Today's been a pretty quiet day. Went over to Sprint, and had them switch my phone. I had a Razr, but I was constantly paranoid about breaking it, so I went back and got the Fusic. It's really neat, cuz it's an MP3 player, too. :) Just have some housework to do, and then off to the gym tonight. Luckily, it's my cardio night, cuz my arms are SORE! lol. Hope you're all having a great day!!

Melissa - Good luck finding the perfect one! Andrew & I wanted to get bikes, since we live near town, and there's lots of good spots to ride around here...but we just wouldn't have any place to STORE them! Bah. I love bike riding, though.

Lesley - Oh my goodness!!! I'm glad that your friend is doing alright!! It's good that she's keeping in such high spirits. My Mom was diagnosed back 10 years ago with stomach cancer, but they caught it in time. Almost 3 years ago now, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, and had to undergo chemotherapy. I think it really helped her that she kept her spirits up, and her sense of humor. It's no wonder those pounds are dropping off of you! You are keeping SO busy! Way to keep on moving! :D

Catherine - I too, am SO glad that the whole immigration ordeal is over for you! Finally, you'll be able to live in PEACE! lol I'm glad that the party went well...it sounds like it was a fun time.

Donna - FINALLY!!! Which dvds is it that you ordered anyhow?

Annie - So glad that you had a restful night's sleep! :) Have a great day!!!! :)

Valerie - It's SO hard to look those numbers in the 'face', once you've already lost them....ugh. But you are TRYING again! Just keep at it, girl, and you'll be on that horse, and looking stunning!

Hey guys!! I havn't been on in a couple of days, been busy chasing my twins and taking care of a 2 month old :D Well in my first week back on Herbal Magic I lost 4lbs and 2 inches! Since yesturdays weigh in I lost another 3lbs for a total of 7lbs! :dizzy: My goal is becoming more realistic everyday!

Hi everyone,

The board has slowed down a little this week...I know in my little part of the world the weather has been fantastic - too good to stay in on the computer - so I bet that's what's going on for most everyone.

It's been a good week for me food wise. Had some stressful moments that might have normally sent me to the chocolate, but I refrained. Yay! Not getting enough excercise, though I do try to do at least a few minutes of yoga everyday.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Cris

Hi everyone~~:wave:

a quick post to say that I'm doing pretty good and that I'm -7 lbs.:carrot: I am so excited because it's only since May 4th that I started logging it in my Excel program again. I ended up hurting my back and not able to exercise aat all for 4 days so I just waited until the bf came home from FLA to really start again. I follow a low carb diet and I forgot how quickly the weight melts off at first. I know that some of you probably don't approve--but I'll take the losses any way I can get them. I've decided that I'm going to start looking for a plastic surgeon for when I get under 200 lbs. I would like to have a tummy tuck and maybe some liposuction. I have a "kangaroo pouch" if you know what I mean--and I don't think I'll lose it any other way. I figure that a doctor would want me under 200 before he would even consider an operation. Does anyone else know or have some advice for me? Thanks. :hug:

Catherine--I'm glad to hear that your immigration ordeal is over. I've been reading but not posting much. :carrot: Yay for you!

Kayley--I was sorry to hear about you hurting your knee. I've done that too and it stinks. :mad: It'll probably take a couple of days--it did for me anyway. Good luck. :)

Val--don't feel bad! As soon as you are ready you'll jump right back on the wagon. Just keep thinking and remembering how good you feel when you're eating healthy and working out and you WILL start again. I gained 20 lbs. back from what I lost and I felt sick. :( :?: Why did I stop when I was doing so good for so long? Well I'll tell you it was because of a plateau that just never stopped. I went off my plan for a few months and gained back 20 lbs. I am losing it fast since I've been off my plan for a while and I've started walking on my treadmill again--even jogging once in a while :dizzy: (how the **** did that happen?) Anyway--when you do re-start it will be good and you'll be ready again. :hug:

Okay, I have to go to bed. I get up at 5:15 a.m. and it's 10:12 right now. You all have a great night and I'll TRY to get back tomorrow.

Vicki :wave:

Great job JENN – It’s such a boost to see those pounds dropping off!

Thanks KAYLEY. I know how easy and common it is for the weight to come back. It happens to the best of us sometimes. I just want to start fighting it NOW. Don’t overdo too much on that knee – I’d just hate to see you injure it further or more permanently.

CRIS, Congrats on staying away from the chocolate. I actually picked some up at the grocery today, but then I spotted the deli chicken in my cart – that I’d picked up as a pay-off to myself for NOT having any sweets. Ahhhh, chocolate. Half heaven, half heartache.

Thanks VICKI. I’m with you on having a bit of nip & tuck when I get this weight off. Right now my arms are so embarrassing for starters. I’m also totally with you on the low-carb thing. I’ve found in the past that I’m not so sensitive to ‘natural carbs’ like you find in fruit, but any processed carbs make me insane. I got the scale down as far as 268 or so, but I know it hit 280 earlier this week, so I’m back up by 12 or so. When I look at it that way it isn’t QUITE so terrible. 12 is much better than it could have been, and I’d been thinking that it was more like 20.

