Ok, thanks for the responses ladies on the WW points. It is 22pts, plus 2 extra for milk per day. Then of course she has the 35 flex points per week.

She is such a great kid. She is sweet, kind, smart, funny and pretty. I just want her to be all she can be and I know she feels odd because she is 3 - 5 inches taller than all the girls in her class....and dealing with a weight problem doesn't help with mean girls roaming the halls. I have found her sneaking food, which worries me. Now that I have a handle on my food and my life, I am praying that she will see a more positive role model.

I am trying to keep up here.. You all are making it so hard!

Faerie - I loved reading your story. About Paris, we plan on seeing some typical things (Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Seine) along with some not so typical things such as Jim Morrison's grave. Your wedding menu sounds delish!

Nessa - I'm sorry about Bagel. But I LOVED the picture of you in your new jeans!! Go you!

Jaime - Sounds like you're doing the right thing for yourself and your company by posting less. That's why I haven't been around as well. I've been swamped at work and the last thing I want to do when I get home from work is get online. Ugh.

mandos, ladyscorpio, Snoopysgirl, luvin2lose, ssflbelle and kestrel - Welcome!

mod - I disagree that you don't fit in because you're trying to gain. Truth be told you're gaining and watching your weight due to it. Therefore, you're still a weight watcher and still one of us. Great news on the baby's heartbeat.

Lizzy - You're so close to goal! Keep it up, girl.

==============================================

I just saw this comment from CakeBatter:

My journey is unique, like anyone else's, but fits in with the typical story. I could summarize it with "diet and exercise" but there's so much more to it than that. I've been at this for over 2 years. I started on my own and learned everything I could about eating healthy, macronutrients and making the right choices. I've been overweight my entire life and this was the first time I ever cared about what I ate. That was June of 2006. By December of 2007, I joined WW at the beginning of the month. I was doing fine on my own but I felt alone. I needed a group, I needed a push and I needed people to be accountable to. I also needed support in weak moments. WW helped me to learn more about portion control.

When I first started my journey in mid-2006, I did not start going to the gym right away. After a few months and 20 pounds lost, I added in some exercise. The most I could do was 10 minutes on the elliptical machine or 15-20 minutes walking. I remember the first time I completed a 20 minute program on the elliptical trainer. I stumbled out of the gym and called my mom in tears to tell her all about it. I still remember how, at 320 pounds herself, she just didn't get it. I am now proud to say I'm active frequently with or without the gym. I do go to the gym but I'm active in other ways as well. For instance, I went on an 8K hike on Saturday. I am also proud to say that my mother, after seeing my success, joined Weight Watchers today. Well, tonight. Her meeting is at 6PM EST.

Outside of all this success and good story, my journey has been about struggle. I'm not going to lie. This is not the easiest thing in the world to do. I have a choice to make between the new me and the old me approximately every 20 minutes. Every time I eat or want to eat, I have to remember: It doesn't come naturally to me. The only thing that comes naturally to me is what I knew my entire life, which was "eat as much of whatever you want." I constantly have to train myself to want new things. But I'm never going back. Like Faerie, I grew up as an overweight child where I was 200+ by 12 or 13. I think it's a very special circumstance to have always been overweight and to try to break the habit. Obesity will likely always be a permanent problem for me in a new body. However, I'm a new person and I like the new me much better than the old me. There's no going back. The new me is free. The new me can move and be young and healthy. I still have a ways to go but I will get there--and stay there--when the time is right for me. It is not a race and I'm in no hurry to reach a certain number on a scale. My heart and lungs tell me everyday by breathing easier that I'm doing the right thing. My health is what matters. I've gone from a 24/26 and 298 pounds to a 12/14 at 177 pounds. The only real goal I have outside of a WW scale weight goal is to reach 149 pounds so I can say I honestly lost 1/2 of my body weight. I would like to reward myself one year after that, provided I stay at a low weight, with skin removal surgery. That's the other part of my struggle but I know it's very important to wait to get it done.

