Hello all! I just came in from mowing my lawn and thought I'd check in with ya'll.

Lizzo - sounds like the Klondike bar was worth it.....yum, I have been craving ice cream since it started getting really hot here.

Jello - you can stow away in my suitcase anytime, we are going to see Michael Bolton Saturday night.....I think I'm gonna faint By the way, I don't think I welcomed you yet.........WELCOME!

Tigerlilly - girl you are so funny, I'm a scale hopper too. Way to go on the 11 lbs, that is so fantastic! I know what you mean about the bra size and when I lose this weight I will be sorry to see mine go

Willbe and Jen - I agree, I don't think there is a woman on this planet that likes her body. We have been told for too many years by too many magazines and too many men that there is something wrong with us. This needs to change. Have you ever seen that old Special K commercial where the guy asks another guy if his butt is too big? Then a guy says "I am more than a dress size" We need to stop worrying and just enjoy life. Geez, I'm gonna get off my soap box now, I don't make any since anyway.

You guys will have to excuse me today I have been a *itch on wheels. But I love you all dearly. Have a wonderful evening!

LJ
225/212/150

Well it looks like I will be purchasing a new scale this weekend. I got on mine this morning for the first time in a few days and it had shown a big loss. I get on them more than once though because they are an old pair of digital scales and usually after getting on and off a few times I get one reading that is the same number. But this morning everytime I got on it kept going down .5 of a pound. This is so frustrating! I prefer to have 1 scale and not get on any others since scales can be so different. Guess I will be changing my numbers soon.

I have done pretty well with the eating the last few days and have managed to stop eating cupcakes and junk. Even though I have been doing this for a little over 2 months and haven't had a loss in the last few weeks I am happy. I figure if I can lose 10-12 lbs then remain steady for a few weeks then start losing again at least I will not be gaining like I have in the past. Eventually it will add all up to a nice weight loss. Heck, there have been times when I would go on a diet and lose 10 lbs, get bored or whatever and gain all of it back plus some. There must be something to this non-diet approach that I have been doing. I love it because I never feel deprived. That was my problem before it was feast or famine, everything or nothing. There was never any in-between.

Have a nice weekend everyone, I will check in with you later. I have to take my SUV in for warranty stuff Saturday which will probably take all day. My daughter and I are going to do some shopping and visit friends. Hopefully our weather will improve soon we have had rain and thunderstorms all week.

LJ
225/?/150

I read an article somewhere once that you should stand naked in front of a full length mirror and find the one thing you really like about your body. So I tried it. (Tidbit of advice. DO NOT do this on a public street in front of a big picture window. )

Anyway, I stood there and studied the bod' .... and could not find one single thing that I liked!!! Yikes. Will have to work on that self image thing. I'm one of you with the, um, large bustline. Thank God for sports bras, eh? Otherwise, exercising could be downright dangerous!

Tiffany, I've had those little meringue things. But never saw the M&M ones. I've had the lemon ones and chocolate ones. Very sweet. Had to laugh at the vision of you burning the "tomato" suit in some ritualistic ceremony. I've had a few outfits over the years that deserve nothing less.

Lizzo, you read my mind. A drug addict can stop taking drugs and never use them again. An alcoholic can give up the booze. A smoker can go cold turkey. Now, I'm not saying it's easy but it can be done. But how does a person completely give up food!?!? Can't be done. You can't even go to any store or any social event or ANYWHERE where there's no food to tempt you.

Oh great. Now I'm hungry for cold turkey. Perhaps instead I'll just try to think about Tiffany's blue fuzzy food and that will kill my appetite....

Nope, now I'm craving cotton candy.....

What's up with that!?!
Jo

Howdy!

Well, it's a miracle, it's 9:30 and I am awake. I went out last night and walked a mile. It was late and I was tired, so I at least wanted to do SOMETHING before I went to bed, so I settled for a mile.

Cleaned out the fridge. I was a little hungry when I started but that changed in a hurry. OMG, Gross. There were things back there that I had no idea what they EVER might have been. I swear to God, I opened one container and it winked at me. Like some weird rotten food conspiracy. I could hear little voices..."eat me NOW" "C'mon, once you go mold, you'll never go back"

Little perverts.

Anywho...feeling pretty good. I got a call today from the job I interviewed for a while back, they want me to come in for a second interview on Tuesday, so that is good.

