Good morning girlies!

Seems I am one pound away from loosing all that I gained on my trip. Don't ask me how I did that cuz I had prime rib steak (yes, I know the worst cut a person could have) yesterday for dinner but I tried to balance it out with only having a salad to go with. But I'm not complaining...not one bit...I'm even knocking on wood!

Ryanmi, I guess you couldn't exactly call yesterday uneventful. Sounded really stressful but at least you can sit back and laugh. Laughter afterall is the best medicine! Hope you're having a better day today!

Snow, going home is always a going into a war zone in your head. Best advice, Robbin gave....take snacks of your own. I'd say keep your hearts desire repeating in your head..."you want to lose after all this...", and even though we may all slip up going through this....remember tomorrow is a new day with a new beginning. Go enjoy your family visit!

Erin, I would be fit for nothing! Just having dizzy spells once in a while makes me feel out of whack to even move. I hope whatever this is subsides soon enough, it's awful. I'll be sending healing thoughts your way all day!

Robbin, girl is there ever a slow up time for you? LOL! You're a busy mom that's for sure. I hope your boys have a lot of success in their football season.

I don't know what your excuse could be...hmmmmm...maybe you're so wound up with lots on your plate that it's hard for you to unwind at bedtime..maybe?? Just so you know there was a lot of sarcasm in that. But you're welcome to use my excuse anyhow.

Hi Louie, hope you have a great week too. A visit from the FFM would be blessed for sure!

I'm going to work myself up to the thought of stepping on the treadmill this morning. I got up at nine, got my breakfast and now checked in with you all so I should be a little more ahead than yesterday. Not by much though...

Catch ya later gators!

~Tina

I have a question. I'm new to this thread and I'm looking for another way to have a liquid lunch. I've been having cups of soup because I'm trying to stay low-cal, but I'm SICK OF THEM!!! A Slim Fast should work the same, right?

Evening all you lovely ladies...Sorry I didn't make it back here yesterday, things are so hectic with the one FD doing volleyball every morning and appointments in the afternoon. I soooooo can't wait for school to start on Tuesday. I'm out of town tomorrow afternoon, so I can't make WW till next week. I have 1.5 pounds to go to get back to what I was before vacation. Hoping to buy a new VHS player tomorrow so I can get back to working out with Richard in the morning. Our warm weather and humidity are back, but the rain we had for two days was a blessing. It sure greened up our yard and we need to mow it sometime this week.

Paula...Nice to know you are still around. We miss you!!! Hope you and the kids are doing well, and the hubby.

Shawn...FD stands for foster daughter. I have two, ages 15 and 14.

Tina...Way to go on loosing some of the water weight. I tried real hard to get caught up visiting all of my family, but only got to spend about 1 hour with my brother and sisters. I tried to have fun on vacation, but one of the FD's made the trip very miserable for me. She won't go again. My ankles were the same and I swear I could hear the water sloshing around when I walked. LOL

Ryanmi...Sorry to hear you are sick, but glad you saw the doctor when you did. You are really going to have to watch yourself for getting this, especially with the cold Chicago winters. My Dad has to get a shot for it every year since he has had it. Hope you feel better real soon.

Snow...Hope you have a wonderful trip! Drink lots of water, don't let the family stress you out, eat salad's and have a piece of protein with it. Good luck.

Erin...Sure hope you get some relief from the migrains and your vision clears up real soon. Judge your weight progress by the way your clothes feel, and not so much by what the scales say.

Robbin...No, the FD's sister and brothers were here with their adoptive parents. I think it's great that the kids try to get together once a month. It is very awkward when we do have a child with parents that visit. We do not supervise those visits, but let the Social Worker handle that. I don't need any added stress to my life.

Louie...Hope you have a great week and glad you could pop in for a visit.

Turkey...Yes, slim fast is good and so is Carnation Instant Breakfast. You could also make yourself a low cal smoothie. How many calories are you eating each day? By the way, Welcome and I look forward to getting to know you.

Well gals, I still have a few things I need to do before I go to bed. Have a good evening.

Cheryl

Turkey...I was just surfing some other forums and came accross your restaurant blurp of what servers have said to you. You are too funny and I think it's great to have such an awesome sense of humor. I love to laugh too, just wish I was funny! You certainly have a gift.

