fortworthherd.com/) thru the town that's very interesting to watch.

I am SOOOO not eating well today. I think it's because I told myself to let go and restart tomorrow. That means that today I'm just hoovering thru the house and having a ball with it. Problem is that I'm a little (burp) full right now. I hate to go to bed on a full tummy so perhaps I should do a few loads of laundry. Or not. :D

Just a quick post to let you know I am still alive. I'll try to go back and read what I have missed. I see we have a few newcomers, which is great! Welcome!
I've been a BAD girl. I don't know what happened to me but I lost control starting about Friday evening and really kind of blew it over the weekend. I knew what I was doing. Shame on me.
Linda, back from Margaritaville.....

Eek, Linda, too bad we weren't together. I did the same thing ... and today I'm also back. I will spend the next four weeks in diligent concentration and I WILL be at my goal by the end of the year. No doubt.

Ginny - the french onion soup is 4 pts. It's easy. One large sweet onion (at least that's what I used) 4 T Dry Sherry, cooked until translucent. 4 cups beef broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Take 4 pieces of french bread. Toast in a 350 oven until brown on both sides. Place a slice bread in bottom of 4 bowls. Pour french onion soup over each slice of bread. Sprinkle 1 1/2 t parmesan. YUMMMM!!!! Very filling too.

Kathy, I'm not sure what happened to me, it was like someone turned on the "I'm going to eat what I want and that is that" switch. I knew what I was doing and blew it just the same. I was feeling sad/depressed, I think, and perhaps that contributed. Sometimes food is my drug of choice when I get sad. I can do better than that.
You are very close to your goal, I hope you make it by the end of the year, but if you don't it will be really soon!
Rose, I have either that recipe or a similar one for Onion Soup and love it. There was a paperback magazine style WW cookbook called something like "our very best" put out a few years ago that it was in. I just love it.
Tomorrow is my meeting and weigh in. I don't have high expectations. But, I shall continue. My losses are slow, but at least I am having losses and not giving up.
By the way, all, I had a computer meltdown. I think it was a virus or something like that. I have a new computer, which was an unplanned expense, but my old one won't even power up.
Linda

Rose- thanks for the recipe.......sounds wonderful and I have everything in the house!!!!! (I will give it a try tomorrow). How many servings does the recipe make? How's your day been?

Kathy and Linda- here are some OP cyber vibes. Gosh it can be SO tough getting back into that OP mind set. Is anything in particular bugging either of you that might be an obstacle?

OFf for more shopping.........Dh and I took today off (me just my pm) to get some stuff done for the kids...slow progress. Gotta go, nite!
Ginny

Linda our posts crossed.......hope tomorrows WI is good- or good damage control!!!! hang in there.
Ginny

Thanks, Ginny. Yes, I have the "usual" grief thing for my mom and dad going on, plus a dear friend is being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, she's only 41 and there is about a 90% chance she has it. She was supposed to find out today and they postponed her appointment.
Then, to top it off, I dented my car yesterday - think I was just feeling blue and distracted and didn't pay attention. But, that is nothing in comparison to what my friend is going through right now, not knowing but thinking she has it. Waiting is the worst. I'm praying.
But, when things like that happen, again, my drug of choice is food. My husband and I went out to dinner at a Longhorn Steak House (which I just adore) on Sat. evening and I lost control, completely. I really was in Margaritaville... had one and it was very good, at least I only had ONE though. I didn't bother to order FF dressing or oil and vinegar, I had the bread and butter (and loved it) and ordered fillet Mignon. I had dessert. It was a good dinner and I think I needed it. I still remained out of control yesterday as well, though and for part of today. I hang my head in shame at the moment, but you would have thought that I could have handled the last few days better.
Any ideas for when times get rough and sad and how you can stay in control? I haven't got a clue.
Linda

Ginny - it makes 4 servings of 1 cup each over the toasted bread

I am making the soup on a few minutes, and WW Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.......thanks Rose!

Linda- I am no magical genie......I think what you have to do is purely survival right now. Find something (other than food) that makes you happy.....don't hang your head in shame......perhaps you could write or call a friend.....or pm one of us- venting big time about what and why you are feeling. It does not have to make sense, just help air the feelings that are trapping you. Your struggles will most likely be minute by minute.......where you are in control and all of the sudden overwhelmed. I suppose it all will come down to having a game plan. Preplan meals and snacks as much as possible. Try to have great no calorie drinks that you like around all the time to take care of the need to have something in your mouth. Take a 10 minute break several times a day....even just a change of scenery can change a mood. And allow yourself the time to feel.......suppressing this won't help either. Hugs. Hang in there.

Gotta go do something productive ......see ya!
Ginny

Linda - I work PT at a funeral home and one of the grief tools we teach is to have a candle dedicated to your loved one. Keep it in a quiet spot in your home. Everytime you are feeling a bit sad about them, light the candle, talk to them, remember them, smile a bit, cry a bit if you need to. When you're ready, blow the candle out.

Light it again when needed. Hugs to you. We all use food as the survival tools and can use help finding other methods to help us through.

HI guys Have not posted. I am getting confused as to what sites I am keeping up with. The french onion soup sounds so good I need to omake it. Can Not wait. I made califlower soup. My kids love it 1pt... Can not beat it. I went for my first WI and lost 3.6. I was so happy. Was not sure I would have one but I did . I am motivated now. Nothing like a good jump start. I hope you all have some successes this week. For those of you that did congrads to you.
Anybody got any recipe for left over pork??? I have some that I would like to create a dish for tonight. Thanks

Hi all!

I feel like things are finally winding down here a little bit. Next week is the end of the semester, and I also have my cookie orders due on the 15th. This week should be pretty easy for school, so I'll probably get a lot of my baking done since I won't have homework. I am having a little bit of a hard time staying away from the stuff that I've already baked. I am accounting for it, though, so I guess that's good. I stayed within points yesterday, and today I have about 10pts left for dinner, so I need to think of something that is low in pts to make. The weight that I gained while pmsing and during my period came right off, thank goodness. I weighed myself this morning, and I think I'm actually at 203. Tomorrow is my official at home weigh in, so I'll change my signature then. I actually wore a pair of jeans today that I haven't worn in a really long time (not to pat myself on the back, but I looked really good today...lol!) These jeans have never fit this well...even when I bought them, they were pretty tight. Now, they aren't tight, they aren't loose...they're just right.

Sorry I'm not getting more personal this post...dds are starting to climb on me, so I should post this before they hit the delete key!

Ginny and Rose, you both have some really good suggestions, I especially like the candle idea. I have a candle that the priest who oversees the chapel at the nursing home gave me. The have a memorial service each year for those who were residents and passed on and they asked a family member to lite it during the service. I could take it home afterwards.
At any rate, onward to a more positive subject. I had my meeting and weigh in today and lost .6! I was relieved as I really did blow it over the weekend. I'm glad there was some kind of loss, at least. I'm hoping to stay on program better this week, but with the holidays approaching, I'm not sure.
Paige, it was good to hear from you, it's been awhile. Also, I wonder about some of our others who've been absent for a long time. I hope everyone is ok.
DJM, I have one idea for leftover pork. You can make pulled pork with it. If you cut it about 1 - 1 1/2" slices and then pull the pork into shreds with your fingers, you mix BBQ sauce with it and serve it over top of a roll. Get low fat rolls, of course!
Linda

Linda thanks for the idea that is what I did. Yummy. I just had my 1pt ww ice cream. Man those are yummy. My kids want to eat them and I am being selfish tellung them they are mine... I will buy some cheaper ones for them tom.... Such a meanie mom LOL . They were happy I found some pop tarts. Better them eat those than me. I think that is the hardest thing is having kids around when you diet.... Oh well another day under my belt and it went well. Hope you all are doing great.....

Hi all...

Just a quick stop before I throw on my uniform and head off for school. I did a lot of baking this morning...had a few of the cookies that I made, but I actually feel ok about it because I felt a binge coming on, and worked my way through it. I am starting to realize that binging is an "in the moment" thing...it makes me feel good at the moment, but after coming off of that high and realizing the damage, it's horrible. It's the second time this week (Monday was the other time) that I really had a craving to binge, and I'm proud of myself because both days I didn't go through with it. I really want to go back next semester and have people notice a difference in me, so I keep reminding myself "January 24th" which is the first day of classes. For some reason that is really helping me.

Anyway...gotta run...hope everyone is doing well!

Paige

First, DJM, glad you tried the pulled pork. I love it. I should have mentioned that you can just eat it that way with a fork and you don't have to use a roll.
I know what it's like having kids around for sure. I think I'd be at goal if I lived alone and didn't have all the extra foods in the house for everyone else. However, I'd be unhappy and lonely without everyone, so I have to learn to live with it all. I also think eating healthier is more expensive as well, sadly. The junk food is cheaper. I end up spending a small fortune on food as I am buying two types of food for people here in this house as well. I can't force them to eat as I do, though.
By the way, a true WW leader (which I am not, but considering the meetings I've attended over the years, I should be by now) would tell you not to use the word "diet" when you refer to how you are eating now. They always says "it's a lifestyle change".
It took me a very long time (and I don't know if I am there yet, even) to finally get it through my thick head that I am not on a diet, I have to figure out what works for me and stick with it for my life. Otherwise, I'm going to go on with this endless cycle of losing weight and then going "off the wagon" and gaining all of it back. I just am getting too old (51) and tired to deal with that issue any more. Plus, if you consider my age, eating poorly can contribute to all sorts of health issues, and the longer you live and are overweight and not really eating as you should, the more risk you have of some really serious health issues. I am hoping that I can finally make an adjustment in my eating that will be a lifelong change for the good. If it takes three years to finally get to goal, so be it. If I finally gravitate to a healthy eating style, with small moderate indulgences now and then, I think I will really succeed. It's very hard for my body to lose weight, I lose sometimes something like .2 or .4 a week, then have a gain and keeping losing again. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
That is the difference for me now. I look to the ultimate goal. I know there will be detours where I have a few gains, like holidays. My biggest stumbling blocks are what I might want to refer to as "companion and emotional eating". Companion eating is social, like people refer to themselves as "social drinkers" in a way. I get out there in a social situation, like am meeting (I belong to several quilting groups) and people bring goodies. They are something I cannot resist. I go out to dinner with my husband and family at some of my favorite restaurants week after week (we eat out usually every weekend) and I lose control. It's a "party atmosphere". Then, sadly, the emotional eating thing gets to me. I get depressed and sad and the cabinet where all the snack foods are becomes my drug of choice.
CORE seems to be helping me a bit with that, but I still am not being awfully good when it comes to my companion eating. Keep the faith!
Paige, I know what you are going through. I'm sure all the cookie baking that you are doing (I guess you get paid for this???) is really tempting day in and day out. I think I'd probably lose control as well.
I can relate one little tip to you that I learned and I broke a bad habit with, maybe it will help? I make school lunches each day for the kids (now only one kid gets one still, but I used to make two of them each day). I absolutely love cold cuts. I found myself eating a few slices of ham, turkey and cheese each morning while I was making sandwiches for the kids. It was really a bad thing, but I was hungry, the food was good and it was in my hands. I couldn't stop myself. Then, I deliberately took a piece of strong minty chewing gum or one of those very strong Listerine breath strips and my desire of the food diminished, or at least the taste of these things really took any joy out of sampling the food. Try doing something like this while you are baking all those cookies and fear a binge coming on. You are doing so well and that 199 number is very close... think about that! Keep posting here and tell us how you are doing.
Well, all, time to get rolling on my day. Take care,
Linda

Linda...such a good post! I'm only 26, but I can really relate to what you are saying about the health issues that come with being overweight. My mom's side of the family has problems with weight (my mom isn't overweight, but she has a VERY hard time keeping it off) and because of the weight, they have high blood pressure, high sugar, etc etc etc...Also I see it in my mom and now my sister (who is 6 years older than me) a big problem with metabolism. I know that I already have a slow metabolism, and I can see it my mom and sister how I'm going to be when I'm older. That is why it is so incredibly important to me to lose it now and get back into my normal weight range. Yes, I want to look better in clothes, but more importantly, I don't want to have to face all of those health problems when I'm older.

