[cecil]

Oh my goodness I was sooo bad, but I am right back on track today that's all that I can do? I guess i will go weigh in tomorrow not looking forward to it at all. Ha! Congrats to everyone who stayed POP! That wasn't me!

[BarbaraB]

Cecil, I too slipped into some old bad habits this holiday, but I really feel that the secret to long term weight management success is just getting right back on the plan when you've slipped off. So let's all get back to being healthy.

I hope everyone had a good holiday time!

Now what to do with the leftover cheese cake???? What was I thinking when I baked it? OK I used the reduced fat cream cheese and the non fat sour cream, so it was not so very bad (yet so very good!).

[cecil]

Oh Barbara! I know what you mean everyone wanted to send goodies home so I said I would take some for my BF but of course I had to have a little taste. Ha!. I just have my birthday on Friday and then New years and everything will be right back to normal. Thanks for the encouraging words.

[EmilyLashea]

Hope everyone had a great Chirstmas! I did, and I'm sure the scales will show it!

Felicia- Oreo balls... sounds like Heaven! [or ****? depending on which way you choose to look at it ]

I was definately not POP, although I didn't do too terribly bad either. Dessert, which is where I usually fall, was as close to POP as was possible. I passed on the cheesecake for angel food cake and fresh strawberries.

Work is crazy busy today! everyone bringing back in all the money they got for Christmas.. I'll check in later.. Everyone have a great night!

[Julzanne72]

Merry Christmas to all-hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I was pretty good over the holidays with the exception of yesterday-tried, but just too many good things to eat. So over the weekend from last Saturday to my WI today I was up a lb. But honestly-I am so happy w/ my progress so far and I am back to POP today-I know that by the time I go back to my next WI on Saturday that that lb. wil be gone and then some. They did my first measurement today and I have also lost 8.5-inches in 3 1/2 weeks, so I am totally happy with how things are going for me. They told me today also that when I lose another 3 lbs that I will be switching to a new plan. I can't say enough about how much I love this plan and how well it is working for me. The thought of being able to shop in the stores I want to and not be emarassed to wear shorts/swimsuits next summer is actually in my sights now and I will not stop until I am there!

[Dan2112]

Originally Posted by Debbie24

Morning everyone.

Dan congrats on all the weight you have lost. Are you following the purple plan? My DH is starting the diet with me next week and i just want to make sure that the purple plan is right for him. From what i remember all men follow the same plan.

Dan do you have any tips for my DH? From your experience has it been easy to lose the weight? I know everyone is always saying that men lose faster but have you experienced that? You've done great.

We've been waiting to start because i'm not 100% sure which plan i should be following since i'm breastfeeding but this old LAWL file i have says Red, i was actually thinking i'll follow purple also. Still not too sure, if anyone has any advice i'd appreciate it.

I cant wait to get started, i really need to go get some groceries & figure out which plan we need to be on. I definitely want to get started by Jan 1st. I really want to start because i'm feeling like such a fatty.

Anyway i hope everyone has a good Christmas.

Hey Debbie.. Sorry it took me a while to respond. We've been out of town for the holiday and made a point NOT to take our laptop! I started the program on Red, moved to blue for a while, back to red and then to purple.. Since our COD closed before I met my goal, I'm not sure if I should've stayed purple or not.. However, since I did reach my goal, it didn't hurt...

It all depends on where your DH is right now with his weight, level of physical activity and his work schedule... Give me some of the particulars and I'll give you some opinions.. Keep in mind that I can only base what I think on my personal experience, so what worked for me may not work for him..

The important thing is to get rid of the bad foods from the house.. If you're both doing it, there's no excuse to have real butter, sodas, bags of chips, candy or even real salt lying around, waiting to be used.. We thought it would be hard on the kids when we started this, but they've not missed the bad foods as much as we thought they would... If you remove the temptations, you'll be ahead in the game for him so succeed...

[Dan2112]

Sorry to double post, but I thought I'd add that Liz and I did "ok" while down in Roswell... With her dad on a diet too, we avoided a lot of the bad stuff, but still had our fair share of starches and fats.. Luckily there were a lot of fruit and veggies around too..

