[bandit2]

Hi turtles - wow, lots of information here, thanks.

Sounds like you are all trying your best & I like that.
Judy - you really have done fabulous dropping those pounds. Keep it going!

I have been working my butt off up here & was only down 1/2# at my weigh in & other than a few chocolates & a few coolers at the dance I stayed OP.
So don't know what to think about that. I will just keep plugging along & hope for a big loss at the scales in the near future, hopefully.
Gets discouraging when we work hard & don't see big results.

I know "baby steps" is better, but really - everyone once in awhile you need a great weigh in to keep you motivated.

Keep up the good work, ladies and here's to great success at the scales!

[Itryharder]

Hey Bandit, I'm glad your weight went down, but I hear you loud and clear about making a huge effort and getting a reward on the scale that was less than expected. When that happens, my WW leader always says to "shake it up". If you're eating only chicken, have some beef or fish. If you're eating high carbs, try lower carbs or the carbs from veggies more than fruit. I know your weight will come off with the exercise and eating right. You're doing it and I expect this week coming up will show a nice loss. :
Judy
234.6/194/189 and deeper into onederland

[bandit2]

Thanks Judy - good advice. I will try some different things for this upcoming week, lately I have been pretty much staying on same foods. Tonight, I went and picked up a few more things to make a beef stew - that is always good especially in the cold months.

And I will keep up with my walking and maybe get in some extra fruit. Lately, I haven't had much of that. Thanks, again

Hope you are all staying OP and drinking your water. I think I will try adding some lemon to mine for a different taste.

Take care

[Lin S]

Hi!

You all are doing great! We seem to be hearing from the stalwarts of the turtle club. I hope everyone else checks in soon. I've been wondering how you all are doing.

Wow, Judy! You're really moving. Great loss this week. I can see how hard it is for you and I really applaud you for your persistence. I agree that eating more filling foods really helps with weight loss.

One trick I use with that is to eat the salad and veggies first and the higher calorie foods last. That way if I get full before I've eaten everything on my plate, it's the higher calorie foods that get tossed or saved for later. My "old" eating pattern was to do it the other way around, but you know what that got me.

Lauren, I can see how your motivation could be diminished. You're healthy, you look good, you can find clothes that fit. It makes sense that you might want to stay where you are. Perhaps you should indulge in that and maintain for a specific length of time-a month or two. Then reassess your motivation. Or try to find something that you want that you can't have/do unless you lose more weight. You need something other than a number on the scale or a dress size (which is pretty much meaningless, anyway) to motivate you. Good luck finding it. You've come so far. I know that you can find your way to the finish line.

Hey, Bandit! Nice work. A half pound is a half pound you don't have to lose next week. And a great weighin is nice, but they don't come around too often, which is a good thing because losing too fast is not healthy.

I've noticed that psychologically losing slow is better for me, too. It takes time to readjust my image of myself as a smaller person. When the change is really gradual, it's easier to make that mental adjustment.

My turn. I'm right with you, Bandit. A half pound this week. I was expecting to maintain or maybe be up a little because I used every point, plus a couple of activity points and I had several days where I worked at home, so no walks to the train. The weather was abominable, so I didn't get any walking in at all. My total so far is an even 39 pounds. I just noticed I didn't move my turtle last week, so it's going to look like I lost three pounds this week. But it's actually two week's losses being recorded.

My biggest challenge is my weird schedule. My trip to San Francisco was fine, in terms of getting the information for work from the seminar. But from a food standpoint, it was really hard. They started a 3-hour meeting at 10 am and gave us no breaks. So everyone headed straight for the bathroom at 1 pm when it ended. We were in a theater, which meant no food or beverages. and everyone was starving and thirsty by the time it ended.

I had seen a little place called Soup Freaks while walking from the train station to the SFMOMA. I went there. Good choice. They serve organic, fresh food. Not loaded with fats. I had a tomato soup and half roast-beef sandwich. It came with a tiny salad. It was perfect. My only regret was that the 2-hour trip on public transportation and having a choir rehearsal that evening meant I couldn't spend any time doing anything fun in San Francisco. I couldn't even use the free ticket to the SFMOMA they gave us.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Keep on turtlin'!