I'm the same way with emotional and companion eating. I think so many of us are, and just get so caught up in it that it's near impossible to stop when you are in the moment. It's like the other day when I had my girls only get together, I was so good about having some food that was healthy, but when I was in the moment, did I stick to my guns? Nope! It was a social situation, everyone else was eating the not-so-healthy stuff, and I wanted it too! Tomorrow night is dh's xmas party, so I know that will be another one of those situations. They always have it at the same place, so I know what food is going to be there, too...it's really good. But like you said, that is why WW is a lifestyle change and not a diet. We are learning how to incorporate the "not-so-healthy" stuff, and still get back on track. If we eliminate it completely, that's when we yo-yo. That's when I yo-yo anyway, because I feel deprived that everyone else was able to eat and I wasn't, and then I go home depressed and binge.

Yes, I get paid for making the cookies. I started last year, and it's all been through word of mouth. This year I'm doing about 30 different varieties of cookies and candies. What I get paid pretty much only covers my ingredients, though, because I make the cookies for gifts, too, for neighbors, teachers, our doctors, and for dh to take to work. When you said gum, I just had a "duh!" moment, because that's what I do at school to keep me from sampling. I'll have to try it today.

Anyway...gotta run! Hope everyone has a great day!

Paige

Hello Ladies. Today is WI and I've had a horrible struggling week. The most positive move I made this week was to take the Cacao box of chocolates and bring them to work to sit under my desk. They no longer have the control of whispering my name in a steady pattern at home. WOW - with all my resolve, this was pure torture for me.

I kept chanting all that I know about not dropping the whole dozen eggs, that only I can stop and get back on track, that I am the one putting food in my mouth, no one else; but it has been very difficult. I have a new slate today and a new resolve. Let's hope I can keep it in place. It's the whole holiday, stress, tired as all get out that is weighing heavy on me right now. I'm reverting to my old survival skills which got me to this place in my life in the first place. To break the vicious cycle is really really hard.

NSV for me yesterday and I was SO HAPPY to have it. It should help to give me an anchoring moment. Our managing attorney bought all the staff for Professional Day last year 2005 an Ann Taylor knit shirt. They are so cute and we each got our own color and in what she considered was an appropriate size. Mine was a x-large which should fit except at Ann Taylor that is. It sucked to my body so tight it was obscene to wear. I had NEVER worn it. It is a pretty pretty hot pink and a lovely shirt which would go with much of my wardrobe. Well I eyeballed it Tuesday night and thought, what the heck, try it on. IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT!!!!!! I wouldn't wear it yet without the jacket but it no longer sucked to every roll and fat gobule on my body. I wore it yesterday with pride. Pride that only a fellow weight struggler could possibly know.

A small victory in my life but one which was well needed on this hard week.

I'll change my numbers later today after WI.

Rose Garden That is sooo wonderful... You bet you were excited I can not wait to get to that pt......

Wow all your emails were all so inspiring....... You all put me in a good frame of mind... I needed that I seemed to be losing myself for some reason today....

I have to make ookies for the boys in my house.. They like to decorate and I am dreding it terriably. I will otry gum or whatever to help.....

Good luck to everyone with parties coming up . We can do this.... One day at a time...

Rose, congrats on that NSV... I've not had a NSV in a long time and hope to have one to report to you all really soon. That would be really nice.
You go girl!!!!!!! Wear that shirt with pride!
I should have bought the pair of winter white corduroy pants that I tried on about three weeks ago, by the way. They "fit" but there was not a bit to spare and they were supposed to be the kind of pants that have pleats in the front and look a bit baggy, but on me the pleats pulled apart and they pants looked terrible. It was depressing, but I should have bought them. I've always wanted a pair of winter white corduroy pants and maybe if I had bought them, I would be able to wear them sometime and have my own NSV? I could have put them away, but I needed something then and didn't want to spend money on something that didn't really fit or look good. Who knows, they might have actually looked awful on me when they fit anyway.
Paige, so what's the verdict? Will you be wearing that special dress that you've wanted to wear? I hope so.
Let's brainstorm about ways we can boost our metabolism? I'm smiling this very moment and thinking of Weird Al Yankovic, do you all know who he is? He did a song called "grapefruit diet" and that is one of those foods I see used in magazines that they insist boosts metabolism. I wonder if it really does or not? I do like grapefruit after all!
Well, time to make dinner for my daughter and I. DH is away and my son is working. It's hard to cook for only two people.
We can do this!
Linda

Linda-No, I will not be wearing the dress. I know I'll try it on tomorrow just to "double check." It's going to be too cold anyway. I'm going to wear my trusty black suit that always looks good (even though it is getting to be a little big) and I'm going to wear this really pretty teal colored satin tank shirt under it. I bought that shirt about 4 months after I had dd #2, so when I tried it on the other day with my suit, I had to crack up. I had to stuff my super-duper-push-em-up bra just to get the top to stay up! LOL! Once adjusted, though, it looked pretty good. So I guess I'm ok with it. I'm so close to my goal anyway...the dress will fit eventually!

Rose-WTG for the NSV! Don't you just LOVE that?! I did that this week, too...for the heck of it, I pulled out a pair of jeans that I haven't worn since the month before I got pregnant with dd #1, never expecting them to fit. I just couldn't believe it that they did. I just love moments like that!

Gotta run!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Paige

I have had two awful days.....had a student with a major meltdown on the bus- it was awful....they had to drag him off kicking and screaming( he is is foster care, comes from an abused background, poor little fella).

So I am a major burnout.........

Paige- glad the pants fit!!!!!!!!!!
Rose- Laura remembered the 7 day poem and will somehow get a copy to me.
Linda- the onion soup was awesome.........(think you gave me the recipe....if not forgive me ladies!) Wierd Al eh? Yup I know of him.....:)
Sorry to be so short..so much to do. Hi to anyone I missed (forgive me please)
Take care
Ginny

Question maybe a dumb one but what is NSV? Just readibg and am lost. A bit new to this site so a little slow on the lingo.....Good luck everyone

DJM, don't apologize for having to ask! NSV = Non Scale Victory!
Paige, sorry you aren't wearing that dress, but it does sound like you are close. Your goal to reach by January is very close, what is the next goal for you?

Gosh, Ginny, my heart breaks for that kid on the bus. What will happen to him? I hate to think of kids in foster care and how awful their lives have to be and how awful their lives were before. Are you a teacher?
OK, guys, I'm in a humorous mood this morning, I guess, but I am cutting and pasting the words to grapefruit diet here for us all to read and smile about, I wish I knew the tune:
Lyrics to Weird Al Yankovich Grapefruit Diet

Who's that waddlin' down the street?
It's just me, 'cause I love to eat
Fudge and Twinkies and deviled ham
Who's real flabby? Yes, I am!
Every picture of me's
Gotta be an aerial view
Now my doctor tells me
There's just one thing left to do--

Grapefruit Diet (Diet)
Throw out the pizza and beer
Grapefruit Diet (Diet)
Oh, get those jelly donuts out of here
Grapefruit Diet (Diet)
Might seem a little severe
Grapefruit Diet (Diet)
I'm gettin' tired of my big fat rear
Blow, flatty!

Well, I used to live on chocolate sauce
Made sumo wrestlers look like Kate Moss
Walked down an alley and I got stuck
I got more rolls than a pastry truck
When I'm all done eating
I eat a little more
When I leave a room
First I gotta grease the door

Grapefruit Diet (Diet)
Can't have another eclair
Grapefruit Diet (Diet)

At any rate, the is a little bit of truth to some of those words, and I just love Weird Al at times. His approach to life and humor have earned him a place in society. My daughter has a DVD of him and a few CDS which is why I get to know his stuff. She thinks it's a riot.
But, I remember him from when I was lots younger, he's been around for awhile.
Linda

Ginny - Hugs to you and hope today goes better. It's been a full moon and this month it's been a really rough cycle.

I'm the one who posted the soup recipe and someone else wanted the 7 day poem - maybe Linda? It's so easy to get us all confused. Maybe when we lose a tad bit more, we'll post pics so we have a face with a name ????

Rose and Linda........thanks for putting up with me and my senior moments...or bus driver burnout. Either excuse works for me!;) Think I would confuse myself with someone else if I did not have picture ID. Anyway, Rose the soup was great. We all loved it.
Linda- I remember Wierd Al from years ago.......thanks I needed a smile today!
And if he can make you smile........that is wonderful.
DJM- well there is ww speak.......ww math, all kinds of ww lingo. (I get messed up with it too sometimes).

What else could I expect today? My car would not start (getting the new battery later).......but it makes me walk to work this afternoon, guess I do not have to worry about getting my workout in (already did one mile on the treadmill b4 car woes hit).

Gotta go.......hope everyone's day is going well! It's Friday!
Ginny

Ginny-It was me that wanted that poem!

Soooooo guess what?! I tried on the dress again today, and holy schmoly it fit! I've been doing A LOT of squats and lunges this week because I knew that the problem area with the dress was my thigh/hip area, so maybe it worked? However, I'm still not wearing it. (LOL!) It fits, but I don't think it looks right...kind of makes me look poochy in the tummy area. Oh well, I'm just so glad that I was able to get it to not be tight anymore. I think I would of been a little self conscious anyway wearing it. I did another little "closet fashion show" today with dd as my audience. She asked me to try on this bridesmaid dress that I had bought for a wedding a few years ago (and never got to wear because they eloped!) So I tried it on...it's a separate skirt and top, and the top is a burgundy red with rhinestones and has a little higher of a neckline, so I've decided to wear that under my suit. It actually looks really pretty, and I think I will feel more confident in it.

I have to say, I really am just so proud of myself. I was thinking today about the past few years going to this xmas party, and I've always been so upset going because I had wanted to lose weight for it and feel better about myself. I've always had a rotten time because I was so down on myself because it was just a reminder about how I had failed and didn't fit into that stupid dress and how I had to settle for something that would fit. And I'd feel so bad about it because my poor attitude would make dh not have as good of a time. Well this year I actually did it. I feel so freakin good about going. Yeah, I'm not wearing the dress, and I am wearing my trusty suit (which really is getting too big!) but I KNOW I WILL LOOK DAMN GOOD! And I am just so excited to get dressed up and go!

DH just got home from work, so I'm going to treat myself to a bubble bath while he is watching dds!