I didn't sneak a peek at the scale today, cause I cooked a small head of cabbage yesterday and threw in some fat-free turkey sausage and some canned tomatoes and onions and I munched on that all day. So, I wake up this morning, and I feel like my stomach is secretly hiding a basketball. Big time gas retention. So, I am full of air today. Please say a prayer for those people that have to live close to me. *sigh* It could get ugly.

Two perfect days in a row. In my calorie range and did my exercise. I am determined to hit my mini-goal.

Big step for me last night. I confessed to DH my actual starting weight. It takes such a load off my shoulders to be able to tell him numbers now instead of being secretive about it.

I guess I am lucky. I am fat all over. It is spread out pretty well. Most people have no idea that I weigh what I do, and when they find out, they are surprised.

So now, my cat is out of the bag and I don't have to hide from my hunny anymore. I like that feeling of him knowing my dirtiest secret and still being ok with it.

Well, taking the girls to see Mr. Deeds today, so I guess I had better pack some snacks in my purse ahead of time so I don't give in and eat that yummy, I mean AWFUL, movie theater popcorn.

See ya all in a bit,
Tiffany

Hi all!
I am so glad it is finally Friday! DH is on vacation next week, so I probably wont be posting much. Between working on our downstairs remodel and DH hogging the pc. But, he's at work so much that he deserves to hog the pc when he's home.
Tiff, good job getting that walk in! And even better braving the back shelf of the frig! I need to do some of that myself. You'd swear my kids ate directly off the shelves! And then there's the animals....they have to stick their heads in everytime someone opens the frig door...cat and dog hair gets on the bottom! Make's ya want to come eat at my house, huh?
I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts this morning. I was good. Only had a small coffee with cream and sugar. My luck, it was probably worse than a donut! How else can that make it so tasty?
I'm at the library now. Need to round the kids up and head to Kroger. Shopping with two boys, some pity here please.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tiff, I forgot...
My DH doesn't know the "magic number". He does know I'm trying to loose weight and he does know I weigh more than him. He has dropped from 178 to 160! Drats! I imagine I'll tell him how much I actually weigh someday, and if he asked, I would tell him. But, meanwhile, I'll continue to weigh myself naked in the kitchen when no one else is around. He'd probably get a kick out of that. Bathroom has carpet, not good for weighing.
Your cabbage sounded tasty. It's been so hot here in wonderful Indiana that I've hardly been cooking. Poor family is living on cold sandwiches!
ttfn

Happy Saturday girls!

Well, the last three days have been perfect for me, and that is a load off my mind. I am determined to make my mini-goal.

Today, I have to go meet my mother in her town, which is 1.5 hours away and they don't have too many places to eat in her town, but they do have Pizza Hut, which as you know by now, sends my fat cells into a dance of delight.

So, I am planning my whole day in advance. I used to do that occasionally, but then felt like I was being forced to follow a plan. But today, I will do that. I am making sure that allow for 3 medium slices of hand tossed veggie delight. Yum.

So, right now I am having my Lean Cuisine. The Salsbury steak with the macaroni and cheese, and 2 slices of diet bread and an extra side of veggies. I woke up too late to have breakfast. So, this should hold me until 5:30 and then from experience, I know the pizza will make me full for the rest of the night.

NOT the most nutritious day, but it DOES fall in my calorie range and I am happy with that.

So, lalalallalalalalalalalala...I am doing a happy dance.

Well, since all you other chicks must have a life, and I won't hear from my new friend Jello until she goes to work on Monday, I guess I will get dressed and venture out into the yard. I feel like Dracula today, the sun may kill me.

So, picture me crawling from the house to the porch, squinting my eyes and holding out one arm as if to fend off the sunlight. Yep, that's me today.

Later Gators,
Tiffany

Hi.

Tiffany and Jello. You guys are so funny. I love the cracks about the food in the fridge. I was going to say I didn't know what I'd do today, but I guess I'd better do my fridge. I don't know what's in the back, either, but it's so full of fresh vegies I'm running out of room! That's a switch for me.

Well, now I know why the scale wouldn't move for me. TOM started on Thursday. I weighed this morning and I'm at somewhere between 228 and 229. I'm calling it 229, since that's my mini-goal. Now I'm aiming for below 220.