The other pieces of the puzzle have been challenges external to myself. I lost some friends. I get a lot of push back from my parents. My sister couldn't be happier for me (genuinely) but a lot of people take it the wrong way, especially mom and dad. I also have to accept my future, which is something I am currently working through mentally. I know I will never be the girl who can eat anything and not gain weight because I'm not coming from that type of body or life pattern. It saddens me sometimes to think about it but I know for certain that nothing--nothing--tastes as good as it feels to be getting healthy. When people ask me, "how long did it take you??", I almost don't even want to answer because I don't care. A lifetime, that's how long. It's taken me my entire life to get to today.

Anyway, that was long winded but I hope you get something from it. I'm always open to questions--we all are!--and I love to help whenever I can.

I am continually astonished by the amount of wisdom I find on this board. All of the 3FC boards offer something, of course, but I so appreciate the women here on the WW Flex boards. I mean that in response to everything I ever read, but am particularly struck by the above comments from Leanne.
I just love how smart and warm and caring and wise we all are!! Fat or no fat, each of us has something amazing to offer. I know because I read it every day in the comments here.
Thank you all for sharing, WW Flexers!!
S

Hold on to your hats, this is going to be a long one - but I've missed like 4 pages of chatter!


Exactly! That is a great mindset!

Just want to point out so there is less fear in your life - the points value you end your WL phase at is NOT the same as the number of points you get for maintenance. You get more regardless of where you stop when you start maintaining (thank goodness!). However, I have to say I am thrilled to see you so intent on eating all your points, we need people like you around Too often people get the 'diets must be restrictive' mentality and hurt their ability to lose long-term by eating too little at the outset. And yes, full-fat dairy, nuts, nut butter, avocado, oils - all wonderful high-point items. And who says dark chocolate isn't healthy??

Wow, chey, you sound busy! Hope you get a break soon!!

YAY!
How do you make baked apple slices? Sounds tasty, I have a grainy apple at home that's not much good for eating but would do great with baking.

If you google for things like "activity points calculator" or something you will invariably turn up something that can help you figure out how many points you earn. I personally eat all my APs I earn 90% of the time, but some people don't. Play around with them and see how it affects your losses. And WTG on being so close to 20 lbs!!!

That is SO awesome that you are able to walk again. I can only imagine what a difference in your quality of life that must make! We offer all kinds of support. Chances are if you need it, we can help. Sometimes our chatter/support thread gets busy but don't let that deter you if you are in need, come on in and let us know what's going on, don't feel compelled to have to respond to everyone in order to have your voice heard.

That sounds AWESOME. I am so excited for you on all counts. It is so close!!

Sonja! How freaking awesome is that!

AWESOME loss!! How are you liking C25k? I wanted to try it but my body really rebelled against the structure of it. I may need to return to it now that I seem to be stuck at a certain level of competence with my running...

Don't second guess it, just go with it - grains do not necessarily equal weight gain. Not to say that there isn't correlation between carbs and fat but not all grains are gonna cause you issues. I will keep my fingers crossed that your official WI shows you good things.

AWESOME! That is just super neat, Mod!

I'm afraid none of us are qualified to give you advice on this matter. It is wonderful that you are concerned about your daughter's health and well-being, absolutely fantastic. However, she is a growing teen and has special dietary needs. You need to take her to a doctor if you really want to get her on a plan that will help her in every possible way. This is the reason WW does not allow members under 13. If she is sneaking food, I am inclined to say there are deeper issues than just a weight problem there... and I would be worried more about that than her weight. I was a food sneaker too (still am, at times). Would it be possible to take her to a psychologist to talk about it? Here's hoping you can help her get a handle on her issues while she's young, and like I said, it is great that you are showing this concern for her health.

ETA: This post I think you might find highly relevant to your situation, and maybe you can chat with this member about her success in helping her son? http://3fatchicks.com/forum/showpost...8&postcount=13

Thank you for sharing your journey, LeeAnne. You are such an inspiration!




Well, I finished my project from ****. Yeck. It's being edited right now, hopefully they don't find major fault with it, I am tired of looking at it!