Today was the very first day since early Feb that I really, truly didn’t cave in and go off track. I really want to believe that I’m “Back”, but I’ve disappointed myself so much for so long. I guess I don’t even believe in myself anymore unless I can put together a successful several days or a week to prove I can do it again. But it all starts with Day One, and since I’m in bed, Day One has officially been a success.

Of course, tomorrow I start a 2 day baking marathon to get the cakes done for MIL’s B-day party Saturday night. I’m still going to weigh in tomorrow morning. I’ll face the music and go from there. Denial is too high calorie to indulge in any longer.

At least I’m back at 3FC, and that does so much for my focus.

Well, went to the gym tonight, planned on doing the treadmill, but it just hurt my knee too much, so I hopped on the elliptical, since it's a not as much pressure on your joints. Got 30 mins of sweaty goodness done. Hahaha...I'm really feeling good. No gym tomorrow, as I have a friend coming over...one of the last times I'll see her before she moves to Las Vegas at the end of the month. I think 4 days of gym time is good, though...:) Plus, I'm sure Andrew & I will go walking this weekend.

I'm going to head off here, and find some more WW recipes! :D I did the free 7 day trial of weight watchers online, and I'm hoarding up on as many recipes as I can before that free trial is over with...hehe.

If I'm not back in here tonight, I'll see you chicks in the AM! :D

Cris - The weather has been very beautiful out here....but the past couple of days, it was 90 degrees! It's only MAY, and this is MICHIGAN! lol...so, I've been staying in the central air during the day, and going out at night...heh. Here's to a more OP day tomorrow! :D

Vicki - Good to see you posting!!! CONGRATS on that loss!!!!! 107 pounds GONE! That's fantastic!!! I have no advice about the surgery...never been to a consult or anything...but I definately think if you lose the weight you want, get it done!! :D

Hi ladies
Wanted to congratulate all the "losers" this week, and say hi. i had my weigh in today, and i lost 2lbs, but i am still not under 200, i am 200. hopefully i will be under there by next week, but any loss for me is good:)
i will post some personals tommorrow and i hope everyone has a great day:)

I am quite happy....lol. I found a website with all the points listings for any type of alcohol I could ever want! HA! Now, for my 21st birthday, I'll be SET! :D Well, I'm going to go to bed...gotta get up early, clean the apartment, and do lots of laundry!!

Valerie - Good for you for being back OP! One day at a time...good luck with your weigh in...let us know how it goes! And also, good luck avoiding sampling the cake batter! ;) It's amazing how great this place is. I think if I would have kept coming here, I wouldn't have gained back as much, and probably would have gotten back on track a LOT faster than I did!

Kymberly - CONGRATS!!!! You are SO close to being in One-derland! You'll be there next week for sure!!! :D AND you're only 36 pounds away from goal. That's just fantastic!

Night, ladies!

Good morning everyone!

Kayley - did you find the 7 day trial at WW online to be useful? I have been considering it, but wondered if any part of the site was "restricted" until you become an official paying customer. Sometimes you get a free trial somewhere only to click on something and then get a message "This area for our members only" or something like that.

Today will be kind of a tough day...it's parent luncheon day at my son's school, and we're going out to eat tonight although I'm not sure where. While I know I can make good choices, I don't like the guessing game that happens sometimes with food I don't prepare myself. Control freak. LOL!

The weather has broken here and the temps are expected to go back down to a more seasonable range and rain is moving in for today also. I love the warm weather but I was not prepared for 80's and 90's already this spring. (Especially since the snow only just completely melted about 3 weeks ago. True story.) From blizzards to heatwaves in the blink of an eye...welcome to New England!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Cris

Just a fly-by!

Val - :hug: Heck, I practically went all of 2006 without trying very hard! You can get back on track!!! Looks like you took the first step yesterday and that's the most important thing. You hang in there!!!

Where's Ammi? And Zelma, haven't seen her much either! Got to run...

OMG, Kymberly! If THAT isn't motivating! I bet with a goal like that, so close, you'll have a terrific OP week. I sure hope so! There's no looking back now!!

Thanks again, Kayley. I'm already in to the batter today, but having a perfect day yesterday gave me some perspective I needed. I remember exactly how hard it is, but I know that I can do it. 17 days left until the wedding from **** is over, with lots of temptations between now and then, but once THAT thing is over I know I'll be back to my right-minded self and start kicking this thing again.

CRIS, I understand about facing the unknown menu. I bet we all do. I hope there's something offered that's good and OP for you.

Hi LILION! I've been scare lately over on the Hens. Tell 'em hi for me. I have so much trouble just getting here, much less posting both lists, but I'll be there soon! I do pop in an read there because I can at least keep up with that easier.