I feel really good about the way I've been eating the last few days. I haven't been dieting. Just making wiser choices. It feels great! I've had instant breakfast every morning, and then a good-full-of-vegies sandwich for lunches. Then something with normal portions for dinner. I did get to have some pizza Wednesday. I took my daughter to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. I ordered the endless salad bar and went for 2 trips. My daughter ordered an individual size cheese pizza. It's about 6" in diameter, cut into 6 small pieces. She didn't want it all and I had 2 pieces. Very small, very limited. The only way I believe I can eat pizza. And the other night, I actually had a strawberry shortcake ice-cream bar. 220 calories. I don't think ice-cream or pizza every night is a good thing (used to be my habit), but I can't feel deprived if I allow myself to eat my favorite foods every now and again.

Well, I guess I'd better start contemplating the fridge. Scary!

Jen
238/229/140

Ooooh. You said the dirty word. Scale. I didn't realize that I was as big a scale hopper as I was until this morning. I went in to the bathroom to just "see how things were progressing" and I tapped the scale, (it's a digital) and NOTHING happened. I tapped it again. (like 20 times) and NOTHING. So, I realized that I was sweating...(I HATE that)...so I flipped over the scale and there was a battery compartment. It took a 9 volt.

So, I ran to the kitchen and checked our battery stash. NO 9 VOLTS. Then I remembered. Last week our caller ID unit started acting funny, so I put a new 9 volt in it. It still didn't work, so I bought a new caller ID and threw away the old one. WITH A GOOD 9 VOLT IN IT.

So, it had to be out in the garbage somewhere. So, I throw on my bathrobe and run out to our trash dumpster thing. I have garbage all over the driveway and my *** sticking up in the air and I hear DH clearing his throat. I turned around and he was standing there sipping coffee calmly looking at me like I was insane.

I tried to explain, but he just kept shaking his head and went back into the house.

(10 minutes later, I pitched a fit and made him go buy a 9 volt.)
He doesn't understand. It is THAT important. I just FELT thin, you know? I wanted to see HOW thin. LOL....

So, that is my story of shame.

Hope you day is decidedly more sanitary than mine.
Tiff

hi guys, just checking in, i am hanging in there, i allow myself mcdonalds once a week, so i just took my daughter on the back of my bike and rode there and then we went to the park i took a bike ride through the park then home again, and i will do a 30 minute tape of susan powter or just some machines i have down the basement. it has been hot, so water has not been a problem.

sounds like everyone else is staying on track and planning ahead. i better get a move on , or i wont reach my mini goal. what will help me more is to move more, so i am going to shoot for that, and throw in something extra i thought might help me stay in control.

i am addicted to switching to every diet plan ever made ,cause i would get tired of doing the same plan everyday(guess that is why i am on this board) anyway, there are three plans which i find very healthy but just cant stick to them everyday, so my plan is to wake up each morning have everything ready in one drawer for all three plans and just pick one , maybe a differnt one everyday, then i feel like i am swithcing plans but staying in control. i will be doing ww pts, richard simmons or calorie counting. they are just about the same plans , but just a different way to keep track of what you are eating. one day count pts, one day close windows or just right down calories. so i am not stuck to one plan day in and day out. and hopefully it will make it more fun. and not such a chore. so i am in control i get to pick whatever i want each day. well, it is worth a shot. i am doing good today , and i will start my own way of controlling what i eat , tomorrow.

see, on sat if i want a drink, i will do wwpts, cause it is 4 pts for my drink, it is easier to calculate pts for drinks.

if i am home and have no plans to go out and eat, i will close windows. or count calories, i have done all three of these plans at least 3 times, so i know them by heart , so it wont be that hard to do. well, i will keep you posted.

tiff lol, that is something i definitly would have done, my hubby would have thrown a fit. we usually have every kind of battery in the house. so it probably wouldnt have come to that, but i would have done it, if i had to. too funny.

NEWSFLASH!!!! The Illinois Garbage Bandit has struck again!! Beware this strangely dressed criminal who attacks your garbage. Police sketch artists have released composit drawings of her rear end as this seems to be the only part of her anyone has ever seen. Citizens are advised to hide all their 9-volt batteries.....

Uh, Tiff, do you happen to own any fuzzy slippers? That would really make the picture complete.

BTW, batteries last longer if they're stored in the refrigerator. And since you have a nice clean one now, there's plenty of room for emergency back up batteries. I'd have to label them "DO NOT EAT". Just in case I get really really hungry. They are bite-size after all. Hm, who couldn't use instant energy?

OK, you guys. It's Monday and I'm suffering after another "lost weekend" where I get no exercise and eat entirely too much of ... well, everything. I did do some gardening on Saturday (darned weeds! ) but it was just too hot to be outside. Another fund raiser at the VFW on Sunday took most of the day and came complete with a food buffet for all us worker bees. Guess it's just fortunate that I'm on medication right now that says I shouldn't drink or I'd have indulged in that fine mix of barley and hops as well.

