vday - I'm sorry to hear you had a gain... But you know that's still a 1.4 loss over two weeks when it balances out! So that's for sure something to be proud of! I must have missed that thing about a dr. saying 0.4 per week is optimal, that's the first I've heard it. Interesting though. Makes me feel slightly better about averaging a little over that in the past four months Keep at it, vday! You and me both are just gonna have to take this scale torment in stride! And uh.... how old does your dad think you are? Who exactly is he trying to celebrate by going to Chuck E Cheese??? This is YOUR celebration, not everyone's kids'. Just say no!

beach bum - Hi! Welcome to the chat thread

Katie - Hi to you too! Way to go on your progress so far, I hope you see that magic goal number soon!

Kim - That photo you mentioned is certainly one of my favorites, as DH didn't quite know how to pick up a little kid at this point - it looks so awkward. She just went running after those swans... and since swans are not the nicest creatures we had to send someone after her. Poor kiddo was disappointed but was quickly distracted by the koi pond Mm, fried mushrooms! Hope the scale is kind to you this week - if not, well, next week it all begins anew!

Sonja - how about trying one of WW's actual meal plans for a week? They give you suggestions each day on eTools, perhaps it would help you re-focus if you had something a little stricter to adhere to for a week? I'm thinking of doing something along those lines as I feel I'm getting to relaxed in my food consumption... I need a little something to kick me back in line...

keli - sorry you saw a loss this week too! Seems to be going around. But congrats on all your progress so far, imagine if you were still up in the 180s! If you hadn't changed your lifestyle, heck, you might be in the 190s So be proud of what you've accomplished!! Thanks for the compliments on the wedding photos I'd love to see any of yours you dig up!

Chey - it's possible that you're low on iron if you're craving red meat... the body is funny like that, if you take the time to listen it'll often tell you what it needs! Then again it could just be something in the air As for making salads interesting, have you tried skipping the dressing and instead putting fruit on top of a bed of lettuce? Like berries and mandarin orange sections or cut up apple or pear on top of spring greens or spinach or something? I find I don't need dressing when there's fruit on top. Toss on some seeds/nuts and maybe some blue cheese or feta and YUM! I don't like those Crystal Light things either, they are too sweet for me. If I need to mix up my water I'll add a splash of lemon juice and a couple grains of splenda for a kind of watered down lemonade.

Heather - wtg being back OP and getting some life stuff figured out

Manick - indeed, DH plays the piano. in fact, he's written songs for me... definitely one of the reasons I fell in love with him! I'd love to see any photos you care to dig up

Faerie - Thanks for checking in, you sound busy busy!! Here's hoping you don't have to give them your Saturday on top of all this overtime.... Then you can sleep on Saturday!


Today is my one-year anniversary at this current job.... which is kind of amazing to me because we have a high turnover and I seriously wasn't sure I'd make it this long. Kudos to me for sticking with it though. It's not my ideal job but I'm happy enough here, and I'm glad I didn't give up and quit on it when it was giving me trouble. Now about that raise....

So I posted in the NSV thread a couple days ago that I can now wear my wedding band and my engagement ring simultaneously, which my fingers have been too fat for ever since we bought the rings. I am sitting here staring at my finger in disbelief. Like, really? I finally get to wear both my rings? I forgot how pretty my engagement ring is because it was put away for the better part of a year... It's nothing extravagant but is a really classic-looking piece of estate jewelry from the 40's or so. This NSV defintely means more to me than my pants are too big NSV. This is good.

I also wanted to share that this morning I had a wrap spread with 1tbsp peanut butter with a banana rolled up inside of breakfast and.... YUM. Took me back to childhood, complete with pb & banana sandwiches! It was super convenient and is keeping me nice and full. Yum yum yum.

Okay, enough from me. Not like I don't have work to do or anything, I'd just rather be here Have a great day everyone!

Good Morning Ladies

Would know what to do with my spare time on that Summer is on its way. All my clubs are all recessing for the summer months.My choir rehearsal last Wed & now my senor singer this Fri.All I have left is Weight Watcher on Thursday morning.We should all have problems like me.