Well, up at the crack of dawn and into the kitchen this morning. I'm baking 3 cakes in different sizes to form an "80" shaped birthday cake for my MIL. I'll be the fav DIL yet! Outside of discovering rather late that the oven was set on broil, and then having the sink clog up while I was trying to wash pans for the next set of cakes, things are going well. Oh, and outside of my taste testing, of course.

I know I'm bombing today, and I know that much of the next 2 weeks will be impossible, but I feel rather empowered about the future after Memorial Day since I was able to conquer my demons yesterday. It was SO hard - the first day always is - but I did it. I'll just do as well as I can on the days that I can, enjoy the special things, and then get back on track. Since disciplined exercise has been non-exsistant, I'll mark the 29th on my calender. I'll just jump up on that wagon and start doin' it.

17 days until the mess is over.

I know I haven't been around much this week--sorry! We went 2 days in the office with NO internet :o Which was not only a pain in the rear, but it created a big rush of work that happened when we were finally reconnected with the rest of the world, so we got pretty busy.

I would like to share my hatred of needles. I hate getting shots, giving blood, anything with needles. Well, this week, I was a human pincushion :( I went to have blood drawn on Monday for tests, then I got the first shot of my HPV (cervical cancer) vaccine on Tuesday, and then at my Dr.'s appointment yesterday, they gave me a Tetanus vaccine since it had been over 5 years since my last one. Hopefully, I am done with needles for a while!

As for the outcome of the Dr. visit, my overall cholesterol is fine (155), but my triglycerides are a bit high. My fasting glucose was 100 (they like it to be 99 or less), so it's a slight insulin resistance, but nothing dangerously close to diabetic. My blood pressure was slightly high, but I don't think it was an accurate reading, as the nurse tried it 3 times before she could hear anything. She said it was 110/90, but I bet the 100 was actually supposed to be higher, and she just couldn't hear it clearly. I made sure she was using an extra large cuff, but for some reason, both BP machines and nurses/docs taking it manually have a hard time (and I always go home with bruises and red lines all over my upper arm). I've been eating absolute crap lately, so I'm not surprised by the numbers--actually, maybe a little surprised they weren't worse!

I also go t areferral to a nutritionist. I've set up a consultation with her (the nutritionist) on June 1, which was the first available appointment they had when I called this morning. I wish it were sooner, but at least it's scheduled. My doctor was great in that I explained to her that I KNOW what to do and how to do it, so education is not my problem. She said I was more than welcome to schedule follow-ups with her to track my weight and blood pressure and whatnot, but that she would give me the nutritionist referral to try just in case I had any other questions she couldn't help me with. It was really nice that she didn't just try to send me to their weight loss "classes" that I really don't think would be helpful to me, but rather, she actually LISTENED and offered a solution for what I was specifically looking for (someone to follow up with who could help me track my progress and such). She also didn't try to prescribe me any pills, which was nice, since that's not what I want.

Just wanted to pop in here before the craziness begins! lol. I have SO much housework to do, and in an hour, I'm meeting my Mom for lunch. Already know what I'm ordering, so the points will be fine. :) Just wanted to get some personals in! :)

Jill - Sounds like you have a really good doctor. It's always a good sign when they don't try to force pills on you all the time! I HATE NEEDLES!!! Oh man. I about freaked out a couple of years ago, when the doctor told me I had to get blood drawn. It was bad. Hope you have a semi-unstressful Friday at work!

Cris - I've only had the trial for a day, but I haven't found any part that's been restricted! If you do it, just make sure you cancel in time, or they DO charge your credit card! I've been working like a mad woman to copy/paste as many recipes as I can, and articles, tips, ideas, etc. :) So far, I've got over 200 recipes! :D I'd definately say it's worth it.

Val - You'll be able to get a fresh fresh start in June then! :D How did the WI go?

Hey everyone-

I have been so busy with cleaning/organizing. I was sick for those two weeks and the house just went crazy! Its a pretty sunny day here and I have all the windows open. Love days like these! And just think I would be back in barrow Alaska still with -20 and 24 hour sunlight!!:dizzy: I hope you girls have a wonderful weekend!:hug:

XENA~Glad you feel better about the robe situation. And congrats on doing well on the final!

IDEALMUSE~Welcome back! As far as getting your groove back. I am not sure if there is really one thing. I have a horrible time with staying OP sometimes. I just try to keep at it. Even if its just small changes.

SHARON~I thought your pics were great!

LILION~WTG on your loss!:bravo: :cp:

CATHERINE~I am so glad all of that is over for you hun. You have been under so much stress! I hope now you can just breathe and enjoy your home!:hug:

SHADIE~I hope your weigh in goes well! Hang in there!:)

ANNIE~I am so happy you got some good sleep! I hope you continue to! Good luck with the MIL. I hope it all goes well.:hug:

VALERIE~So good to see you post! I can relate to everything you say. But we all just have to keep trying. You can do this!:cheer2:

JENN~Congrats on losing 7 pounds!:cheer:

CRIS~WTG on not eating the chocolate! That is a hard one for me!

