[Itryharder]

We are the Turtle Group here at www.3fatchicks.com. We welcome you to join us as we work toward good health and fitness in a persistent manner. As our inspiration we use the race between the turtle and the hare where the turtle was the victor because he didn't give up. We believe in keepin' on even when the odds are against us. We believe in giving each other support. Good luck to us all!
Judy
Itryharder
(for Lin and Lauren)

[Lin S]

Hi,

Checking in to see how you did, Judy. Wow!! .8 pounds is only a mere 3.2 ounces away from a whole pound. That's a respectable loss, even if it did get you right on 200, rather than below. Nice going and you're sure to see that big one next week.

Keep on turtlin'!

[msmeri]

went down .8
still not back where I was two weeks ago
but am renewed and rededicated


Food Item POINTS value per serving
6 gummy bears 1
1 1/2 chicken nuggets 2
1 Oreo cookie 1
1/4 thin crust fast-food pizza slice (1 slice is 1/8th of a 12-inch pie) 1
1/2 cup apple juice 1
1/3 cup macaroni and cheese 3
1/2 medium serving fast-food french fries 3
1 oz Teddy Grahams (about 22 pieces) 3
1/3 ice cream sandwich 1
1/2 cup dry cheerios 1
1/4 grilled cheese sandwich 3
1/4 cup raisins 2
1/3 granola bar 1
1/2 cup plain cooked pasta 2
1 oz plain M&Ms (about 35 pieces) 3
3 saltine crackers 1
1 small Tootsie Roll Tootsie pop 1
1/4 peanut butter and jelly sandwich 2

[bandit2]

Morning, turtles:

Judy - congrats on the loss. You are almost there! Good going!

Lin- hope you are doing good this week.

Msmeri - thanks for the info.

Princess, Cherry - how you guys doing?

Stayed same at my weigh in, so now time to get down to business.
No more excuses!

Plan on rejoining centre tonight & getting back on track with my walking.
That seems to help keep me on track & I certainly feel better afterwards & enjoy the swim/hot-tub as well.
Goal this week: Stay OP & plan ahead (have ribfest tomorrow) & get in 3 walks.

Have a great day, ladies.

[Princess1122]

Hi all! The wedding is over and it was a wonderful day! The happy couple is on their honeymoon in Hawaii right now and we are keeping intouch with them via Facebook. I am trying to get back on track but the stress eating has been a problem... I am sooo far behind on posts, just have not had time to log on until now.

Hope all is well with everyone!

[Itryharder]

Hi Turtles,
Hey Lin, thanks for mathematical interpretation of .8#. I'm hanging in there and Thursday morning I was down even more on my home scale, so I feel I'll be able to break 200# this week. Thanks for the support!

MsMeri, thanks for the WW Points on the different foods. I'm glad you lost weight this week and we've all been where you are now. The good thing is your attitude is good and the other thing is to remember to look ahead, not behind. You're doing great!

Bandit, rejoining the centre will definitely do the trick. I remember that's when your weight started dropping off. Weigh to go!

Princess, don't worry about a thing. We're so glad you're back and posting. Yay! that the wedding was so wonderful. I'm glad it was great. The stress eating will ease off now and you'll be fine. Baby step this along with the rest of us.

As for myself, I've had a relatively stress-free time of it lately and my nice weight losses have reflected that. Then out of the blue last night I got a call from my dd who is still sick and the whole family is sick and they need my help again. Sure enough, I headed right back into the kitchen to eat the leftovers I had brought back from the restaurant. Was I hungry? No. Was I feeling like I needed some comfort? Yes. So there it is again and today I'll make sure my eating stays where I want it to be.
You all take care. Be happy. Drink your water. (I'm drinking lots of water today because I can taste the salt from the restaurant food--why do they do that anyway?)
Judy
234.6/200/195 closer to onederland

[Lin S]

Good morning!

Ms. Meri--you lost almost a whole pound. Be proud of yourself. You done good!

