Good for you, Dee! I hope you're back to your healthy self soon.

OMG!!!!!
I'm super excited to see this support group.
I joined in September 2012 when I had decided that it was time for me to look after myself for a change. The kids are older and I've focused on them most of the time.
When I joined there were three people around and no one around for support. All the treads were 'dead' and there was hardly any activity.
I ended up joining a suppport group on line and no one is doing LAWL and never heard of it. Sometimes no one even posts anything and I'm the only one keeping that thread alive.
I came back to respond to a thread ( I was searching for some info for someone and have been looking all over the place for it.... I recently moved) and I found an active site!
I'm thrilled.
I hope there is room for me in your discussions. I'll post everyday and update often.... it keeps me on my toes.
I just did a TO two days ago.

Hey Shy, the more the merrier! I have noticed a lot of LAWL diet followers live in Canada. I understand they still have some centers up there. Do you go to a center, or are you buying your supplies online?

I am trying the new numbered plans, and while the weight isn't falling off of me, it is a pleasant, healthy way to eat, and I know I need to be patient. It took me almost seven years to put this weight back on (luckily not ALL of it, but about 2/3 of it), so I should not expect to get it off of my body in a month. The colored plans I used at the center will be a backup plan if I feel like I need a boost.

I spent way too long feeling resentful that my LAWL center and my gym closed within a year of each other. I was in great shape when I went to LAWL and worked out almost every day for an hour. Now I am in my early 50s and getting my workouts back to hour-long sessions hasn't happened yet. We had a new gym open in the area last June, but it is not quite as nice as the old one. I liked the Freemotion strength training equipment better at the old gym. Oh well, it is definitely better than nothing.

I will try to post every day, even if it is just to say hello to everyone.

HI Tracy!
Thanks for the warm welcome.....
I didn't realize a lot of the dieters are from Canada. My centre closed down four years ago along with my paid for bottles of TO and a few boxes of bars! Oh well. That's my new attitude now... 'Oh well. What can I do about it now?"

Don't get me wrong. It took me a while to get to this point. Here's a little history....
I joined about a year before my centre closed down and was doing the coloured plans. I had gained a lot of weight with my last pregnancy and needed to do something about it. I had never dieted in my life and was looking for a long term lifestyle change. Not a fad diet. Then I found LAWL and their approach seemed practical. I liked the fact that I could incorporate my own ethnic foods in as well.... although this took me a while to figure it out.

I was on and off again a couple of times as I had to take time off for personal reasons.

Every thing was good and I was successful at losing my weight but I only had six weeks of paid services left to do my stabilization and maintenance. Unfortunately I couldn't make the last few meetings and my time ran out. I was doing well on my own and DH decided to take a trip to Paris for a conference and I got to go along! Needless to say that a few of the rich sauces started to take it's toll on me and when I got back, I continued the downward trend. I always kept saying to myself that I'll enjoy a few of the things in excess and get my thrills out... I can always to to the centre and get my TO and lose the extra 10 lbs I put on.

Unfortunately, when I did go a month or so later, the centre was closed. I felt stranded and at a loss of what to do. Somehow I thought I had to do the TO just to get my body back into 'losing' mode. I used that excuse for a long time and I even found TO online and ordered it from someone. I think it was expired and it didn't do much for me. I was disappointed to say the least. This attitude / lifestyle continued and I slowly put back most of the weight I lost...

This is taking too long... I'll continue later. I've got company coming over and need to get a few more things done.
I also have to learn how to update my information.

Sorry I've been MIA. I came down that Norovirus stomach flu yesterday. I am now on the "I can't eat anything but a couple of crackers without feeling sick" diet. I may just postpone the TO I had intended to start on Tuesday!

HI All,

I'm still struggling with the lung infection part of my cold/flu/pre pneumonia thing I went through. I'm not losing much but I'm not really trying to diet. I just want to be well again so I'm trying to maintain. I'm going to see an alternative health care person to see if I can fix myself up that way. It's been well over a month and a half.....very frustrating! Good luck all!