VICKI~Yay on losing 7 pounds! That is great!:congrat:

KYMBERLY~You are so close to being in onderland! You can do it!:cheer2:

JILL~I am so sorry you had to go through all of that needle stuff! I am like you I hate it! That is good news about your numbers. Like you said they could have been worse. I have to actually go do all of those tests in 5 weeks.

KAYLEY~Good luck with all the housework. I just did a ton myself. Sounds like you are doing great with the WW points!

SANDY, PATTI, ZELMA,AMMI and anyone else who hasn't been around lately I hope you are all well!

Val: Hugs to you. You are under stress right now and that can just kill every lick of good sense we have. Give yourself a break and you will get back on track as you feel like you can. Have you ever tried WW? I think it would allow you to eat what you want within reason and not be so rigid. I really liked it but for me it didn't work. Anyway. Hang in there.

Kayley: Hope your knee feels better very soon.

Jenn: Wahooo. Congrats on the -7! Good job.

Cris: enjoy the beautiful weather.

vicki: Congrats to you on the -7! I am so happy to see your smiling face around here again. Do whatever diet works for you, don't worry what anyone may think about it. As for plastic surgery. On Obesity help.com there is a place where you can click on plastic surgeons and they have lots of information on them in every state and area. Good luck.

Kymberly: Congrats on another -2. I am so proud and happy for you getting to the 200 mark. One step away from being under! You go girl!

Jilly: I hate needles too. I hope that you aren't too bruised this time. Hugs and good luck at the nutritionist! I get to see one once a month right now for this optifast and this next Monday is my time to see her. Once I go on regular foods in August I will see her weekly.

Michelle: Hi sweetie: Enjoy the weather. It is so beautiful and sunny.

Well, I did a HUGE no no last night. I was CRAVING salt. Optifast has no sodium or very little in it. Well, I ate a lemon with salt then thought what I need is one more. So, hopefully I can drink enough water to cancel out the salt and not retain the water by next weigh in day on Monday. I am not worried about the calories in 2 lemons just the salt I ate. I know it is so bad for you but it's done now.lol. Yesterday I cooked up a storm for my MIL and FIL's visit. I just want it to go easy for my hubby and I wanted it to be over with. Making all that food at one time instead of every day having to be around smelling the food as I cook without tasting it. It is hard. I am soooooo excited because when I was at the pool today I found out that they have some rope things that allow you to swim in place. I didn't even know they had them there. I was so excited and put one on and swam in place HARD for 30 minutes. My arms feel like they will fall off any minute but, I am sooooo relaxed and ready for MIL. I only wish the pool were open Tomorrow too. lol. Oh, well Monday maybe I'll spend more time there. I don't konw how much I will be able to get on line with company but I will try to check up on you all. I wish all of you mommies to humans and furbabies a happy MOther's Day.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

hi Mechelle all is well here just taking a small break.. hope to be in OP mode again tomorrow!

Annie-craving salt is probably your body trying to tell you something. Get some nosalt. It is potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. When you are craving salt, try that.

Jill, All-Things-in-Moderation & I just don't get along. I've tried it, and I always end up out of control. It's like telling a drug addict to just have one little hit now and then, or an ex-smoker to just have one puff. I'm either hooked on sugar, or I'm not. I have nothing against WW and I'm sure I would lose weight on it if I could stick to the plan: Emphasis on "IF" and "STICK TO." The problem over the last few months is that one sin at a time, I talk myself into something I shouldn't eat, and the eat-eat-eat cycle in my brain is never totally broken. I need to go back to my "I can do anything for 14 days" plan, and clean out my bloodstream. After that, it isn't even a struggle to stay on plan. I have more energy, no urge to cheat, and the weight will drop off.

Thanks for the suggestion! I know WW is a good system. OH! And I sure share your "love" of needles. I was determined to give blood but when I saw the needle (not the blood - the needle) going thru my skin, I blacked out. I was sure it was a mind over matter thing and I could tough it out if I really tried, but the nurse was pretty ticked off that they had to do the whole smelling salt thing. Now they have to pretty much strap me down before i know what's coming.

YIPPEE - DH is home for my MIL's birthday party! He has to leave again tomorrow, but at least he's home for a day.... I hope he gets the dhance to rototill the garden tomorrow. I want to get my broccolli in the ground. ;)

Nite, all!

Good morning, everyone! Just got in from my morning walk. I have walked 2 days this week with one of the gals I have buddied up with in my WW meeting. We are trying to get in shape to do the Race for the Cure on 6/2. After that, she is planning on doing a half marathon walk in December. I may join her in that goal. We'd probably have to start serious training around Sept. or so. Until then we can just keep walking and losing weight so it will be all that much easier when the time comes.