Princess, I'm glad the wedding went well. I hope they have a great honeymoon and a good start on their marriage. Hang in there. You'll get back on track as you get back to your regular, non-wedding routine.

Bandit, I'm with you. Walking does a lot for me, not only in terms of moving my body, but in stress relief, too. You go!

Judy, I hope your family gets well soon. Hang in there. You're doing well.

Stress seems to be one of the biggies. I've been thinking about that as we've been dealing with the unemployment/not enough income issue. We all seem to post stress followed by eat, as if they automatically and obviously go together. They don't. A lot of people deal with stress in their lives without turning to food. And eating just adds more stress because we beat ourselves up over eating in response to stress. Silly us!! I think we all need to stick post-its on the fridge, pantry, computer monitor, wherever our eyes go often that says-"Will eating because you're stressed solve the problem that's stressing you?"

Add to that question, this one: "If eating will only add more stress, what will help make me feel better, able to cope more easily with the stress, and keep me OP?" I suspect that exercise is one of the best responses to question two, especially going for a walk because walking is not only a great stress relief, but it frees your brain to mull over solutions to the stressors in our lives. However, I'm sure there are others. Knitting, doing anything creative and fun, taking time out for ourselves-a breather before we dig in and cope.

The thing is, stress is not ever going to go away and if we wait for stress-free times to work on our weight goals, we'll never reach them because there's never really a stress-free time. Something always happens, from a whole bunch of little annoyances that add up to a stress-filled day to major things like unemployment, illness, family issues, and so on. So, figuring out how to deal is a biggie.

My current worries include losing access to a kitchen over which I have control. If we lose the ability to cover our rent and have to move in with someone else, eat in shelters or from food banks, etc., I'm going to have a very difficult time because the food people donate isn't always the healthiest and lowest-calorie food on the planet. Anyway, I keep telling myself not to borrow trouble and take one day at a time. I'm resorting to cliches, but by not worrying about what hasn't happened yet, I can keep doing what I need to do while I can.

The result is that I've lost another pound this week, down to 226. I only have 6 more pounds to go to reach my current goal. And the WW software is so amusing. I put in 26 instead of 226 and it said I'd reached goal, and a dangerously low weight, and all these warnings. Plus it wanted me to recalculate my points. Like my dh said, "If you really weighed that little, you'd be dead." Then when I fixed the error, it thought I was on maintenance and shouldn't be losing weight. The techies need to do some work on error handling.

Have a great weekend and keep on turtlin'!

[bandit2]

Morning, ladies:

Princess - glad to see you back & now that your wedding is over, you can get back to a more normal programme.

Judy - you are doing soooooooo great & next week you will be rewarded.
Keep up the good work.

Lin - I hear you about the stress. Just seems always something going on to play with people's minds. Hang in there & congrats on the weight loss.

I got in a 2 mile walk last night & then quick swim & hot-tub but then came home to an unpleasant thing. Our cat got sprayed by skunk & I cannot believe the mess of that. It really didn't smell like you would think & I called animal emergency services & they said that is because it is the concentrated version. I flushed his eyes several times & washed him for about 2 hours - then kept him in basement until I could take him to groomers this a.m.
What a night!

I tell you, it is always something to deal with. Some days I feel like selling everything, quitting job & moving to a remote island that has lots of vodka!

Tonight will be eating at ribfest - but ate below points yesterday & so far today. So, hopefully will be OK

Have a great weekend!

[msmeri]

Angel food cake
Sometimes, we all love a slice of cake. Warm and fluffy, every bite is better than the previous one. With angel food cake, you can enjoy a slice without feeling guilty about it later. Pretend it’s your birthday and have a slice, maybe even with some fat-free whipped cream.

[Lin S]

Good morning!

Hope the ribfest went OK, Bandit. You're so right about moving to the island. I often feel the same way, minus the vodka.

