Lauren, way to go with the exercising. And it's great that you feel more in the groove.
Bandit, standing with a veggie peeler and turning vegetables into pasta-like strands is more work than I want to do. I think I'll stick with using my food processor and make thin slices. It won't look like spaghetti, but it will still taste good.
WOW! Nice going with the walking!
Judy, on losing weight. Don't worry about the salt thing. If it's water, you don't care about whether you lose it or not because water comes and goes. What you want gone is the extra fat, which is what you accomplished.
Beans are so easy. Soak at least 8 hours or overnight. You can freeze them after you soak them, if you don't have time to cook them right away or you want some ready for a dish that calls for soaked, but not cooked beans. This helps if you're like me and tend to forget to soak them ahead of time. If you have a recipe that calls for cooked or canned beans, cook your presoaked beans when you have time and freeze those. Dried beans are cheaper than canned and they taste better. If you use the prep in advance thing, they don't even take too long.
I wrote a blog entry about that idea yesterday.
Today I wrote a blog entry about the Weight Watcher Magazine article with Julia Child recipes remade. I'm not impressed with the Weight Watchers recipes and I wrote about why. But the surprising thing was what I discovered about Julia's points vs. the Weight Watchers points for her version vs. their version.
Hi TUrtles,
I don't have much time to write and I am running out tonight again to see dd and dear grandson. However, Lin's blog rose my curiosity level. Hey, I get it! Lin, you're right-----have to compare portion size to portion size otherwise it isn't scientific. Weigh to go!
Judy
234.6/196/189 and deeper into onederland
I have to leave a bit earlier than the rest of the week, so this will be a short, check-in post.
I did my weigh-in this morning. lost 2.5 pounds this week. This breaks that hovering around 209 I've been at since right before Christmas. It's nice to be moving down again.
I hope to hear some updates from you alll soon. It seems like Judy and I are having a private conversation around here!!
Hi turtles - just trying to keep warm up here & today, finally a break in temperatures, which is nice.
Stayed same this week at my weigh in, so hopefully will have a nice loss next week. I have been getting in extra walks which I hope will help at the scales.
Lin - congrats on your weight loss, that is fabulous!
Judy - hope your week is great as well.
Everyone else, chime in when you get a chance - love to hear from the missing turtles.
Hi turtles, : to Lin. My goodness Lin----that is a wonderful one week loss. Fantastic! keep up the good work.
Bandit, that has got to make a difference. Keep on keepin' on---this blasted weight has to come off. We can do it!
I'm having a good day and the scale isn't cooperating. I'm back to exercising and am hoping that I'll see a loss on the scales tomorrow. I really want this Christmas weight off and now! I didn't gain much, but it sure is sticking around. Okay--I'm going to have a good attitude and keep on keepin' on myself.
I meant to mention and forgot. Check out hungrygirl.com today. she's talking about the amount of calories in the dinner I always get at Outback and it's horrifying. I always get the 7 ounce filet, a house salad with tangy tomato dressing on the side, and a baked potato (w/o the butter and sour cream). They're pointing that out as 31 points. I wonder if the house salad they ordered came with croutons and cheese, etc. which I tell them to hold?
In any case, you might want to see what the hungry girl has to say. Very informative and scary.
Love, Judy
Gack, Judy, that's appalling! Another reason I rarely eat out anymore. I do miss it sometimes, but I pack on pounds when I do.
Had a good week foodwise, until today. Went a bit nuts today, mostly on ... nuts. And this Indian snack food that a co-worker brought back. So I'm not expecting a great WI this weekend. Sheesh. I don't know what brought it on, either. I was very hungry for some reason, and it went from there. I'm pretty bummed.
I know, these things happen, pick yourself up and move on. And that's what I've done; went and worked out tonight, though it was the last thing I wanted to do. But I'm bummed that I'm having such a tough time, stuck in this decade for the past 6 months. And I'm horrified by how quickly I can put on weight now, too.
OK, vent over. I know what to do. Judy, you and I can both work on our attitudes.
Lin, great loss this week -- way to go! You're really closing in on onederland.
Bandit, good for you on the walks. The scale will move.
Hi Turtles, and and and to Lauren for recognizing that this losing weight and doing the right thing and abstaining from bingeing is just not that much fun! Congrats to you for venting here and getting to Curves. You will see the weight move in the right direction because you are determined to make this work. The hungry bit makes me wonder. Are you eating enough protein? Was it true hunger or emotional hunger and stress? You are right that you know what to do and you're doing it. I hope the scale is kind this weekend. and you know this weight will budge. :
MY sister spent about a year getting off about 50#. She thought she had it conquered and actually told a friend, "It's amazing. Even though I eat junk food, I don't feel the need to binge on it as I used to." Guess what? She just wrote me that she gained 15# in the last two months and she's really buckling down again. She realized that sugary and high fat foods do "call" to her even though she's thin now. A fast fifteen pound gain is miserable and I feel for her and I'm so happy she's back on track.
