A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.
The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."
"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."
The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.
The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.
That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for several years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.
We've been reflecting on what the turtle philosophy means as we start our second hundred posts. The turtle philosophy was a difficult one for people to accept. People want the weight off--NOW!! But reality is that it took time to put it on and it will take time to take it off. People want it to be easy to take off the weight. But reality is that it's not easy. You can have a program that's easy to follow, but following it steadily--that's hard. People don't want to exercise much, if at all. But reality is that our bodies were designed to move. So, we're setting realistic goals that take the weight off at a healthy pace. We're setting goals that will keep us moving steadily toward the healthy weight we want to be. And we're just plain moving. We're setting realistic exercise goals that will move our bodies the way they were meant to be moved.
We've also noticed that our turtle philosophy has affected the rest of our lives. I've started writing fiction again. I realize that I can finish a novel, or two, or ten. All I have to do is to set realistic daily goals, work steadily toward achieving them, and they will build up into finished books. Turtle Power at work in my everyday life.
Anyone who wants to join us in steadily moving toward all of our goals is welcome. I've met some wonderful people on this thread. I hope to meet many more. I know the battle with our weight is a difficult one. Having such supportive people come and post regularly keeps it from getting overwhelming. I hope to see many more people join us as we move forward on our journey.
Wow! Lin, I have my fingers crossed for your dh's interview. I'm sending you all : and am praying too. Also, isn't it weird how things work out? Here your ds is doing well with photography. You must be so proud. Good luck with your marathon. It's spring and things are looking up.
Bandit,
It seems impossible that your Vegas trip is here and gone already. What happened to February and March? Time is flying. Glad you had fun and that you won $800. That must have been a thrill. Good luck with your WW's meeting.
Lauren,
Lent is almost over. Easter is almost here. Time for relection about what we want to do. I know you have problems right now, but let's all try to get back to as close to being OP as we can. Tomorrow I'm going to journal. Today hasn't been bad so far.
Easter will be tough because my friend is a good cook and always gets the most spectacular ham in the world. However, I can use Flexpoints and make sure I get on the treadmill before I go to her house. Lauren, you're such an inspiration to me. You've done so well with your weight loss. It's not fun to have clothes start to get snug. Good luck :. We'll all be fine.
I'm back from my week of babysitting my grandkids. My two daughters and dh were with me from Friday through Sunday. Then on Monday the kids missed everyone including their dad and it was an exhausting day. By Tuesday I had a routine down pat and I'm real proud of myself. The kids are darling but active and I kept up with them. I give my hopping on the treadmill the credit for my being able to take care of them without being too tired. I slept well and had good days. The kids are so cute.
When the baby went up to bed for a nap, I stretched out on the couch. My dgd covered me with a blanket and gave me her doll baby so I could catch a nap too. And she's not even three yet! She cuddled right up with me and we both rested for a bit.
Isn't she cute? Anyway--I missed you all and although I started the week by journaling my points that fell by the wayside pretty fast. I ate more goodies than I should have, but I definitely am going back to WW on Wednesday. Looks like a few of us are doing that.
Good luck to us all. Let's try to give each other hope and inspiration by sticking as closely to what we intend to do as we can.
Love and good vibes,
Judy
Judy, so good to hear from you. I'm glad you had such a good time with the family; isn't that great you could keep up with the grandkids? That's very sweet about your granddaughter giving you a baby doll so you could nap, too.
I had a wonderful Holy Week and Easter and -- yup -- am now on the wagon in earnest. I tipped the scales at 201.5 this a.m., and I'm ready to do what it takes to lose weight. I've written down everything today, and am already one point above my target. But I'll use flex points and keep on. No more baby steps, either. That wasn't working. I'm just flat out going to follow the program. I'm also going to up my proteins a bit and fit in more vegetables. And I'm aiming for daily exercise.
Yesterday I walked with DH for about an hour, and I was surprised at how sore I got. Amazing how quickly we fall out of shape as we get older! As soon as I finish this note, I'm going out for another walk. (I took today off to recouperate from the past week.) The daffodils and forsythia are all out; so wonderful to see color again.
Thanks for the kind and encouraging words, Judy. They mean a lot to me. We can do this.
Judy and Lauren, you're both doing really well, just by not giving up.
Lauren, baby steps only work if they lead you steadily back to doing the full program. If you get stuck at a particular step along the way, like I often do, they don't do anything to get you toward your goal. So, your plan to just go full out is a good one.
I've been avoiding the scale because I know that as soon as I step on it, I'm going to want to lose weight again. But I'm not going to do anythng about it until my husband finds a job or I'm in a living situation where I have a reasonable food budget & where I can get clothes that fit when mine get too large.
Anyway, today's my husband's interview. I'm hoping that this is the light at the end of the tunnel, but we'll see. I've found one new job on each of the three boards I check most regularly to apply for, just in case. I'm sending out resumes for those today. Superstitious people would say I was jinxing the job interview, but my practical side says that in this job market, we can't expect that there won't be plenty of competition for any one job.