As per your question about the liquid lunches...yes, slim fast would be a substitute but for the calories and fat grams in it...I'd rather eat something! Not to get Dr. Phil on you, but if you're making this a life style change you should try to stick to a plan that will be doable for the rest of your life. Eating 3 healthy balanced meals will get you a lot further I think. Oddly enough, turkey sandwiches are my favorite thing for lunch...hehe!

I hope you stop by more often, would love to get to know you better. We have some great ladies here in this thread thriving for the same thing as yourself.

~Tina

Man, I'm gone for like a day and everyone decides to post!! Let's see if I can get caught up here!

Michelle - hope you are feeling better! Have you been able to stay home & rest?

Snow - I would suggest journaling while you are there. I always think twice about putting something in my mouth, if it ends up on paper, ya know? Also, you might run to the grocery while you're there & get you some healthy snacks, etc. Can't wait to hear from you next week, to see how it went!

Erin - hope you are feeling better, too! Your vision problem sounds just horrible! And I agree with what Cheryl said... go more by how your clothes are fitting than what the scale is saying! The scale will catch up!

Robbin - About the cheetos 100-cal packs, if you are truly hungry, then no, they probably won't hit the spot. For me, it was late and night and I just had the munchies (as I often do late at night). When DH was eating hot peanuts, the cheetos were just a better option. There's 4 fat grams in a pack... don't know how that would fit into your plan. But they are sure yummy!

Louie - hope to hear more from you soon!

Tina - that's great that your gain is coming off so fast! Maybe your body remembered where you were at, so it had no problem re-adjusting. I've heard, too, that sometimes it's good to have a high-calorie day, for good measure. I guess that way, your body doesn't think it's starving

Turkey - glad you made it over here! I hope to see you around here more often! I would think the SlimFast would be an alternative liquid lunch. I can't think of many others, though. Sorry!

Cheryl - that's cool that you have foster kids! Way to go, "mom"!

Well, I've only gotten 1 workout in this week (on Sunday), and am aiming for 3... still have plenty of time, though. Have been tracking my points, and am doing good. "Feeling" thinner, and the scale is slowly cooperating.

My best girlfriend just got back in town, and we usually go out to eat / have drinks a few times / month, and I wanna see her, but I don't want the dinner/drinks (well I DO, but I don't think my diet can stand it). Kinda takes the fun out of it.... I'm thinking we might meet for coffee instead. Or maybe head to Barnes & Noble or something? Anyone have any good suggestions?

Ok ladies, you girls have a great night & a good Wednesday tomorrow! *hugs*

Okay-- I am gearing up to go on my trip--thanks to everyone for advice--I am going to try bringing calorie controlled snack and I think journaling was good advice for that "war zone in my head" that Lady mentioned. My motivation is kinda low but I am trying to pump myself back up--I hate recovering from a vacation so . . .

Hey girls sorry I am so late getting here today. Been busy busy. I didn't get to walk at the kids football practice last night it started storming on us but I feel really good about yesterday and today's food intake and water intake. I did a small cheat at lunch today but it wasnt too bad. I had a salad and 2 breadsticks and the salad had about 2 tablespoons of real (not lowfat or low cal) Italian dressing which I think is better than the ranch type. I am gonna try to get some time on the trampoline tonight. Me and hubby will probably work on getting the steps for our deck finished and hopefully after that it will be cooled down enough that I can spend a few minutes jumping. Not sure what dinner will be but I am sure it will be grilled. I am really into grilled food right now, especially veggies, I LOVE grilled aspargus (sp). Well I guess I better get the rear in gear. I would love to do personals but my time is short right now. Have a great day ladies.

Howdy Ladies!!! Well my day is a little better than when i wrote last, not sure if i am still trying to ward off a headache or if i am just exhausted from whiny kids! The scale was actually very good to me today. 241.1 three times in a row!! The dial scale was down to 245 which puts things at the 4-5 pound difference the two scales had when i bought the digital. So i am moving my ticker and trying to feel good about it. I am definitely trying to ward off a rut mood wise and just don't fee like i am losing even though the scale seems to be moving again. I did the Leslie sansome You Can Do It Pilates DVD this morning. I got through the intro and about 5 min into the acutal work out and was dieing!!! Really gets the abs and neck, but felt good to be challenged again. the WATP tapes are getting a little boring for me i have been doing them off and on for over 2 years now. I am going to try to find another box of clothes from smaller days i have stashed in the attic and see how things are fitting. May help get things in perspective.

