Lizzy - One day, one moment at a time, chica! You are dedicated to losing this weight for good, or else you wouldn't be here. :hug: I really think that NSV thread is going to be awesome for you. Honestly, hun, pick one thing you think you can improve, and work on it. Don't do that "all at once" thing, because it seems it might burn you out. (Hey check out that article Suite just posted! It might help put things into perspective!!!! http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138855) I hope you enjoy your jog! :running:

Hope - You are just awesome for talking with your friend about all the issues, and for planning ahead with your expenses! :cp: I wish I could be so open with people. I'm so glad to hear you're back on track this week and have already rid yourself of 2.5 of those pounds. And that is such an adorable picture of your dog & cat!!!! Awwww :D

Thanks for the words of support, all. I think you're right. The constant scale feedback isn't good for me. I had my boyfriend take it away for several days, but when he was leaving town the other day I had him return it. I knew the curiosity would get the best of me. :rolleyes:

It's so strange how that small piece of equipment can cause me to doubt myself so easily. I mean, I have a log of everything I've eaten, and the exercise I've done. I'm actually pretty good at writing everything down! But when I see the scale start to creep up, I start thinking "oh, maybe I binged one day and didn't realize it!" or "maybe I've eaten too much!" :o It's completely ridiculous.

The boxing is AWESOME! I have a pretty stressful job, and I tend to take a lot of the stress home with me, so this has been a perfect outlet. I've only done it a few times yet, but I seem to be a natural :shrug:. Who knew? It's a good feeling to have the instructor tell me that I have a perfect build for it, too. All these years, I thought I was only perfectly built to be a couch potato! :^: Unlike the dreadmill or elliptical, which I HATE with a passion, when I go to the boxing gym, I really feel like I leave it all there. I go in all wound up, but by the time I leave, I feel a HUGE release! And it makes me feel so STRONG :club: (or tough.... one or the other)!

-------------------------------------------

Suite----Glad to hear you did the right thing with that Latte. Right down the drain! :high: It makes an uncomfortable situation when you've said "no, thank you" but the friend buys you something anyway... Because then you feel like you have to eat/drink whatever she's bought for you, but you already said you didn't want it... Maybe she felt a little guilty for having a whole-milk beverage herself, and thought if you had one too she wouldn't feel so bad? I know I've done that before. After Thanksgiving, if my dad had an extra piece of carrot cake after dinner, I didn't feel so bad having one myself. It's ridiculous, yes, but it was how my brain was working at the time. :^:

Lizzy----I know how you feel with getting tired of planning sometimes. I feel the same way at times. Your jog will probably help a lot. I find that running clears my head a fair amount, plus you get all those feel-good endorphins! :) The other thing that helps me get back in the groove of planning is cleaning! When I'm feeling kindof "over it" as far as planning goes, I clean my house really well. By the time I'm done, I usually (for whatever reason) have a renewed energy to focus toward keeping my body healthy, too.

Aero -- thanks for the advice! I find cleaning to be a terrible chore, personally...esp with 2 cats and a dog around, cleaning is almost a joke. But, when I'm in the mood, it's a fantastic outlet!

Faerie and Suite -- yep, that article seems pretty applicable, as I slide further and further into debt, I definitely can see the tie-ins with diet. I can't think about it too much, I get too stressed and feel powerless. Blah.

IFindHope -- Wow, what a friggin cute pic of the animals! Ours are so not lovey...the house soundtrack is cat hisses and the dog whining/barking at them when they fight. I'm pretty sure it's the new kitten's fault, she likes to mess with everyone, and it seems to me like she's a big bully. I wish we could ever find them cuddling up like that!! As for you friend, so good that you worked it out with her and within yourself.

----------------------------------------

Yep, just back from my jog! Still planning on the gym tonight, as well...I have got to get off of the computer.

S

Hi Everybody,

Welcome to all the newbies, this is a great place to just sit and chat.

