Sorry to do a double take but the solution to my daughter not having time to order my grandson's present for 3 1/2+ months just dawned on me. Triple Duh! I'll print up a pretty gift certificate myself and he can come over & I'll order it. Strange how that didn't occur to me until after I wrote it all out. Another good reason to journal.

Violet, you sound like a wonderful caring Grandmother and I am sure your grandson appreciates and loves all that you do for him.

It's hard not to run to the peanut butter when we're upset. It's completely understandable. I am so sorry about your pain. Sounds like your idea of exercising in your chair is a good one. You have to start where you're at! :0)

Personally, I am following the Medifast diet while using WonderSlim products. Medifast recommends 5 meal replacements and one lean and green meal. I chose this route because I find that I am easily addicted to carbohydrates. I can not eat a normal portion of, lets say, pasta and get satisfied. I simply can not stop eating. It snowballs for me......I crave more and more food, I gain weight, I get depressed, I eat more because I am depressed, I gain weight, I get depressed, I eat.....ad nauseum.

So far the 5 and 1 plan works pretty well for me. Which is not to say I don't struggle or fall off plan. I think this is a program that will allow me to succeed.....and I will most likely incorporate some of the foods/shakes into my normal everyday life after I lose my weight.

I really do hope your pain subsides. Have a good night. :0)

Violets-

I carry a similar burden about some family members I have. What do you do when they can not see what they are doing to their children? I have learned that all I can do is pray for them and show them as much love as possible.

I get in such a Tizzy over it...........

I'm with you, Shero and of course, Violets. Nothing is more upsetting than watching the children get hurt because of the stupidity of adults. I like your solution, Shero, prayer and love.

The main lie I tell myself: "This is ok because starting tomorrow I'm going to do it right."

Well, my solution lately has been to go to bed when I'm so hungry. I think my brain is beginning to confuse "tired" with "hungry" and I think it relates back to the emotional attachment I had to food as in it causing a numbing feeling. Realistically, I guess the food gave a quick spurt of energy which made me think I felt better or was less tired. In reality it just caused a surge which fizzled and then led to more overeating, etc. Ever feel like you were a hamster on a treadmill?

I am so messed up my sleep cycle with this approach that it's taking a bit of time to straighten out. Here it is not even 1 am and I'm wide-awake and ready to start the day. Here's where I get so messed up. If I get up and do something, then I'm tired and ready for bed again by the time the rest of the world is starting their day. If I lay here and toss and turn, I end up with a bruised feeling body and will eventually fall asleep only to oversleep the clock. Gosh, I hate to be on a schedule when I'm retired but I don't think I'm going to be as successful as I could be if I don't get a set routine down.

I keep telling myself that once I start the aqua-exercise, I will get into at least a "semi" normal routine but I keep postponing the sign-up which gets me nowhere...grrrr! This is good though because I am getting angry enough to fight back which helps neutralize my excuses, etc.
I think my failure to maintain a routine is what is causing my difficulties lately. I am hungry right now in the middle of the night but it's because I opted for bed over dinner...which also means I skipped my night meds...not a good option for my health, I know. Soooooooo...I think I'll put down the laptop and go raid the kitchen for a meal and then meds. Maybe then I can sleep until a normal time. I don't know. I'm playing this pretty much by ear because my internal clock is so crazy messed-up right now.

Shero, as the others said, don't let that slight gain stop your progress. It could be something as simple as fluid retention, etc. It's the reason I don't weigh often because my weight changes almost seems like it changes hourly. Plus, if you're exercising more, it could be muscle development which is a good thing overall because you will burn more calories in the long run.

Violets, the best gift you are giving your grandson is being there for him. It's a fine line grandparents have to walk sometimes to keep that door open for the grandchildren. If you have to "make nice" with your daughter to keep the peace for your grandson, I am confident you will because your unconditional love for him is what he needs. I think your idea for a gift certificate is a wonderful solution. He is lucky to have you in his life.

REKP, glad your work travel is easing up. I am very impressed with your work-out routine even when traveling...here I moan about getting active and it's not even inconvenient! I need some of your dedication and resolve!

ExTex, I agree that you have a special son. Not many would even acknowledge their parents being on a diet much less be encouraging! He's a rarity for sure and what a good supportive fellow you are raising! He'll make some lucky girl a great husband some day because he notices and cares about what is going on in others' lives.

By the way, ExTex, I love those chips you were asking about. Honey mustard is good but surprisingly my favs are the cheddar but not because they remind me of cheddar...LOL There is something about them...can't decide if it's the texture or taste or what that remind me of pork rinds. They're a little bit on the thick/tough texture which takes longer to eat than the snacks that are shaped like cheerios. I like that they take longer for me to eat and they satisfy me much more then the other.