That said, I just had a small handful of DS's holiday M&M's.. LOL...

We got back from Roswell this afternoon and decided we didn't really want to cook, so I picked up a roasted chicken at the store.. Sure, full of salt, but at least it wasn't fried!! We've been chugging a lot of water the past couple days, so I hope it won't hit us too hard..

Hope you all had a great holiday!!

[IKIF]

Merry XMAS to all -- I've never posted on these posts before -- umm I fell terribly this past days (24-25) not enough proteins, 1 too many starches, non-existent veggies // terrible

*~* today, so far, has been POP; but I'm really unmotivated, uncommitted -- I don't know what's wrong with me I've spent a lot of money on this and as I get closer to goal I start indulging myself...

[Debbie24]

Dan i totally understand, i knew you wouldnt be back until today or tomorrow.

Anyway DH weighs about 175 and only wants to lose about 15-20lbs. I have an old LAWL file that was sold on ebay (i didnt buy it, someone sent it to me) and it says for healthy male you should not drop below purple. I think thats the plan we will both be on. He's never dieted and i know its going to be tough on him so i'm just trying to get some info to keep him motivated.

I'm trying to get rid of some of the junk in the house but not the healthy way. I've been snacking on so much junk but i think thats because we didnt go grocery shopping this week and dont have too many healthy things at home right now.

We're getting lots of fruits and veggies this weekend and also a juicer to help with consuming 4v a day, hopefully it will help. Veggies has always been the hardest for me.

The kids love chocolate and cookies so i know they will miss it but they are young so they will adjust. I dont think it will be too hard for them, it definitely wont be too hard for me because i know i'll be doing the best for them. They need to learn early to eat healthy or they will be fighting the weight like we are.

How much has your wife lost, if you dont mind me asking? Are you losing more than she is? Do you guys compete? I think its great to have DH diet with me this time, it will make it easier. I hated cooking separately for myself the last time i was on LAWL.

Thats great that you managed to be good over the holidays.

ETA: Dan i forgot to add that my DH works as a mail carrier, sometimes he walks all day and sometimes he drives. He drinks a ton of water all day but he loves chocolate and sodas.

[Dan2112]

Debbie...

Since he walks all day, I'm not sure he'd be put on purple, but perhaps blue.. That said, I failed miserably on blue.. The COD figured out I wasn't getting enough protein... Start him off on purple and see how it goes..

As for the kiddos.. The way Liz and I have worked around the snacks in the house is that we get them fruit snacks and other 100 calories treats.. They can take them in their lunches and more importantly, I can't be bothered to break open a bag to indulge...

You will learn to eat your veggies soon enough.. I NEVER ate veggies unless I had to, and now I've learned to tolerate brocoli, asperagus, and even zucini... Look for ways of cooking it without using lots of oil and salt and you're good to go...

Getting rid of the bad stuff is the main thing.. If it's in the house, you'll eat it.. Should you get an urge to pig out once it's gone, you'll be less likely to run to the store to buy a bag of chips or fries... By the time you've grabbed the keys and made it out the driveway, your conscious will have hopefully won the battle and you'll go back inside and have an apple!!

If your hubby ditches the sodas and chocolate (replace with sugar free candies and no more than two diet drinks a day!!) and increases his lean proteins (especially important because of his daily walking), he'll dump that 20 in no time.. It's also very important to look at what he eats for lunch.. He's got to ditch the processed beef or turkey sandwiches, if that's what he's eating.. deli meats are a diet killer.. Make him (or show him how to make himself) fresh, salt free beef roast or roasted turkey breast.. then use that for sandwiches.. Instead of two slices of bread (even if he uses "lite" bread, use whole wheat pita pockets...

I also recommend buying a food saver or one of those new handheld vacu-sealers.. That way the food you make will last longer...

As for Liz, she's dropped 30 or so.. It's been really frustrating for her, because even though she followed the same restrictions I did (more on that in a minute), she stuggled for every pound.. She has some medicine that works against weight loss, but even so, she's gotten discouraged...