I hear ya, Dee. Getting over this virus has been a bear. Not that the fever and nausea lasted very long; it is the fatigue and inability to make myself eat much that has lingered. I know I will NOT need a Take Off session this week like I had planned!

Hi Guys...
I know I just joined and stated that I will post everyday. That was my intention and I do still plan on doing so...
I'm leaving for a vacation where I'll be surrounded by food constantly. I'm not going to deprive myself. I knew I was going for the last two months and I have been trying hard to lose all the Xmas weight and get down to where I am. I just dropped another dress size and had to spend the last three days shopping for new clothes. What a great feeling!
Anyways... I know I will gain some weight and will need your support and encouragement when I get back. I'm gone for two weeks and I'm leaving tomorrow.

I have not updated my profile yet nor have I finished telling my story.

Basically I'm 2 lbs shy of my goal. I thought that I would make it before I went away but, given the quick suppers I've been coming up with for the last few days, I'm grateful that I've maintained it.

Starting weight: 165.0 lbs (and this was after I was doing LAWL here and there and not really committed.... I was much more than that one year ago!)

Current weight: 142.0 lbs
Goal weight: 140.0 lbs

** total pounds lost; 23.0 lbs
*** this is since I've been keeping track daily starting September 16, 2012

Good luck to everyone and I'll check in when I get back.

Shy, I think you will be our official role model! Good for you on buying smaller clothes. Have a great vacation.

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Well Hi Ladies,

It's nice to see folks on the forum. I was somewhat active last year as I re-started the program in Jan 2012. Like many of you, I'd had success in 2005, again in 2007, again in 2008 - notice the trend Not permanent loss, but up and down - and then my center closed.

I was up to 266 # last Jan and decided it was time to do something about it. I ordered the new program from the online business (well actually over the phone). And got the LA favorites pack at a great price (2 bottles of Take off and 8 boxes of bars once a month). The weight did come off pretty easily. And when ever we'd have busy times or travel, I just wouldn't worry about it. By about March or April, my hubby joined me. By August we'd both lost about 33 pounds. But then life got crazy. I did well maintaining for a while. But some personal difficulties and work insanity lead to the McDonald's diet and I found myself back up in the 240s (and poor hubby had put back on most of what he'd lost in the first place).

So, it's back on track for us. Did kickoff on Mon/Tue and have been following menu 3 for Wed/Thur. Weight's working it's way down slowly. And I feel great. I'd forgotten just how yucky I feel when I eat yucky vs how great I feel when I eat better.

First goal, with maybe 5 weeks as the target, it to get back to the low point on my "ticker" . And then onward and downward.

Good luck to everyone else.

I'm not the best about checking in daily, but I'll do my best to stop by once or twice a week.

Take care.

I'm back to Take Off on Monday. My daughter came home for the weekend from college, so I will just try to keep the unhealthy food to a minimum.

I lost little weight when I ddn't feel like eating much for a week, but now I need to get back into my routine. I didn't go straight back to LAWL eating becaues I was having a bit of trouble eating a lot of protein after that stomach virus. I switched to my old WW 1-2-3 Success program for a week to keep a handle on my eating but not be so structured.

Have you guys heard about grab1 bars? They were developed by some people who were on LA years ago and had the bars replicated. I just got a box of them (assorted) and they are pretty good. Cheaper than LA brand bars, but VERY similar stats! I am going back and forth between LA and WW. Have to get on board with one of them soon! Glad to see you guys on this board again!

I've used them a lot. The Caramel and Caramel Deluxe flavors are great, the Chocolate Crunch was a bit disappointing, and the Berry Blast bars were awful, in my humble opinion. If you find a flavor you like, they are a great value, with free shipping as well.

I, too, have been going back and forth between LAWL and my favorite WW points program, 1-2-3 Success. I like that particular WW program because it doesn't have the Flex points and you have to earn a maximum of ten splurge points by saving points from other days. I found that I cheated a lot on the newer points programs by thinking exercise was more strenuous than it really was. I don't want to exercise just to be able to eat more.

LAWL is ideal, but I often need more flexibility when I am sick and can't fix all of the foods from scratch. The WW program is a good back up.

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