Hi friends! I'm in the thick of finals-so this is the first time I've been on here in over a week. Is Nicole MIA again??

I love all the new pics/haircuts!
Felicia-WOW! You look so great-what a transformation! Beautiful!
Emily-love the sassy new look!! How have you been?

Kimberly-hang in there- I saw the 4 slices of pizza comment. I have not been POP for over 2 weeks. I have been so stressed and sleep deprived that it's been hard to get all of my food in. I've lost about 2lbs since the intense studying began-but I don't know if it's "real" yet- so I'm going to wait it out. I've probably lost some muscle bc I'm sitting at a desk for 10 hrs and barely get up to go potty...
BUT I'm done as of Saturday...can't wait to celebrate and finally get ino the Holiday spirit!

Best wishes to you all! Can't wait til I can get on here every morning like I used to!

Happy Wednesday. I have a work party tomorrow and I need to bring a dessert. I was wanting to make something that I could enjoy and not feel guilty about later. Any suggestions of things you guys have tried? I tried the brownies in the LAWL cookbook last weekend and they were gross (a little ice cream and hot fudge would have fixed them, but then what's the poin of low-fat :) )

We got 8 inches of snow yesterday. I think we have about 15" total so far this year. It seems to be setting up to a rough winter. We can't dig out fast enough. Oh well, I love a white Christmas!

Good Morning Everyone!

Congrats Cathy and Cecil on the weight loss!

Dan - Have a safe trip home!

Hi - Sherry, Stacy, Felicia, and everyone else! Where is everybody? I guess it's that crazy busy time of year, hard to make time to get on the computer:(

Amylou - good luck with finals...almost done for the semester! The break will be nice!

Morning all! Congrats to all the losers. I didn't get to see BL last night but recorded it so I will watch tonight and see what happened. I love seeing how fantastic they look after losing the weight.

Trying to keep the spirits up. I'm losing my Whataburger gain just in time for another weekend. I have my weekend planned out nicely though so I'm good to go. Think I am going to bite the bullet and drop my gym membership. The trainer I was seeing who was supposed to show me around the equipment basically told me to do the treadmill and swim. I have a treadmill in my garage and 2 neighborhood (heated) pools so why am I paying 100 a month?

Well enough rambling! Everyone have a fantastic, POP, weight losing day.

Good morning! My work email is back up so I've been trying to catch up there most of this morning. I'm recommending one day a week with no email here....I got so much done.

My winter cold started setting in on Sunday with a scratchy throat and by yesterday PM I felt crappy! A few meds and lots of fluids and I'm maintaining. At least it should be over by Christmas and hopefully DD won't get it. She told me this morning not to kiss her, I had germs...... Oh well, she did get a peck on the head:)

Of course my cold has changed my taste buds considerably so nothing I've eaten has been satisfying, including the pizza last night since I didn't feel like cooking. Once again I strayed from the plan. Hey, is anyone else having trouble getting their water in? It was not a problem during warm weather but now, I'm really struggling. All I want is coffee or tea.

I've got to run out at lunch and pick up a gender neutral gift for an exchange here at work. Any suggestions in the $15 range? I'm great at picking stuff out for someone personally but this is for a "white elephant" exchange, only not gag gifts.

Amylou - good luck with the finals.

Carrie - great new picture. Hope your dental problems are solved soon...nothing worse that a painful tooth

Cathy - congrats on the 30lb mark

KimberlyR - I totally understand your motivation comment....we've got to get it back somehow:)

Lynn - I'm jealous of the weather you are enjoying! Bet I could get my water in if I were there!:)

Sherry - glad you are giving it another try. It is a hard time of year to stay focused but we can all help each other with that.

Gotta run now! A big hello to anyone I've missed. Good luck with staying on plan today:cool:

Oops, almost forgot - Shannon does paying for you gym membership keep you motivated to go? I've tried doing things on my own since we have exercise equipment here at work but seems like knowing I'm paying for it motivates me to go more. Just something to think about.......

Katy - Nope! I haven't been since August. Well let me take that back, I went in a couple weeks ago so he could show me the equipment but as per my previous post he didn't and I haven't been back since. Can't see going to walk on a treadmill when I have one at home.

Good morning all of my friends :) :) :)!!!