Shasta, wish I knew what to recommend on the oatmeal. I haven't tried WS's yet but I remember how much I disliked MF's. I haven't looked at the nutritional facts on grocery store oatmeals but you might do that. I think they have some that are lower in calories than the norm. I know I didn't like what I called "fake" oatmeal though.

FFF (love using this rather than the words...thanks, ExTex), how are you doing? Thinking about you and HelloDiet!

Anyone out there reading and lurking...jump in and chat. We're all in the same process of day-to-day combat. Sometimes it helps the most to chat when you're in a slump or had it together but it fell apart, you know? This is a real, life-long journey for me and I know if all the days are great, it just wouldn't be a realistic trip. I stumble, I falter but as long as I get back up and try again, I haven't failed. I'm plugging along even though I feel as though I haven't lost...grrr...I'm hoping the first of the month weigh-in will give me a bit of encouragement.

Have a great day, everyone! I'm off now to eat "supper" (LOL) at 1:30 in the morning! Duh...

I hope it's ok for a guy to post here on 3FC because I haven't really been able to find a lot of discussion about this diet better than here! I haven't been around the forum much, but seems like a good community

Anyway, I actually ordered the New Lifestyle Diet 2 week kit a couple days ago and it will be here on the 30th. I ordered it before ever knowing about Wonderslim and after doing some reading I think I will switch to WS after my 2 week NLD kit is done.

I have roughly 60-70 lbs to lose and am pretty much fed up with being uncomfortable in my clothes! I know ladies want to look good for their spouse and I would love to look good for my beautiful wife, make her proud to show me off, lol. Good luck to everyone, a lot of you are a great inspiration on what we can achieve if we stick to it

Welcome, Speed of Sound!

I don't know anything about the New LifeStyle Diet but glad you joined us. We post under WonderSlim but I think a few of us are doing other things or a combination of things.

Anyway, the more the merrier! I think you're our first guy to speak up so I applaud your "bravery"...LOL Seriously, needing to lose weight is definitely not gender specific so you are more than welcome to chat with us here. The encouragement we get here by posting and reading is what keeps me focused some days.

I was just about to go back to sleep (after eating and watching a few catch-up shows that I missed...just love online episodes!) when I checked email and saw someone had posted. Of course, I just had to read and then couldn't resist responding.

Good luck on your journey!

Thanks for the reply TOY! Indeed we all need the same motivation no matter the gender and nutrition applies to everyone pretty much equally. I'll admit I love internet forums and am a member of tons of different discussion boards for every topic I have interest in, but this is the first one that has sort of a female focus to it, lol. I did order the 2 week kit for Men though (I had to double check my order, heh.)

Wonderslim, New Lifestyle Diet......... they seem to be about the same thing. I know it won't be easy and I really like a quote I read a while back.

"Losing weight is hard. Being fat is hard. Which hard do you want?"

Welcome Speedofsound!

I had to pop over and research New Lifestyle Diet and it appears to be more like Medifast with meal replacements and one lean and green meal. Wonderslim allows for fruit and starches but really all three are very similar. :0)

I have read other threads on this site and we do seem to have more of a community than others. Yay, us!! I think we all realize losing weight is a bit easier if we do together. I am constantly jumping online to help keep myself focused.

Toy, the first few days of the plan I was putting myself to bed early when I was hungry, too! lol You'll get yourself back on schedule, :0) Thanks for letting me know about the soy chips. Sometimes I need a bit of a crunch and celery sticks don't always suffice.

Hey, Speed, when you get your package can you please post how you think the product tastes? Their introductory box is ridiculously inexpensive and their nutritional info seems to be the same as Wonderslim's. I love to save the green stuff.

And love your quote!!

Got home in time for church this morning. What a blessing, both for the service, and feeling blessed to be home again. This week was not bad. Lots of eating out, but better choices than I made in my November travels. Toy: The tip about the fish and sauce on the side worked great. Not even any raised eyebrows when I ordered it that way.

Weigh in: I was down 2 pounds. I always hope for more, but considering that I ate several more salty protein snacks than I routinely do, I think it was a success.

Welcome to speedofsound. Love it when we get new people posting on the board. Also love the quote about which hard we choose.

Toy and Violets, hope you guys are having a day with less pain.

Toy: When I diet, I have problems sleeping as well. I really don't know the reason why. When I lost 100+ pounds in 2008 I went several months on 3-4 hours of sleep per night. I just woke up and was not able to go back to sleep. With that and work, it wore me down quickly! I tried Benadryl, which was a waste of good medication, still didn't sleep. Then tried Unisom. It works for me. I fall asleep soon after taking it, sleep for 7 hours then wake up ready for my day. I saw the same pattern of sleeplessness when I started this diet and started taking it right away.
(Disclamer...Always check with your doctor before taking any medication :-)
But it works for me. I read an article recently that said getting adequate sleep actually increases weight loss when dieting. Hope your sleep pattern stabilizes.