:?: Well WI did not go well, infact gained .2, totally second guessing myself. I was on the Wendie Plan, for the second full week, did eat all but 12 of my FP and 1/2 of my AP, and of course all my daily. I think I doing something very wrong, just going over my journal, I ate 17pts in snacks in one day. You know those 1 or 2 pt 100cal packs. :o So I pretty much know what I did wrong, now some suggestions on how I can "eat" those points wiser. I think I'm trying to have my cake and eat it too, {sorry but just popped into my head}

Sorry to be such a downer, for all the "losers" this week, Great Job :carrot:

Ya know what else, I tried something new this week, did not step on the scale all week, not until at my meeting today, I guess that didn't help much either.

Aero - That boxing sounds like so much fun :D

Liz - :hug: Just because hugs are always good.

Institches - .2 is a very teenie tiny amount. So don't stress! But you're doing the right thing by taking a look back over your week.

So, let's take a look: If you're following the Wendie Plan as posted, you should only have 5 FP left over.
+0
+5
+4
+15
+0
+4
+2
= 30
Which means only 5 should be left over. Are you following this pattern? Or have you come up with your own FP schedule? If you are following something a little different would you be willing to share with us so we might see how it works?

Okay then. Those 17pts worth of snack foods. Let's see how wiser choices could have been made:

1 oz of sunflower seeds = 4pts
2 cups of grapes = 2 pts
1 large apple = 2 pts
Cut up veggies like broccoli & baby carrots & celery with 4 tbsp of reduced fat dip = 4pts
Light String Cheese = 1 pt
Hardboiled Egg = 2 pts
A piece of 1 point bread toasted with a tbsp of Jam/preserves = 2 pts

All that food is 17 pts as well. And it's probably a lot more satisfying than those 2 pt 100 cal packs. Really, those packs are great if you're craving a little something, but they're not meant to be used with several meals a day. Even then, air popped popcorn if fantastic as a snack because you get 5 huge cups of it for only 1 point!!!! 5 Whole cups! Compare that to the amount of cheez-its we get for 100 cals.

This coming week what I think you might have to do (your homework assignment is! :lol:) to keep some quick & healthier alternatives to those 2 pt snack packs on hand and ready to go! (And buy less of the snack packs of course.)

Boy are y'all chatty today! :chat:

sonja - I've been dragging my feet on the writing everything out front too. Somehow I find it easier to do here on the boards than in my little journal at home. No idea why.... WTG on the jog, and have fun at the gym tonight!

tarah - Glad to hear you got your friend situation sorted out. :hug: and OMG your dog and cat are adorable!! I'd love to have a dog but I think it would terrorize my poor cats. I have to tell one of my cats "you're lucky you're cute" far too often, the little bugger :p

aero - Yes! What's wrong with us that we do everything right and when the scale doesn't budge, we blame ourselves? Our conscious actions? You're doing GREAT, and make sure you remember that, even when the scale doesn't. And yeah, I do that "group rationalization" thing too, which is why it's good to hang out with people who are concerned with healthy eating :) Influence is good!

institches - wow, 17 points of 100 calorie packs! I can totally understand though, I knew those weren't for me when I ate through almost a whole box in one day. I just kept rationalizing it... they're 100 cals! I can have another! etc etc. Faerie has some great suggestions for snacks and they'd be just as easy to grab when you're in need if you take some time to prep ahead! The 0.2 gain is nothing, you'll be over it by the next time you weigh :)

Faerie - you're just so helpful! I loved reading your snack ideas even though they weren't for me. Made me want to go get some veggies to munch on :p

I don't have anything new to add, just wanted to respond to people! :D

you guys are just fabulous.
just got back from the gym and completely stuffed my face with my planned dinner! so hungry!
OP day so far, though. :D

Frrrrrrriiiiiiiiddddaaaaaaayyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Yahoo, Flexers! It's FRIDAY! The weekend is alllmmoooost here! :carrot:

Suite - I often just type to respond :) I'm glad you liked the snacks. I'm sure we could all come up with a TON!