[Itryharder]

Wow! We're doing great! Yesterday I got super tired and didn't finish my exercise. I started a small binge (is that an oxymoron?) and realized I was beat. I took a "nap" that lasted an hour, woke up, skipped supper since I wasn't hungry and redeemed the day.

Today we are having a mystery party. Our guests include vegetarians and meat eaters---always tricky for me to plan. There will be nine of us and I'm expecting a lot of fun. Food is ready and just needs to be heated to serve. I hope a couple of people give me a hand because I will be grateful. My part is an airman during the early part of WWII. We are traveling on a train out of Paris.
Okay----hey Lin, I love your input about our weight loss journey. I feel all of us will reach that magic finish line this year! Weigh to go Turtles. I am soooo glad I stuck with this club.
Judy
234.6/194.4/189 and deeper into onederland

[LaurenH]

Judy, a mystery party! That sounds like a blast. I've always wanted to go to one of those. Are you hosting it? How did you get involved?

Lin, sounds like you did well in SF; good for you. That's hard.

Bandit and Lin, congrats on that loss! As Lin says, a half pound down is still DOWN.

I'm up a bit after the weekend. Socializing appears to create problems for me at the moment. I'm sure some of it is stress. The movers should be at my folks' house today, packing them up. Tomorrow, too. Then everybody leaves Thursday and heads for Michigan. Doesn't everyone want to move to Michigan in January??? It's supposed to be in the low 20s when they arrive. Oy.

Things are falling into place; the closing is set for Friday at 10. I have power of attorney. They said they'd be wiring the money directly to the title company, so that should be fine. I'll plan to get their place cleaned before they arrive Friday night. Truck arrives Saturday.

I'm not big on limbo/transitions. Really looking forward to them being settled in, and I know they are, too. I'm trying not to worry about Pop (my stepdad). He has had a cold/bad cough since August because of what the chemo did to his immune system. The docs are now saying he'll need multiple treatments of IV immuno-globulin ASAP to try to restore him to health, so we need to get him established with doctors as soon as he arrives. He has a lot of health issues. I had a bit of a meltdown in the car yesterday over it (just emotional, no food involved). It's hard to see your parents grow old, isn't it?

Well, I'm rattling on. Eating was fine yesterday and will be fine today. It helps that TOM arrived finally. Hormones! Who needs 'em!

Have a great day, turtles.

[Itryharder]

Oh Lauren,
I'm sorry about your Dad. You can keep yourself together. I know how strong you are. I'm sending prayers that all goes well with your folks and their move and health, etc. I've gotta run, but I'll try and get back online later today.
Judy

[bandit2]

Hi turtles

Lauren - moving for anyone is very stressful & worse on your part with a sick parent, hoping it goes as smooth as possible & you get him settled with new doctors. In the meantime, be kind to yourself & hang in there.

Judy - how you doing this week? Good, I hope.

I had an emotional day yesterday as well. Our cat (who is 17-1/2) is looking thin & wasn't eating his dry food, so I stopped in vets to see if they had moist dry food & of course, they don't. I was talking to one of the girls there & she said maybe he had dental problems. So, I took him for a visit & teeth are fine & they did bloodwork. So I waited for results & was very weepy whenever I thought that he was probably sick inside - cried all the way home yesterday. Then got news from vet that blood work was fine. So have no idea what is going on with him. Maybe just age creeping up. And for me, sometimes things just set me off & I end up having a crybaby episode.
THis usually happens when I am driving home by myself & by the time I get home am OK

TOnight, suppose to get together with my ladies group for chicken wings. Just what I need the night before weigh in - I think you get 10 wings for $3.50 but have no idea what to count for points = any clues? I am thinking about 15 points

Where are all the other turtles. Am afraid they have fallen into bad habits & don't want to face the group - hope not.

Have a good evening.

[Itryharder]

Bandit, Caution and alert!!!!! I tried to quickly get a point count for chicken wings. I think they are about four points each if served with ranch dressing. I just thought of one more place to try. If I'm off by a lot, I'll come back and let you know.
Judy

[Itryharder]

Okay. I checked on the WW site and it's not quite as bad as I thought, but still very high.
Chicken wings with skin on are 3 points apiece.
Buffalo chicken wings are also 3 points apiece. I hope there is something else there you can get since these are so high.