My book is going really well. I had a weird dream last night that I think was related to the book. I won't go into details, but it's a sign that I'm really getting into the story, which is something I need to do.
I hope everyone is doing OK. I hope to hear from everyone soon. Keep moving, turtles. That's how the turtle won the race. He kept walking.
Lin -- saying a prayer for DH's job situation. No, I don't see you as jinxing anything by continuing to submit resumes -- that's just smart. Are there any jobs in the area that you could get?
Yesterday DH wanted to go get steak for dinner, and I didn't say no. So I went well over points. But we did one wonderful thing -- we walked to the restaurant and back, for a total walk of almost an hour. That felt terrific.
Today I'm committed to staying within 24 points. And I'm excited about it. I'm also going to start putting my real, long-term goal in my signature as well as my short-term goal, just so I can keep the real end in sight.
Hi, turtles. I hit 25.5 points yesterday -- I'm thrilled! I also realized that since I was technically over 200 pounds, I was technically in the higher point range of 26 points, so 25.5 was perfect. Well, anyway.
That's the first day in a looooooong time that I've eaten that few points. I'm so geeked.
Today I cut up a bunch of fresh vegetables to munch on at lunch (right now, in fact) and throughout the day at work. They actually taste pretty good. I've planned out my day somewhat, and am writing it down. I can see those 180s again on the horizon ...
Sunny spring day today. I'm going to go for a walk tonight.
Hope everyone is OK. Judy, have you managed to get back into your groove now that the grandkids are gone?
Hi Turtles,
Lin, I've got my fingers crossed that the interview went well and a job offer is made to your dh. I liked your advice to Lauren about baby steps. I'm afraid my baby steps often led to baby results--and yet I know that's so much better than giving up completely because I gain weight so fast.
Lauren,
Congratulations on your target point day. You must be so proud! Keep up the good work.
As far as steak for dinner, it can work in with Flexpoints as long as the total Flexpoints for the week are fine. And walking to the restaurant and back is a major accomplishment! Yay!
I'm doing okay. I'm journaling and doing my best each day. I had forgotten what I was on the scale, so I'll put in my weight where I started and where I am at home. I'm not loving the idea of getting back to WW's again and I know that's silly. There's just an awful lot going on around here!
Love you all,
Bandit, chime in when you can
Lots of luck and good vibes to all the lurkers,
Judy
234/211.8/thinner
Did my curves on Mon then went to my ww meeting. Was up 2# over the last 2 weeks including my holiday, so am back on track since Mon morning. Stayed home yesterday with a cold and drank tons of fluids & had some soup & salad throughout the day. Feel better today and have stayed completely OP so far this week. Tonight I go to curves again. One of my friends that I joined ww with rejoined on Mon so I will have company again at my meetings, so that will be nice. This weekend we are away at my daughter's dance competition. So that will mean eating out for the weekend & I will definately have to behave myself so I show a loss at my meeting Mon night. There is always so much stuff going on - and the weekends still seem to be my biggest challenge - which is not good seeing my ww meetings are Mon. I hate it when I show even a tiny gain. It is a mental thing, I think. Even if it is only -.2# I feel OK - just when they say you are up it gets me down. But it is very simple - if I follow the programme I have a loss of some kind and feel so much better overall.
Well, this was certainly a strange experience. My husband came home with a good feeling about the interview. The engineer was impressed enough to set up a phone appointment with the other engineer who was still overseas. But he didn't call. About 45 minutes after he was supposed to call, Paul got a phone call from the HR lady. She apologized, but didn't reschedule, just said something about continuing to interview. So, it looks like this is "thanks, but no thanks." We're going to have to start making arrangements to move in with my mother, probably at the end of May.
I'm glad to see you all are doing well. Lauren, way to go, getting back to your point range. Your determination is a real inspiration. Judy, I hope you can find a good meeting, if you decide to go back to doing meetings. Bandit, it's good to see you're still going to Curves regularly. Good job, everyone.
I'll keep you all posted on what's going on with me. Keep moving!
Hi Turtles,
Lin,
That's a strange and unsettling way to do interviewing. I'm sending good vibes that your dh finds something soon. I'm glad you're continuing to post and here's some :
Bandit,
Seems like you've got what I've got: lots of social commitments and fun. Wow~~who would have the nerve to complain about that? But it does make losing weight difficult and I empathize with you. Good for you for getting to Curves and good luck this weekend. I remember hearing you plan for the weekend dinners, etc. out and I know you can do this.
Lauren,
Good luck with hitting the target points and counting in your exercise.
I've gotta run--Callwave is trying to chime in here.
I am rededicating myself to losing weight rather than fooling around. I can still redeem this year if I stay OP each day.