So let's see - first off, didn't get that PT job I applied for, as the scheduling wouldn't work out with me working FT during the day. It was otherwise in the bag, which is comforting

Second, still no baby nephew! Argh! My sister's 40th week ended on Thursday or Friday, so the window of "normal" gestation time is rapidly closing. Up to 42 weeks is considered healthy/normal. I hate to be selfish about it but this kid is really putting a damper on my ability to make plans I'm planning on going up there for 5 to 7 days when he's born, which means I can't make plans to do anything lest I suddenly have to dash off to MD to be with a baby... So everybody chant with me, "c'mon, baby! We want to meet you! C'mon out!" I can't help but think of that book, I Will Not Hatch, or whatever it was called... I'm pretty sure I should make that a welcoming gift for him

Otherwise eating has been decent. I've been having to stop at the grocery store every evening after work to grab fresh veg for dinner, as we can't do a big grocery shop for fresh stuff like normal (because of the baby situation, if he is born tomorrow we don't want a fridge full of veg to go bad while we're gone). It's actually kind of nice, except for the fact that the gro-store between work and home is pretty pricey (everything is organic and most produce is local, which is great, but $$$). I am hoping to make a tofu strata tonight for dinner with mushrooms and spinach - the recipe looks great but it takes an hour to prepare so we'll see how patient I am tonight.

I'll try to pop in more often so my replies don't have to be so unwieldy - like I said, the giant monstrous project I was working on is over now so that should be more possible now. Until I get another monstrous project, that is.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic hump day!

Jamie, i'm so glad your sister is waiting it out. I hate that babies are scheduled now... ugh.

hi everyone... i'm so scared about tonite. it's been an OK week although night before last was a hungry day and i ate a lot of flex points...

i am weighing and measuring almost everything!

I got a new battery for my scale. guess what.. it didn't need a battery. I need a brain... I have to accept that 208.8 is what my scale has me at. I will be about 216 (or 2 pounds down from last week) IF my track record with my scale holds true.

some days i eat too much some days i dont' eat enough.

very frustrating to me.

nessa - as long as it balances out in the end. I think high-intake days coupled with low-intakes days is a rather natural way of eating. I look forward to hearing your results tonight!

And yes, agreed re: scheduling of babies. My sister was unnecessarily induced and then had an unnecessary c-sect pushed on her with her first baby, and is kind of bitter towards the medical profession now Not that she wouldn't get medical help if necessary (necessary being operative word)... but nature tends to know how to handle these things.

Jaime - I'm glad your sister is waiting it out too! Much more chance of a normal birth with no interventions if she waits until the babe is ready. A friend of mine is approaching 42 weeks now and definitely getting impatient, we all can't wait to meet her new little one. And I agree about nature knowing how to handle things when it comes to birth! I'm glad we have all the options there in case something goes wrong, but I was happy to have my babes at home with no interventions and without a ton of people watching.

Nessa - I had a high point day yesterday too, used several of my weekly points. (OK, had a beer last night, hubby brews and wanted me to try one of his newest batch.) Can't wait to find out how it goes for you tonight!

Whew, my 2 year old is being particularly trying today, we had to get up early for a doctor's appointment. And I'm realizing that I want to go and grab a snack, and not a healthy one. Keeping track of my points is making me realize how many casual calories I would intake before without paying attention. Just mindless eating, a lot of it in the car. A trip through the drive thru and we would just all eat in the car, and I would have a peaceful few minutes to sit there and read while we ate. Not healthy for me and definitely not something I want to be the norm for my kids.

Wow lots of long posts today. I will have to read them later to catch up! Well this morning I woke up with really bad nausea! The first time its happened. I actually had to call into work and tell them I would be late. I left when I felt fine (normal actually!) And when I got to work I started feeling sick again. I felt better after I ate lunch. I wanted to try to stay another 3 hours, so I hope that I stay feeling OK!

OK I weighed in... down 2.8 pounds this week! woo-hoo...

