Here you go Joanne. All you have to do is click on new thread rather than new reply, and you can start one anytime. I forget that not everyone has DSL - I never have problems with the long threads.

MKK - welcome back to you to. Isn't this great?? The only bummer is that more of us haven't reached goal yet. In fact, some like myself, are starting over once again. But I will get there and will love the support of you wonderful people along the way!!

MKK, CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's wonderful about the new baby!

Major salt and starch attack yesterday. It's the week before TOM, and I should just get a container of salt and pour it in my mouth or something. At least I'd be under points! Why on earth is it that I crave the thing I need the least???

Ah, well. Off to go do my workout and get rid of some of the damage.

Thanks for starting a new thread, Cynthia.

--Lauren
(274/215/down)

Good morning, Folks!

It's sunny here today. Guess Mother Nature's making up for the 12+ additional inches of snow she dropped on us Friday/Saturday. It was the heavy, wet stuff, too. Yuck! Oh, well. It's supposed to be above freezing for the next few days so the roads and sidewalks will clear up quickly.

We wouldn't have been able to attend the WW meeting on Saturday anyway. It was cancelled due to the storm (didn't stop snowing until noon). Jen was OK with missing the meeting. She really seemed to understand my reason for postponing it. Maybe she's finally starting to grow up. (One can only hope.)

How is the weather were the rest of you are located? Is it interferring with your exercise plans? What do you do when you can't go outside for a walk or get to the gym? I have some free weights, work-out tapes, and an exercise cycle. Do the rest of you have "back-ups" to your normal routine? I'm looking for suggestions to add to my list so I don't get bored and quit that part of my "healthier me" program.

Jen and I are going to Fashion Bug this afternoon. She has some money left over from holiday/birthday gifts that is burning a hole in her pocket. We tried to convince her to wait until she'd been on program for a month or so but she wants to buy now. Poor, kid. Looks like she's got my shopping bug. I'm thinking of checking the clearance racks for a really nice outfit that is one size too small. Sort of an incentive to stick to program. I'm thinking of hanging it on the back of my bedroom door as a daily reminder of my goals. Anyone else use a trick like this? It worked for a friend of mine (she had a knock-out, designer dress she got at a second-hand store for a song -- yes, she eventually got into it).

Gotta go. Store opens in an hour and I need to get ready.

Good question for today, since it has been snowing here since last night. March is our snowiest month. Yesterday I was able to get my walk around the park, even though it had started snowing some. I figured, hey, people ski in worse conditions that this, so I can certainly walk it. But once there is a good layer of snow on the ground I can't do it - even though I was born in Colorado I'm still a clutz when it comes to walking on hardpack snow or ice

So, I have a spin bike on the top floor. DH got me a mini stereo system with a CD player. I like to put on a CD and pedal to the beat of the song. That way I can change up tempo and it's not as boring as just sitting there for 30 minutes. I am going to add a VCR to the tv there so I can use spin tapes. I have a weight bench, free weights, and Nordic Trak in the basement. I prefer to do weights at home since I just despise having to wait for a machine. Plus I just like freeweights better anyway. I also have a gym membership at 24-hour Fitness. Once I get a bit more fit I'll be able to just laugh at the bad weather and head for the trails for some snowshoeing or cross country skiing.

My ultimate exercise goal is to do things, not just exercise. I would like to join a women's softball team, get back into Kendo (Japanese Fencing), mountain bike, snow shoe, ski, hike, you get the picture. Find activities that keep me fit and are social and fun rather than solo. I've always wanted to take up handball, too. Plus I love to golf.

Hope you and Jen find some fun stuff for her to spend her money on.

Hi!

My but you are very athletic oriented. I'm sooo envious. My idea of sport participation is to hand the paper cups of water to the runners. I have been playing with the idea of biking and maybe hiking this summer. I used to like those activities as a kid/teen. Maybe I can get the whole family into it. We'll see.

Jen found two pairs of jeans that fit (barely). She decided to get them rather than the next size up and use them as her incentive to stay OP. That's my kid! I didn't find anything to use as my incentive but I have boxes of favorite, too small outfits in the attic so I'll probably just pick one of them.

I feel as you do about waiting for the equipment at a gym. My membership was up for renewal at the local gym when they ran their latest membership ad. All of a sudden all of these young, skinny girls (too young to be considered women) were hogging the equipment, talking to each other, and making eyes at the buff guys. Puhleeze!! That's what bars and nightclubs are for! After waiting over twenty minutes to use the last piece of equipment in my routine, I finally gave up. When asked if I wanted to renew my membership, I declined. John has made a vague offer to set up a room with an exercise bench and other small pieces of equipment IF I show a serious tendancy to actually use the stuff. In other words, it can't sit and gather dust like the exercise cycle that he got me for Christmas in 1999 because I "just had to have it".

Well, it's getting late and tomorrow a work day. Hope your weekend was grand!

Hi all,

I had a nice long post typed yesterday, and when I hit send it gave me a message that the boards were down for 1 hour and I lost the post. ARGHH!!

As for exercise, I use my treadmill (definately do it longer and stronger if I have TV to watch), and I also have a couple "Leslie Sansone" walking videos that I really like. I prefer to walk outdoors, but we live in the middle of nowhere and have no sidewalks, so walking this time of year is tough. Of course after all this snow we have (at least 7 feet between the storm in February and last weeks storms), I'll be waddling in Mud until June!!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Have to get kids off to school and my butt in the shower.