I am sorry I have been such a slacker.........and I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I didn't really realize it until I skimmed over this weeks posts. I love all of the new avatars........you all look so adorable!!!

I have been bad, but I think I am almost over it. If I don't get over it real quick I will be back to my starting weight.

So, I am not going to do personals right now......I am living in a disaster area (see what happens when I shop instead of housekeep), but I wanted to send big :hug:'s to everyone :) Keep up the good work :)
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Welcome back Nicole! We have missed you too! Tis the season to be busy! Try to remember to take some time for yourself! :)

Well ladies and gent... I am finally in the 230's! I WI at 239.6 this morning! What a lovely feeling!

Whoohoooo Kimberly :)

Hello there fellow LAWLers. It's been a long time since I have been on here. Thanks Nicole, for PMing me and calling me out. I wasn't ignoring you, just lots of stuff going on along with some computer problems. I had fallen off the LAWL wagon and I think out of boredom and just needing a break, took a hiatus. I did gain some weight back, but did fast forward last Thurs. and Friday, and have netted a 7 lb. loss since then, so I am back on my way. Now if I can just survive this super stressful time of year. Only 3 more weeks and I can take a breath.

I am loving all the new pics. Felicia, you look amazing!! Dan, Liz, Love the fam picture! Kimberly R., you're looking good.

Jillian- How are you doing? You sound so sad.:hug: I'm sorry that you are having to go through all this all alone. Keep your chin up hon, it has to get better.

Sherry- Good to see you.

Cathy- Congrats on the 30 lbs. I can sympathize with you, I work retail too. I am a picture framer, so we have deadlines to meet so everybody can have their presents on time.

Amylou- Good luck on your finals. I know you will be glad to get those over with.

Katy- I am really bad at getting my water in when it's cold. I drink WAY too much coffee in the winter. I know this is a debate of the COD's, but mine has said that you can drink tea and the crystal lights mixed with water to get your water in. I don't drink the crystal lights full strength and if it helps get uncaffeinated liquids into my body then what's the harm.

I see so many new faces here, and I am looking forward to getting to know everybody. I'll go back when I get a chance to see what has gone on.

Hey, has Cassi ever checked in????

Stacy- How about this recipe- only instead of making it in a pie, make it kind of like a sheet cake. just use crushed graham crackers with a little butter to hold it together instead of the pie crust. I used to make the regular version every year and really like the made over version too. I use low-fat cream cheese though because I can't handle the fat free stuff.
Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) fat-free PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. skim milk
1 Tbsp. Splenda
1 tub (8 oz.) fat-free COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
1 cup skim milk
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) fat-free/sugar-free JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Preparation:

MIX cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and the sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended.
Gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Spread onto bottom of crust.
POUR 1 cup milk into large bowl.
Add pumpkin, dry pudding mixes and spices. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

Hey, some familiar faces are returning! We all missed you Deb and Nicole.

Deb - It is good to see you back! The recipe sounds wonderful, I've used many of yours off the recipe threads as well:)

Nicole - Glad you are back to keep things stirred up. I think we are all struggling at "being good".

hey everyone. just checking in quick before i'm off to work for the night.
got a workout in today. guess between all the stressful stuff going on in my life i kinda ditched it for a while.

not much else to say really. it's good to see nicole, deb, sherry and amy(jersey) back on here.

hope everyone has a good night.

Deb, it's nice to "meet" you and thanks for the recipe. Even if I don't make it for tomorrow, I will have a try it some other time. My husband would love it! I am with you on the FF cream cheese. Yucky!!

Nicole - Good to see you back around. Enjoy this time of the year and take some time for you!

Kimberly R. - Way to go! Last week I made it into the 220's and was so excited! I know some people (not the people on here :) ) don't understand what an accomplishment this is, but I certainly do!!! Keep it up! You are doing great! Keep focused on each success and celebrate every drop!

I really liked the Key Lime Pie, also from Deb I think. I've made it twice.

I also have been not good on the water. I hadn't thought that it was related to being cold. I have been drinking way too much coffee too, which makes sense since our office tends to be overly cold, who wants to drink something cold when they are already cold.