Lizzy - WTG on your OP day! :hug: Hope everything continued to be okay! ^^

---

So, I'm in a good mood. Dropped 3.6 this week. Got another 5 lb star to stick on my bookmark that's on the fridge. I'm so close to my halfway mark of about 90 lbs that I can taste it! (And it's 0 points! :lol: Oh... ww humor... ;))

I'm also REALLY close to being 1 year on program!!!!! 2 more weeks and I'll have been making healthy changes in my life for an entire year. That's really the milestone for me. In my head, at least, it's as though... if I can make it just one year, then I can do this for the rest of my life. This also means that I have two more weigh-ins before the 19th :lol:. I'd love to get 90 by that point, but we cannot control the scale, so I'll be happy with whatever it is. I'm sure I'll gush uber about this on the 19th, so I'll save it all for then, but I'm just getting excited about it and had to let it out a little.

Non-weight related issues:
I've been getting really... kind of angry about this: My roommate has called out from work for 3 occurrences in just 2 weeks. We work at the same company, but in different departments (thank all that is good and holy...). She was out for 4 days last week. (M, T, W & then F) And this week she called out Yesterday & Today. AND SHE'S NOT SICK. That's right. She just stayed up too late every night playing video games. Now... I'm a gamer, too, but I know when to suck it up and go to work anyway if I didn't get enough sleep. She got fired from her last two jobs for ... guess what? ... NOT GOING! And I'm pissed because she'll at least get a huge warning for it, and at most get a pink slip.

First of all, I'm mad at myself for ever getting an apartment with her. Lots of reasons, but I should have realized that she's always going to be irresponsible. With money & with her job. Secondly, I'm mad that we have one month left (May) on our lease so if she does get fired, I don't know how she's going to pay bills. Her disregard of the fact that MY finances are now under pressure because of HER actions... ARG! And lastly, we had already discussed earlier and agreed that we'd get a new lease for 5 more months so that we'd both move out after I got married (in October). And if she's going to get fired then I need to find a place right-quick by the end of May that I can go for the 5 months before my wedding.

Deep breath. Sorry for the huge 2 paragraph rant, but I'm steaming. :mad: She's just SO inconsiderate. I swear most days I just want to hit her in the face. Okay... okay... I'm a little better now. *sigh* Thanks for letting me get this all out :o Don't think less of me! >_< :lol:

Anyway, back to happy thoughts!... ahem :)

My fiancé and I are checking out one last Bed & Breakfast this weekend to see how it might work for the wedding. We'll then go over money stuff and make a decision! Dun dun DUUUUUN! :D I'd actually like to let you all know where we decide to have it. So I'll do that as soon as we know ^^

I hope you all are having marvelous (financial problem-free) days! ;)

shrink - Mmm, planned dinner. :D Gotta love knowing that you have a big, satisfying meal waiting for you even though you're trying to lose weight. Hope the rest of your evening went well!

Faerie - Hey, way to go! You are SO close to the 90lb mark, that is so fantastic! And what a loss for the week!! I'm so excited for you! :woohoo: As for your friend... that must be tough. I can't even fathom just... not going to work... repeatedly... because I stayed up too late. :rolleyes: It's kind of counter-intuitive. Does she have some money saved? Can you ask her somehow about it, say that you're concerned for her and want to make sure she'll be okay if the worst does happen? (but of course you're secretly concerned with paying rent....) Jee, I hope it works out okay. Hey, maybe slip her a sleeping pill with dinner, she'll be out like a light by 9 and ready to go to work in the morning! Then she won't get fired! :lol:


I started my day this morning with a nice NSV, though I'm saving it for our NSV thread :) I feel kinda weird because despite all the freakin' water I've been drinking I know I'm holding a lot right now (as particularly evidenced by the way my wedding ring is fitting). I'm not sure what's happening in there. My NSV leads me to want to be optimistic about my weigh-in tomorrow but I know that the reality is this is the week I ought to expect my hormonal gain, I usually see a maintain or up a pound. That might be the reason for the water holding too. Who knows. I wish there was like... a device... that plugged into you somewhere and would give you a readout like "sodium levels high" or "repairing muscle" or "hormones wonky" so you could know just what the heck was going on. All this guesswork drives me crazy.