ROBBIN - I am sure you are fighting the water battle, if you are not seeing it come off when you put it in it's stuck in there somewhere for sure! Give it time it will come off! Thanks for the sympathy on the headache, I am hoping it has passed and i won't have to deal with it again for a long time! I don't know how you do the busy schedule!! I only work part time and still don't seem to have enough hours in the day!

LOUIE - Glad to see the fly by! You always wish us well, but how are you!!!

TINA - congrats on gatting the vacation weight off so quickly!! And for the healing thoughts, hoping it is gone for a long time!

TURKEYSANDWHICH - glad to see you joining us and welcome! As for the liquid lunch i would consider the glucerna meal drink before slim fast, better balanced as far as carbs are concerned and that is definitely the route i take! Hope that helps!

CHERYL - Busy girl, you and robbin wear me out just listening to your days! School started last week for us and i think it is worse now than it was before! Glad to hear you got some rain, have fun mowing! Congrats on getting the vacation weight off as well!

SHAWN - Good job on keeping up with the work outs and as for the dinner drinks with the friend go, just make wiser choices that you used to. Like Tina was telling Turkey, you have to make this doable and you will eat out sooner or later! So just find a restaraunt with good healthy options and have fun!!!!

Paula, glad to see you pop in hope to get to know you more!

I am sure there are others i am missing and I think we still have a few MIA's anyone heard from Linda??? Hope ya'll have a good evening and will talk to you soon!!! Erin

Hey ladies... just popping in between work and dinner. My twins are doing great this week at their new preschool. I'm just so PROUD of them!! They're watching Mary Poppins right now... their favorite movie!

Robbin - Way to go getting back on track eating right! Grilled asparagus sounds yummy! And remember, it's all relative ~ if you are doing better than you were a few days ago, that's a step in the right direction!

Erin - thanks for the encouraging words about going out with my friend. And you gave me a good idea! Applebees has a WW menu, so I might see if she can start meeting me there. Or at Souper Salad or something. SEEEE - thats why I bring these issues to you ladies!!

I'll check back in later. Ya'll have a good night!

Afternoon ladies! I thought I'd share some interesting tidbits of info I have read in my book. We may all know the ins and outs, but I think it's a great motivator to be reminded once in a while. These excerps are from "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry" by Janet & Greta Podleski

The E Files

Think exercise can't possibly burn off enough calories to nix the six Oreos you had for breakfast? Some people mistakenly believe that exercise is not worth the effort because of the relatively small number of calories it burns. Think again! The numbers on a treadmill's or stairstepper's electronic readout can be discouraging and misleading. You may have only burned 160 of the Oreos' 320 calories during your workout, but the calorie burning doesn't stop when your legs do. One of the great secrets behind vigorous exercise is its "residual effect": it boosts your metabolic rate so you can burn calories for hours after your workout. How's that happen? Well, when you jog or lift weights, you break down a large numer of muscle fibers. These broken fibers have to be repaired (that's how you build and grow muscle) and all this rebuilding takes energy (calories!). You also have to replace the glycogen (musclefuel) that was used up during exercise-again, more enerfy required! So, when all is said and done, you haven't burned just 160 calories, you've burned 250, 300, maybe even 375 calories! In fact, one study showed that more than two-thirds of fat-burning activity takes place after the actual session.

Hello, My name is Betty and I'm dehydrated....

Do you have a drinking problem? Well, if you're serious about losing fat, you really should get sloshed. What's on tap? Water! If you're not downing 8-10 glasses of water per day, you could be dampening your weight-loss efforts. Without water, your body can't metabolize stored fat efficiently. In fact, even mild dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3%. If you weigh 150lbs. that's 45 fewer calories burned each day, and over the course of a year, that 45 calories can amount to five pounds of stubborn fat strapped to your middle. Bartender! Gimme a double shot of H20-on the rocks! Water is the ultimate liquid asset, making up more than 50% of our bodies. It regulates body temperature, keeps blood volume up, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, promotes proper deigestion, tones muscles, and gets rid of toxins. Imagine! Drink like a fish and detox at the same time! Plus, water is energizing and that makes you want to move. When you're degydrated, you feel sluggish and tired which usually sends you crawling to the cookie jar. A water shortage makes the body cling to every drop, and that shows up as swollen feet, legs, hands, and eyelids, inflating your weight by as much as 5 to 15 pounds! Ironically, you drink more water, not less,to beat the bloat. So sneak in some extra H2O whenever you can. Drink socially! Drink alone! Drink heavily! Join a 12-sip program!