Hope everyone has had a great day!
Paige

Paige- you awesome woman! I love your attitiude..........have a blast and I am sure you will look like a million bucks!!!!! Forgive me for being the eternally brain dead person and mixing up everyone. This has been a stressful week. Hey, is the party tonite?
I am going to try to print out your picture to give to Laura......just so she knows who asked for the poem. Let ya know later if it works.

I survived today...kiddies were wacko....but they are all home safely....that is all that counts.

Gotta go to Dd's Christmas play. Enjoy your weekend!
Ginny

Ginny - I hope next week is better but my SIL says December is almost as bad as May for being with school kids. Hugs to you and hope you get through it.

Paige - WOW O WOW O WOW!!!!! How great is that!!!! Is the party tonight?

I'm hanging out here today and getting my Christmas tree up and assembled. No one here to bug me at this point. I'll be shopping next week with next week's check. I've been a huge stickler for not using credit for Christmas the last couple years - not that I don't have a large credit card balance but at least I don't let Christmas increase the load.

How's the cookie baking going Paige? I'd have to be in the right frame of mind to pull that one off. Good luck.

Have a great day everybody!

HI everyone, way to go Paige. Can not wait until I am at that pt. This weekend so far has not been good....... My son may have Whooping cough so I may have infected his class... I thought it was his asthma....... I feel so bad but we will not know until Mon. The doc told me he has never been wrong . Well I hope thi is the first.... I took him in on Wed, my doc was not there and the doc I saw thought it was his asthma too. I just took him back on Friday to double check and Than I find out it was more serious than Thought... Oh welll.

So on Friday we decided to have chinese...... I tried to do well, I had 1/2 veg egg roll and about 2 1/2 cups of beef ,chick, shrimp dish... It was spo good I tried to stop at 1 cup just could not do it.... Than I had an hiceream sandwhich... Man once jyou blow it it is hard to maintain normal eating...

Than today my dh brought home Fajitas.... My favorite,, With the homemade chipos.... I made one fajita , I ate mostly that dish without the roll, but I ate those chips.... So tonight and tom it is salads GALORE and FRUIT.....You play you pay..... I am sure I have so much salt in this body from 2 days of foreign food that I could blow up like a sponge.....I have no idea how to count these pts but I will figure it out.....Lesson learned.... It is not like it is the last time this will happen I know I need to regain control..... I also know that I need to eat whatI cook and stick with that until I am in this ww for a while longer.

Enough complaining,, I did go out today with my 7 year old son and we cut down our tree. Frist time I ever did anything like that.... Dh stayed home with the older boy.. We had fun. So today we are putting it up... I wanted to make cookies but I think I best stay away from that today.

Hope everyone has a great day. Stay focused and drink the water.... hI wish I could say the same...

I made the fetticine which was in my 1st week Points book from one of the times I joined. It has 1 cup fetticine, covered with cooked fresh tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic, thinly slivered zucchini, fresh mushrooms cooked just enough to take the hard crisp out of it. Pour over fetticine. 4 pts. Now I dredged a some chicken breast tenders in Italian bread crumbs, fried it in my allowment of oil (1pt - 1 pt for crumbs - 2 pts for the tenders) and had that on the side. YUMMY - 8 pts and it was a HUGE helping. Everything there too. SHould hold me for the night

Hi all...quick stop by before I get ready for church. I think this is the first time I've been so glad the service starts at 8:30...I have so much baking to get done today because tomorrow I'll be studying for my two finals that are on Tuesday. Busy, busy, busy! At least dh is home today to keep the kids somewhat occupied!

Dh's party was great! I really had such a good time. It's nice because I've gotten to where I know a lot of the other wives quite well, so it's always like a little reunion at these functions. Dh is very good friends with the HRM, and he and his wife have girls that are the exact same ages as our girls (within a few weeks, even) so his wife and I sat next to each other and gabbed the whole night. Dh joked that he and her dh could of left and we wouldn't of even noticed...he's right, too! Eating wise, I think I did ok. I had a few appetizers (bruschetta, and some shrimp & scallop on a little toast) and for dinner I had chicken, but I didn't even end up eating it all. The same with dessert...it was a scoop of ice cream, and I only ate about half of it.

Yesterday, however, apparently my brain decided that I would not be op. I talked dh into getting Chinese last night...yes, the salt content in my body is probably quite outrageous right now, too! Oh well, it is what it is. It was pretty good Chinese, though! Right back on track today! And I have quality control samplers in house today while I'm baking, so I have no need to taste anything!

Rose- The fetticine sounds yummy! I'll have to try that next time when dh wants alfredo, and just leave the alfredo out and add in the veggies. Actually, maybe I'll make it for dinner tonight. Thanks for the idea; we've been so bored with our dinner menu lately (hence the Chinese last night!)

Ok, gotta run! I'll probably check in later!!!

Paige

Morning!!!!!!!!
Like Paige, I am attempting to get ready for church.......and my mother just called, so I guess I'd better get myself moving. (as my mother is chatting away....)
Paige, glad the party was such a hoot.
Rose- the fetticine sounds great......
DJM- I hope your son is feeling better. Whopping cough is can be serious stuff, and rather rare these days (I used to work for the firm that manufactured the vaccine).
Sorry to be short....the phone call took my computer time. See ya later!
Ginny

Paige, way to go with the party!
Hmmm... two people in our little "group" confessed to Chinese food, wonder what it was this weekend that made people crave that? I had an ice cream sundae, though, on Saturday afternoon. Bad Girl!
However, I've been doing fairly well sticking with CORE otherwise. I hope to be able to have a loss at weigh in tomorrow in spite of the ice cream. We'll see.
Time to get some serious house cleaning done today, so off I go.
Take care everyone, you are doing great!
Linda

Hi everyone, Well this weekend did not go as well as I hoped. I have a wi tom and I need to refocus. My son is still home and I was told If his culture comes back positive
he needs to stay home until WEDNESDAY.... Thank goodness I got my shopping finished... My younger one is coughing today, The nurse told me to send him because we are not sure yet if it is Whooping cough. I just hope I do not get it.....

Last night My dh and I decided to put the empty containers away form xmas supplies. It is in the crawl space. Well I said I would do it so I could put them away the way I LIKE it. While he handed me the stuff. After about 3 boxes BANG I hit my head on this pointy metal edge on the heat duck. Well blood started oozing out and my head was in sooo much pain. The blood stopped but man did I have a headache. I took some asprin . I could not get rid of the headache. So dh opened up a wonderful bottle of wine. Well after a few glasses I swear my headache was gone. Maybe the asprin finally kicked in but that wine was good. So I went over my pts.......Next time I will not be so picking about how I want things put away. I will never understand why construction people do not just pour a full basemement. If your going to dig a basement than just do the whole nine yards. Do not just leave a small portion of it not dug out. Really how many loads of dirt can that be. Sometimes I think women can do a much better job at a lot of things.

Anyway enough chating, I think i have been with my kids so long it is nice to chat with adults....Good luck everyone with the losses I will letyou know How I do tom....

Hi all...let's see if I can type this quickly before dds start to climb on my lap!

I think I did pretty well yesterday, considering all the baking. I really didn't sample anything...ok, I will confess to two chocolate covered cherries, but they really aren't that awful. If you guys could see all the stuff I made yesterday...omg...and I still have so much more to make. A lot of the things I made yesterday went to my dd's teacher's gifts. Because she is in two different preschools this year, she has NINE teachers! Holy schmoly! So far this morning I've already made a few things, but the rest of the day I have to study for two of my finals that are tomorrow. UGH, I just can't wait for this week to be over. And on top of that, my neighbor's daughter is turning 13, and she reminded me yesterday that I promised her that I would make her a sculpted Eeyore cake for her birthday party...on Sunday. Don't ask me when I'm going to be able to do it! Dh and I are going to be gone all day on Saturday to a NJ Devils game (we live a few hrs from the arena) soooo I really don't know what I'm going to do. ACK! Somehow I think I thrive on the stress, though! LOL!

Anyway...cut short by a crying dd. Gotta run!

Paige

DJS, sorry about the head thing, ouch! I agree, why not put in a full basement if you are going to do it anyway. I had a house when we lived in NY state that had about a 4 foot crawlspace under it and you couldn't stand up down there, but it was just like a normal basement otherwise. What was the point of that? Oh well.
This house, also, has an attic with a pull down stairway that you can only stand in the center of. It's just awful up there and I hate it, but we have not other space to store things, so we use it. I get scared on the ladder, and have hit my head more than once up there.
Well, it's off to get to work. I'm baking cookies today too, I'll feel like Paige, I guess. I'm visiting an elderly relative this week and want to bring her homemade bread and cookies like my mom always did. It's interesting how some people die at different ages in the same family. This woman is my mom's cousin and she is in her mid-90s and my mom passed away at 79. Same gene-pool, so who can figure out why one would pass on so much younger than the other? At any rate, I only have two remaining relatives on my mom's side, so I need to take good care of them. Bringing homemade goodies near the holidays is a nice thing to do. Goodness knows, she doesn't need to worry about her weight, at least!
Linda

Where is everyone? I am concerned that you all are out there eating holiday foods vs. being here to stay in control!
Here's a challenge.... make a quick update on how you are doing here and immediately go and drink a big glass of water, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00!
As for me, it's my meeting day and I am kind of hopeful that I might have a loss.... I'll post later on and let you all know.
As for me, it's off to get that BIG glass and have my water, then off on some errands.
Linda

Hi!
Linda, I am still here just busy....my oldest is home (returning to school in about 2 hours for finals) and has a crummy cold. So I am staying put this am to see that she gets a decent lunch...at least some soup and tea to help fight her sickness. Thanks for the kick in the can regarding drinking water.....I am a bit behind on that today, but have lots of time left.
Hope your WI goes well! How did the visit go with your mom's cousin?

DJM- well, it is unlikely that you would get whopping cough......you were given the "old" whole cell vaccine, which generally has a better immunization rate than the acellular type in use today (but it has fewer adverse reactions).
Hope your kids are feeling better.......and at least if it is strep, 24 hours of antibiotic and he will be ok. Hang in there!

Paige, good girl doing well thru the baking.....which can be challenging.
Who are you seeing at the Meadowlands (other than the Devils)? (we were there about 3 weeks ago.....had a great time!) Hope to have the 7 day poem for you tomorrow.

Please never allow me to eat M&M's again. I get the dumb things in the house to decorate cookies with and then I eat them!!!!!!!:(
Did get to step last nite.....and hopefully will resist the M&M monster.
Dealing with PMS and all the chocolate urges too.....who knows about tomorrows WI.
Gotta go- have a great day!
Ginny

Hi everyone, I lost 1\2 pd which I am soo happy about. I ate out alot this weekend and did not pick good food choices. I had a hard time recording when I eat out. Next week I hope to see more.... I told my dh that we are having a date night this weekend. I need to get out staying home and not being able to go anywhere stinks. I did take the kids to the Wi for a brief moment. They are doing better just have one more day of the antibotic than they are back in school. I hope. The older one is coughing alot at night which scares me so much.He chokes and can not breathe and sometimes vomits. It sure is a scarey thing. During the day he is better though. I need to talk to the Doc tom before I make that decision.