I am SO happy it's Friday, guys, you have no idea.

WOOOOOO! :dizzy:

Have a good day everyone!

Suite - Way to go on your NSV! I hope the WI goes well ^^ :goodluck: If you invent that device, let me know! I'd love to plug it in on those "up" weeks just to make sure it's something out of my control. So that I don't drive myself bonkers :dizzy://About the roommate. She doesn't have any money saved. (And is constantly complaining about how she can barely afford things... oh like her new car. :rolleyes:) I did talk to her last weekend to make sure she was okay physically. You know what, I'm not far off from trying that sleeping pill idea!!! :rofl:

Hi guys. I need your support today. I have been consistenly losing and things have been going pretty good, until this week. I have been following a simplified version of the Wendy plan. I have been drinking all of my water, trying to make sure I get all of my fruits and veggies, protein, milk etc. Also, this week I have exercised every day at least 10 minutes usually more like 35. However, I got on the scale (yes, I'm addicted to it) this morning and I am up 2 pounds....My weigh in day is tomorrow morning. If I truly have a gain, this will be my first. I'm not sure what went wrong. People at work have had all kinds of goodies - chocolate and doughnuts, and I havent eaten any. (I keep picturing them glued to my rear) So, now, I'm wondering what I have done wrong....I feel like crying. Have any of you ever experienced an unexpected weight gain? No, its not tom - I have had a hysterectomy. I cant think of anything that would have caused this. I havent even had extra salt. I'm sorry this is so long and such a downer. Thanks for listening.

Dawn

Dawn - First lots of hugs :hug: :hug: :hug:
Second, we're not actually sure that it is indeed a gain. Tomorrow might look very different!
Third, let's look at what you've been doing. Exercising, eating right, being healthier. Sometimes our weight does strange things that has NOTHING to do with what we've been eating. There sometimes isn't any reason that we will ever know of that caused a gain. I wish I could say evil magical weight goblins put it on, and at least then we'd have a reason and just accept it for what it is. Mandalinn (a member I look up to very much so) has a quote in her signature that goes something like this. "We use the scale, because it is convenient, NOT because it is an accurate measure of our success." The scale is just a number. The scale does not high-five us if we've been healthier, and moving more, and taking in more water. It just spits out a number. In reality, perhaps you've lost fat this week, but retained water, or your body is repairing itself from all the exercise you've been doing. We don't know! Remember: FEEDBACK, NOT FAILURE!

Finally, and I believe most importantly. This may be the single hardest week of your entire weight loss. Seeing that gain may "break" you, or "make" you. It's how you react to this that will make every single little bit of difference between continuing to soldier on, and stopping where you stand.

Please let me tell you about my experience with my first gain week. I had done well that week. Nothing extraordinary, nothing out of ordinary. I hadn't weighed myself at home or anything so I didn't see it coming. I stepped up onto the scale at meeting... Up the tiniest little bit. .4 . Hardly anything... that little .4 staring at me. I was shocked... confused... a little scared... I felt a million things running through me as I stood on that scale for longer than I should have. Perhaps the weigh-in lady thought I was crazy. As quickly as I could muster I said "Oh.. OK" and grabbed my things to go sit down in meeting. I was disappointed. I was worried. I was embarassed. I sat down before meeting and thought in that empty room. At first I thought about what I had done wrong, disappointed that maybe I just goofed something up... I was doing everything right, it turns out. Then I worried about what if I've gone as far as I ever will... looking back now... how silly I was being. Then I was embarrassed having to deal with the fact that I gained... even a little... that week, but I shouldn't have been, because EVERYONE gains. Finally, relief. ... That's right. Relief. I knew when I began WW that at some point I'd have to face a gain. Straight on in the face. I knew that I was facing it right now. And that how I decided to deal with it right that very moment as I was sitting alone in that room was going to determine the way that I faced this long road of losing weight and continuing to be healthier forever. It was okay to be upset,... it was not okay to quit. It was okay to feel disappointed, ... it was not okay to let that disappointment keep me from continuing to be healthier.