I was far from POP yesterday. Why does the maid service have to leave us chocolates? Don't they know that I can't have that in the house without eating it? Oh well, a few chocolates, and then I was just hungry all day after that and did my best to keep the lid on the eating, but only just barely. Yesterday was supposed to be a low calorie day for me in my zig zag calorie scheme. My DH cooked dinner, in fact he had cooked 2 days in row, which I don't remember him doing that ever in the past except when I was sick or something. So of course I ate what he put on the plate, since after over a year on this plan sometime I'm thinking he doesn't want to hear about it anymore (and he just wanted some brown rice so I ate it).

I also thought Nicole on TBL looked really good. I particularly liked her transformation, since she looks a great deal like my younger sister (who more
resembles her before right now), so it was great to see her lose the weight. She has a really beautiful bone structure in her face that was not at all apparent when she was at her starting weight.

I'm still doing the zig zag calorie thing, I think it is working but I've not gotten on the scale in quite some time... I guess I've been doing more weights at the gym, and I'm afriad to know that I've put on my muscle weight.

Shannon, Just because there is one lazy guy who didn't feel like showing you around the gym is not a good reason to not go. Don't they have more than a tread mill there and a swimming pool? I find it better to have the ability to do different things, since currently my foot is bothering me a bit so I'm staying off the treadmill for awhile and doing more low impact things. It would be hard to do that if I didn't belong to the gym. Are there classes that you could attend? If you are not comfortable at that gym, perhaps there is someplace else where you would be more comfortable and actually do the working out. I would just not exercise very much if I had to just rely on doing it all by myself at home, I have an elliptical trainer, and I do use it, but probably not more than once a week. Too boring really.

They have tons of stuff there. I've been a member for almost a year now and up until August was content to just use the treadmill and pool/water aerobics. I don't know how to use the equipment and without my glasses can't see the instructions. Yes they do have classes but most are for people in MUCH better shape than I am. I've asked them a couple times now to show me the ropes - I also faxed him a copy of a workout routine I had at another gym and he just needed to show me what machines they have that are the equivalent of what I was using. He's never responded. We switched to this gym because the pool/spa area was much nicer and cleaner but not I'm thinking we should have stayed where we were. At least I knew the equipment there. I'm just frustrated with them. For $100 a month I expect more.

Shannon, 100$ a month is pretty high. I think we pay 150$ a year. I know what you mean about feeling that you are too out of shape to even bother with the classes, but you get in shape by doing them. I started with yoga and Pilates and moved my way up the fitness chain. Perhaps you should move if you are not taking advantage of their services, why pay for something you don't use. Keep looking until you find something that you will use and actually do. I'm considering getting a personal trainer to help me out, since I had a few sessions when I first joined the gym (and was horribly terribly out of shape). Not that I would pay someone a lot of money, but I could probably benefit from someone showing me a couple of different work outs to do to get me to advance. Does your gym offer anything like that or is it just the one guy who sounds like he only wants to work with the already fit?

Hi I am wondering if this is thread is open to new members to LAWL...I just started on Monday and am looking for some people to chat with to help keep me on track!

They have several personal trainers there for an additional $65 an hour. I can't afford that. My son's friend is a trainer though so I'm thinking he could show me some stuff at home. I can't get him in the gym though to show me the equipment. It would be nice if he could use my son's card and get in...hmmmm....maybe we can try that! All they can do is turn us away at the door. They do have some yoga classes but I will have to check the schedule, last time I looked it was daytime classes and I work so that was out. I'll look into that before I jump ship. I think I will call this guy one more time too.


Julz - this is where you need to be....welcome aboard!

Thanks Shannon!!! I am hoping doing LAWL along with working out at the gym near my house that this will be exactly what I need to get to my goal....My mother in law inspired me to start-she has had awesome results!!!!

It's a great plan and you'll have wonderful results if you follow the plan. Some of us (Shannon <---) have issues keeping on plan so we flounder a bit. When I first started and followed the plan religiously I lost 20 lbs very quickly. Since that time I've slacked of the exercise and decided that having pizza or burgers every now and again won't hurt....WRONG...

There are many inspirational people here who have hit their goals or are running a fast race to get there. They'll be a great help for you. So welcome and congratulations on a great choice!

Welcome Julz! I haven't been doing this program for very long, either. This site has helped me stay focused and answered a lot of questions! Way to go on making a decision to become a healthier you!! Let me know if you have any questions!