Idealmuse - My best advice to you is to stop thinking about the past and where you were. I have gained and lost weight too so I know how frustrating it is to beat yourself up over that. Try to just accept where you are and go from there. Lamenting where we used to be only frustrates us and depresses us. I am working on this exact concept right now and I can tell you when I am in my "acceptance" state of mind it is much easier to just worry about doing what I need to do to lose that next pound. Good luck to you. :hug:

Lesley - Who woulda thunk tai chi would make you sweat. I will have to add that to my list of new types of exercise I would eventually like to try. :)

Sharon - It's about a month til the spa visit. We are taking our trip the weekend of 6/8. So I guess I still have time to get a few more pounds off, right? As for school, I am not quite sure yet what is next. I am waiting to hear back from the advising office of UTD to find out if I need Calc II in addition to Calc I I just took. If so, I will be taking that this summer starting at the end of May. If not, I have the summer off and will start my MBA classes in the fall (assuming I get accepted). I need to schedule my GMAT exam which is sort of a placement test for MBA programs. In fact, I really need to get moving on that so I can have it done and the results back in time for the application deadline, which is 7/1. :eek: So much to do!!!

Annie - Yay!!! YOu got your CPAP. I am so glad you are feeling more rested with it.

Valerie - Don't give up. You can do this. Remember "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." :)

Jilly - It will be interesting to see what the nutrionist says. Keep us posted.

Ammi, Zelma, Nancy, and anyone else....Hope you are doing OK and that we hear from you soon. :hug:


OK, I am off to get my weekend started. Hope you all have a great one!!! :grouphug:

hiya just a quickie to say hi really and let u know that I am still with you in spirit! Had such a wierd start to the month, got a trapped nerve in neck, so pain radiating down arm etc for about a week, then a strange virus which went to my chest, so have not done any exercise for the longest time since February this year, which feels YUK!! Today I have been out for 90 mins walking and feel better for it really. This week I stayed same (i weigh on mondays) but have been really sticking to 1,700 this week so will lose I should think on Monday.

I have 12 weeks nursing left now, start my last placement where I learn to manage the ward etc on Monday, very scary stuff realising I am about to become accountable and for so much!!

Weight wise and Food wise feeling confident, had this aha moment thinking that as long as I see eating large portions of high calorie food as 'treating' myself then i will remain obese - I am switching my thought processes around to seeing eating less and sticking to a reduced calorie day as a MAJOR TREAT becos let look at how we feel at the end of either a day of eating too much food or a day on plan and I don't want the negative ugh feelings any more, but I feel so much better when I eat a little less and move a little more.....................SO treating me is actually about the opposite that I have thought since I was a small child....

This thought is helping a lot - for instance going out for a meal tonight and rather than thinking about treating myself by going off plan, I am going to really treat myself by staying ON plan!! lol hows that for reverse logic then??

Anyway sorry no real time for personals :( but best wishes to you all xx

JILL - Silly me!!! Yes, that reply was meant for our dear ANNIE! who asked if I'd tried WW. Actually I did do WW when I was about 15-16, and it worked, but in those days my mom did the cooking and she measured and weighed everything for both of us. It WAS you who was talking about the nasty needles, tho.

ANNIE, sorry 'bout that. Your swim sounded wonderful! I hope you don't suffer from next day soreness, and I hope the visit with the IL's goes well. DRINK UP, my friend! I'm x-ing my fingers for your next WI, but I bet you don't even need me to!

KAYLEY - you asked about my WI. I forgot to do it that morning, but as of this morning I'm back @ 278-279, so I'm actually releaved. I know I hit 280 last week because I had gotten on the scale. We all have those 'magic' weights where we get especially excited when we cross them - grief if it's on the way up, and elation if it's on the way down. 280 is a magic number for me. My NEXT magic number is 260. I've crossed 270 a couple of times, briefly, so I just want that one to go away. It's not special anymore. Anyway, WI was good.

The last layer of cake is in the oven. Now the frosting begins. I actually think I'm sugared out. It's starting to get gross (YEAAAAAAH!) All I had yesterday was cake, chinese soup, and more cake. This morning I had cake and bacon (not together.) Maybe if I get sick on the stuff, it will lose some of it's charm.

Back to the mixing bowl. Yuck.

Oooo, did I just say 'yuck' about icing??? See, I KNEW there was hope!

EMILYMAY - I just saw your post and had to say I love your logic! Your right - mindset is everything! Bravo for using your thoughts and attitude to raise yourself up instead of push yourself down! I could certainly use more anticipation right now, instead of dread. Positive thinking, that's it.

Hello all – I can’t believe I haven’t posted for almost 2 weeks! Life has been really crazy for me. The episodes of walking into places and not buying anything turned into buying things, and several cupcakes, a small birthday cake and some ice cream later I finally detoxed myself off the sugar last Sunday. I had a great week, with only a small blip last night when I let myself get too hungry and then “only a pb&j could do the job” and I ended up eating two. Sigh. Today I started off the day with a good breakfast and I am going to get right back on plan, rather then give myself more excuses.