Here is to a fresh week and to plan meals ahead of time and to record.I wish you all sucess.

Hi all...soooo today I confess to a kinda big piece of pizza, a peanut butter cookie, a chocolate covered cherry, and a cake ball (like a truffle.) That's all I've eaten today, though, too. I'm going to make sure that I make a low pts dinner. Dd and I are going to my neighbor's daughter's high school winter concert tonight, so at least I won't be around the house to snack.

Ginny-It's the Devils vs the Redwings. I'm really excited to go. Dh and I used to go a lot (before kids!) We haven't been able to get down there in a few years, and I was able to get some really nice seats. Thanks for asking Laura about that poem. I have wished that I had asked her for a copy of it ever since that meeting!

Djm-Congrats on the loss! Hope your kids feel better soon....it is the one of the worst feelings, when your kids are sick.

Oh, also...just gotta brag a little...I'm done with TWO OF MY CLASSES!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My overall semester grade for the one class was a 97% and for the other was a 98%.

Anyway...gotta run...

Paige

Ginny, sorry you are dealing with being really busy and having an older sick kid, and DJM, so sorry about your kids as well. Sounds like no one is having fun. We're all feeling healthy in this house, at least for now, sure hope it stays that way until after the holidays, at least. I didn't get my flu shot this year, though, and I am a bit concerned. I've not been able to get over to the doctor's office yet to get one, the one time I was there I wasn't feeling well and it was not a time for a shot, for sure!
Paige, congrats on your grades, good job! Now, you must get back in control of your food my dear. Start off tomorrow with a clean slate!
I went to my meeting. The good news is that I lost a pound, so I am pleased. Congrats on your 1/2 pound, DJM, good news from you too!
Now, my bad news is that we got information on the new WW plan and I do not like it at all. The changes in the CORE plan are not ones that I am pleased with and the new way of figuring how many points you can have in a day if you do flex are sadly, taking away a point a day from me. If I lose .2 more, and I will of course, I lose 2 points a day. I go from 22 a day to 20 a day. I felt like I was starving myself with 22, which is kind of why I switched to CORE and now it's going to be next to impossible to try flex again for me, at least for now, I think.
But, I don't like the changes to the CORE plan either. Basically, they say that if you eat in between meals unless you have certain foods, and a very limited selection, you must count even CORE foods eaten in between meals as flex points. It's awfully restrictive. Of course their Smoothies are on the list of the very few things you can have in between meals and not count the flex points on and I truly think they are on that list so they can profit as those Smoothies are VERY expensive. It's costly enough to pay for myself and my daughter to go to meetings each week ($24.00 a week) and if you added Smoothies for each of us to the tab, it would put the entire program out of our budget.
So, I am not pleased at all.
The CORE plan has worked for me for the last few weeks, as is, and I've not been eating out of control all the time as some members have been. I guess the primary complaint about CORE is that some members are considering it a license to eat non stop CORE foods all day. I never did that anyway, so if I keep up what I've been doing, maybe that is ok by me.
I'm really annoyed though and would love to hear what you all think when you get the info at your next meetings.
I can totally understand the formula they are using to dictate how many flex points you get, though, and that makes sense. They are using age and your general activity level to dictate what you can have for points. My days are a mix in terms of activity, I don't sit all day and I am not out there doing massive activity all day, so that is taken into consideration. If I was a professional gardener, and spend all day working, that would be in consideration as well.
But, all in all, I'm unhappy with the CORE changes. I was just getting used to it and just started to show some good losses when I've been on a plateau for ages.
I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on the new plan.
One more thing, my daughter made her 10% goal today and has now lost 16 pounds since June, I'm pleased for her. It was a very good day for her. She's 16 year's old and hasn't done much dating. On the same day she met her 10% goal, she got asked out to dinner and a movie over the weekend. She was really happy about both things, now she will be motivated to continue to lose as certainly the boys are starting to take notice! Good for her!
Take care everyone,
Linda

Linda-Yes, thank you...you are right, I must get back into control. I've been a little lax since I made my one goal of fitting into the black dress last Friday. No reason to not be in control today!

I don't go to the meetings, so I'll have to hop on their site sometime and read about the changes in the plans.

Congrats to your dd for losing her 10%! That is so exciting especially for a teen to have that accomplishment. For us it's a big thing, but for a girl that is in high school with all of those pressures, it is even bigger. And to lose it the RIGHT way is even a bigger accomplishment. WTG!

Gosh, I hate when that happens.....
I just typed an entire post and lost it. Bummer. Happens frequently to me, not sure why.
Paige, set another mini-goal for yourself right away! That is something our leader stressed to Jamie yesterday after she made her 10%.
By the way, all I have to lose is .2 to be under 160, it's been a very long time since I weighed in at a meeting under 160, another "decade" of weight loss will be mine next week if I am a "good girl", and I intend to be!
I have to watch it as well as we are doing lots of extra holiday baking. It will be OK for me to eat these foods over Christmas Eve and Christmas day and during a few family gatherings, but they are not meant for me to eat day in and day out. By giving myself permission to have them on those days without guilt, I think it releases me from my temptations a bit. Do you all find that mindset helps?
If I denied myself these foods, it wouldn't feel like Christmas, but it doesn't have to be for the "season" instead of those special days.
Well, it's off to have a big glass of water and hit the shower. By, the way, I've lost it as far as exercise goes. I need motivation and I truly don't have it again.
Linda

I hate the changes too - I was trying to keep an open mind but how do you keep an open mind when they take away 2 pts a day!!!!!! WTF???? Sorry I'm cursing but this really, really bums me out at the worst time of the year when I'm struggling so hard anyway

Ok, so I have 12 more days till my first goal timeline ends. So I have 4 more lbs to lose...totally do-able. My cookies are being packaged up tomorrow and are out of the house on Friday, so really there are absolutely no excuses. So the goal that I am now really working towards is to be in ONEderland on December 25! I already know what my goal after that is, but right now I'm just going to focus on those 4lbs!

HI everyone Yep I did run into the meeting but could not stay. I am not sure if I like the changes or not. I need to sit tonight and read it all. I do not like the big bulky thing withthe pt value on it either. That will not last to many people will complain cuz of the size/ Geeze it won't even fit in a purse if you carry a smaller one.

Linda,You are right about the shakes.... I bet you can find something in place of those so you would not have to buy those. Did you say you were at a platuo? If not than stay on the old plan......I do not understand WHY they made Changes. My pts are still the same, I think I did it quickly but I iwould be po if I ilost my pt value.. Oh my gosh How dare they take food away when we are trying to watch out intake anyway....

Good luck everyone on the WI. Congrads to all of you aon the losses...

One kid goes back to school tom .So only one more left before I get my life back.........

Rose, I agree, WTF!!!! It's especially hard to hear these restrictions two weeks before Christmas... wonder if our screams will be heard all the way to WW headquarters, where ever that is?
I think I mentioned that if I lose .2 more, I drop another point and I already lost a point with their new formula as well. So, I go from 22 to 20 a day, when I already was climbing the walls feeling like I was starving and then on this stupid plateau I was on. Switching to CORE has broken my plateau, though, and I am thankful for the CORE plan as I would have probably dropped out of WW if I had stayed on FLEX, boredom and starvation were just to much for me. With FLEX, I was on program and journaling and doing everything they say and still not losing, so I guess I did need to lose 2 points a day in order to break my plateau, but I was starving already.
The few snacks I could have had, on CORE, in between meals over the holidays that would have kept me on program are now sort of gone from the slate, I'm going to have to just go off program for about three or four days, the week of Christmas through New Years. I cannot and will not put myself through this.
I can STILL stay on CORE, as I know it, (pre-changes) and probably lose between now and Christmas as I truly don't have any major social engagements (thankfully) and find myself staying in good control for the moment. Also, it helps my weight loss efforts that we are pretty broke right now, so eating out will be at a minimum.
Also, I totally agree on the points finder thing, the new one is too wide for my hands, it's flimsy and will probably tear and fall apart. I asked if the old one was still accurate and I was told yes, so you can still use your old one, thank goodness.
Did you note the size of these new booklets as well? They are "prettier" but much wider. Of course, they don't fit in the black Velcro binders they sold us all to store all our WW materials in. So, naturally, they will come up with a new binder that fits it all that they will want us to buy? I think I'll make myself something instead of buying it. I'm annoyed.
Oh well, I still love WW and have tried so many other ways to lose weight and have not been successful. Even if I'm annoyed, their program and meetings have worked for me.
Linda

Gotta be short......and you have been busy here. I too am NOT happy with the new plan. Techinically I lose a point.........although I will not take it away. (golly I go back to the old winning points when you could bank points, and got a daily range..........I lost then, so it is not a big deal if you go over a point). I still love WW too.....and will stay with it, just am disappointed a wee bit....I did have to leave the meeting after 15 minutes (Christmas shopping of course) so do not know all the changes.

Congrats Paige on the great grades and almost being done with school.
Linda- congrats to your Dd on making her 10%
DJM- well, at least one child is getting better. Let us know what you think of the WW changes.

Me? I was down .6......better than a gain I suppose.
Gotta go get dd into bed....nighty nite!
Ginny

Ginny, congrats on the .6 down, that's more than half a pound! Considering the time of year, that is an accomplishment.
I remember the time when you could bank points as well, I also remember the old plan (still have the materials someplace, I think) where points were not a factor at all. You had to have something like 3 protiens, 5 grain/carbs, 3 fats, 2 milks, etc and then had a list of what qualified as a serving of each. You could have some flexibility with a certain number of calories or servings each week, I think. That is the plan that I was most successful with, it was so much more simple when you think about it. You got double servings of fish, which was a good idea as our society doesnt seem to eat enough.
Linda

Last day of school!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!! Three finals down, one to go! I am so proud of myself for making it through this semester. It has been incredibly tough.

I wonder why WW feels they need to change up the plan every few years? I've been on it off and on for 4 yrs or so, and so far there have been two changes. I remember the Winning Points, and now the Flex. Now that I think about it, I think I even lost more weight on Winning Points and in a shorter amount of time.

Tonight I have a dr appt for an EMG. I've been having a lot of cramping and achiness in my hands, and at first they were thinking that maybe I have carpal tunnel. However, now that achiness has moved to other parts of my body...up into my left arm, into the left side of my back...so I'm not really sure what it could be. It's kind of a weird ache, too, not just like I pulled a muscle or I'm just sore. Aren't I too young to have problems like this?!

My cookie orders are outta here tomorrow. OMG I am so glad. I've decided that I am not doing them next year. I make no money at it (I don't charge enough) and I kill myself getting it all done...partly because I eat some of it and then have to make more! I still have to find time to make a batch of gingersnaps to go on one of my orders. The good thing is that that cake that my neighbor's daughter had wanted me to make, I finally decided to tell her that I couldn't do it. I felt so horrible about backing out of it because she had been asking me for MONTHS to make it...but it wasn't like it was just an easy cake. It was a stinking SCULPTED Eeyore cake. If we were going to be home on Saturday, I probably would of been able to finish it, but with tomorrow being my only day, no way! So that's good...at least I won't have to be worried about eating the cake scraps and icing! Oh that reminds me, I have to ice my sugar cookies! UGH!

Gotta run!

Paige

It was a maintenance week - whoo hooo, I love it.