I don't know if you know this about me, but when I was about 35 I joined OA.
It taught that junk food really is the enemy and we didn't eat bread or dessert or any added sugar. It was too tough a "diet" for me and although I was very successful getting down to 133#, I put the weight back on quite quickly. But I do know that when I eat core foods and avoid bread I do better, so that's what I'll aim to do this week.
I'm having a tough time too, since my Christmas weight which was a very small amount is not budging. (I lie. this morning the scale moved downward a little). I am determined and am exercising and eating well. I have to avoid restaurants this week since they are playing havoc with my weight loss.
Okay-----way too much about me!
Bandit, keep up the good work at the fitness centre. Are you going to do anything sociable tonight?
Lin, are you cooking up a storm this weekend?
Cherry, how are you doing?
Newbies, would you like to pop in and let us know how you're doing?
Good luck to us all. Be well and happy and never give up. This week I'm going to try and give a little extra effort and make this work.
Judy, sounds like you're in a good place. It does take time to recover from the holidays, doesn't it? I've still got 5 more pounds to lose, just to get back down to my lowest. Amazing how fast it piles back on. BUT. I will forge ahead, because any other alternative is unacceptable to me.
Thanks for those encouraging words. You're such a sweetie.
Ate (and drank) a bit too much over the weekend, though not catastrophic. Weight went up, then came back down to pre-weekend levels. This week, I'm focusing on getting in my exercise and had a great workout last night at Curves. Eating is fine, though still slightly more than what my plan allows. I'm thinking I might soon cut back to 5 days a week on the plan, then 2 days a week counting points. Not sure when I'm going to start doing this, but I'm feeling the need for more leeway in my food choices.
We're having our January thaw here, which is anticipated to go until the end of the month. So much for our ice festival this weekend! We'll be walking around looking at the sculptures and trying to figure out what they were intended to be before they melted into ice blobs. Poor sculptors. But I'm enjoying the more moderate temps.
Lauren weigh to go on figuring out what works for you. and for
I've done better with exercise this week. My calendar is full of little stickers I give myseslf when I get on the or do arm exercises. Tomorrow is my WI and I'm hoping for good results.
: to all of you!
JUdy
234.6/196/189 and deeper into onederland
I've been having a busy and difficult week. That makes it hard to get in here to post, even though I really need to.
Judy, you're really doing a great job, especially with the exercise. I love the sticker thing. I've done that in the past when I've had a hard time with a particular part of the program.
I may need to steal your idea and get some stickers to put when I exercise on days I work from home. Because I have so much exercise built into my schedule when I work downtown, I don't think about it. But when I work from home too many days in a week, I notice my weight loss slows or I gain.
Lauren, I wonder if winter is getting to us. People do tend to be hungrier and eat more when it's cold, and it's been cold everywhere. Hang in there. You'll get where you want to be because mainly it takes determination and persistence and you have plenty of both.
I've had a very huge food week. I have one weekly point left and a trip to San Francisco tomorrow (unless we still have thunderstorms). I probably won't be eating in a restaurant because the people provided food at the last lunchtime meeting. But--it was sandwiches loaded with mayo, potato salad also loaded with mayo, chips-regular, not baked or lowfat, cookies and maybe an apple.
I need to leave by 7:10 to get to the train and it takes about an hour and a half to get to SF using public transportation from my house. The meeting is from 10-1. I'll bring a Kashi granola bar. I'm thinking maybe I ought to take a more substantial snack and plan to go find a salad at a restaurant after the meeting, which ends at 1 pm. But the weather has been so bad, I don't really relish roaming around SF looking for a place to eat. It's a dilemma.
One thing I've noticed is that I'm more willing to make changes and choose better when I'm out than I was in the past. I don't know what changed, but I'm not complaining. Even if the choice isn't a "perfect OP choice", it's better than I might have done in past weight loss attempts and often is the best of multiple evils. Sometimes there is no "perfect " choice available and when that happens, I do my best and don't let myself feel guilty about it. If the guilt starts to invade my brain, I simply remind myself that it was the best option or the thing is in the past and can't be changed now. What matters is moving forward with my plan. Even if I don't lose that week, the trend is still downward.
That's something my husband keeps telling me. Keep an eye on the whole chart. It's not the little up and down and maintain blips that matter. It's the whole trend. If the whole trend is down, it's fine (until maintenance, when staying approximately the same is what matters). My husband, the engineer-scientist type keeps me from worrying about things that don't make a difference, scientifically.
With that philosophy for the day, I need to go. Work, chores, all that daily stuff awaits.
Hi Turtles,
Lin, you're doing great! I love hearing you recognize that even when your choices can't be exactly OP or perfect, that you are making much better choices than you have in the past. You're so close to onederland. We are all going to celebrate as you cross that triumphant lline!!!!!
Keep up the good work.