All goes well here. Saturday and Sun I was more lax than I wanted and Monday I was ridiculous. Today has been great and I'm going to make a chicken soup for supper. That's why this whole trip is a journey for a lifetime. I get my resolve way up there and then tumble again. My tumbles aren't as awful as they used to be, but they're not allowing me to lose the weight as fast as I want.

Bandit, I had a crying session in my car today too. I think half of this emotional spin is the winter and lack of light. I've got a light box and I'm using it, but I'd like it to work better. I hope your dcat gets ungrumpy and starts to eat better soon.

Lauren, about your folks. It's so hard to see loved ones age. When I had my wonderful lunch with my aunts and uncle at Christmas I felt bad to see two of them dealing with serious health problems. They are brave and a good example, but it's tough to watch. It's also scary to me to look ahead just a few years and wonder what might be in store for me. I'd sure like to be a normal weight before I'm 92! LOL

Okay, not funny.
Lin, how are you doing?
: to all the Turtles. Chime in no matter where you are with jobs and weight and attitude. We all love you.
Judy
234.6/194.4/189 and lower into onederland

[LaurenH]

Bandit, I'm like you re: getting weepy in the car. Wonder why there of all places? Sorry to hear your furbaby is getting thin. It can be hard to get older animals to eat, even when there's nothing really wrong. Actually, I think the same is true of some older people, too! I doubt very much that I'll ever be one of them.

But back to your kitty ... I had a friend whose elderly cat got very finicky as he got older. We discovered that if we stood by his food dish and smacked our lips and sounded all interested in his food, that worked and he'd eat some. Actually, I discovered this by doing it a few times when I was visiting her, and she was pretty ticked off because after that, it was the only way he would eat! But it did keep him going for another few years. He lived to be 21, I think.

I think getting moist food for him is a very good idea. It will probably be easier for him to digest. I know some brands make a "senior diet" variety. Did you try the grocery store? Or a pet store?

Judy, I could've written part of your post, I think. Thanks for the reminder that this journey is for a lifetime. I've been getting pretty impatient lately, and I need to watch that.

[bandit2]

Hi everone

Judy - thanks for the wing information (but I still had them & they were tiny with no breading) but still would be high in points. I ate light during the day,
and skipped wine I usually would have had, so hoping for not too much damage.

Lauren - thanks for the cat tips. Also I am going to feed him some of the meat I make for my dinner, since he still seems to like bits of it. The other night I gave him some of my grilled salmon & of course, he ate that up.
But hard not to worry about him.

Judy - I think some of this weepiness is from lack of sunshine as well. Seems like it has been dark when I get up & dark when I leave work for a long time.
And just the everyday grind sometimes get us down.
And the trying to lose weight, get in exercise, dealing with co-workers
etc etc etc. All part of life, I know but sometimes buggy.

Tomorrow I am having dinner with a friend that I haven't seen for awhile - one my male friends that wanted to date & for me, just didn't work. Anyway, he called & wanted to get together to catchup on things. So, hopefully that will be enjoyable & since it is after my weigh in day, I might just have a few drinks & relax.

Too much rambling - but good place to vent!

Thanks, turtles for being here.

[Lin S]

Hi!

It's nice to read all of your posts.

I used to do mystery parties. My mystery party friends always tell me they'd like to do another one, since we all live in the same area again. But so far, I can't find a time when all of them can come. I hope you had a great time, Judy.

The current issue of Fine Cooking magazine has an article with vegetarian recipes designed to do double-duty as both vegetarian and omnivore food. You start with a vegetarian dish and add some meat prepared to go along with it. They allow you to cook basically one menu and serve everyone. If you have that issue come up a lot, you might want to check it out. You might have to tweak a bit to get the points down, but it shouldn't be too hard.

But, I don't see why you don't just do a vegetarian menu when you have some people who are vegetarians over for dinner. There are many wonderful dishes that non-vegetarians love, too. I NEVER cook two menus to accommodate picky eaters. I figure out one menu that will work for everyone. If you need help with that, let me know. It saves a lot of stress and kitchen time.

I'm sorry your kitty is having problems, Bandit. I'm not sure feeding your cat food from your plate is a good idea, though. We had to stop feeding ours her favorite plain roasted chicken and turkey because she started to get tummy problems when she ate it. But, canned tuna seemed to be fine her whole life. You might try canned fish--tuna, sardines, and salmon. The senior cat food seemed to be fine for my elderly cat, too. Be sure your kitty always has plenty of fresh water available. Not getting enough water can be a real problem with older cats, especially those who eat mainly dry food. Good luck!!

