Good Morning Ladies and Gents - Wow I can't believe I get to start this thread. Usually it's up and running by the time I get here.

Time to begin a new week. Let's all love ourselves this week and be good to our bodies.

Have a fantastic week.

GOOD MORNING LADIES!!!!

We're back and we're well rested... And well fed, I have to tell you...

both Liz and I saw gains, but mine were worse than her's.. But I have no doubt that I'll soon be back on track.. I have a feeling a lot of the gain is in water weight for both of us, as the humidity in Florida was incredible..

Disneyworld was a ton of fun and the kiddos had a fantastic time.. I'll try and post a pic in my profile later on.

If there's one indication as to what's wrong with the food intake of our society, it's the meal plan at Disney.. We had a deluxe meal plan, which covered all of our meals AND snacks throughout the day.. If we went to a sit down restaurant with table service, we were each entitled to:
1 appitizer
1 entree
1 desert
1 drink (non alcoholic)

That's one appitizer EACH.. How the **** are we all supposed to down a full appitizer apiece???? We usually just ordered one or two and shared, especially if the choices included a green salad or shimp cocktail... The portions were big but not outrageous.. We actually ate pretty well on plan when we went to these types of restaurants.. The choices at the buffets were, of course, out of this world, but we used a bit of restraint...

The problem is that all the food is processed, so no matter what you're eating, unless it's just a bowl of lettuce, is full of fat and salt.. and I think that's also where the water retention is coming from..

The other thing about the meal plan that was kind of cool was the "snack" points.. We got 48 or 50 "snack points" to use through the week.. One point would cover a bottle of water, candy, ice cream/popsicle, bag of chips, box of popcorn, etc... So it was nice that the kids could get an occassional ice cream, but it was really nice to be able to grab a bottle of water whenever or wherever we wanted and not have to dig out 2 bucks and change to pay for it thanks to the meal plan... I lost count on the number of bottles we drank through the day, but it was a lot..

At the end of it all, we didn't use up all our meal or snack points, so we did waste some money, but it was a fantastic vacation and worth the expense..

I look forward to catching up with you all!! Did we miss anything good?

Morning everyone!

Dan- I am glad that you guys had a great time.

Laurie- Hi!

Well everyone, I could use your love and thoughts today. This morning when I woke up, my darling little dog Littles, who has been my constant companion for the last 10 years, was lying next to my bed, dead. She was getting old, and I had been getting messages for a while now that her time was coming soon, but my heart is still really hurting.

Repo - I'm so sorry about your loss. I lost my dog a while ago and know how sad it is.
There's a really good site if you need to connect with others. www.petloss.com there's a chat and message board on there.

Sending hugs your way.

Morning Everyone!!

I had a pretty rough weekend food wise. We got invited to a kids birthday yesterday and although i didnt do too bad it was still a little. I was so hungry when i got there (1st bad thing) that i hate some deep fried treats that they had, i didnt go too crazy tho but i was just too hungry and dinner wasnt ready yet.

Dan - sounds like you all had a great time, glad to hear it. Did you get to see the bugs life show in animal kingdom?

Katie - I'm so sorry

Laurie

Hope everyone has a good day.

Katie - my heart aches for you.

Dan - glad you're back and you and Liz and kiddos had a great time. I've been wanting to go to "the most expensive place on earth" for a while now. Maybe someday - I'll put it on my "to do" list.

My weekend wasn't too exciting. We're in the process of updating the kitchen so we got rid of the old stove and ordered a new one. Supposed to be delivered this Saturday. So I am stoveless for the week. Thank goodness it's grilling season and I also have the slow cooker and microwave.

Debbie - Hi. I've gone to functions where I'm just famished and make bad choices. But there are times that can't be helped. Just drink loads of water and you'll be back on track.

Katie.. I'm so sorry for your loss.. What a horrible way to start the day.. But remind yourself about the good times and companionship you and your pooch shared over the years.. You gave him a great life..

Debbie.. We saw the bugs life show and it was cool.. Danny freaked when he saw the spider, but other than that, it was fun!

Your weekend party problems serve as a good reminder for the rest of the bunch.. Load up on some plan approved food before you go to a party where you know the healthy food will be scarce... That way, your tummy is less tempted to cave into the treats...

Katie - I am so sorry! Your message made me gasp. How awful for you. I understand the constant companionship you mention. Our dogs are always at our side. They follow us from room to room, just wanting to be near us. At least she went peacefully in her sleep.

I've been totally out of commission. Went to the doctor on Thursday and he took x-rays of my neck, but nothing showed up. He decided I had a pinched nerve. It was awful pain. I went home early from work on Friday and didn't move off the couch until this morning to come back to work. I'm feeling better.

Totally off plan for the last 5 days. I'm so mad at myself. The scale was NASTY this morning. I'm way up. I've been messing around for like 2 months now. The longest I've stayed POP is 5 days in a row. I really need to get it together and get back on plan long-term so I can seriously lose some weight.

