Meegs-My mom asked too....it's great that they are being so supportive. We do an open house on Christmas eve with all kinds of snack foods and the stuffed mushrooms are one of my favorites!

Chicks -

Meegs -Take me with you. It is 14 degrees here, with the cloud factor, it's like 3 degrees. I need a fireplace now and some kind of Christmas warm drink.....
All your moms sound very supportive - thats so nice. Mine is too but she loves me puffy and thinks I'm prettier that way - go figure? If only everyone could see us thru our mothers eyes huh?....lol
Christmas Eve is DH's family at our house....which will be easy becuz we are doing the party sub combo meal with additional goodies. Christmas Day is my family with a more traditional dinner with everyone bringing a dish.
later.....

Hi Everyone! :wave:

I weigh in today, but last I checked I lost almost 10 lbs. in my 1st month with LAWL! That's ten pounds I would still have it on me if I had not walked into the center that day...YIPPEE! This past week I lost almost 4 lbs! I started using the LA Lites and maybe that made all the difference?!? Anyway I'm thrilled. :D

How was everyone's weekend? It is just freezing here in Wisconsin. I was out with my horses on Saturday and Sunday for most of the day and it took hours for the chill to go away after I came inside. BRRRRRR! :sman: (This is how I felt!) Someone had asked about my furry friends...I have 1 horse (a 900lb. baby - only 20 months old! :eek: )...I take care of 15 horses every weekend. All my children! :lol:

LAWL has really helped me when I think about this time last year I would never drink this much water or eat balanced meals. It was normal to eat starches all day and nothing else and I'm staring to understand to process. I'm just really grateful that I found LAWL and all you great chicks! :thanks:

Meegs - Congrats on being half way to your goal! You Go Girl! :cb:

Diane :flow1:

Hi everyone. Sounds like most of us are having the same holiday eatting struggles that will be continuing thru the New Year. Tomorrow is our office party and I'm doing to do my best. I hate to admit it here, but I think I deserve a few holiday cookies or some type of goodies since I've been very careful since April being on LA. I feel that I've had a great year, still have those last few pounds to get off - but that will be my New Year's resolution. I belong to a small gym and they are closing for a 4 day weekend. So, I can't feel guilty for not going if they are not opened, right!

Jen: My DH asking me not to make cookies this year so I didn't have that temptation this year. There will be plenty of other peoples cookies around, right! I'm a dough eatter so I'm just as glad not having to make them, on the other hand - I miss the baking? So, I want my cake and eat it too. LOL!

Fiona: Glad I'm not the only one that has those stressful days when I don't get enough sleep. Glad DD is feeling better. I don't think I could ever take out my bad mood on a child. What a wonderful Christmas it will be for all who have children. Enjoy every minute of it.

Star: Your right, we are in this together. I love the article on the angles.

Meegs: Have a great time in FL. Wow, what would it be like feeling some warmth from the sun? Star, are you wanting to go with her as much as me? Yesterday it got down to -9 degrees. I have to admit we have had a pretty mild winter here in Upstate NY so far. Burr. Meegs, I work for a power company and it was 58 degrees in our office most of the day yesterday. Man, is that cold for inside! Hope your heat it fixed by now.

Hey you all, I found the cutest gift/toy for a small child. It's made by Fisher Price. It's round like a ball, but is suppose to be a dog. You press the heart on the front and it makes soft sounding barking noise, and then shakes up and down. I tried it out at WalMart and couldn't put it down. It's the cutest thing. I'm glad I have someone to give it to because DH would have thought that I'd lost my mind if I just purchased it with no one in mind. You'd have to try it yourself in order to get that big smile on your face like I had. Sorry, I just had to share. I wrapped it and had to unwrap just to show DH last night. He enjoyed it too.

Have a great day. Oh, didn't post yesterday. Had printer problems on home computer last night and DH can't work at home without his printer. Was on the phone with support for 1 1/2 hours do didn't have time to post. Now that things are settling down, should be able to join in during the day once in a while. Take care, Sy

Good morning, chickies!

Well, the weather has moderated today, thank goodness. It's actually supposed to almost reach 50 tomorrow and Thursday (it'll feel like summer)!

Diane, how terrific to be down 10 pounds already! And, yes, I think LAWL has definately helped me this holiday season - this year I'm not waiting until January 2 to start my diet. (And you know, chickies, how much help you've been to me!) What are you going to do about the other horses once you move to Texas?