Thanks for all welcomes,Hope I will be able to support you as well as you supporting me though this weight loss journey.

SUITE-Great that your scale showed a 190 maybe it will hold that way for the weekend. I used to go on the scale every day and average my total weight loss,but like you said the fluctuations can be every disturbing and frustrating. W-I only at the W-I meeting this time around.


VDAY-Sorry about your 2.4 gain,I had a plateau for 2 weeks and my leader told me that should happen the first couple weeks on WW. She looked over my food journal and found that I was using the wrong points for soy milk.I marked it down as 1 pts instead of 2. So I had 7 points that was counted.She told me that could make a difference in a lose or plateauing. WATCH THE POINT VALUES. Just a thought.Hope you had a great graduation dinner.

KATIE-Big congrats on your 26 lbs weight loss and having only 3 more pounds to reach goal. I'm a newbie to this thread but not to WW. I was a lifetimer but than my weight went back up again do to a hysterectomy.We need you here to help and tells us how you finally made it down to goal.Welcome to the thread.


PAINT-OH!!! That can happen to anyone.I know when I eat late I go for anything that isn't tied down. Maybe when coming home late again you could have some healthy rice cake[1 pt for 2 ]package in your car and when traveling home you wouldn't be so famished.

SHRINK-Binging is what got here on this thread in the first place. We have to be able to control that monster. The only think I can suggest to is go though your food companion and check out low point foods for you to binge on. My favorite is rice cakes[2=1pt] with laughing cow cheese. [1 wedge=1pt]

KELIJPA-Your doing great keep that 22 lbs off. I know, the old cliche "you did put it on that fast so..........." Its harder to lose weight the older you got. I used to lose 2 lbs a week 20 years ago but now I'm lucky to lose .5.


CHEY-Maybe your body need more protein.I eat more protein than any other food group as protein keeps you full just like fiber does.Maybe add more beans to your recipes would help.

MANIC-My DH & I always lived near the beaches. When living on LI NY we had a beautiful beach called Jones Beach,was there every weekend. Now that we're retired we walk along the a big strip of beaches on Cape Cod,Ma. We have 3 beaches that we walk along.The other beaches were in Fla Clearwater & Hawaii's beaches also.


Have great morning


Hugs BB

OK seriously... I don't know if I can keep up with these threads anymore!!!!

So in my last post I said that my clothes were fitting OK, so no reason to get on the scale. Then I realized that I LIED. Well, at least I didn't tell the whole truth! I was wearing some clothes that I pulled out of my basement a while back when I had gained about 8 pounds back. Well I was wearing those again, so I didn't have to pull anything ELSE out. So yesterday I got on the scale and - yep! I'm about 7 pounds over my goal. So its back to planning and stuff. I'm sick of the "up 5-7 pounds, down 5-7 pounds" cycle, so once I lose this time I'm still going to have to journal and plan. I think thats my problem is once I get down to the goal weight I think I can just "wing it" when in reality I can't!

Oh and tonight I get to book my Disney vacation. Yay!

mod - don't stress about keeping up with the thread we're happy to just to see you here. (On a side note, I think it's funny to hear people say this thread moves too fast - this thing is a snail compared to the 20-somethings chat and the TBL team chats... those things.... man, they can knock out pages in an hour! )

Thanks for being honest with us and yourself about your gain Maintenance is tough, huh? I guess it's that whole "pick your hard" thing all over again... Sounds like you have a plan! Have fun booking your trip!!

BB - I'd love your problem I can give you some work to do if you really need to fill up your spare time! So many things I need to do... plus I'm really intent on knitting something for my sister's and my sister-in-law's forthcoming children, but I don't know what yet and the time it is a-tickin'! Maybe I can ask them both just to ... you know... not have their babies yet if I'm not finished

Shrinking: Yes a jump on the scale is what made me re-evaluate after the two weeks I didn't weigh myself...don't feel bad! It's amazing that you are doing this weight loss journey with all of those stressers in your life! Maybe the camp will give you a good break and change of scenery. That way when stuff changed once you get back, you will already be used to it. Be good to yourself!