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Cheryl, too bad your trip was spoiled. But the main thing is, you got to see your family and have at least a little fun with them. You sure have been a busy gal since you got back. You're also doing good with making sure the vacation "uppage" will paying someone else a visit shortly. Weigh to go!

Shyla, you've heard right. That would probably be the best way to beat a plateau. Thanks for the congrats. I hope you're able to fit your workout like you wanted. Still time to meet your weekly goal. I think meeting your friend in a place where you can make healthy choices is a great idea. I'm sure she wouldn't mind.

Snow, have a great time! Looking forward to hearing how things went when you get back.

Robbin, okay..you've got to come to my house and do the grilled asparagus. I like asparagus but I can't get to taste good without stir-frying it. Hope you get to jumping this evening...don't forget to pee before you go! LOL!

Erin, glad you're a little better! And the scales are coming around too! I like your committment to exercise. Keeping yourself challenged...you've gotten me inspired girl!

I managed to get back at my old routine too, minus the after dinner workout. I dragged my arse down to the treadmill these past two days. I forgot what it was like to sweat like that again....I mean from working out...not the heat in HK, I couldn't forget that...at ALL!

Well, I best be going and get some dinner going. Having A-lo-fat Hawaiin Pizza...YUMMY!

~Tina

Hi Gals, it's just me "Fly By Louie" dropping in to say hello and hope that your week is going well. We made it through Wednesday, so now the down hill slide to the weekend.. YAHOO !!!!

I am starting to off load some of my work duties, so hopefully my insane hours will come to end very shortly.

Have a good one.. keep on keeping on... and skinny vibes all around !!

Morning Glories!!! Hope you are all doing well today! I am going to try to force a positive attitude and hopefully it wil stick! The scale was down again today so i moved the ticker again, i am taking advantage of it while i can!!! I am trying to realize that now I am below a hundred pounds to lose to get to what the charts say i should weigh(144) now! Haven't been able to say that in a long time. I still haven't adjusted my goal on my ticker because i really don't want to pressure myself to get there. I am still hanging on to my goal of in the 190's by my 40th birthday and then the 170 by one year from when i started, which was April 16th.

Shawn - gla to hear your daughters are doing well at pre-school, it is such an accomplishment, for you as well as for them! Glad to hear you will try Applebee's that seems like a good compromise!

Tina - loved the info, some good stuff i really needed to hear! Getting back to routine is really hard once you've been away, getting back into school routine around here has helped me a lot! Did the Pilates DVD again today and did the "workout". Lets just say I HAVE NOOOOO ABS!!!!!!! Hopefully in a few more weeks i will though!

Louie - glad to see another fly by today!! Glad to hear you are able to get rid of some work overload. Hope that truly lightens life for you!

Well girlies gonna run. Need to try to do some filing before i have to get my daughter up for school! Will try to check in later!

CALLING ALL MEMBERS OF THIS THREAD!!

Okay..I for one has noticed that it seems we have slowed up and a few of our members seemed to be MIA. (where are you Linda?) This used to be a hip happenin' place with lots of great news to share regarding how happy we were we are staying on project. So I thought we could use a little up lift, time to get the energy flowing again!

I have an idea and I hope you would be all willing to join in. Looking at our sigs, there are a few of us who have lost a pleasing amount of weight so far. I was wondering if you all wouldn't mind posting before and during pics?? You can smudge off your face if you want to. But I thought it would be motivating and inspiring to see what we have accomplished! And for those of us who have recently joined us..share what you've started...every little pound counts as we all know.

I figure to give a chance for us all to catch up, that one week from now we'd post our before and current pics. That will be THURSDAY AUGUST 24TH.

Good morning ladies! Beautiful day! Although I still am falling a little behind in my daily routine. I have the lovely treadmill calling my name which I totally intend to do as soon as I finish up here...hehe!

Louie, glad to hear things will be lightening up for you soon. You seemed so swamped! But I'm glad that you still make time to "fly by". How's it going for you? Any fairy fat mother "flying by" to pay a visit?

Erin, glad you liked the info. I thought it would be good to be reminded. I know it hit me "again" after I read it so I figure maybe it would do the same for some of my friends. Congrats on the scale victory! You go girl! I'm loving your exercising attitude!

I'm off to do some exercise myself! Hope you are all having a great day!

~Tina

Tina! What a great idea! I can't wait to see pics of you all!

Since I've been floundering at the same weight, I guess I'll just post 1 picture of me?

Oh, and Tina ~ Good girl, getting your exercise in!