Ms. Meri, I don't feel guilty about eating anything. It really is all OP. If I go over points, I consider it a learning experience and try to figure out how not to make that particular mistake again. I spent several years learning not to divide food into "good" and "bad" categories. I don't binge on any particular foods anymore. I figure out what I want to eat and then figure out how to fit it into my food plan for the week. Or I remind myself that I can have it next week, if I don't have the points available now.

A good angel food cake is a nice dessert, but when I eat it, it's because I want that kind of cake, not as a substitute for something I'd feel guilty about eating. I'm better off not eating anything than eating substitutes because after I eat the substitute, I still want the original thing. I often ended up eating that, too, so in the long run, I eat fewer calories by eating what I really want in the first place.

I also don't eat fat free whipped cream. I dislike eating chemical soups that pass for food, not just because I think they're unhealthy, but because I don't like the taste. I have a very sensitive palate and taste chemical flavors other people don't notice. "Fake" food often tastes weird to me. But I've said that before. I'm glad they help other people with their weight loss journeys, but if I can't eat real food, I'd rather stay fat. I think real food is better for my body and less likely to make me sick over the long haul.

This week has been a real challenge because I've been unable to exercise because of my sore ribs. And I had a couple of restaurant meals because cooking wasn't happening for the same reason. I'm doing fine, point-wise, but I've been eating a few weekly points most days, which is unusual. That's something I notice when I don't exercise--I tend to eat a little bit more. Not a good balance. I'm looking forward to having my ribs stop hurting and getting back to exercising.

I hope everything's good with everyone else. Have a good day.

Keep turtlin'!

[Itryharder]

Okay Turtles,
I sense we all need a little and Keep on keepin' on, drink your water, and make yourself proud. That's what I'm trying this week.
Judy
234.6/200/195

[CherryAutumn]

Hi ladies. I have been reading your posts but have not been posting myself because i am not doing good at all. I am really embarrased to be posting on a weightloss board when i am gaining weight like crazy. Part of it may be that it is TOM time. That takes some getting use to after being pregnant for 9 months and not having to deal with it. My weight is up to 239 and i feel horrible about it. Of course if i beat myself up about it then i just eat more so i guess i really am always fighting myself. Sorry for the downer of a post. I am just going to keep trying.

[msmeri]

Cherry ~ I know what you mean about posting while you are on the gaining end of things. I don't feel up to it either. But I think we all should remember that is when we need the support the MOST. This is not a place to just brag, it is a place to hold out your arm and help a fellow sister!

And second my Dear....
You JUST had a baby!
It takes over a year to get back to normal(ish)
(shhh mine is 19 and I am not there yet)

Start with the foundation
not the numbers on the scale

Drink your water!
track ever bite good or bad

Do this for a while, a long while.

Make it a habit.

Then decide what you can SLOWLY add in baby steps.

and you better be here a lest once a week, or I gonna come hunt you down!

[bandit2]

Good afternoon, ladies

Cherry -you sure sound down in the dumps. Remember, we are all here to help you & as Msmeri said, when you don't feel like posting & coming here that is when you really do need it the most. We have all had bad times on this journey & need extra support at times. Maybe just try one positive thing for this week, then add another next week & so on. Remember "baby steps"

Judy - you are soooooo right. We all need to perk things up abit. Good luck at the scale!

Lin - hope your ribs are better & you can get back out there exercising. Makes such a difference with everything overall.

Msmeri - I also make angel food cake mixed with crushed pineapple. Very good & low in points, thanks for the reminder!

I got in 2 walks to far this week and have stayed mostly OP - except for a small bag of chips I found in cupboards. But I still stayed within my points.
Hoping to be down at scales this week.

We have been having nice weather up here for a change which is nice since we really missed out on summer.

Hoping everyone does great at the scales this week!

[kerriscards]

Just a quick hello...I have not been able to find you all for days....
I am not having a good week but still hang in..
Watching the biggest loser and just crying my eyes out...This season 8 is going to be good...
see ya tomorrow...