The head manager of my office got laid off last Monday and that turned into 3 days of non-stop meetings (including dinner meetings) plus increased workload and responsibilities for me. So that was stress #1. The apartment hunt is not going well and I have seen a bunch more places that haven’t been any good. Then in the past week there has been NOTHING show up that is even in my price range. I am getting very nervous about that since there is now a housing shortage in NYC which could have a horrible ripple effect into the outer boroughs and into Westchester. So that is stress #2. My ex has started dating again and he has already sent her flowers. I got flowers once in 5 years and that was after I had taken him to task about it. It’s not so much that I am jealous, but that I am mad at myself for putting up with that stuff for as long as I did! So that is stress #3. Then when I am eating badly and not exercising like I was for awhile there it exacerbates the stress and compounds upon itself. So that is stress #4. My bosses now are thinking they want us to move offices into a completely different building, which makes me really upset because I really like the building - especially the gym. So that is stress #5. I know there are other things too, but I can't think of them at the moment. As I have said, it has been rather crazy.

I have the house to myself today and I am taking it easy. Having some computer time, doing some cleaning, etc. I can’t necessarily get rid of all the stresses, but I can find ways to handle them a bit more healthfully.

I am looking forward to a mini-vacation next week when I head up to spend several days with my parents (who will just have moved into a new house) and my brother and his girlfriend who are visiting from Hawaii. I head up on Friday after a half day of work and stay until Wednesday. It’s not long, but it will just be good to get away.

I promise not to be such a stranger.

Heather – Fantastic new avatar!

Sharon – Your new pictures are great! You are looking :flame:!

Hi everyone!

Well...lunch with my son went well yesterday and I came home and logged my points right away. One down, one to go. We decided on the 99 for supper...but we decided that basically as we pulled in to the parking lot. I usually don't research ahead of time because I almost always just order a salad whenever we go out. So that's what I did...excpet it wasn't an ordinary salad...it was a specialty with some cheese crumble and some bacon bits. I've had this particular salad there before so I knew what to expect as far as quantity of both cheese and bacon pieces and I knew that there was a lot of spinach and mushrooms and tomatoes as well as some grilled chicken. How bad could all of that be? Well...let me tell you! I got home and looked online for nutritional info on the 99 website. Holy cow! The salad was 31.5 points!!! I only get 32 points per day! Needless to say, I dipped into my flex points for the week! LOL! Live and learn, I guess. I was pretty busy/active today so hopefully that will help my weekly total!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends!

Cris

Hi everyone
Im glad the board is kind of slow today, maybe i can catch up:) hope everyone had a good day. i am sooo happy to be off tommorrow:) i have been working way too much and i am sick of it:)
NANCY: im glad to see you back, im sorry you are having some stressors. hopefully you will be able to find an apartment soon, and that will relieve some of your stress.
VALERIE: i am also glad to see you posting. that's great your scale read a number lower than you thought. i know you will do awesome, just try it one day or one meal at a time, seriously. if i think of the rest of my life as constant "counting calories" and such, it becomes a real pain:) thank you for the nice words:)
i hope all the mothers have a great mothers day. i am doing well, and as i mentioned, i am off tommorrow, so that is a good thing. My NSV for the week was seeing a patient at the physcians office i used to work at, i havent seen her in several years.. she asked me if i had "wt loss surgery":) needless to say, i was happy. one weird thing i am experiencing ( and please help me out if you can relate) it seems i had more dates when i was bigger. maybe it was because my standards were way lower, lol. i have tended to shy away from men in the past year due to disatrous relationships in the past. i am ready for a new relationship, but i am having difficulty finding the right person. oh well, nobody ever said if i lost some wt, my life would be great:) i hope you all have a nice evening.

Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms we have posting here.

:grouphug:

Good Morning Ladies!!!:coffee:

:val3: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! :val3:

:cheers: :celebrate: :yay: :hat: :hug:


Things have been crazy here...birthday, dances, girlfriends, fingerprinting(not for jail...for the boys' summer job:lol:)etc. I also have gotten a little injury from our kitty. I was in bed and she came up to say good morning. She walked past my head on the pillow facing Doug's side...(he was getting ready for work) something scared her~still don't know what!~and she jumped back and caught my right eyelid with her back paw. :stars: I probably could have used a stitch, but Supermom had absolutely no time on Thursday. It is much better today, but I need to find a redish-purplish eyeshadow for the other eye to match!! :lol3:

Shadie: It sounds like you have an amazing 16 y/o son!! Smart, good- hearted, adventurous...you have done a great job!!!! My oldest works at a movie theater too. I am glad your 21 y/o has found his way. All you can do is steer them in the right direction and hope for the best. Not that it
doesn't hurt your heart when they are not happy, but all we can do is love them.:hug:

Annie: I am so happy you finally have your CPAP!:yay: You will be amazed how great you will be feeling!!! It's so great about the swimming. I wish we had a pool around here I could use all year...I have an aboveground one in the backyard, I can't wait to get in it!