Anyway, as I said, it's Monday morning and I'm once again "starting" to get back on track. I have a habit of starting my day OK but it goes downhill and by evening I'm a lost cause. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I'm OK until I get home. What I really need is something to keep me busy in the evenings so that I can't park myself in front of the TV and eat eat eat eat eat...

Willbethin, what an interesting idea! I get bored too easily with one plan but "switching off" sounds like it might work. Might work with exercise too, I bet. Not just the same old treadmill or same old video tape or machine at the gym. Hm......

BTW, my b/f doesn't know my "magic number" either. Come to think of it, neither do I! That's saying a lot for someone who's as addicted to the scale as some of you guys. I used to weigh in the morning without clothes, in the morning with clothes, when I got home from work with and without clothes, before bed with and without.... When I found myself getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and stopping at the scale on the way to and from, I knew I had a problem. I've "cut back".

Well, I have to get to work. Boss is in one of his moods. Boy, they say women are moody but we've got nothing on this guy! What's the male version of PMS?

Have a great day all!
Jo.

Ah Jo, I missed ya.

BTW, I DID have on my fuzzy slippers. Blue with little cows on them. All I needed was my hair in rollers and I would have made a heck of a show. (I'm pretending that I didn't ALREADY make a spectacle of myself)

Well, I will remember to keep my batteries in the fridge from now on. Although next time it's time to use one, I will have forgotten that I put them there and will be out in the trash again. *sigh*

I WAS thinking...if I get hungry and I am rooting in the fridge, I can take one of those batteries and stick my tongue on it. That should give me a nice little zap and possibly stave off any hunger pangs for a while.

Oooh, do I know about the lost weekends. Seems like a waste to WORK on our bodies after we have WORKED all week. (well, I use to work all week, now I am out job searching) I saw the word "weed" and almost had a fit. I HATE them. As soon as I finish weeding everything, the first one needs done again. I am going to level the whole yard and have nothing but gravel.

Buffet. My best friend. My problem is the Chinese buffet, but any buffet will lure me in. I know all the tips, *use a small plate, *fill half your plate with fruits and veggies, *eat until you are satisfied, not full. (like I KNOW what full feels like!!!!)
But, coming away from that buffet knowing that you made wise decisions, is a hard thing to do. I always do the, "Well, BEFORE I would have went back 4 times, and today I only went back 3.)

Hey Jo, about your evenings...that is a tough one. I usually fix a bag of the Orville's Smart Pop and eat the whole dang bag. It is basically fat-free and a whole bag will FILL YOU UP. Or keep cut up watermelon or grapes in the fridge. If I have to be sticking one after another of something in my mouth, grapes are great.

Sorry about your boss. I think they still have PMS, it's just "Pissy Male Syndrome"

Back later, I have a female problem. Grrr...As I mentioned, last October, I had a surrogate baby for an infertile couple. After I delivered, the doctor mentioned that I had fibroids and she would have to keep an eye on them. Well, my periods are getting heavy and more frequent and I only had about 4 days before I started again, so I did some research on the web and I think the fibroids may be the cause...so I may have to call the doc. Who wants to be on a period for 26 days out of the month? Like my life isn't already SOOO exciting....



Talk to you later,
Tiff

hi jello, yes i am gonna try this for a while, i did ww pts today, got my water and excercise in. wasnt the healthiest of choices but statyed within the pts range.

tiff, sorry to hear about your woman problems, hang in there, and yes go see the doc, you dont want to mess with that stuff.

hope everyone else had a great day.

Hey Jello,
It sounds like we're peas in a pod. I have the exact same problem with my evenings. And the "lost weekends" as well. I wish there were an easy solution. I've heard people say, "find something else to do", but the only things I can think of to do are housework, laundry, yardwork, etc. Who wouldn't rather eat?!!
I've taken to posting on the internet and then holing up in my room with a book for an hour or two until it's time for my evening walk. I like Tiffany's idea of keeping some healthy foods handy for snacking. Unfortunately, 25 pounds of grapes or watermelon might cause some unpleasant side effects, ya think? I suppose you meant to eat them in moderation, right Tiffany? It's a concept I have trouble with.
Tonight I worked late and just finished dinner about half an hour ago. Now it's time for my walk. That makes it easy(er).

Jen
238/229/140