Lauren, many and prayers. It's very stressful on many levels to deal with aging parents. I hope the move goes well and your stress level gets manageable soon. Good luck!

Looks like I'm the only one who hasn't had a major teary session in my car, but that's probably because I don't have one. I'm really stressed out over managing two jobs and an active social life and now adding extra care for my aging mother to the mix. It's a matter of what I'm going to cut from my life. Right now is the first time I've wished for work in a for-profit industry. I need the benefits, but more, I need the higher salary than non-profits can afford to pay. I sat down yesterday and took a look at the time involved in doing my job, keeping up with the chores, and keeping all of my social & personal activities and it's not going to happen. Since I can't afford to hire someone to help with the housework, I'm going to have to give up some of my social activities or personal projects.

It's VERY stressful to have to sacrifice things that I enjoy doing or are stress-relievers in order to keep up with the duties of life, especially since the main reason I can't keep up is that I have to add caring for my psychologically abusive mother to the mix. I can't get much help from my brother with that because he lives too far away to be more than an occasional help. My son who's living with her and her tenant do a lot, but I can't expect her tenant to take on what's really my responsibility. Plus, when it comes down to making decisions, neither of them have any legal standing to do that. So, aging parents are definitely a stress point in our lives.

On the weight-loss front, I'm doing pretty well this week. Despite the stress, I'm still managing to stay OP. My current wish is that someone would make affordable skirts in a style I like so I can replace my too big ones. I especially need a long black skirt for concerts, but black is not exactly a spring/summer color. Right now, I'm managing with the aid of safety pins at the waist so they don't fall off.

I noticed a couple of you worrying about what you eat the day before your weigh in and not so much the day after. Ummm...managing our eating that way dosen't work. Our emotions and brains are very immediate with regard to cause and effect, so we think what we eat today causes a good weigh in tomorrow. And we can "make up" for overeating the day after our weigh in because we have a whole week before the next one. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. It's our eating pattern, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year that decide whether we lose, gain, or stay the same. I'm stating this very important point because understanding that concept and living that concept is the key to maintenance. We're all on long journeys to our goals. If we don't learn to live each day as if tomorrow is our weigh in day, we'll end up having to do the journey all over again. Weighing every day doesn't counteract the problem, either, because our weight naturally fluctuates. It's the overall pattern of our weight that counts and you only get that by charting it over time. That's why I love the WW graph. It's an easy way to see the pattern and figure out when I need to make adjustments and what I need to adjust. Just a thought for today.

Keep on turtlin'!

[Itryharder]

Guys-real fast----I'm up 1.2# this week and have to figure out how to break the silly plateau I'm on. I exercised less last week, so today I got both forms of exercise in.
I'll respond to all later, but right now my dd and dgrandson are here and I have to run.
Judy

[Itryharder]

Hi TUrtles,
It looks like we're all doing a lot of thinking about where we are right now in our weight loss journey. It also looks like a few of us are down and crying in our cars----Lin, I must say I laughed out loud when I read your reason for not crying in your car. You are the best! I am so glad Bandit started with the weepy car syndrome because I was feeling as though I was the "only one" and thought I might need a therapist to get me through this. Nah! I'm fine and you're all fine too. We're strong gals who are dealing with a lot now. Add into the mix the lack of sunshine and family/friend complications and job issues and you get the idea. Thank goodness we can vent here!!!!!

Okay Lin. What you said about juggling the week for a good weigh-in makes perfect sense. That clicked into my brain. I've been beating myself up for not getting back to my 193# weight, but your writing clicked and reminded me that I had been eating very very low points right before WI to achieve that low weight. I had even mentioned that here. I was getting an artificial low weight that was difficult to lose from and I wasn't even able to maintain it during Christmas. I'm glad you pointed out your long-term philosophy because you are spot on! :

So, for today I will make believe that I'm weighing in tomorrow. I will exercise, I will eat my points (but not over my points) and I'll watch the salt, etc. I'll also watch the BLT's and get my head on straight. I'll do more than the best I can and see how that works out.

Bandit, I hope you had a good time with your male friend. :

Have a good day, be well and happy and keep on keepin' on!
Judy
234.6/195.6/189