Since I'm retired, I'm pretty sedentary. When I exercise and stay OP without eating the extra 35 points, I can lose a pound a week. Don't forget, I'm older than you gals and I'm sure my metabolism has slowed. However, this is who I am now and I'm willing to give this my best effort. I had good news at the scale this week. When I do the same next week, I'll be back in virgin fat territory. Yay!!! This week I lost 1.6# for a total of 39.6 pounds. : I will be working very hard this week to get in the exercise and good foods. I did concentrate on eating more filling foods this week and was less hungry. Okay!!!! I'm doing great and plan to keep up the good work.
Bandit, how's everything going?
Princess and Cherry, how are you? Chime in to say hello.
Hey, here's a recipe for unstuffed cabbage that I really liked. it's a comfort food---reminds me of my Polish grandmother. I ate it all by itself, but it could be served with low point mashed potatoes and green beans and it would be yummy. Easy to make and quick.
UNSTUFFED CABBAGE
1# 90% ground beef
1 medium sized onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 can 28oz. stewed tomatoes
1 can 6oz. tomato paste
1 1/2t. dried parsley
1 1/4t. salt (I left this out)
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. black pepper (I used more)
1 small head cabbage, shredded (about 8 cups)
Heat a large nonstick saucepan over med. heat. Add beef and cook for 6 min. until no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Drain fat. Stir in onion and cook 4 min. Add garlic, cook 1 min.
Add tomatoes and paste. Break up tomatoes. Stir in 1 3/4 cups water, parsley, salt, oregano, sugar and pepper. Simmer 5 min.
Add cabbage, cover pot and simmer for about 90 minutes.
Makes 8 servings at 3 points per serving. Hearty (I ate 2 servings for only 6 points and felt like I was in heaven!! LOL)
Okay--gotta run. Take care and be well and keep on keepin' on! You're the best and it's our time to take care of ourselves.
Love, Judy
234.6/194.4/189 and lower into onederland
Wow, Judy, great loss this week! Way to go!! You're almost at that 40-pound mark -- any celebration plans? That's huge!
I lose weight like you do, unfortunately -- must exercise and eat fewer than the total allotted WW points in order to consistently lose weight. And I'm younger than you! That's just the way it is. I'll wait and see what a comfortable maintenance level is for me; I suspect it may be over WW's weight target for me. I think I'm OK with that so long as my health remains good. I don't have to fit into a certain size or see a certain number on the scale; I want a weight I can maintain over the long haul without being miserable. Right now, I'm hoping that's in the low 140s or high 130s, but maybe it won't be.
Lin, your husband sounds like a keeper. Looking at the overall trend is wise, definitely. I like how you're pondering possible options in advance of meetings, etc. You're a planner, and that's a great trait.
It's possible that the winter weather is making it harder for me to lose, but I've really been plateauing for 6 months now, so I don't think that's actually it. I think part of it is all the trips I took, then company and holidays. Part of the current struggle is the stress of having my folks moving up here shortly and the changes that will bring.
And part is that I truly don't know how motivated I am right now to keep going down. Am I willing to cut back on what I'm currently eating in order to continue to lose weight? So far, given the evidence, I'd have to say no. I'm not sure why, except that I'm fairly comfortable right now. I can find clothing easily; I have energy; I fit well into my environment (chairs, tight spaces, planes, etc.). I can wear a small size large, or a large size medium. I can walk a while without getting fatigued. Blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol -- these are all good.
But hey, I'm still at least 23 pounds overweight, and only 6 pounds from being obese. Yes, I've come a long way, but I do truly still have a ways to go. It's just getting my head back into that place that seems to be taking me a while. Maybe this plateau is just a needed adjustment period while I make that transition from "I'm not obese anymore! I'm kind of normal again!" to "Now I want to be as healthy as I can possibly be, even though it means eating less and moving more."
I hope I make that transition sooner rather than later. I think I'm ready.
Lauren, you're very philosophical. I think you really are saying that you are ready to move forward and lose the next five pounds. Am I right?
I know I'm ready. I had lost 40# before Christmas and then gained 3+# which had been sticking to me like glue. Now I'm shaking them off, but it is taking a monumental effort. Well, I'm lucky at least that when I make a huge effort, the weight does budge.
Gotta run---food is good today. Had a vegetable sandwich for one point and a ff yogurt w/ blueberries that was yummy for three points. All good.
Judy
on losing weight. Don't worry about the salt thing. If it's water, you don't care about whether you lose it or not because water comes and goes. What you want gone is the extra fat, which is what you accomplished. 
: to Lin. My goodness Lin----that is a wonderful one week loss. Fantastic! keep up the good work.
has got to make a difference. Keep on keepin' on---this blasted weight has to come off. We can do it!
: to all the Turtles and 
to Lauren for recognizing that this losing weight and doing the right thing and abstaining from bingeing is just not that much fun! Congrats to you for venting here and getting to Curves. You will see the weight move in the right direction because you are determined to make this work. The hungry bit makes me wonder. Are you eating enough protein? Was it true hunger or emotional hunger and stress? You are right that you know what to do and you're doing it. I hope the scale is kind this weekend. and you know this weight will budge. 