Love ya,
Judy
ps in complete honesty, yesterday was impossible. I gave in to my week long cravings and overate. Am up two pounds this morning. Ugh. It'll go away IF I make it go away.
I just sent you all an e-mail and decided to try to visit the forum. For the first time since the crash, I am able to see everyone's entire posts. I am afraid to type that so as not to jinx myself.
I see from catching up that Lauren and Lin have taken the Myers-Briggs test, Recently, I took it too and I was amazing to see how accurate it is. I am an INTJ and according to my profile I am suited for the legal profession. Since I went to law school, it was on point. Actually, everything described me to a 'T'. How accurate were your profiles Lauren and Lin?
I will post more often now that I can see what's going on. I have missed all of you.
Lauren, I was just able to read the private messages that you send back in January (darn computer). I am sorry that I didn't send you the Quick Start Program, but I didn't know that you were interested until now. In case anyone is, I will post it over the weekend.
I have stayed completely OP so far this week & am determined not to faulter this
weekend even though I will be in a hotel setting. I am taking some point-friendly
portable foods with me for the car & the room. Got into curves 3x so far this week & have my stuff with me & will try to go tonight.
Judy - hope you get back OP. If I am good I am really good, but if I overindulge I really over do it. Still have a big problem with "moderation" and when I stay OP I feel soooooo much better (not bloated, have more energy and overall feel happier) so I really don't know why I get off track.
Hope everyone has a really great weekend & remember to do your journals & drink all your water & have fun. Bye for now.
YAAAAYYYYY!!!! SWAN's BACK!!!! So good to see you!! I'm so glad the site is working for you again. I just sent out an email to the Turtles, which everyone can now ignore; we can take the conversation here now.
Yes, I found the Myers-Briggs test to be pretty accurate. By the way, INTJ is also a good personality type to go into various kinds of computer work (software architecture, for example, though not so much plain old programming). I work with lots of folks with that personality type, I believe.
Lin, BUMMER about your husband's potential job. Weird, too. Makes me think that they want to hire him but have to interview someone else because of some political reason. If he doesn't get the job, I hope he asks them why not. (Diplomatically and professionally, of course.) It doesn't sound like he's out of the running, though, since his first interviewer obviously really liked him. Sounds like that interviewer jumped the gun a bit. Well, I hope he gets it, or something even better. {{HUGS}} to you both; what a blow that must've been.
Judy and Bandit, yes, social events are very tough for me, too. The hardest, next to stress eating. I've taken to watching a naturally thin friend of mine to see how she handles social events. She rarely finishes all her food at restaurants, and she doesn't order a lot. Also, at potlucks and parties, she tends to just take a little of things and not overeat. She focuses on socializing. I'm trying to learn from her.
Had a decent day yesterday; used 5 flex points. I wanted to eat everything in site (PMS in a big way), so I consider it a small victory that I stayed under 30 points. Today will be tough, too, though I really want to save flex points for tomorrow -- which is our eleventh anniversary. We're going to our favorite restaurant, Emily's, to celebrate. Fortunately their servings are small; the food is so flavorful that you don't need big portions. (Hmmm, there's a lesson in there somewhere.)
Hey, it's really spring here -- 70s, and everything is starting to flower!
Hi Turtles,
Swan:
So good to have you back! I also got your e-mail and wanted to respond a bit. I find the 35 pound syndrome very interesting. I literally have lost over 60 pounds three times in my life. Only when I hit 30 pounds off did people even comment about my appearance: Have you done something different with your hair? Are you losing weight?
I always enjoy the encouragement, but the people in your neighborhood are much too involved in how you look. How can it possibly affect them? How silly! So, be your own best assessor of your look and your life. We can do this! I like that you're writing letters that need to be addressed. (Not a pun). I did that when I 12-stepped with OA and found it revealing and helpful. I hope you gain a lot from it. Good luck with this time of introspection.
Bandit2, I've never heard you so strong and I love what I'm hearing. Weigh to go! Yes, this weight loss effort is tough and hard, but what is so weird is that we all say being OP with the Flexpoints helps us to be happier and healthier. Inside I know I don't want to change, but I must change my eating habits and have had a lot of success--now I have to keep it steady.
Lin, : to you and your dh.
Lauren,
Gjlad you're working this so hard and taking it so seriously. And congrats on your 11th anniversary.
Gotta run--my dd is expecting a baby in October (my hinted at good news) and I have strict instructions from her to get on the treadmill and get healthy to be around for this grandbaby for a long, long time.
Love and good vibes,
Judy
234/214/thinner
Turtle Club #126
: and am praying too. Also, isn't it weird how things work out? Here your ds is doing well with photography. You must be so proud. Good luck with your marathon. It's spring and things are looking up. 
Well, anyway.
So good to see you!! I'm so glad the site is working for you again. I just sent out an email to the Turtles, which everyone can now ignore; we can take the conversation here now.