Valerie: I see so much of myself in your post. It's a vicious cycle that sometimes I wonder if it ever ends!! Hang in there and just like AA~one day at a time.(sometimes one minute at a time!):hug:

Kayley: I got the Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds~1, 2,& 3 mile DVD's. I have done the 1 mile 2x and love it!! No complicated steps, and you can use it with 2lb weights for a more vigerous workout~not me yet...I am just making it without :faint:. (My hips are definately screaming at me "what the heck are you doing!!!!")

Kimberly: ONLY 1 MORE LB TILL ONDERLAND!!!:yay: You can do it!!:dust:
And don't worry...there is someone out there for you, just be patient, and he will fall in your lap.(maybe litterally!:lol:)

Nancy: Sorry you are having so much stress. :hug: It can only get better!

Cris: I know what you mean about the salad!! Amazing when you think you are doing the right thing and they sneak in all those darn points!! :yikes: Makes me really mad.:club:

Have a Great Mother's Day to all mommy's of both human and furry kind!:grouphug:

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!!!!!

Just a quick post this morning...I'm down 3.8 pounds. It's a pretty chilly day here, so we're just going to finish up cleaning, and chill out. :) Hope you all have a great day!

Nancy, I'm glad that after all that "Should-I-Stay-or-should-I-go" that you went thru, at least you've reached a point where you know you did the right thing and will expect better treatment in the future, which you certainly deserve! I understand that it's still stressful, but I hope that you see the upside to it. I hope next week goes more smoothly for you!

CRIS, even if that salad was over points, just your choice of it shows a change in direction for the good. Live & learn, huh? It sure sounds yummy, too.

Kymberly, way cool that someone notices and appreciated how much weight you'd lost! As for the dating, are you dressing differently now? More classy perhaps? I remember noticing back in college that if I was wearing a sweatshirt or dressing down, more guys approached me, and not always respectfully. When I dressed better, I was more off-limits and unapproachable. I think we wear our weight the same way sometimes. I think sometimes guys perceive us as less threatening, or more vulnerable or whatever when we're heavy. I've heard of first class, 10+ super-models that never have men approach them because the women scare 'em. Are you out there scaring those poor insecure boys? Or have your standards gone up to only be interested in higher quality guys? In either case, GOOD FOR YOU!!!

DONNA, yup. One day, one bite, at a time!

HAPPY MOMS DAY EeeeeeeeVERY BODY!

The cakes were a big hit yesterday. I couldn't even touch it I was so grossed out by sugar by the time I finished it. Today I woke up with more 'grit' and determination than usual. I threw out the last of the extra cake, and went out and planted beans in my newly tilled garden. Then I went to buy more plants - broccolli, etc - and it occurred to me that a custard cone would be lovely... until I thought about the sugar, and drove on by. Once I decided against it, I didn't even look to see if the custard stand was open yet. Realized I was getting hungry, so I had some OP lunch before going out to plant some more.

Who knows? Maybe I can kick this thing today, and let everybody ELSE eat cake for the next 15 days. Maybe I can start NOW.

S'cuse me while I go plant lettuce, yellow peppers, brussel sprouts....

Well, ladies, the festivities are over, and I have no excuse not to get back to some serious work. I’ll have to spend the next few days detoxing my body again. I’ll have to eat every other hour to keep from getting hungry, and force myself to exercise even if I don’t have the energy. I will get my leisure pass in two weeks, and then I can finally start going to the pool. I already have my bag packed. All I have to do is shave, and get over that nervousness of going to a new pool with a new teacher, etc. By Christmas, I want to be down to a much smaller size.

Donna-I also worked in a movie theatre in highschool. I was there for the opening of Star Wars, and Saturday Night Fever. That’s back when a 4 screen movie house was enormous, and people actually lined up around the block to see them. We charged $2.25 for Star Wars, and people really complained about the price. Guess that kind of dates me.

Kymberly-I have had many people ask me if I had the surgery too. I always tell them heavens no, that I have done enough damage to my body without rearranging my plumbing.

Cris-before I took a cross continent bus trip, I went on line and researched every fast food place I could think of. I wanted to be ready with a list of things I could eat at each place incase the bus stopped at one of them. I was shocked that some of the salads had more calories than a basic burger. It isn’t the lettuce that is the problem as you found out the hard way. I have my safe places, and safe things to eat at them, so that I am never surprised like that.

Nancy-You made my head spin just reading all the stress you have been under. You are right about learning to deal with the stress in healthier ways. We all have to learn to do that better.

Lillion-Thanks, I have recovered from the emotional upheaval. I threw my bit for a few days, but I’m back on track again. My MIL is still threatening, but now that I am safe from her, she can threaten all she wants to, and I just smile.

Shadie-I’m feeling much more relaxed. I just took a few days off. He had a conference here in town, and meals were provided, so I just let someone else cook for me for a few days. I didn’t even clean up after the party until this morning.

Annie-I’m glad you were able to get you CPAP machine. I hope it doesn’t take too long to get used to sleeping like that. Once you lose your weight, you probably won’t need it anymore, but for now, I’m sure your body is going to enjoy getting the oxygen it needs while you rest.