Jaime - I can't believe your sister still had not had the baby! My goodness. You should go over there and poke her stomach for awhile to give the little guy a boost! Poor girl, too. She must be getting anxious and uncomfortable. Are you still taking the phone into the potty with you? What grocery store have you been going to? Something along the lines of Whole Foods or Trader Joe's?

Nessa - Don't be too frustrated if you eat more on one day than you do on another day. That's what "normal" people do. (I use that term lightly). You might be interested in Point Shifting. Around these parts I think they call it the Wendy Plan and there is a thread in the WW section dedicated to this. I have been doing point shifting for the last two weeks and I love it. I also did it awhile ago when I hit a plateau and needed to bounce back. I like point shifting (similar to calorie shifting) because it allows me to have high and low days, keep my metabolism running high and keeps me from being bored! And, see, you were down 2.8!! That's awesome, Nessa! You should feel very proud. Now do a little prance in your hot new jeans for all of us.

Mod - Sorry you've been sick! Is there anything natural you can take, like ginger, that will settle your stomach?

===============================

Today is WI day. I honestly have no clue how I did this week. I guess we shall see...

kestrel - awareness is key! Good for you realizing that those "casual calories" add up (I like that phrase, by the way).

mod - bleh, nausea is the worst. I don't have any advice having never been there myself, but instead will second LeeAnne's suggestion, is there something natural you can take to settle your tummy?

nessa - WOOHOO! I bet you are just loving this, huh?

LeeAnne - Yes, I bring my phone with me everywhere still. I have even moved on to keeping it in my pocket (on my desk is not good enough, definitely not in my purse either) so I can feel it vibrate if I get a call. I am paranoid I won't hear it ring Last I talked to my sister she was pretty uncomfortable. I can only imagine what it must be like. It's gotta be soon... It just has to be!


Not much else to share on this end... Got some movement in this morning by walking to work instead of taking the bus, but of course that meant I was hungry by 10am instead of closer to lunch. So I've had more food already than I would normally have by this time of day. So it goes. I have a feeling I'm going to be sitting at 186.something again this week, which is going to be incredibly frustrating... Just when I thought I got my losses moving at a good pace, here I go getting stuck again. I think I might be getting too relaxed in counting points, I just assume a lot of values nowadays. If the scales don't shine on Saturday I think I will look at re-buckling down with figuring points for stuff I eat.

Have a good day everyone!

LeAnn and Jaime - Yes, I can take ginger. I don't have any though, and since I wasn't really feeling sick before, I didn't bother buying any! I am planning on going out tonight and getting some.

nessa - Congrats on the loss!

LeAnn - Good luck at WI!

Jaime - I plateaued for months at one point, and it was extremely frustrating! Just hang in there, it will get better

Well today I got on the scale after I ate breakfast, and I was up 4 pounds and not 5 like I have been. My clothes are all getting tight. I'm in 10s and 12s now (no 8s!) and my "medium" shirts are very snug around my chest. Looks like I have to grab some larger shirts out of the basement.

Hello everyone!

Nessa - Congrats on the 2.8 lb loss!

LeeAnne - Good luck at your weigh in today!

mod - Ginger and sour lemon drops would help a little with the nausea during my pregnancies, though I still spent a good 18 weeks with my head in the toilet. If it gets really bad, you can always talk to your midwife/doc about the Unisom/Vitamin B6 combo. I ended up using that this last pregnancy and it did help, though the first few days it made me sleepy until my body got used to it.

Feeling good today, I did my workout (Couch to 5K) again this morning and I always feel much better on the days I work out. Now I'm just trying to figure out how I want to cook this london broil for dinner, I need a quick last minute marinade.

Do you ladies completely avoid the scale in between weigh ins, sometimes check up, or what?

Good morning ladies!

I don't have a spoon for my breakfast... I'm quite upset! I have to wait until the cafe opens downstairs to grab one. Grar. Waiting for my breakfast makes me cranky.

How are you gals today? What are you up to? Enjoying a lovely (and rainy, here in CT ) day?

I check almost every morning after the morning bathroom time. Can't help myself. Just a "mental note" for the day. I only officially count the scale at WW once a week, though.