Good for you Sandi! You are doing so great, a little time off is well deserved, but you recognized the problem, confessed & now you're back on track. That's the important thing.

oh sandi... you're such a trooper in so many ways. for all of us, with so much weight to lose, our 'diets' are actually our lifelong eating plans and there's no way we can be 100% all the time. we have to allow 'treats.' or time off. or something.

we;re only human!!!!!

I was just lurking in here reading all of your posts. Sandi- my daughters birthday is Oct 20 too. She will also be 3. How cool! I would love to be in onederland by then. I too have fallen off the wagon, but am hopping back on. I gained back 13 of the 25 pounds I lost. I want to ultimately get to 160 lbs. So I have 103 to lose. Long way to go, but I am ready.
Steph

You guys are so great. To update...I haven't really gotten back on. I am doing lots of starts and stops. And now I have the ultimate excuse because I am getting sick.

I have been reading alot and trying to find some new motivation. My goal is to be back 100% by Monday. My mom and husband have noticed I am off. My mom said last night "time to go back to the therapist...you promised when you went off and needed him, you'd go back". I REALLY don't want to go back, so I told her that if I was still off when I saw her Next Wednesday, that I'd go. And I'm not going. And hubby, well, I think he got really excited by my progress that he keeps bugging me about when I am going back on plan.

Sandi I'm with you on this, I tend to just lurk when I am eating badly. I do still read things several times a day but I do not post. WHY???? Other people post even when they don't follow their plans so why do I act like it's embarassing to admit you aren't doing as well as you'd like? Anywho I am back on WW as of today have gained back some of what I lost but it's starting fresh today.

Sandi -

I expect you to be back 100% by Monday and if not, I'm going to come kick your butt! And if you don't want to go back to the therapist, then, I expect that should be some motivation. :)

Sandi,
I think you are doing very well! The only way that I can stay OP for the long haul is to look forward to my extra 10 points each week. My DH and I have a meal or snack each weekend where we plan in the extra points. That way we don't feel deprived and can stay OP for the next week.

Once a month we go out for a meal and go off plan just for that meal. We don't worry about counting points but eat what we want in NORMAL portions - that's the only rule we have for that meal. DH wouldn't make it if he had to stay OP for a whole month. It makes him feel deprived and he goes wild. One meal a month makes it possible for him to stay focused for the rest of the time. We plan that meal for a family get together or a party so we can enjoy our selves without guilt. Then we are right back to our plan when that meal is over.

We don't use it as an excuse to stuff ourselves but do eat a little of whatever we want. I keep point values in mind and make choices somewhat based on them but only in the sense that I chose what I really want to taste rather than tasting everything. That's what WW teaches - portion size and making choices - we will be doing those things to keep our weight off long after we reach our goal. Those monthly meals give us a chance to practice what we have learned. It is interesting to look at how far we have come each month. It is easier to make the right choices now than it was when we started.

The most important thing to keep in mind is to stay focused over the whole course of the journey rather than regiment ourselves to a certain set of rules. Find out what will work best for you to attain your long range goal and then go for it.

WW is a great plan because of its flexability but you can alter it to fit your needs. In the long run it is the habits that you set for yourself that will keep the weight from returning not just counting points. Life goes on and planning for those occaisions where food will be part of the celebration will be with us forever. Learning to incorporate them into our plan now is good practice in my book and it keeps Tim OP now.

We are all human and have to learn to handle that along with the everything else. Finding what works for us as individuals is very important.

Hope this helped you a bit.