Sy- as Star said, it is the Holidays! They only come once a year, and they are a time to celebrate family and friends - so yes, enjoy the treats! I wish I had a small child to give a toy to - most of the children in my family are teenagers.

Star - we're having Popeye's fried chicken at Mom's on Friday (love them biscuits), and then I'm invited to a traditional dinner on Saturday. I think the plan is to just leave white space on the plate. And maybe I'll sneak in a fruit salad . .

Hugs and skinny vibes!

I'm still here!
 

Hi chicks! I am still around; reading every now and then. It's been a very crazy season for me as I've been dealing with some medical issues lately. So, even though I haven't posted in awhile I still celebrate your losses and sympathize with all the other challenges that are faced!

I couldn't believe the other day "Candy" from my center actually called. It had been 6 1/2 weeks since I've been in and she just now calls to check in on me. I told her the truth...that I just didn't care for their center; that I felt like they were not concerned with helping me in my endeavors but rather getting whatever cash they could out of me. She said she was sorry I felt that way, and wanted me to come to the center to talk about it, and that if I came back in I could start where I left off without the missed weeks. I told her I wouldn't be able to get in until after the holidays, as I was leaving out of town, so she said to think about it and if I wanted to, to just come by. I will think about it, but I just do not look forward to seeing anyone at that center (and it's the only one around). We'll see.

I have been trying to get back into the gym but so far I have only been able to make it in 2-3x/week. A month ago I developed some serious dizziness/nausea issues and am getting some treatment for it which calls for not moving my head around too much. I have been having some dizzines on and off for the past 1 1/2 years, and found it to be linked to a disorder called "benign proximal positional vertigo"...which basically means I have rocks in my head! Seriously, though...I have these "rock-like" deposits in my semi-circular canals in my inner ear that, when my head is in certain positions gets me spinning around like crazy with loss of balance, and most recently, nausea too. Finally went to a neurologist who confirmed my diagnosis and the treatment is physical therapy to put myself in a series of head positions to more or less move the rocks to other areas. I am going for an MRI tomorrow to rule out anything else. So, I was off work for a week, developed pink eye at the same time, and now I am dealing with some acute bronchitis. All this in the middle of trying to get started on our house building; we now have a dirt pad built up, our house plans have been turned into the county for a permit, and we've been interviewing contractors and talking with banks. I've just been a big crazy mess this season! I know I have gained some weight back, as my clothes are a little tighter. I am not stressing on the weight issue right now, I know I will get back on track in due time.

I will be leaving for Arizona on Thursday to see my folks. Right now I am just looking forward to seeing some sunshine. It has been so foggy and gray here lately it is putting even more of a downer in my days! I really think I get that "seasonal affective disorder" (SAD)...I need some sun to function better, but lately my whole body feels like it's turning against me!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! I know it is so hard and challenging with all the holiday festivities going on. Everyone keep in mind what the holidays are all about, enjoy yourselves and time spent with friends and family, and remember that tomorrow is a new day!

Keep safe & God bless!

Amy-
Glad to hear from you, missed your posts!

I always knew you were alittle dizzy but cute - never dreamed there was a medical reason behind it......lol

Take care and stay in touch....By the way, when your ready to re-start on plan - we will be here (but we'll still be dizzy).....HUGS

Hi Star and Amy:

Man, don't you hate that stomach keep poping up each time you log in? Do others see it too? Moderator - see what you can do to get rid of that thing will you?

Amy: My sister's center calls her if she doesn't show up for a week so it's seems like standard pratice. I'm glad you told the person why you haven't been back. I hope you rethink and get back to the center despite them and do it for yourself. Maybe you just needed the break. Man, we all need that at some point. Sorry you've been ill. Hope your on the mend. Would be horrible flying if your dizzy. Who knows where you'll end up. LOL! Sorry, nothing to laugh about. Have a great time in AZ. Man, why does all my family live in Upstate NY? Why not FL or AZ or someplace where they would visit me in the summer and I could trade and visit them in the winter months? I need some new out-of-town (in selected states) friends. LOL! Enjoy you holidays!

Hi Star, things are pretty quiet today. What's up with that? Everyone must be partying or shopping. Hope it's partying... I'm hungry again today, probably all the talk about the food for our office party tomorrow. I already ate all my fruit for the day. Everything else is on schedule (plan) but the water just isn't going down. Now that I said it, I will take a sip. Cheers to you Star.