Repo - I'm really sorry about the loss. I know how it feels....I lost my dog that I grew up with from when I was born to when i was 12 years old. One of my other dogs is getting very old, so she might pass away soon. =(

Dan - Glad to hear you had a blast at Disney!!!! I went to Disneyland when I was very little, loved it. I'd love to go to Disneyworld sometime!!!

My weekend was pretty tough....my grandmother is NOT helping at all. On Saturday she brought home pizza for lunch. PIZZA! I was like "...Grandma. You know I can't have that." she actually asked me why, and forgot that I was trying to lose weight in the first place....man. Other than that, Saturday was my brother's birthday, so I went to his party. Had a chopped beef sandwich (They don't have much healthy food at Daisy Duke's, go figure) and tried to eat some potato salad, but they were so salty that I just refuesd to eat them. =) It was still a pleasant time, though.

Sunday I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned! Now I have a clean living room and clean kitchen floor...just need to clean up the kitchen itself and my bedroom and the bathroom. Not big work. But the downside is...I have come down with a NASTY case of allergies. I'm hacking and coughing so bad that I can't breathe at all, and my chest is all tight-like. My nose is all blocked up, and I'm in a fuzz because I coulldn't sleep at all last night. Not good at all...

Star - Sorry to hear you're feeling bad. Take care of yourself.

Jill - Glad you're feeling at least a little better. Pinched nerves can be so painful and elusive sometimes. You'll get refocused now that you're up and going about your daily business again.

Katie......awwwwww.....10 years..........I can only imagine how sad you are today. Do you have all of your kids there today?

Good afternoon everyone I have been bad.....and I am not going to do a speech or anything....but I am going to be good today. That is all I know...today I can do this.

I have been away a lot lately cuz I have had a lot of out of town company.....but I am hoping I can check in at least once a day. When I am here.......I do so much better!!!

Where is Amylou? And Angie.....and oh so many others? C'mon girls......summer is comming......we need to be healthy and feeling good about ourselves!!!!!!

Ok, time to go make the donuts.......WTF??? I mean time to change the laundry......... I will check back in later
XOXO

Thanks everyone. I am doing a little better now. I do have 11 kids today. Thank goodness, they are all being really good. And 3 of them go home soon.

Jill- Glad that you are feeling a little better!

Star- There is actually a restaurant called "Daisy Duke's"? That is really funny.

Heidi- Thanks for the link.

Nicole- I was actually good yesterday, and am doing pretty well today. Of course, maybe that is because I started a liver and galbladder flush yesterday and I have had to fast for it, LOL.

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't been around in awhile, I've been battling depression pretty bad as well as a hectic school schedule and life in general.

I have nothing to be depressed about, actually everything to be happy about, I just can't kick this!

My boyfriend and I had talked about getting married, and he went and got a ring. Call it cold feet, but I freaked out all of a sudden and am still unsure if I am ready for it. He's been really great about it though, he's assured me there's no rush and he's not going anywhere.

I haven't been on a scale in weeks, so I won't update tickers. I am looking forward to this summer, I need a change.

Everyone is looking so good! I love all the new pics!

Amylou- congrats on your engagement!

Repo- sorry for the loss of your pup- I can't even imagine. They're so much a part of our lives! I have two!!

Star- I too suffer from allergies- they're awful but I refuse to go on medication!

Hey Nicole! Dan! And all the other regulars!

I need to get back on this, it helps my mood tremendously!

Have a great day everyone!

Amy from NJ, Good to see you back! I hope that your depression lifts and you feel better soon. Perhaps it is just a sign that you try to do too much? I know that planning a wedding and trying to deal with school at the same time, well that is enough to put anyone on overload. I like your hair like it is in your avatar.

Katie, At least you didn't have to make the decision that it was time. That is a true blessing, since it just breaks your heart to do that.

Nicole, I was not so great this weekend either. I was listening to that guy who has the "I can make you thin" TV show, and got caught up with the whole set of 4 rules. When you are hungery, eat. Eat what you like. Eat consciously really chewing each bite and not doing anything but eating and paying attention to when you are full. When you are full stop. So anyway, rediculous that this seems like something new, and I've always known that I tend to eat too fast and often unconsiously without even paying attention to what I'm eating. So trying to break that habit will take some time. He also had a technique for reducing stress, and I found that helpful... as I did the taxes this weekend and that always stresses me out.

Dan, Welcome back. Glad you had fun in the house of the mouse. Clear the salt out and see what you really gained, which will likely not be near as bad after you are back to eating healthy again.

Hi Laurie, Hi Debbie...

Dan - I just love the bugs life show, my kids got pretty scared tho so it will be a few yrs before we attempt it again. I totally agree that we should all stuff ourselves with healthy stuff before attending all those bbqs and events that the summer brings. I was just out most of the day yesterday doing grocery and the sunday errands and just couldnt fit the time in to eat and then refused to stop somewhere to pick up something because it wasnt going to be healthy but i've learned my lesson. When i have those days i'll bring more with me than just an apple.

barbara