Sheri

I'm not a big social exerciser myself. I'm an introvert, and after spending all day interacting with people I just want some space and time to myself. So for me, I enjoy walking outdoors (when the weather is decent) and doing workout tapes. I did belong to a gym once, long ago, and when the equipment was available I enjoyed using it. But it was definitely a meat market for girls wearing anal floss (sorry, but I do not find those things attractive) and guys who injected steroids to get more pumped up. Not my kind of scene.

DH belongs to a health club nearby that is apparently much more low key. I may look into going there with him at some point.

Somebody actually noticed my weight loss this week! Woo-hoo! She said "It's really starting to show." After three years and 59 pounds, I'll take it!

--Lauren

Congratulations, Lauren! Don't you just love it when your hard work gets attention!?! (**** of a lot better than someone noticing a weight gain. )

Keep up the great work!

All right, WI today produced a 3.8 lb. loss. Glad I didn't do the usual bingeing while DH is away on business . It snowed all day yesterday and I was worried I would fall on my @$$ walking to my car from the game last night. The sidewalks were slick. Nothing worse than a fat lady going down in a crowd. You don't get much sympathy. But I made it to the car intact and with my pride

Joanne - what a smart girl Jen is, thinking about the future. At least she'll get a longer use of the clothes for her money. I used to belong to the YMCA in Colorado Springs and they were great. People actually just wanted to work out there. It's the same at my club now, no one tries to dress sexy and they are there for business, but I am about the oldest ones. Most seem to be young folks without jobs or something, because the place is crowded even at 3:00 p.m. on a weekday.

Sheri - I always use <ctrl><C> if I make a long post. Then if I have to redo it, I can just past - either to the 3fc site or to Word. I've been stung too many times by those computer glitches. Bummer having no sidewalks, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't get in my walk at least a few times a week.

Lauren - you must have been flying after that remark. Sometimes I think people are afraid to say anything for fear of offending.

Cynthia -- Kudos on the weight loss!! You must have been sooo OP while Dh was gone. Excellent job not giving in to old habits!

Keep up the good work!

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick hello. I have been fighting a week long migraine. I did try to get on line a few times but was having problems...I think it was AOL.

I hope to catch up by the weekend. This is day 3 OP and it feels great to be back on track.

Have a great week!

Setina

Good afternoon, Folks!

So, how different is the current WW program from the original 1-2-3 Success program? I've seen commercials that make it sound like they've improved the program but they don't mention how. It'd be nice to have a clue before we go to our first meeting on Saturday. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Setina - just love the Watermelon. You inspired me to find a picture of Queen Elizabeth I. It's amazing what us redheads can do once we set our minds to something

JD (I think we should all go initials, like a gang or something), I am only on week 2 so can't get too much into details. First off, the point ranges have been reduced, and there's only a 5 point spread between max and min rather than 7 points. At week 3 (I think) you get a points booster that calcs how many exercise points you earn. It's now based on your weight times the minutes times the intensity. I have the equation if you are interested. You start earning these points the minute you exercise, no more 20 minute base. I think that's why the point ranges have been reduced - to get you off your butt.

Some veggies now count - once you get to 1 c. of carrots and onions they count as a point. You'll get a list of those in your week 1 booklet. I've now switched to cherry tomatoes. Also, I think later on, you will learn how to decide if you need more carbs or more protein. There are 12 weeks of booklets. My WW leader, whom I love, says she's been doing this for 14 years and this is the best program she's seen yet. She liked all the info and she feels that WW is trying to educate us more about ourselves. Guess I'll know after week 12, eh?

It is one beautiful day here today. I've gone to the library and checked out a couple of books I found on the Nobel Prize Literature winners list and will make a pot of tea, sit on my porch swing, and read away.

MKK Hooray!!!! Ian was just asking about you the other day. I lost your e-mail address. I've been wanting to see how you are doing. So happy you checked in here!

Today is day 16 OP for me since having that blasted pistachio nut day. The scale is finally moving again (9 mo. plateau) - down 5.8 lbs. since my last w/i which was 4 weeks ago.

I really don't have time to post to everyone. I just wanted you to know I'm still here!

Have a great OP day everyone.

Hi all,

Well tomorrow night is weigh-in. One thing in my favor is that I did exercise 5 times this week. Wish the eating has been better. I remember last year when I started faithfully exercising it took a couple of weeks to show. I really wish all this snow would go away. I think a little spring would get me more motivated. Our children did not have school again today, as we got another 5 inches of snow and then sleet last night. Right now it is snowing again. ARGGHH!!

Cynthia - I checked out your website. Real cool. I loved your old one too. I am so inspired by other people's commitments not only to themselves, but to help others. I am glad you post your journal also. I can imagine it is hard when the week hasn't been too good, but most everyone will take the bad with the good. We all have those days (or weeks, or months ...)!!

Mare - glad the scale is moving for you. I was on a 46 week plateau last year, and unfortunately am starting another one now. It seems to be those ten pound losses I can't beat. Took me 46 weeks to get under 200 from 205, and now I'm at 18 weeks trying to get under 190 from 195. My body just hasn't been this weight in many, many years so it is really rebeling!!

Have to get to bed. Will let you know how weigh-in goes tomorrow. Am definately staying for the meeting too. Keeping my fingers crossed my daughter does well too (that's another story I'll have to touch on later)!

Sheri