Okay, after I talked with my leader I feel better about the new program. She says its all a numbers game anyway. I have never used all my 35 flex points - at most, I use 22-24 pts a week so that leaves me 13 to 11 pts a week = with losing 14 pts a week, it leaves me pretty close to even steven. Plus I never use my AP points.

She said that probably 80% of people do not use their 35 points and a good chunk don't count their AP pts. You need the points to lose according to their research. So this is trying to get you to be closer to where you need to be. I'll give it a shot starting next week when everyone else goes to the new plan. WW works for me so who am I to question their research :dizzy:

Paige, get yourself checked for Lyme Disease. I lived right near you when I was in NY and contracted Lyme down there. It was awful and I was full of aches and pains, but also got intermittent headaches, sore throats, etc. from time to time, the symptoms changed all the time so I never really felt I had it. I was on antibiotics over 9 months as they didn't catch it on time. I was a mess and still suffer after affects called "post Lyme syndrome", apparently the joint damage will always be with me.
So, make sure you take care of yourself! I never knew I had a tic bite and they can go unnoticed.
At any rate, sounds like cookie baking has not gone well and it's probably best to not do it next year. We all learn from stuff like that. It's not profitable, it's time consuming and also tempting you to overeat, so definitely not worth it.
Rose, I've heard many a leader tell people that members don't count their activity points and don't use all their flex points, and I wonder about that as I always used everything and was still hungry all the time. Most of the members I know use theirs as well.
Linda

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well today. I kept the older one home today just in case... He was fine and they are fighting on and offso they are readyto ogo back tom. The younger one I am keeping home though. I did finish my wrapping for the in laws and cousins. Once the kids go back to school I can finish their presents also. They are really pushing me back here on x mas things. Oh well at least they are better,it could have been worse.

Having a hard time recording. How do you all make sure you do it?. I always forget and sit down at night and by than I have eaten way to much.... I need to lose a pd or something next week. Or at least stay the same. I still need to bake and I am NOT looking forward to that......I am off to do homework withthe kids... So have a great night. .

DJM, sorry the kid's illness has set you back so much, but it sounds like they'll be heading back to school and you'll have a break soon!
The tracking, for me, is something I am best at when I am at my most determined to lose weight, and nowadays I am determined. So, I'm doing well with it.
I leave my WW materials right at my place at the kitchen table, until suppertime as that is the time of day when I like to clear off that table and make our evening meal more presentable. If I miss something in the evening, I record it the next morning before starting my next day's efforts.
I went back to journaling this week as I am kind of running both CORE and Flex at the same time, in a way. With these new programs, I am trying really hard to record what I have eaten and track them both in terms of points as well as CORE.
No one is perfect, but journaling does help when you are out of control, for sure. If you have BLT's when you are doing holiday baking (bites, licks and tastes) then you should figure out a point value for it, based on what you've had. You should count them. I am a cookie dough person, I love eating it (yes, I do use eggs in it and have always eaten dough and never once has trouble) and if I bake chocolate chip cookies, for example, I end up have the equivalent of probably two cookies in my dough "nibbles", so I have to be honest with myself and record it.
One thing I found in journaling, if no one really see's it but me, is that I really MUST be honest with myself and not leave out little BLTs that I have had along the way. How many times, on my way out the door in a hurry, did I reach in the cabinet and grab a few Triscuits and go off on my way.... they add up as I think it's 7 of the low fat ones for 2 points.
So, I guess the key to success is complete honesty with yourself.
One way I remember to record something eating on the run is to leave the wrapper or box out on the counter until I get a chance to write it down. So, if I do grab for a few triscuits on my way out, the box stays on the counter and then when I get home I see it there and remember to write it down before putting it away.
Good luck!!!!
Linda

Great Post Linda!!!!! A reminder to get those trackers out in sight and not in the bottom of my tote. I've been tracking online but it's not as effective for me as writing it on my physical tracker. I'm going back to the writing one.

Thanks again for the good post

I am tired.........I am burned out..........I need a nap.........will be back later to say hi!
I agree completely with Rose and that most of the new system is a rework of the old. But I also agree with Paige (congrats!) on why there is a need for a new system. The old one seemed fine.
Sorry to be so brief.....I am pooped.
Ginny

Hope you got some sleep, Ginny. I can't say that I have. It has been a real stressful day and I couldn't put my mind to rest enough to sleep. Now it is about and hour and 1/2 before the alarm is to go off, so why go to sleep now. After the kids bowl this morning, I will come home and take a nice nap. By then it will be 1:30 or 2 and I am sure I will have no trouble sleeping at that point.

I am still up in the air about the new program. It is looking like you would loss a point for every 10 pounds you loss. Not sure I like that idea. But I will give it a try and see what happens.

Hi all...just a quick stop by before I start another busy day. Dh and I are dropping the girls off at mil's around 10am, and then meeting up with another couple and heading down to the NJ Devils game. I'm excited, but it will be interesting to see how well I am able to stay op. We're doing stadium food for lunch...uh yeah, that will be interesting. What the heck can I get that will be op?! Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised?! After the game we are going to eat out...I'm not sure where yet. I said I was along for the ride, my only request that it wasn't Mexican (can't tolerate spicy.) I feel ok about tonight eating out, it will be lunchtime that I'm so-so about. I actually really feel determined to not overeat today, which is really good, because I definately would have the option to do some damage if I wanted to.

I also think I'm going to change my goal. This sounds kinda funny, but I just am not feeling motivated by my xmas goal. I'm so close to it, too, that you would think I would. What is really motivating me right now is that I really would like to be down to 190 by the start of the spring semester. I REALLY want to go back after having my schoolmates not see me for a month and half and have them notice a change in me. They all know that I've been working to lose weight, so I would like to see if they notice it. Lately, most of the time when I go to "be bad" I just think "January 24th, January 24th" and then I put the cookie down and go back to what I was doing. I don't know...that just seems to be doing it more for me than my xmas goal. Maybe switching it up will help me to still make my xmas goal.

Anyway...dh has breakfast on the table, and I still have to pack for dds. Gotta run! Hope you all have a fabulous Saturday!!!!

Paige

Linda, Thanks for the great Ideas that all should help. That is a big problem Nibbbling for me...... I bet that is the reason why I do not lose as much as I should.. I need to focus a little more and record.. I will keep the packages out though... I guess everyday is a new day and hopefully one day it will click..

We all got out last night. We walked around at the zoo for the festival of lights..... It was so beautiful and so very nice to get out and get some fresh air.We opted out of a nice dinner out. My dh wanted to do this with the kids so I was fine with it. We have spent so much money over this month that is just a way of saving some until a few weeks. I told him he owes me a dinner out.

Today my challenge is going to my Aunts x mas party. I thought we were free and clear until next week on parties. She called 2 days ago and invited us. She is having subs and meatballs and side dishes. I need to sit down and decide how and what I can eat and plan ahead of time.I will carry my water around and hopefully 0that will deter the eating.

I hope you all have a successful day.

Hi everyone, I think the launch of a new program is probably a marketing ploy as they can say that they have an "all new" plan to entice people in the door after Jan. 1st, when so many make those resolutions to finally take that weight off.
I ended up having an unplanned big meal last night and blew 18 flex points.... shame on me, but I was kind of in a position. My daughter had friends over and they kept staying and it was dinner time. My husband and I didn't want to kick them out as they are good kids, so we offered to buy pizza for everyone. I had two sliced of Pizza Hut stuffed crust cheese pizza. You know what? It wasn't even good, it was dry and tasted like cardboard.
The nice CORE foods that I planned on for dinner sat there in the refrigerator. Thank goodness I hardly ever use flex points during the week and had them to use, at least. I have to be careful, though, for the next three days as I think I have only 6 more flex points and that is all.
Now, an interesting slant for me is that I am journaling in tandem the flex and core plans and, so far, with CORE I can have more to eat and use less flex point than if I were eating the same foods and using the flex plan.
I'm planning on doing this for the entire week to see what happens. I wonder if I'll have a loss this week?
Linda

Hi all...dh and I had a really good time yesterday at the Devils game (even though they lost!) I did really well with eating; I feel that I made very good choices. I knew that I wouldn't be able to find anything at the game to eat, so I grabbed a sandwich before we went and opted for just a soft pretzel and a coffee at the game. Afterwards we went to Olive Garden. That right there spells trouble! But I really did well. I looked on the menu for the items that were marked low fat. I got a chicken dish and the minestrone soup. I looked it up this morning, and the chicken dish was 11.5 pts and the soup was 2.5. Not bad! However, I totally did not feel satisfied. It's like a tug of war. Part of me feels proud that I did the right thing, and part of me feels totally deprived because that wasn't what I wanted to eat! So what did I do? I came home and had a few of the cookies that didn't make it on my cookie order trays. *sigh* I guess when I look at it, I had the option of totally blowing my day, and I really didn't. Yes, I was over points, but not drastically. I don't know...I don't know how to balance being "good" and being "bad."

Soooo today is a new day. I'm printing off a points tracker right now and am determined to fill out a whole week. I have such a hard time with tracking...I do the first few days, and then get sidetracked and never go back to it.

Anyway...gotta go get ready for church. Hope you all have a great day!
Paige

Hey there!
My plans keep getting ruined and I keep eating things that are not part of the plan. The same thing has happened this evening, yet again. I guess that is the holiday season for you?
I have to do better, I did want a loss this week, but I don't think that is going to be probable.
Paige, sounds like fun and that you did ok.
Linda, feeling the holiday blues a bit and wishing for snow

Hi!
Just another drive by visit.......

Linda- this time of year is so tough.......I think with all the unknowns it is tough. Try to control as much of the day as you can.....you know a low point, sensible breakfast....get the water in, and a wee work out. Go for dammage control for the rest of the day. That way you can't be hurt too badly by all the holiday foods.

Paige- hey, even a loss is good if you were able to get to a hockey game! Sounds as though you balanced things just fine- a few points over won't hurt once in a while. You did not blow the whole day and that is a good thing!

DJM- hope you came up with a good game plan for yourself........and that you had a nice time at your aunts.

Chris- I see it your way too with losing a point for every 10#. Did you stay for the whole meeting (or read the whole program?).

Still pooped.....am completely striking out for one gift for my Dd and my husband is getting hormonal (he always does). My eating today has been wierd, but I am within points. (about time!). And got a walk in- I had to as I was ready to kill someone.
Gotta go- hang in there ladies!
Ginny

I stayed for the whole program and read the 2 books that were given. My meeting is tomorrow and I am going to ask the leader if that is indeed the case....we would be lossing a point every 10 pounds. Being disabled I am going to be in a world of hurt if that is the case.

On the bright side. Tonight was the second of four Christmas parties at the bowling center. (We bowl on 4 leagues and each one of them is having a party...although one is Thursday after Christmas). I am soooo proud of myself. I ate NOTHING. Each person had to bring a dish to pass. I was asked once again to bring my pigs in a blanket plus DH had to bring something so I also took baked beans. I was so afraid that if I went thru the buffet line that I would eat like a pig. So I have vowed to eat nothing at all 4 parties. OH you should have seen the people trying to get me to eat. Many a person said how on earth can you diet thru the holidays. Why don't you start over in January. I said why start over.....I haven't quit and I don't plan on quitting. I knew if I got any where near that buffet line I would go nuts and I refuse to loss a single pound again. One of my team mates said he was sorry for eating in front of me. I said no problem it is my choice not to eat.