Violets: Peanut Butter is one of my trigger foods as well. I love the stuff, but when I start eating it, I had might as well get me a bowl and set down to overeat. I just don't stop until I've had too much.

Hope you all have a great (on plan) week!

Hi Shero and ExTex!

Boy, REKP, I hope you're right about the sleep leveling out. I know that sleep is supposed to be an important part of dieting but I am getting a bit freaked out with my crazy sleeping schedule. I did mention it to my doctor during the last diet (just now realized this happened when I was on NutriSystem, too) and he suggested OTC melatonin or he said I could take the PM version of Excedrin or such. I don't want to get dependent on anything and he said neither would do that. I'll ask about the Unisom. I take so many different meds that I always ask before I add in anything. I'm always a bit scared of my meds interacting with something. One of my goals of this weight loss is to be able to get off some of these meds. Hopefully, I can eventually quit some of them although I doubt I'll get to quit the thyroid since it's non-functioning or my heart med but maybe the blood pressure and the diabetes meds. Pretty sure I'll still have to take the gout med, too. However, at this point, giving up any of them would be a stellar event for me! (I am thankful for the meds but I hate taking medicine...LOL)

Now, don't make me regret telling you about this product, Violets and REKP...LOL. Peanut butter is not a trigger for me...can't even really remember eating it much as a child but when I was on NutriSystem, I learned of a product that pb lovers used on that diet. It's called PB2 and you can read about it on amazon.com or netrition.com. I haven't personally tried it but those who loved pb and missed it on their diets raved about it. Just don't get it an pig out or I'll feel real guilty! It's quite an interesting product and it's in powder form as I understand it.

I like the quote, too, Speed and to expand a bit...if a person lives long enough there are quite a few things that are harder to do than diet. I've been through some of them as I'm sure many of you have. It helps put this in perspective, too, at least in my life.

I agree with the previous observation that we have a supportive community here, too. I'm very grateful for that and not surprisingly I have found that I don't even entertain the thought of eating while I'm typing...LOL. But best of all (to me) is that I can talk about my struggles (or victories) without feeling like I'm boring my husband to death. He is very supportive but just doesn't want to hear about it 24/7. I can't imagine why...LOL

Hope everyone has a good afternoon. We're being warned about severe thunderstorms in the area tonight which may cause tornadoes. It's always an eerie feeling when they warn about the weather this far in advance (they started yesterday). It tends to heighten the stress but it's better to know than be surprised. I just hope it doesn't get as bad as they are predicting. Been there, done that so to speak.

Oh how I know this so well. I took the weekend off from the food issues. I have not counted calories or did any shakes. I havent pigged out either though. Back to the shakes on Monday.

Welcome Speed of Sound-nothing wrong with a man on this forum. Happy to hear that not only women struggle.

Sunday entertainment-watching a car in the ditch. We have them about 3 times a year. This was the first for the season. Please take this advice-Do not stand around your car when it is in the ditch. The roads are slippery that is why you went in the ditch in the first place. Makes me crazy to watch this. We tell them but they tend not to listen.

Just had to share....

Today held a small victory for me; We went out to Incredible Pizza for dinner and fun tonight. It has a pizza, pasta, potato, salad and dessert buffet. Before we went I had a shake and packaged my 6 oz of chicken breast dressed with Red Hot and my 2T of blue cheese dressing. I then used the salad bar and built my own lean and green "Wings and Blue Cheese Salad." And I wasn't tempted at all. And I am full. Very full!!!

Let's hope this continues!

Toy, my husband has been very supportive too. He is my official pudding maker. He's taking it a bit further and trying to lose ten lbs himself. He thinks the weight loss will help him gain speed on the bicycle. Although it's a great idea and I fully support him, two cranky dieting adults do not always interact well with each other. On the way to dinner, we were squabbling about how to get there, who was right, who was wrong (I'm sure everyone can relate ,lol) until we were so frustrated we began to really snipe at each other. Then, from the back of the car came the voice of reason. JP told us, "Hey, you're both hungry. Just let it go, pretend the conversation never happened and never bring it up again." ......from the mouths of babes!!!

Shero, taking the weekend off probably helped you. Sometimes just taking a break helps you refocus. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

Rose and Violet, I read about Walden Farms 0 cal, 0 carb, 0 fat peanut butter. Maybe that will help to curb a craving.

Rose, congratulations on your weight loss! That's great. And you lost while traveling?! Kudos to ya!

Does anyone else think the shakes are more filling than the other WS products?

Have a great night, Everyone!!! (especially you, Toy!

Thanks, Toy, This really made my day!