Julz, We can never have too many friends, so welcome. LAWL is a great program for getting you to make the lifestyle changes that you need to do to lose weight and be healthy. We also support each other here online with the exercising too. Welcome

Deb it is good to see you back! You've been such an inspiration to me when I looked at your pictures (I don't know if they are still up). Getting back on the healthy eating band wagon after we've fallen off is the main thing, since we are all destined to fall off on occasion. The only way to truly fail is to stop trying.

Katy - we get a lot of Blockbuster and movie theater gift cards when it's a gender neutral thing.

I am absolutely worthless at school today! I am tired and sluggish and I just feel like I need a 36-hour nap!!

Julz - :welcome:

It's really hard for me to get my water in since the weather has cooled also, I try to just keep a bottle of water at my desk and keep drinking and hopefully I get close to my 64oz.

Deb - I have that receipe also and love it! It's great for this time of year.

Hey gang...

I'm back from the prescribed fire we were conducting... There was nothing for me to do this morning, so I was released.. Now I'm back in the office and in real need of a shower.. I'm covered in soot..

Anyway.. Welcome Julz and welcome back Nicole and Deb!!

Be one with your POP, people!!! For Julz - POP means "perfect on plan"...

Kimberly - congratulations on hitting the 30's!! Great job!!

Thanks all for the warm welcome. So far I have POP....:) I did my 2 day takeoff on Mon/Tues and that was a little rough because I am not big on veggies, but today I am on more "normal"food and it has been pretty easy. The journaling and planning helps me tremendously. personal victory-we have treat days on Wed at work and there were 2 CAKES here....and I did not have one single taste:)

Julz! WTG! I know treat days and snack days are sooo hard at work! But it makes it a lot easier when you have planned everything out. The other day a girl on our team brought home made cookies to our meeting and I was about to get upset when she announced she had made healthy treats from the Weight Watchers cook book! I could have kissed her! Isn't that sweet!

Thanks....I just stay away from the treat table as much as possible:)

Funny thing too-I am acutally looking fw'd to weighing in after my first week this Saturday morning:)

Welcome, Julz! It's great to have you here!

I have got to get back on the stick! I've been tooting around for the past two weeks and fooling myself into believing that I'm still on the plan, but I'm full of crap. I've got to get back to the good stuff and start losing again! I've come too far to start slacking now!

Welcome Julz! I just restarted, so I am back to newbie too! I have to lose about the same amount as you do, so good luck to both of us! I am sure you'll do GREAT at your weigh in on Saturday. The first weigh in is great! YOu will leave there feeling like a million bucks!

Felicia, You crack me up! I think sometimes we are all full of crap about how good we are...but I'm sure we are all being much better than we used to be! Do your kids bring in lots of treats for teacher for the holidays. A teacher friend of mine (granted the woman needs to gain weight and we all see her and want to feed her a bit) says she gets a ton of sweets from her students as Christmas presents. I was sad to hear that the little boy from your class went back to the bad situation with his mom. Perhaps losing him briefly will be the wakeup call she needs to get her life back in order and she will be a better mother for him now.

Anyway, my DD is coming home tonight to do her laundry, and I'm excited to see her. Even if I will get my ear talked off about her finals and how stressed out she is. I will offer tea and sympathy... I hope all you students are not stressing out too much and taking care of yourselves. You won't get better grades by making yourself sick. OK, when did I become such a Mom? Sneaks up on you when you are not looking...

Yes, finals are the worst. I have two down, three to go! I work myself up SO bad for any kind of exam. I can't help it! It's such a relief when it's over though!

Ohhh Barbara! That sounds so great! I wonder if I take my laundry to my mom if she would do the same? (Probably not considering half of my laundry if from DH and a dirty little 2 year old!)

I am trying not to worry too much over finals. I finished one class today and have three papers to submit in another by Monday, then comes my 2 BIG finals next week, an exam Monday and a Lab practical Wednesday in Anatomy and Physiology! YIKES!

Good luck Kim!

I have two weeks of classes left, I'm done the 19th, not a minute too soon!

Good Morning Everybody! :wave:

Just a quick check in before work, wanted to say hi. I'm still doing pretty good staying POP.

:welcome: Jules

:goodluck: to all those who have finals!! I certainly do not miss that part (although I am contemplating returning to school for my RN.) and I know how the stress feels!

Here's to a great POP day!!