Hey, have to share this. DH was going to the mall, probably his 3rd time this year. I asked him to pick up some gloves for my Mom for Christmas and HE DID IT, got the right color and the exact gloves I was looking for. Man, he's a sweetie - 1 thing less I have to do. I know that I'm sick, and actually get excited when I get some help! Have a great afternoon and if you haven't, get a drink of water - here's to all of you. Cheers!

Sy

Amy, Sy,Julie and Diane,

Amy, now that Sy said it, I didn't mean to make light of your condition. Just trying alittle humor....hope you get better (really).
Julie, we use to get Popeyes chicken in Texas, but not here in Michigan - geez my hubby and sons loved that stuff......About portion control (not that I should even try to share advice at this point), last wedding I went to I used my big plate for salad and my little plate for other stuff, that worked real well for me and the salad was good too.
Sy, Yes the board is very quite today. I suppose chicks are shopping, cooking, etc. sure do miss reading all the posts....I truly feel out of place posting on here right now. I'm less than on plan and I don't even want to look at my LAWL gold plan or diary.....What I really want to do is just enjoy the holidays with everyone else and not worry about eating no more than 12 ounces of protein a day,etc. (You know the food choices). I guess I don't want to spread my "mood" with you all that are doing better than me.
Diane, Congrats on your loss...keep up the good work......you are gonna be one great looking bride!
Hugs....

Hey Amy, great to hear from you! I hope you can work things out with your center. As far as the "SAD" goes, my mom is the same way. Not severely like some people can be, but just kind of gets depressed and irritable during the winter months when everything is more gray and dreary. She has found that full-spectrum lights really help, and she's asked for a pair of finches for Christmas because she thinks that their chirping will help her "think spring" :D I hope she's right!

Sy - thanks for your great post - I'm going to go fill up my water bottle right now!

Fiona

Star - you posted while I was typing I guess! You can be my not-quite-on-plan buddy, if you like. :D I haven't written in a diary in weeks and weeks...I'm actually kind of starting to miss it, if that's possible. Now, let me tell you, I did let myself "enjoy the holidays" to my heart's content over the weekend, and now I'm seeing the results in the scale and really wondering if it was worth it?!? :?: It's not the protein that gets me, it's the #$%&* starches!!! I should have loaded up my plate with turkey the other day (even if it was deep fried!) rather than stuffing and potatoes and pie! I enjoyed that dinner for oh, a couple hours? But I'm going to be fighting off the FOUR pounds I gained for the next week or more. :mad: I'm not going to be able to turn away the Christmas goodies entirely, or I'll be the grumpiest person at the table and I don't want to bring down everyone with me (!) but I'm definitely going to weigh my options very carefully and at least practice some moderation. :shrug:

Hope my "been there done that, not sure if it was worth it" perspective helps you out!

Fiona

Good afternoon ladies-

Amy-good to hear from you again, but sorry about all of your medical troubles. Hope you get to feeling better soon and will be able to enjoy the holiday!

Sy- I'm with Fiona, thanks for the reminder about water...i had pop (or soda, depending on your location :-) at lunch when I usually drink water, so I'm behind now. I too jsut filled up my water bottle.

Star- I wouldn't worry about you spreading your 'mood' around here...we have lots of stuff to talk about besides food and dieting all the time. I think I speak for all of us when i say that you brighten the room with your posts and we like to read them regardless of content...that being said, of course you belong here!

Take care,
Jen

Okay - My pity party is over....I'll enjoy the holidays and catch back up with you smater ones after my holiday fling........
It's not likely you'll get rid of me that easy. Last year I was on plan, went off to have eye-lift surgery, but posted for like 2 motnhs while I wasn't even on plan. Ofcourse I gained alot of weight back, but picked back up where I left off and lost it again. So Jen, you are right, this thread isn't all about LAWL.......lol
Hugs Chicks..........

Now that sounds like the Star we know and love!

Kristi- I agree totally about not beating ourselves up...i suffered some guilt from my bad weekend, then decided I wasn't going to worry about...like you i'm going to do the best I can over the next few days and definitely not worry about it while I'm with my family.

We are expecting a storm here tonight around 6-10 inches...everyone around here is freaking out like we've never had snow before...whatever...