Valerie-I am in the same boat. I just can’t seem to keep going long enough to get the weight loss started again. I can do okay for a few days, and then just seem to lose it. I can blame it on stress, or a million other things, but I just feel out of control at times. Your post wasn’t selfish at all. You were able to say things that I should be saying, but avoid. There are times when I know I need to do things, and just can’t seem to get my body to move. I can’t keep a “high” going long enough to get past this barrier. If I had a solution, I’d bottle it and make a million.

Kayley-I think I drank enough alcohol in college to last me the rest of my life. That was back in the days when 18 year olds could drink. I never thought about the calories though.

Jill-It is really nice when you can get ahold of someone who will actually listen to you, and what you need instead of trying to make you fit into their cookie cutters.

Emily-When I try to treat myself by going off, it isn’t a treat. It makes me feel guilty, I deal with cravings for days afterwards, and it is just not worth it. I tell myself that I deserve a break, but you’re right, I deserve to be healthy instead.

Catherine - Your MIL, my DIL. Smiling at them is what hurts them most. My DIL is having a wedding shower this weekend and I just found out about it. I am NOT invited (Thank heavens cuz I don't wanna go anyway) but I'm going to take a gift over and drop it ahead of time. Me being nice to her is the sweetest revenge there is. Especially if I don't even have to talk to her to do it. She made some cheesey remarks about 'the moms' at the wedding sort of including me, and all I could think of is "I AM NOT one of 'the moms!'" But don't worry, I didn't say it out loud, even with it screaming inside my head.

Fifteen days til the wedding from **** is OVER! I think I'll start celebrating Tuesday the 29th now, instead of just dreading the mess on the 28th. Of course, there's the rehersal dinner to make it through too, I think.

On the up side, I got some flowers from one of the girls I taught riding to for years. She calls me her 'Horse-Mom.' I think it's adorable, and I love her to pieces! See, most little girls love me. (OK, so I buy them off with ponies to ride, but still!)

Planted beans, snap peas, 4 kinds of tomatoes, yellow peppers, bibb lettuce, some cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and lots of broccolli today. I'll be happier when that thieving groundhog is gone.

Off to the barn to visit my biggest fur-babies. I hope everyone is having weather as gorgous as it is here! Absolutely doesn't-get-better-than-this Perfect!

Valerie-I have always believed that living a good, happy life is the best revenge. That will make the "cold pricklies" in your life nuts.

Kayley - woohoo! :carrot: Great job this week - I bet you are feeling really good about yourself!

Catherine - As anything, it's a learning process and I will probably follow your lead about researching ahead of time. One thing about this eating plan for me is that I don't want everyone else around me to have to conform to me ("Oh we can't go there because there's nothing for me to eat"). It's up to me to make appropriate choices no matter where we go as a family. We have the basic chain restaurants around here so it will be easy for me to research and come up with a list of the good choices available at each place for the future. Frankly, it is still annoying to think I have made a good choice only to find out that I would have been better off with a big juicy burger.

Valerie - Sounds like you have a great garden started! Gardening is not my favorite activity, but my in-laws live next door and have two big gardens that I pilfer from every summer! :D Do you have your own horses? My daughter just started riding lessons at a barn where there are over 30 horses. I haven't quite figured out how many are owned by the woman and how many are boarded...but I know she owns quite a few! My daughter would move in there in a split second if it was possible!:lol:

Donna - sounds like you and I are on the same plan - wishing chauffering counted as excercise, and cursing at the restaurant people that mess with our salads! :lol:

Today wasn't a great op day for me - I actually am feeling uncomfortably full right now. :eek: On the up side - I won't feel like eating any more tonight!

Hope everyone had a great mother's day and a great weekend!

Cris

WARNING...NON-SCALE VICTORY (NSV) AHEAD!

So I am out for my walk today, just going along, admiring the view of this beautiful day and minding my own business. Most of the walk was uneventful, outside of saying HI to a few people I would pass by here and there, until I made my way back home, a car came by and some TWENTYSOMETHING guy whistled out the window at me! ROFL.

Wow, how long has it been since that has happened? I have no idea *grin*....but it certainly feels great!

The funny thing was, I had nothing revealing or outstanding on...just a casual outfit of capris and matching top. Of course, they were a couple of sizes smaller. Heh.

Have been reading faithfully but still feel a little out of the loop! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow moms.

Will try to be a more productive poster in the week coming, but off the top of my head 1) congrats on the finalization of the immigration stuff Catherine...I hope you're very happy here in Canada and that you've been made to feel welcome and that it truly feels like home 2) Annie - I'm so glad you got your CPAP machine...sleep of good quality and quantity is vital to every aspect of our well being and something everyone deserves, and no one more than you. Your sweet nature and good cheer come across in every word of your posts and they are always a pleasure to read. 3) Great pictures Sharon! Something we can all look forward to with continued commitment...thanks for the inspiration!