Now, speaking about restrictions, you and he will HAVE to follow the plan to the letter.. if you do well during the week but then slack off during the weekend, you're wasting your time... As you approach goal, your body will be more forgiving towards an occasional cheat, but for now, you have to stick to it.. Otherwise your body won't be shocked into losing the weight.. As we progress through the diet, the body is better able to expell the bad stuff, rather than just pile it on as it does right now...

Sarah.. Similar message for you.. As you approach goal, you mentally and physically get accostomed to the "new you" and while that's a good thing, it also leads to more cheating.. Once in a while becomes once a day and that's not gonna cut it... You have to stick it out and make it to the maintenence phase.. Then you can start adding in more of the things you haven't been able to.. The more you nibble on this or snack on that, the longer it's gonna take.. DON'T GIVE UP!!!!

[Debbie24]

Dan thank you for all the advice. DJ usually has leftovers from the night before for lunch the next day so as long as i make it everything will be fine. He has a huge problem with breakfast and snack time but i'm going to try to prepare everything for him so that should be taken care of also. He also doesnt like yogurt but i'm going to try to work on that because he cant have milk and cheese everyday for his dairy.

We probably have veggies about 3 times a week, which is soo horrible. I know if i tried a bit harder we would be having more. DH is very picky with his fruits and veggies so i think the juicer will help & since most store bought juice is not on plan anyway we will still be able to have a glass of juice a day & still get some of the fruits and veggies in.

I'm so sorry to hear that Liz is having a tough time. When i was on LAWL 2yrs ago i lost the 1st 30lbs with no problems but getting the last 15 off was very hard then when i was down to 132 (goal was 125) i started getting really discouraged and cheated alot which led to a gain. I agree that it gets easier to cheat when you are close to goal but its the worst time. I wont be making that mistake this time.

Goodluck to you both, whats your goal now?

[EmilyLashea]

Good Morning All

Just checking in, but not really much to tell.. since, to be honest, i have been so NOT POP lately. I haven't been particularly bad, but also not sticking to getting everything in. I suppose I should go to the grocery store and pick up some things, but I am so.. blah! I haven't been feeling good for the past few days (cold/sinus) and haven'te really felt like doing much of anything.

Plus, I know that when I go there will be no fresh fruits that I want which will irritate me. I love fruit, just a limited variety.. the variety that happens to be seasonal. Strawberries, particularly.. and green grapes. And I just can't do 3 apples a day

I just need a good kick in the rear and some motivational speaking [Dan, you've got the motivational thing down.. help me out!]

Debbie- I just have to tell you.. your boys are gorgeous!

Have a great day everybody!

[Debbie24]

Emily thank you.

I'm with you, i have nothing in my house right now that would be OP. I really need to get to the grocery store but i'm not lugging 3 kids so i'll just have to wait until the weekend. oh wait i'm lying a bit, i have yogurt and an orange tree in the back yard. I should get off the computer and pick some oranges before the baby wakes up.

I agee that eating 3 apples a day wouldnt be good, neither would eating 3 oranges . I hope you feel better soon.

I'm sure Dan will be by soon with some encouraging words.

i'm off to pick some oranges..

[Julzanne72]

Good morning to all. I am feeling pretty good today-after my christmas gorgefest...I only gained a lb and was POP and back to getting my water in yesterday and glad to say that nasty lb is gone and then some. Been POP today-but I too need to get to the grocery store. My fruit supply is dwindling as is my veggies.... So I will try to swing in there tonight after work and my workout. I have some Christmas returns to take care of tonight as well. I am only working until 430-today-so I started eating my meals a little earlier, it will be nice to have my last meal in by 7-730... I know my DH is probably sick of chicken-and I have just been moved to the expanded menu plan-so maybe tonight I will make him something with red meat Everyone have a great day and try to stay POP

[Dan2112]

My goal now, Debbie, seems to be to lose the weight l seemed to have picked up over the holiday... Sigh...

When it comes to yogurt, have him try the "Lite and Fit" smooties.. The rasberry and strawberry in particular... On of those counts at 1 dairy.. I have one with some fruit for breakfast most mornings.. Depending on what I'm having for lunch, I will also have a piece of toast or lite english muffin...