Suite: I hate my job but I stay there too! I just HATE looking for jobs, so I figure eh what the h, and I stay there. I'm trying to get a job at the state capital right now because my friend works there. Awesome that you get to wear your rings again! I bet your dh is glad too

Mod: I am stressing about the ups and downs too!

~~Well to everyone basically: I am not going to chuckie cheese anymore!! YAY! I sent my dad an e-mail with some plans for an Italian restaraunt that does banquet meals. Here is the menu I picked out:
-appetizer: salad and margherita pizza
-pastas: fettucine alfredo and pomodoro raviolis
-entree: chicken parmigiana
dessert:chocolate cake

I was going to pick cheesecake for dessert but I think that might be too rich and heavy after all that pasta and cheese! But anyways, my dad agreed and he paid the deposit! I basically implied in my e-mail that if we didn't do this, then I didn't want to do anything.

Needless to say I will NOT be counting any points that day due to this meal and my drinking which will occur at this meal and pretty much all night. You only graduate from college once!

Hey Heather-
Missed you last night! I was falling asleep in my chair! Way to go on being OP! Good for you!

Faerie Hang in there! Rest is coming soon I hope! Just do what you need to do right now to stay healthy and sane.

Shrink-It really sounds like you have a handle on what is going on in your head and that is actually a really great thing IMO! Self knowledge provides the keys to the action-vehicle so to speak! And yeah, WAY easier said than done, I agree!


Huge transitions ARE hard. My story goes like this: I yo-yoed weight wise thru my late 20's and early 30's. Worked SO hard at WW and exercise and went from 215 down to about 140lbs in 2002 (75 lbs folks!), stayed at 150-something most of 2003, 2004 was still working on it, but was in the 160's....

I did not diet or exercise for almost all of 2006-2007...I hate transition and change. Very resistant and I know it. During those 2 years I was selling 2 houses, moving, buying a house, getting married, living with a new person (having a ROOM mate actually IN MY ROOM for the first time in over 15 years!) working full time and moving our business location and building a new building for the work location. I just figured I could only handle so much and let it go. Totally. Food as reward for a hard day, food as celebration, food as a social event...you name it....the only thing food was not, was fuel for my body.

I REALLY admire you ladies here who are handling this type of stress and more AND managing to eat properly, keep a good diet and exercise too knowing that in the long run you will be more able to deal with life stresses! POWER to YOU! Y'all inspire me almost every day!!!

It actually took me several months to get over my sort of reverse body dysmorphia (I'll call it) where I could not see how fat I was! Just kept thinking "well, I look Ok" as the scale numbers kept climbing! When my head is in the game I weigh almost every day and know exactly what I am eating, when my head is not there...I go MONTHS without stepping on the scale. Denial, denial, denial! I literally cannot stop doing the behaviors that are now required of me to lose. I have to do them to maintain. Anytime I have maintained that has proven to be the case. I must log what I eat and be aware of it and how much I am moving my body.

I felt a bit like I had done a "bait and switch" on poor DH. When we started dating in 2004 I was about 164 lbs and when we came home from our first anniversary trip in January 2008 I was 218! HOLY MOLY COW...that is FIFTY FOUR pounds in 4 years! Well, at that rate, if I continued to gain 10-20 lbs every year the future was looking grim and I DID NOT WANT TO BE THAT PERSON. Not to mention I had very few clothes that fit me and I was NOT going to buy clothes in that size!

So....here I am....trying to figure it out a little more every day. Maybe this would be better on a blog...but thanks for reading.

Now to today....up .5 lb from last week, BUT I have spent 7 days last week in a row doing serious exercise. I am SURE my body is holding water because my muscles were so sore! This week I am just aiming for 35-45 minutes a day, I can't sustain my pace of last week so soon and I don't want to give up so I am trying for moderation!

Well...I walk away for a couple hours and there is more here

Good stuff ladies! Keep on chattin'!

Suite-really cool about the rings! What a nice thing to have on to remind you of your successes so far! I LOVE jewelry! My rings are antiques too...I enjoy them every day still! Yep, a man who sings to me brings about a guaranteed swoon fest on my part!

Vday-Congrats again! Hope the party is really fun! (and they give you lots of money so you can buy a bike!

BB-I am slightly jealous of those beach walks...I'll try to contain myself! lol...What do you sing? Are you a choir singer in both of those choirs or the director? Hey we need a little singing icon...hmmm

Mod- hurray on the Disney! What fun! Glad you are going! Your experience mirrors mine exactly about maintenance I was nodding in agreement...keep on keeping on! You can do it!

I am thinking about actually getting RID of all fat clothes as I shrink out of them....I really think I should. I got rid of lots before, but not enough! But......If I don't have them, I can't gain anything back...right? On the "What Not to Wear" show they made the point that elastic, expando clothes are not helpful, not only because they tend to make us look bigger than we really are, but because we have nothing to gauge those small gains by...and I really NEED that info. When I tune it out I am in trouble!

MANICK I sing for a church choir and I belong to the Senior Singing group where we go out to local nursing homes & hospital in our area. No solos I afraid just in the group.The senior singer group sing songs from shows to old time medleys.

After we retired We didn't want to move inland,where its cheaper,but just by the beach. The disadvantage living here,we have to put up with the tourist,and that no fun in the summer time. The beaches are packed and find a parking space on the lot is hard to find. We live about 5 miles from the beaches,to long for me tow walk without sidewalks.


SUITE-I love to knit that one of my hobbies,other than singing. I'm not a professional just amateur.But I love,keep my hands busy while watching tv.Thats the only way I can keep out of trouble,walking to the frig during the commercials.


Hugs BB

Suite - I soooooo know about the rings! I haven't been able to wear mine for a while now, but did go purchase a plain gold band which I haven't been able to wear for about 3 months before I started WW. My old set is something that really can't be resized. I have really been bummed out about it. So, hubby surprised me a couple of weeks ago with a new ring!!! This one can be resized and when I reach my goal I can reset the diamond from my old ring into it.

Vday - I was thinking about you and Chucky Cheese today. That would pop into my mind at the strangest times and I would fine myself annoyed about it for you! LOL. I am so glad that you don't have to go there!

Mannick - You described me to a T! I to have been up and down, up and down. When hubby and I got married I was at my lowest... and I remember I would show him the pair of pants I used to fit into. He was so proud of me then.. Now.. well, I wear the size I showed him. He is more worried about my health than my size - he tells me I am the same person he married, there is just more of me.. He is very supportive of this journey I am working on and I am so lucky.

Mod - I know I am not going to be able to 'wing it' either. Studies have shown that it takes 21 times of repeated behavior to make it a habit. Well, to me that would be 21 weeks of constantly writing everything down (write what I bite) before it becomes second nature. This week I haven't written a thing down, computed it all in my head and that isn't good for me.
_____________________________________

As for me.. I do think I need more protein and I do think it is in the air LOL - it is grilling season after all. I have reviewed in my head what I have been eating and realized I haven't been eating much meat. I don't normally eat a lot of meat, but I have eaten more than I have been. I have tuna packets and salmon packets in the cupboard.. I am going to break them out and get creative with that.

Suite - thanks for the suggestion regarding the fruit on the salad. Our son (the chef) was home from college over the weekend and he cooked me a Mother's Day brunch. He made a dressing out of raspberry fruit puree, EVOO and balsamic vinegar! In the salad was lots of veggies, fresh mushrooms carrots, berries, mandarin oranges and get this... a poached egg! The yolk of the egg was runny and it was hot. He normally grills chicken and slices it thin and includes that in the salad, but he has also used the egg too. I loved it! I am going to have to get the recipe from him for the dressing. I am sure that would help me with my salad issue plus get my fruit and veggies in.

I am still sick of the water.

Well, I came VERY close to binging a while ago...
today I have an 8 page paper to write on 600 pages of reading that I didn't start reading until today (she barely assigned it last week!)
so I felt verrrry lost
and I got out the cereal! and ate a bowl of unplanned cereal...
it was okay though because I just altered my dinner to be only 3 points.
so now I have no points left for the rest of the night.
It should be okay because I am at the library now, and will just write my paper, then hopefully go home and go to sleep!

Just thought I would share my stuggle of the evening!
If I am TRULY hungry when I get home, then I might eat an apple.
My guess is we won't be leaving the library until around 2am (it is 940pm now) because my roommate drove and he takes FOREVER to write papers, and he has to finish a powerpoint on top of that...

Phew -- just read up on everyone but I do need to get my tush to work, so not time for the personal responses today.

I have another busy day ahead of me today but then...........INTERNSHIP ENDS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!

So, hence the incredible busy-ness over the last couple of days, finishing paperwork, cleaning the office, terminating with all of my clients (an incredibly emotionally trying experience -- one of my favorites yesterday told me she is getting beat up by dad, and this was our last session. I cried throughout a good portion of last night). On top of that is my own scrambled mind and anxiety, but after today, I am going to try what Jaime suggested with the meal plans on WW, and I'm also going to find myself a new cookbook. I think once I have time to go to the grocery store, I will be better off.

Oh, did I mention I'm up 2 lbs this week?? 138 now, getting scary close to 140 again, so it is definitely time to kick it up again!! You know, I think a big part of me is really scared to get down lower than 135. It will be like a whole new me. Gosh, for those of you who have lost huge amounts of weight, how was that for you? It must be so strange getting used to a new body, even though it was what you wanted...

well anyway, I'm off...have a good day all!!

S

to everyone. I'm so sorry I can't give personals, yet. I am reading, but still crap to do IRL >_<

I miss talking with you all!

Strength and hugs to those who need it! And what the heck more to everyone.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Good morning everyone!

Faerie - we miss you too, but we understand. Come back when you can.

Lizzy - OMG, that's horrible. I'm sure it must feel like you're leaving open ends there. Do you have a colleague that is taking over her care? Sad. This world can be a very sad place.

Vday - Congrats on the graduation! You must really be feeling proud of yourself! You're dinner sounds yummy!

Heather - Sorry about the accident. I'm glad you're okay though.

Jaime- That's awesome that you can wear your rings together. YAY! Huge NSV! And a hubby that can serenade you? Wow! Yep, I can understand that helping you to fall in love with him. Nothing like a love song to get one to feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Chey - I'm glad you found a dressing that you like. I'm not fond of water either - especially plain water. I religiously use the Crystal Light packets. I love tea and they really help me. I wish I had some better suggestions for you. Jaime's idea with the lemon and tiny bits of Splenda sounds good (to me.)

BB - All that sand sounds like a good opportunity for exercise!

************************************************** *******

I'm sure you probably read it already, but even after my struggles with Mother's Day buffet and tacos and fried mushrooms, I still managed to lose 2.4 lbs! My leader thinks it was my body's delayed reaction to all of the additional hiking and evening exercise I've been getting. She thinks that the muscle is definately using up the fat more now. Hopefully, it keeps gobbling it all up! LOL!

So, I went hiking/mushroom hunting for about 2 hrs last night. I found almost a pound of those buggers! My thighs are feeling it today! I did a lot of squats looking for them. That's usually what kicks my butt the most.

Tonite is dance class. I think I'm getting bored with it. I'd almost rather stay home and go mushroom hunting some more...

ETA: I've been struggling to get my healthy oils in. To be honest, I really don't want to "waste" 2 pts on oil. Someone at my meeting suggested taking a piece of bread and dipping it. I did it last night, but I added a little parmesan cheese and a little garlic salt. The additions made it bearable, but it definately is not something I enjoy eating! Blech! And what a waste of points, IMHO of course.

Hope everyone is good, did get to read alot today, but no time for replys, but I do hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Hope to talk to you soon.
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Did have a slight gain this week, but I think that's due to tom. So next week will be better.