You go Chris!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of you:carrot: :carrot: . Please accept these online Bravos!:D Just make sure that you do not feel deprived......but believe me I understand. I am going to a party on 12/23 and my damage control will be to eat only what I bring, for the most part. You can do this. Love your willpower.....actually it is won't power- you won't let the holidays get you!

Got my WW tape in this am........my eating has been good. I am struggling with holiday overload and my inlaws......and that I have to spend my birthday with MIL. Sucks. Just plain sucks. But I will explain that another day.

Gotta go-
Ginny

Thanks, I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I had one person on my team say sorry to be eating in front of you. I replied it is my choice not to eat....and that shouldn't make you feel you shouldn't...it isn't bothering me.

It was all good. Lost 3.4 pounds today.

Hello,
I'm just wondering if I can jump in here. I have been searching all over this site for a couple of weeks now, looking for a good place to "land". You all seem so supportive and honest about your daily struggles with trying to lose weight, and in particular on the WW plan. I have my weigh-in tonight after a week of being very much in control (it was soooooooooooooo hard!!). Right now, I'm just having a hard time with really not letting down my guard after I have a "good week". I just want to be able to keep the momentum going, ya know what I mean? Anyone else have a hard time with this?
Erica

Welcome Erica. Yes, you can jump right in. I know exactly what you mean. It is hard to do well week after week. Just hang in there, it does get easier with time...at least it has for me.

Happy Tuesday all!

Chris-Great job on avoiding those not so nice foods! And the loss, too...3.4lbs, that is awesome!

Erica-Welcome to our little group! It was a good place to "land" the women here are such great support. I know what you are talking about, not letting your gaurd down after that first week. I realized with myself this time around that with the previous attempts I was setting myself up to fail because I would reward myself for being "good" with food, saying "Ohhh, I've been soo good this week...I can cheat just a little!" DON'T let your gaurd down, because it's a downward spiral. It is SO hard to get back on track after cheating. Reward yourself another way that doesn't involve food.

Anyway...how is everyone's week going so far? I think I did ok yesterday. I was so determined on Sunday to start tracking again, but apparently not determined enough because I haven't started yet. I'm going to start today, for sure. No, for real.

Soooo I made up a huge tray of assorted cookies and candies for dh to take into work, and he got so many people ask him if I was still taking orders. Uhhh, no way! I think next year I will probably still do them (who was I kidding to say that I wasn't?!) but I am going to work on a pricing system so that I can actually make some money on them. I've never had to go any buy them, so it's hard for me to know what people will pay. And I'm going to have to figure out something to keep me from not eating them! I've figured out that it's not actually when I'm baking them, it's afterwards when they are done and I'm curious how they taste (like I don't already know?!) Maybe I just need to tell my brain that I don't eat sugar anymore....I don't think it would believe me though.

I am actually off to do more baking now for dd's teacher's gifts. Can't eat sugar...can't eat sugar...can't eat sugar....

mpaigew, had to laugh at you saying 'can't eat sugar, can't eat sugar'. I usually make hard rock candy for the holidays. DH is an uncontrolled diabetic (he won't give up his sweets) and I don't want any candy. Both DH and some friends asked if I was going to make any this year. NOOOOO. Well that didn't work. So I have to make some. Only making 3 batches and that is it. If they don't like it they can make it themselves.

Chris-Yeah, holiday baking is so hard. I'm sure you guys are getting so sick of hearing me talk about it, but besides my kids, baking (litterally) is my life! I'm going to school to become a pastry chef...so try balancing that with WW! I love baking SO much, though, that it is worth it. It's like how some people are with gardening...they start with a seed and watch it grow into a beautiful plant. That's how I am with baking. You start with things that are separate on their own (flour, sugar, eggs, etc etc etc) and create these dishes and products that people are in awe over. I just love it...unfortuately my taste buds do too!!!

Hi guys been MIA The kids are better so I have been shopping.... You would think I lost weight... I did not O gained . Oh well as long as I 09do not this week ithis is the challenge. I only gained 1 pd .I guess if I would have recorded I would not have gained. Sometimes I get 9so confused on how many pts to write down whenI make something. I bought a cook book today at the meeting I thought that may be the easy 0way.. We will see if it works...

Welcome Erica, This is a good pplace to land.I have only been here for a few weeks but it helps to have the support.
I better go I need to clean this house... Good luck everyone on the wi this week.

Welcome Erica! You picked a good place to "land". Tell us your biggest troubles and we'll brainstorm with you.
Chris, great job!
Paige, I baked cookies this morning and some of the sugar went in my mouth. Now, after eating a healthy CORE lunch, I feel somewhat bloated and awful.
I totally LOVE to hear about your baking, so don't stop telling us about it. I think it's wonderful that you can make money doing something you love and you will surely figure out a way to make money at it all.
I have a few thoughts for you.
Firstly, you must try to get a freezer so you can make things ahead and not be so crazy near the end. Have you ever heard of Freecycle? Search on line for it. It's the most cool thing ever, it's a way for people to make postings about things they want to get rid of and things they want. It's a way to pass along things and keep things out of landfills. For example, I posted that we were looking for a roof car top carrier and someone answered that they had one they wanted to get rid of. We drove over and picked it up and it's ours - it saves us a few hundred dollars, probably and these people got rid of something they no longer wanted. We've gotten rid of tons of things that way and gotten several other things as well. I even got a sewing machine!
Do you buy in bulk? If not, I'd go to Sam's Club or a place like that and buy in large quantities. Perhaps you should even buy all the ingredients separate from your household stuff for money making and save receipts. If you can figure out your exact cost (even electric/gas for oven) into this thing and then give yourself an hourly rate, you might make some money. I do wonder if the cookies would be priced so high that you wouldn't make much at all, though?
One thing I am is a quilter, I made great quilts and some people think I'm pretty good at it. I entered a quilt in a quilt show last year and there were 290 quilts in the show and I took the first place "best of show" ribbon. Someone asked me if they could "commission" me to make a quilt for them and I laughed at them and no one would want to pay me what one of my quilts is truly worth in terms of time spent. The queen size quilt that won took me seven years to make, it's a labor of love.
I view my quilting as a great hobby, everyone I love has some of my work for themselves. If I love you, you get a quilt. I wouldn't want to charge people as it is impractical.
So, maybe the cookies might not be profitable, but maybe you still love it enough and the people enough to still do it? Good luck making that decision!
As for me, I have my meeting and weigh in today. I'm feeling kind of full and bloated and wondering if I blew it or not? I'll let you all know!
Linda

Linda, My ears perked up when you said Freecycle. It is very near and dear to my heart. Myself and my girlfriend started the local freecycle group several years ago. I have in the past served on the international group that worked on the concept of FC. I encourage everyone to check it out. www.freecycle.org to find a local group. FC's mission is to keep items out of landfills.

Well, I had my WI tonight and I lost a whopping 6 pounds! I knew that I was going to do well, but definitely not that well. It was actually week 4 for me. I really buckled down though. But now, as I mentioned before, will I keep it going? Christmas is going to be tough, no doubt. I just HAVE to keep going!

mpaigew-you are a very brave woman! I too love to bake, I own and operate a seasonal bakery (thankfully it's not open this time of year). But for this year, I decided to not bake any Christmas cookies (yikes, that was hard!). Mainly because I just know myself, I have absolutely no self-control when it comes to baking and not tasting, eating everything in sight!! So I really commend you!!

p.s. I'm trying to figure out how to post my signature...

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Hi,

I was wondering can anyone help me understand the new points system. I am doing WW on line. I can't seem to figure out the new point system. I know to take the first two numbers of my weight....19 but then I am unsure what else I need to do, can anyone help me. I run 3 miles a day.
I don't know why I am not understanding it. The previous point system worked fine for me, I knew I had 24 points a day and then 35 extra points per week. I think it may be easier to just stick with that.

Thanks

Do you have the new Week 1 book. It is all explained there on page18

I thought the new points calculation was kind of strange too, especially because now I have 2 more points to eat each day. I know I should be happy about that, I will if I keep dropping the pounds.




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Chris, I love Freecycle as well. I was a moderator for a long time and now am owner/moderator of a spin-off group called "community helper". This has grown of 7 groups through NH and MA! I'm the "mom". Community Helper is the way for folks to do the things that they all try to get away with on Freecycle like post yard sales, small items for sale, church suppers, ask community questions, etc. No businesses my post, it's small town stuff and kind of fun.
I love the kind of community sharing that goes on in our groups as well as in Freecycle. I'm sure Paige would be able to get a freezer and for free!
Erica, way to go with a 6 pound loss! I'm impressed.
I lost one pound at my weigh in yesterday. I was proud of myself, and still am, but your loss is fantastic!
I'm continuing my CORE plan. I shall take a break over the weekend and on Christmas. I will eat what I want and enjoy, I shall not feel guilt. If I gain next week, I will smile and say it was worth it!
Also, I'm going to be prepared! There is a horrible stomach flu going around our area and I dread the thought of it, but I want to have my ginger ale, Pepsi, chicken broth, saltines and Jello on hand. My mom's home remedy for a stomach bug used to be to let Pepsi go flat by leaving it out and then drink it. She always claimed that Coke wouldn't work for this, not sure way, but I found that drinking flat Pepsi is soothing. It's one of those bugs that you get it and get it bad, then you are stuck at home for about 3 or 4 days before you are better! Beware! That, surely is NOT the way any of us want to lose weight!
Linda

derrydaughter- that sounds awful about the stomach flu. A good friend of mine has invited me over for coffee (either today or tomorrow) but I am sadly declining because her 2 yr. old has some nasty virus right now and I really don't want my daughter who is the same age to get it. That's awesome that you lost a pound, yeah!!! Just curious about your name "derrydaughter" are you a farmer''s daughter?

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Welcome Erica!!!!!!!! Congrats on the loss Chris!!!!!!!!
Busy day......see ya!
Ginny

Hi all...

I checked out Freecycle, and there is one here in the county that I live in. It really is such a great idea. Thanks!

Erica-Where in NY are you that you can have a seasonal bakery? Where I live, we have seasonal Jewish ones that cater to the Hasidic community that come here from the end of May to the beginning of September. They are only open during that time, and I often wonder how it is possible that they are able to open at all and only be open that short amount of time. In that situation, though, they probably don't really care about making a profit, they probably just care about meeting their needs for that amount of time. Opening a bakery is NOT something that I want to do with my degree! LOL! I'm the type of person that gets SO caught up in what I'm doing that it just consumes me. I've had management positions before, and even those were hard enough to (mentally) leave at work and not bring home. I also did a huge project for a bakery management class (and got an A, I might add)where I basically built my own bakery. It had to include EVERYTHING, right down to a business plan, p/l, and the toilet paper! I commend anyone that runs their own business...I will be very happy working for someone else!

Has anyone been feeling kind of blue lately? I thought I would be feeling such relief after the semester was over, but I just feel like I crashed. I have been feeling so lonely lately, too. Dh and I still haven't been getting along too well (not fighting...just not really communicating) I don't have any family here, my best friend moved to Texas back in May and works two jobs, so she's impossible to get a hold of...everyone else seems so busy and unavailable. My sister lives in FL, but she's usually up for a good few hour long chat, but she's on a xmas cruise with her in laws. It's hard when I feel like this, because where do I go? To the refrigerator...to the cupboard...to the pantry...why is that? Food doesn't keep up it's end of a conversation, so it's not like I'm any less lonely.

I'll check in with you all later...

Paige

Hi Paige and everyone

I haven't drop off the face of the planet nor have I quit WW. I'm so stressed and trying to get to the holiday. I won't tell you my eating has been going great because it hasn't. I'm going to WI today, taking my lumps and getting ready to start anew. I am feeling so out of control of my life and I just can't figure out how to get control back until after Christmas Day. I'll be here - Just checking in has been tough this last week or so. I'll be back soon I promise.

Hugs to you Paige - I'm feeling a bit down myself this year. I have no reason to either - my DS and DIL are here on leave from Connecticut and I'm enjoying our time with them but I'm bummed that I'm so darned busy and can't spend more quality time with them.

(((((((Rose))))))) You sound like you need a hug.

I'm wondering why derrydaughter would sound like a farmer's daughter thing? My maiden name is Derry and I have no brothers to carry the family name on, since I lost both my mom and dad and feel I want a connection, I chose to call myself derrydaughter, as that is what I am!
I would have stayed away from your friend whose daughter has been sick as well. I am getting to the stage where I don't want to be around big crowds, stores and whatnot, in order to keep from being exposed to germs. I would so much like have a healthy Christmas!
I'm pretty tired right now, I ran out of steam. I have to leave to pick up my daughter in a few minutes and may try to close my eyes in the car for a little bit while I wait outside the school.
So much to do, so little time!
Cleaning is REALLY great exercise!
Linda

I gained 1 1/2 lb - it's okay though. It's a new week and Christmas is just around the corner. I'm going to enjoy life and my family and get it together as I can.

Good luck to everyone here. Paige and Linda - I hope you both find the merry in Christmas. I know I keep looking for it myself.

See ya around this week guys! (WAVING and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!)

I'm still trying to get my 8 glasses of water in today. I have 4 left!!!

Good Morning everyone.
Paige-We own a large pumpkin farm near Skaneateles, NY (just west of Syracuse) and this year we opened up a farm bakery. It'll mostly be open in the fall, but because we also grow Spring and Summer crops, we may also be open during those seasons as well. I too have been having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. For one, we don't have any snow in NY!!

And also, I have been so extremely focused on exercising and losing weight lately, and Christmas seems to be THE holiday that would lead my astray from all my efforts, so it just hasn't been my #1 priority in my mind this season. This morning I'm going to take my 2 and 5 yr. old girls to see our 7 yr. old's Christmas concert, so I'm hoping that will put me in the spirit! Although I always cry when I hear children sing, "Let there be Peace on earth" Man, too bad I didn't know you about 6 months ago, I could've used a good business plan for our Farm Bakery!!

Linda- oh, the derrydaughter thing, (dairydaughter), I guess I always have farming on the brain, I grew up on a farm, and I married a farmer. But that is really cool that you've kept the name like that!

Well, hopefully I'm off to another "in my point range day", man this isn't easy going into a big weekend like this! Good Luck to everyone for having a very successful day!!
Erica


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Erica--I was born in raised just outside of Watertown, NY. A green Christmas up there?? Wow. There were many of them when I lived there. I am now in Virginia and I love our snowless Christmases. If we get snow it may last a day or 2 and be gone.

I have stayed in points all week. Have a Christmas party tonight but plan on doing the same thing I have at the last 3...eat nothing. We bowl and each league has a Chritmas party...5 in total (1 youth league, 1 adult/youth league, dh's men's league, and 2 that dh and I bowl on). Of course everyone tries to get me to eat...but I stay strong.

Paige and Rose, I too am suffering from the blues a wee bit. For now just have to focus on getting stuff done. Chris, Erica and Linda....hope you are doing ok.......off to make some food for a party.
Ginny

Well, I'm hanging my head in shame (just a little bit)...so last night we went out to Red Robin; I ate so much that I seriously thought that I wasn't going to be able to get up to leave the restaurant. And then tonight dh had gone out after work to Fridays with some people he works with for xmas drinks, and he brought home dinner (upon my request.) Really, I'm not hanging my head in shame, because I really don't give a crap that I ate like crap. Why is that? I'm not complaining....just pondering. It's a good thing, because it will be easier to get back on track tomorrow if I don't have a dark guilt cloud over my head.

The loneliness was a little better today. Dd had her preschool holiday party today, so my little dd and I stayed (the school session is only 2 1/2 hrs.) I chatted some with the mom of another girl in dd's class, and I think we're going to make plans to get the girls together, which will be nice because she also has another dd that is the same age as my little dd. It's funny how chatty I've become since becoming a sahm. I crave conversation. I really miss being connected.

I'm anxious for all the hoop-la of xmas to be over. Someone on here said something about how the meaning always gets lost...so true. The prep starts before Halloween, so by the time Xmas actually gets here, I'm so OVER it. I remember back when I was the manager of a collectibles shop, unpacking Santas...on the 4th of July. And my DM wanted me to put them out on the shelves!

Anyway...it's late, my kids are asleep...why am I still awake? Chatting away........

Hope everyone is doing well...
Paige

Darn cat! I just typed a nice response and he who lays across my computer desk deposited his outstretched leg on the "escape" key on my keyboard and I lost my entire post! :chin:
At any rate, I'll try again and if he decides to be nice and not hit any keys, maybe I'll get to say something here!
Paige, what you wrote was really on target, I could have said much of what you had to say. I hang my head in shame, also, as I blew it yesterday and it was almost an all day thing. I am hanging my head in shame, just a little, and then don't really care either - it's Christmas! :devil: :devil:
Wonder what it is that makes us all do this, but we do. I can't get into analyzing it, but it is strange. But, I will eat certain foods over the next few days that I usually do not have any other time of year. It's going to be OK, I think, and I shall survive it. If I gain a few pounds back, I just start over and make the best of it.
I'm kind of anxious to get it all over with as well, but then I dread January with NOTHING as far as activities go. Hate to keep harping on losing my parents this past year, but that is hanging over my head. With family and holiday busy times around, I'm kind of OK, though "lose it" every now and then. But, after all the busy times are over and there I am facing winter cold and not much going on, I think that might be hard?
I "lost it" yesterday, of all times, when I was downstairs folding laundry yesterday. I was fine throughout the day, but then just was having a solitary moment doing something ordinary and the tears just started. When you have two people in your life one yea,r and then the next year, they are gone, it's just difficult. The usual holiday things that you could rely on all your life are not going to happen. Mom and dad were always very good to me and my family at Christmas, but it's the presence vs. the presents that I shall miss the most.
I hope that I don't compensate by eating more.
But, I still look forward to the next few days. I hope my family has fun and I hope to spend a bit of time in church and in quiet reflection.
No snow here in NH this year, so it will be a "gray" Christmas.
Take care, everyone.
Linda

Linda, I am so sorry to hear you are having a hard time this year with the loss of your parents. I lose my parents (although they are still alive--they have just decided I am not worthy of them) 14 years ago this Christmas. I know it isn't easy and all I can do is say I am sorry for your loss, and give you a cyber (((((((((((((((((hug))))))))))))))))))).

This is an awesome thread. I was feeling a little down and thought I need to get in the Christmas spirit. After reading this thread and seeing how supportive everyone is here, it makes me think of the true meaning of Christmas and being kind to one an other. It looks like everyone here seems to be kind to each other all year long and that gives me a good feeling. I want to say thank you to you all, it has made my day brighter.
Have a wonderful holiday.

Oh yeah and all the little tips I find here are so helpful in my day to day struggle with my new lifestyle.-Thank you

So another day of not doing so well. It always seems like I start the day off so well...what happens? TOM is due in a few days, too, so I'm pmsing...doesn't help.

I'm not too sure what to expect tomorrow. We're going to mil's to watch the football game and do xmas eve stuff. She's a pretty awful cook, so I may get away with not doing too badly. She always has snacky stuff, though...chips, dip, blah blah blah. I think as along as I can avoid that I will be ok. Chris, you need to send me some of your will power! LOL! I'm just really trying to not give up completely.

Do you guys do New Year's resolutions? If so, any ideas of what yours will be for 2007?

Paige - I am fighting PMS blues too........hang in there. Perhaps some herb tea can take the edge off you and keep you out of the kitchen. This time of year is SO tough. Gee, can you bring a veggie platter to keep you out of trouble (that is how I am coping with my inlaws cooking, or lack of said, tomorrow.)

Linda-gee, nothing I say will take away your pain.......feeling is a good thing- and better to feel and know how much you loved your parents and what great people they were. What a great legacy they have left for you!!!
Hugs. Hang in there. Expect all kinds of feelings this Christmas and try to remember some of the good times or perhaps funny moments with your family.
Is there a family tradition you might like to bring back in honor of your parents? Might like to try something like that- to keep your memories fresh.
I will be praying for you.

Hi Chris!!!!!! How did your day go?

Welcome New. I love it here too. What nice friends I have made.

Today is my bday.....still had to do some wrapping and cleaning but all in all a nice day. Walked with my daughters......and my dh gave me a WW scale (I asked for it!) and a lovely sweater.
Now I am pooped.....got a cold and am fightng PMS.
Nite
Ginny

Ginny, my day was long. DH had to work. I am really hating Christmas and had to work hard not to pig out on junk food. Luckily there wasn't any in the house so it wasn't too hard to keep control. I haven't had the pig out feeling in a while. I had only used one flex point (week ends today for me) this week so I did a mini pig out. I had one more 100 calorie pack of fudge strips cookies than I had points for. This is the past week OP I have had. Only used 3 flex points for the whole week. I can live with that.

Ginny-Happy Birthday! Glad you had a nice day, sorry you have the pms blues too! LOL! Maybe someday after the holidays and after all the hoop-la calms down, you and I will have to get together for a cup of coffee?

Now that I think of it, mil does usually put out a tray of carrots, so at least I can just snack on that instead of the chips. She always gets some shrimp, too, and puts it out as an appetizer with cocktail sauce, so that will also be a good alternative. I think the key with me is that I can't eat ANY of the bad stuff...not even a nibble. Once I have a bite, it's all downhill.

Dds were up soooooooo early today. We moved little dd's toddler bed into big dd's room yesterday, and little dd woke up a little after 5am (probably just startled her to wake up in a different room) and then woke me up, and then her sister. How is it that dh is still sleeping right now?! It's funny...big dd is so excited to be sharing a room with her little sister. I was laughing yesterday; I was looking in one of our photo albums, getting nostalgic when I saw the picture of little dd on the day we brought her home from the hospital. I guess I started thinking...hmmm...maybe it would be nice to have another little one. Then I turned the page and saw a picture of a very pregnant me. That killed ANY thought of having another baby! LOL! I hated being pregnant, and gained SO much weight with both pregnancies. Not to mention that the stress that is caused by my dds is what probably causes 99% of my stress eating! LOL!

Anyway...chatting away when I need to be getting ready for church.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Paige

Hi everyone,
I am SO HUNGRY TODAY! Not sure if it's just stress (as I'm waiting for my DH to bring home more wrapping paper so I can finish). We were out and about and stopped at McDonald's for lunch. I was OK though, how hard is it though to have only a coffee and a yogurt parfait (3 pts. total) while everyone else is eating whatever they want!!!

I really want to reach my 10lb. goal though b/c if I do, I'm giving myself the reward of a pedicure. Just gotta get through 2 more days, this is soooo hard! Everyone keeps bringing over chocolate, peanut brittle, muffins, OMG, help!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone, and thank you so much for all of your supportive conversations, they mean so much to me.
Erica

Can any of you guys that attend meetings help me figure out what my new daily points allowance is, since I don't go to the meetings or subscribe to ww online? Do the points work any differently than normal or are they are just figured differently?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays to all. I hope everyone has a great day. Mine started off really well. Santa brought me chocolates. I couldn't believe Santa would do that. My brother thougth I had been doing so well on my new lifestyle he thought I needed chocolates. I know he meant well. It is just I don't know that I can be alone with a box of chocolates.
I hope everyone has a great day.

Welcome to Newlifestyle.... you'll have to share your first name or a nickname with us, as that's quite the "mouthful".
I'm back after a few days of being "off program". I feel "fat" today and am ready to break the pattern and get back to business. However, there are leftovers everywhere and I must use resistance. My kids are both sick and were yesterday, which didn't add much to the day, but we got through it. It was an easier day than I thought it would be, in the end. I find that the days that I expect to miss my mom and dad and feel badly end up being ok. I am caught off guard when the reminders come at other times.
Chris, I feel badly about your relationship with your mom and dad. Do you ever try to get in touch? I would give anything to have my mom and dad back and it saddens me to think that yours are still alive, but not in your life. What a shame. (((((hugs)))))) to you as well!
Ginny, happy belated B'day, what a busy day to have as your birthday, do you celebrate later on in a way so you don't have to share it with so much other activity?
As for me, boy did I overeat. I can't even begin to tell you all. Maybe next year I will do some things different? I kind of spent the last few days feeling uncomfortable after eating so much.
My meeting is this afternoon, if I dare to go? We'll see. I know I'll have a gain, for sure, but why not just go and be done with it all?
Tomorrow morning we leave for Rhode Island to visit my in-laws and celebrate Christmas with them. I'll be eating again... maybe I'll do better and maybe I'll just cart some of our leftovers to their house so I won't have to have them all here? I have some VERY hungry teenage nieces and nephews as well as my own two kids who will be there?
I just had my breakfast and went right back to my CORE foods for this one meal, there is no telling if I can keep that up throughout the day, but I'm going to try!
I did learn that CORE foods make me feel better through all of this, that is a good lesson if nothing else.
Linda

Linda, for years I hadn't tried to get in contact with my parents. This year I have sent them a thinking of you card in August, and a Christmas card this month. I have an uncle who gives me a family update once a year in his Christmas card. Late August a cousin found me and we have been emailing. She has really kept me up date on what is going on in the family.

I had always known there was a lot of cancer in the family. My grandmother (dad's mom) died of breast cancer, and one of my dad's sisters and one of hise brothers died of lung cancer. My cousin tells me that another one of dad's brothers had a cancerous some tumors in his neck removed and died a few days after surgery. PLUS my dad has had cancer of the prostrate (he is sitll living). So that makes my grandmother and 4 out of 6 children with cancer. No one my generation has had cancer that we know of.

All this cancer has lead me to this journey of becoming healthier and lossing the weight. You wouldn't think weight could be a risk factor in cancer, but I have read several reports that have stated it could be. So the pounds must come off.

Chris, keep trying and don't give up. Do you live close enough to just stop in at some point?
As far as food goes, good for you, Chris, let's keep that healthy outlook going! Cancer is my enemy as well, so many in my family have had it and I just want to prolong my life, but to have it healthy. So, I am here trying to lose weight for that same reason, but for other things too. I hate tight clothes and I hate not looking "trim" when I glance in the mirror. I think that being overweight ages you and people end up looking 10 years older while they are carrying all those extra pounds. I'm old enough already without making myself look older!
I've had a BAD morning, though. I did eat my nice breakfast of oatmeal and fruit and then have found myself eating uncontrolled snacks all morning. It's nearly lunchtime and I am really feeling awful and my pants feel tight.
I said I was going to be back in control today and have done nothing right.
I did throw out some food that has been around here, though, and that felt like an accomplishment.
I also packaged cookies to bring with us when we go away to my in-laws tomorrow. If they are packaged as gifts, then I won't have my hands into those containers. They are spoken for and no longer mine!
I've got to regain my control! Lunchtime is almost here. I already ate enough points in snacks to qualify as a lunch, but if I don't eat something healthy, I'll be starving later and probably blow it all again.
I have some of the WW garden vegetable soup in the freezer, perhaps some of that will be helpful?
Linda

Linda, my parents winter in Flordia and summer in New York. I am in Virginia. I am sure they pass by here twice a year. I plan on sending thinking of you cards as well as birthday cards. Not much more I can do.

Sorry to hear you have had a hard time keeping the eating in control today. Becuase I went to a WW meeting this morning at 8 I decided to eat breakfast after the meeting. So you would think that with a late breakfast I would want a late lunch. NOPE. I usually eat lunch and 11:30 and well I did today too. I still want to eat today. Not sure what that is all about. So far I am in control of it.

I didn't get any chocolates and I didn't eat any - they didn't appeal to me ???? How strange is that? I'm sicke with the flue today so it's a nasty day for me. I'm hoping that I'm going to feel much better real soon and that's only the 24 hour variety

I'll be back around more starting this week. WOw - even knowing how hectic the holidays would be and preparing for it - it still all caved in on me. I have got to figure out a way not to let this stuff wait until the last minute.

Sorry to hear you have the flu. I hope you feel better soon.

Survived the weekend........how stressful it was. And I ate like a pig.......Will be back tomorrow to really say hi.
Ginny

Hi all! I'm having the first op day in the LONGEST time! I've even tracked...omg, I don't believe it. I signed up for the WW online free 7 day trial so that I could see what my new pts value is. So I went UP 4 pts a day, going from 26 to 30. That makes me nervous, but it makes me want to try it out to see if I actually lose weight. Realistically I probably will because 30 pts, I'm SURE, is a lot less than what I've been eating per day this last month. Hey, anything that gets me back in the habit of tracking my points every day, right? The only thing I'm wondering is how much my daily pts will drop as I lose weight. I'm not planning on going past the 7 day free trial of WW online...it's way too expensive for me right now, plus I've done it before and it just didn't do it for me.

Anyway...so did you all have a nice holiday? My eating was pretty out of control, so it really feels good to be in control today. Like a relief, ya know? I've had a huge gain; might even be more than what I put my signature back to, but TOM is supposed to start today, so I think after that is over, my weight probably will settle around 210. UGH! Oh well...what can I expect, right? I did the damage, now I've gotta do damage control! Dh promises me that he will be back on WW after New Years. I really hope he follows through with it. He has gained 10-20lbs the past few months (that should be a compliment to me and my baking! LOL!) It's just so much easier to stay op when we are doing it together. I'm also really going to get back to the Y starting next week. It's horrible that I don't go, because our health insurance gives dh $200 and me $100 for going a certain number of times in a 6 month period. It would pay for our Y family membership, and it works out to going 3 times a week. The downfall is that the Y is 25 minutes away, but we chose to join there because it's in the same town that dh works in and because they have babysitting. I just need to start going again! The beginning of this year I was religious in going...everyday the girls and I would be in the car by 9:15, and I would work out for about 1 1/2 hrs.

Well enough chatting...dd has a dentist appt tonight, so I guess I should get some dinner around here soon.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Paige

I have been trying to post here for the last couple of days, but then I when I hit the submit button, my computer locks up or something, oh well.

Paige-glad to hear that you are back on track. I think that going op isn't as bad as compared to the ability to get back on it! And man do I ever commend you to be doing this with your profession.

As for as me and the increase of points ( I went from 24 to 26) with the new material, I've decided to stick with the 24 with the idea that, on most days I probably go over 2 pts. give or take anyway.

Has anyone here always done the flex program, but tried core every once in awhile? My leader said the other night, that when your weight loss has stalled, it might be a good idea to try core. I'm afraid of core though, it just seems like too much freedom. Any input?
Erica

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar07/cartoonblob01/lb/193/158/182/.png (http://www.3fatchicks.com/weight-tracker/)

Erica-That's the reason that I never did Core...I don't trust myself to "know" when I am satisfied. Plus when dh is on WW, he does Flex, so it is just easier to have both of us do the same thing. There are a few people here that were on Flex and switched to Core, so they will probably be able to give you some more insight.

What are you all doing for New Year's? We are leaving on Saturday for my parents. They live about 45 min southwest of Corning (Erica...you probably know what direction I'm going in) so it's about a 3 hr 15 min drive for us. We're supposed to be having a little New Year's Eve get together with some people, so I'm going to save my flex pts.

Off to take down the xmas tree! It's loosing it's needles and already starting to turn brown. At least dds aren't too heart broken over taking it down.

Have a good day all!

Morning - I still have that nasty flu bug. So my eating is totally off. I really wanted to weigh in today but I'm afraid to be that far from home at this point. Frustrating as I am ready to jump full force back into the swing of things.

Hi, I've been on 3FatChicks off and on but with the new year approaching and I'll be turning 40 on August 1st, I'd like to get my act together and start taking care of myself and get healthier.

I need all the support I can get, hope I'll get it here.

Thanks,

Heidi

Oh, how do you get that weight tracker thing???

If you go to the quick links here in the 3 fat chicks forum you will see sig weight tracker. Just use that and follow the steps. Then copy and paste the bb code into your signature. There are other sites out there as well. tickerfactory.com, tickercentral.com just to name a few.

Thanks Chris

Hi everyone.... I've been away out of state and then home trying to just "tread water" and get back on track. My thread notifications for this site aren't working again, they do that periodically. From my lack of attention to WW and what I have been eating, without those thread notifications, I have nothing to pull me back here and keep me even a little bit motivated.
Tonight is the LAST Of the holiday celebrations (New Year's) and then I have no more excuses. I got on the scale two days ago and was totally shocked, so expect a big gain for my official weigh in on Tuesday.
I'm not hanging my head in shame, though, I am accepting that it was the holidays and I did what I wanted to do. I have plenty of time to get back on track and finish what I have started.
Welcome to Heidi, and if I missed someone else that is new, welcome to you as well!
Just so you know, I'm going to re-start the thread in the next day or so and will post a link here so you all will know where to go. This one is getting really long, but popular as well! I love that we are here for each other.
Paige, glad that you found a Freecycle group near you. It's a great place to look for free items that people no longer want - a reminder to those of you who want treadmills, bicycles or other exercise equipment! You can get it for free and then the "I can't afford it" excuse it non existent. But, beware, if you get a treadmill - they are unbelievably heavy. Mine takes three grown men to move.
Linda

I re-started the thread!!!!
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100760

New Year, New Thread, New YOU!!!!!
C-Ya there!!!

A Happy New Year with NEW health, ideas, and let there be LESS of us to love!!!!
Linda