If you can move on from your first gain, you can move on from every gain after. Those gaining weeks have helped me prepare for my future maintaining far more than every loss week I've had. Those gaining weeks are a blessing in disguise. Trial by fire weeks.

Am I still disappointed when I gain in a week? Of course I am! I'm human! But, I look back and see how far I've come already including all those weeks that I've gained, and look forward to see how much further I can go if I just keep stepping forward, and that disappointment is lessened greatly.

This is a blunt question, but we all have to face it with our first gain week. Will I quit & fail... or will I continue despite this setback & succeed?

Faerie,

Thank you for the inspirational and meaningful response. Yes, I will continue. I have to keep going for my health. I want to have a long, healthy and happy future. I am prediabetic. I guess I expected to see a loss today because I have every other week. I am very picky about my points - a points miser:) So, I thought a gain wouldnt happen to me. I honestly knew it would happen at some point, just not for a long, long time. I guess we will wait and see what truly happens tomorrow and then let it go. I think I will have to reevaluate the way I have been breaking out my flex points. I just talked to my husband also....He said that maybe I need to change my workout around, that maybe my body has adjusted to what I am doing. So, I guess I will be trying something different, maybe I will get an aerobics tape.

Thank you again for the support. I seem to be having a pitty party day.

Dawn

Dawn,
Let us know what happens :hug: We'll all be here no matter what! :yes:

You can have your pity-party, we certainly all need them some days, just don't let it turn into an "end-of-the-world" party ;) :lol:

Dawn, just like Faerie said, we all have gains, but it's what we do after we get the news, that will make the differance. Faerie knows her stuff, she is a smart cookie :hug:

Faerie congrats on your weight loss this week :bravo: :dancer:, good for you WTG ;)

Thank You Faerie for all those helpful hints, I think I just needed a reality check. Yes, Suite those packs are so handy, and they can add up quick, that day was my all time high/low which ever way you want to look at it, I actually looked over the rest of my week, so I can see where I can improve. A great start is all those snack ideas, they will help alot, I wrote them down, and plan to use them when I need some new suggestions. :carrot: I do not plan to buy any for a while, and I know I can not have those mini rice cakes, in the mint flavor, VERY bad idea, I had. They were on sale, next time will not give in to so many! Thanks for the shot in the arm, I need that :grouphug:

Well, No I did not make up my own plan, I googled wendie plan and a whole bunch of entries came up, so I just went down the list and tried to find out some information on this plan. The lady actually broke down for every daily point values. So for me it went like this- Day one for me was Friday, {day after WI, another suggestion}

29/-1
43/+13
28/-2
32/+2
30/0
28/-2
33/+3 +13for wk/ and I used 10 more/ +23 for week

it also stated not to eat any AP on high days unless hungry (which I was not)
and on your low days to eat all, I only ate 1/2. Faerie, can you tell me where that post is, maybe I would have better results with the plan you are on.

Faerie-Sorry your room mate is giving you so much gief, I sure hope she realizes that they can fire her, before it's too late. Sounds like alot of un-needed stress. Have fun at the other BB you plan to visit ;)

Suite-I would Love to get one of those handy devices too, let me know :carrot:

Hope everyone has a great Friday :exercise: