I have had the crud for the last 5 days of my Summer sounds a lot like WF's vacation. Haven't been able to talk above a whisper for the last 4 days. Really stinks!

Flower ~ Your going to be fine. Sometimes it takes a while without goal and dreams to get your head clear. Everything will work out the way it is suppose to!

Eydie ~ Happy Belated Birthday~~ Sounds like you had a nice one! Hope your plans for fit and 40 stay with in your sights...I was thinking about LAM to wonder where she got off to?

Sheila ~ Good luck.... Bi-polar can be crippling if your not on the right medicine and your still sometime have breakthrough symptoms even with that. They have come a long way with the medicine for it though, good results and very little side-effects and it is a very managable conditions.... Sending you good thoughts. Hope all is well on your homefront.

Well, It is TOM and yesterday I ate everything not tied down. bad bad Amy... I am hoping for a better day today. I start back to school tomorrow. not looking forward to it at all. Will post soon,
Hugs to all!!!!!!!!!!

Amy
154/154/130

Amyjo, I empathize with your crud. Hope you get over it quicker than I did.

I am going back to Weight Watchers. I'm friends with the super of the building that I'm moving into, and she wants to go back, too...so I'll have a buddy to keep me going, and a walking buddy when I move in six weeks or so. Might be this week if we can get it arranged, if not next week.

Now onto business...girls, our group is fading fast. I have been guilty of not posting, too, so I'm not accusing anyone here. I think we need to decide are we going to keep it going or is it time for us to move on. In my opinion, our group has become more of a social chat, which is wonderful because we think of each other as friends and we support each other in many ways other than weight related issues. All too often, however, our posts are more about our daily events and not about the reason we came here to begin with....a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. I don't want to lose the friendship aspect, but I feel we need to refocus and include more of our weight loss efforts, be they bad or be they good.

Personally, I would like to see our group re-energized, refocused, and all of us getting more results AND keep our friendly chatter and support at the same time. I am willing to rededicate myself to this group. If, however, any of you feel I am out of line or way off base in this opinion, then it may be time for me find another group for my weight loss motivation. I would still drop in to chat with you all, however. I think we have some wonderful members in our little group, and I hope that some of you share my feelings.

Anyone care to voice their opinion? Let's be honest with each other. Amyjo? Ruthie? Flower? Eydie? Punkin? Venus? Lamorgan? Sheila? What do you say?

YEAHHHHHHHHH WILDFIRE!!!!!!!!!!

I have felt the same way for a while... I came here and found so much support in my ventures to lose weight but in the last ?4 months? or so the group has sorta lost "focus"... I really would like to stick around and get back on track with us as a whole. I like the social aspect but I really need the support with my weight loss and my goals. I am 12 pounds up from my lowest weight since starting this venture and really would like to reach goal by September/October maybe.

I think a lot of the lurking is because none of us have been really focused lately or am I wrong? Well I am ready to re-organize if the rest of you are....

SO?????

Today is a new day so lets make the best of it!

Amy
154/154/130
24 pounds to goal!

Thanks Wildfire, for voicing what needed to be said! And yes, you're right, Amy, I personally haven't been posting much because I've totally lost focus and desperately want to get it back.

So---How can we do this as a group? Maybe if we declare our intentions for the day/week/month and check in with each other? I'm personally going to set a goal of losing 5 pounds by the Summer Solstice!

Hellooooo!

Eydie - Happy belated Birthday!! I hope you had an awsome day and I love your fit by 40 pledge.

Sheila - Funny you mentioned chipmonks and Dusty. She used to be so fixated on chipmonks that if you even said the word she'd run off looking under piles of logs or into the greenhouse in search of them. I used to have to physically drag her away from her task when it was time to go inside! She looooved those chipmonks!

Wildfire - I agree completly! This is the 3rd loosing week I've had and it's given me a renewed "umph" to get moving again. I've hit the 25 pound mark and with 1 more pound will reach my first 10% loss... I want to celebrate this with you guys and help you all to succeed too! So, starting this week I'm going to post what I'm going change or focus on for that week...

That being said - my next goal is to be in the 220's by June 20th when I leave for a long weekend in California. This week I will work toward that goal by writing down EVERYTHING I eat. No fudging, no selective memory - that's not cheating anyone but myself.

Onward and downward,

Terri

HI everyone
First of all I want to announce I had a great weekend..Bought a BBQ grill so now I can do all my cooking outside and trust me nothing tastes as great as cooked over a grill food tastes.. And it is a good fat reducer since all the fat just drips off which is a good thing.. I will use that thing dialy (I use to BBQ in snowstorms )
Wildfire you are soooo right, thanks for addressing it.. I know I tend to ramble on about my daily life more then staying focused on weight loss..But I felt I had to reveal the real mental me so you all know what your dealing with.. I know it isnt something I did to cause it but just the same bi-polar like IBS(in a way) is hard to get people to understand ..I think I know more now about IBS then I know about bi-polar..Because I have had the time to learn about and understand it better..(my opinion)I also have lost focus and motivatuion and I could really use a kick in the pants or some kind of challenge..Right now both so lets go girls lets think up a doable challenge
I know I cant drop 10 pounds before my 17 anniversary on the 1st but I am sure I could lose about 5 before my 34 birthday on the 19th..H*LL I WILL LOSE by JUNE 19th..!!!
Punkin I have no idea what made me mention chipmunks but that was the first thing I thought of..I am sure you will make your 220s by June 20th..
Well everyone I best end here.. DH started second shift foir a while cause he had to fire the 2nd shift supervisor for not doing his job so he has to cover till they find a good replacement
Take Care
Sheila

Didn't do so well at work today. First thing this morning I had a run-in with a co-worker which 'made' me find something sweet and comforting to eat. My own damn fault, I know. I really want to finally get this right, to find some other way to deal besides going right for the food.

What gets to me [and I know I sound like a broken record--sorry] is that I know what I have to do to start dropping weight and feeling incredible but I'm not doing it. When I'm in the groove with food/exercise I really know what it means to take loving care of myself, so all I can conclude is my resistance to going back on program is a severe lack of self-esteem amd self-love. There. I said it!

As I always say, if it were only about food and nothing but, I'd be thin!!!!

A challenge sounds good--anyone have any ideas?

Hi, All!

I just found this thread, and it sounds like you have a great group of people posting here. Would you be open to someone new?

I'm a newbie to this site, as well as a newbie to doing WW at home program. What I'm not new to is being "alternative". LOL Actually, I live a fairly quiet life in the Midwest, and am about as generic as you can get in many ways -- married 20 years, small-town gal, etc. But having made some "different" choices through the years (extended breastfeeding when my son was young, family bed ditto, and choosing to school at home from the get-go) I have grown accustomd to being an outsider in many ways among the people I grew up with. Moving around the world with my hubby while he was in the service helped me to see that there are many ways of living haapily, and luckily, my parents were always "shockingly odd" themselves, so I felt free to be myself. <g>

One of the things I have found most difficult over the years when trying to lose weight, in fact, was the whole "having to do what someone else told me was right" thing. WW was so restrictive when I first gave it a go so many years ago, and I just couldn't make it work for me. I'm grateful that it now is set up in such a way that I can adjust it to my own needs and my own lifestyle, although it is taking a lot of work on my part to crunch the numbers to adapt my family recipes to the Points program. I guess the difference is that this time I don't mind doing all the work.

I also made the choice about a month or so ago to eat a vegetarian diet, which has helped me feel much better physically, and is, I think, making it slightly easier for me to adapt to the WW program. Hubby and son still eat poultry and fish, but since I only prepare veg meals, they have to prepare their own chicken or turkey or fish if they want it, and they very rarely care enough to do so. LOL So, they pretty much eat vegetarian most of the time as well, by default. They are fine with that, thank heavens.

Let's see, is there anything else I should tell you about myself? I'm 41, agnostic (hubby and son are atheists), and like to read a lot. Mostly science fiction and fantasy, some romance, some mysteries, and some nonfiction.
I like to make beaded jewelry. Have 2 cats, and a dog. Oh, and I suppose I could mention what I weigh and what my goal weight is -- LOL! My own scale says I weigh 233 today, and according to it I weighed 240 at my known highest point. However, my doctor's scale weighs me 20 pounds lighter than this! I would love to believe that weight, but since she just moved into a newly-built building, with a new scale and so on, I am afraid perhaps the scale there hasn't been properly calibrated yet. I'm wearing size 24 jeans, which fit comfortably, perhaps just the slightest bit loosely, so at 5.4" I don't know if 233 (my scale) or 213 (doctor's) is a better guess. I'm thinking of spending the dough on a good "doctor style" scale of my own, to go by. Either way, my goal weight is somewhere between 130-140, which is what I weighed when I felt really good in my body. Say a size 10-12.

I have a decent treadmill, but it is currently out of service -- hubby is working on it, adding a heat sink and fan to it to help it not build up a lot of heat in its workings from the massive motor. Had trouble with it smoking before, but he replaced the inferior quality components already. I also have a set of free weights and a bench, and like to do some work with them about 3 days a week.

Hmmm, what else? I guess maybe this is enough to give you an idea of what I'm like. I'd love to hear from any of you in private email, as well, if you are interested in doing email support back and forth.

Well, take care, alll!

lennylou

I'm glad you girls seem to agree. I don't want anyone to stop posting their daily life stuff because that's part of what made us all feel like friends here. I just want to keep our eyes on the prize, so to speak.

Amyjo, how was your day today?

Lennylou, welcome to our group! You've come at a good time, when we're reorganizing and refocusing. A fresh spirit will surely help us along...glad to have you with us. I'm 32, Pagan, married, one 14 year old daughter, work as a Corporate Accountant, have two cats and a lizard, live near Toronto, Ontario, but originally from Canada's east coast....and I think that's me in a nutshell.

Sheila, have fun with the new grill! The possibilities are endless.

Punkin, you deserve a big WHOOOO HOOOOO for hitting 25lbs AND your first 10%! Way to go! Are people noticing your weight loss? It makes it all seem worthwhile when people start telling you how great you're looking.

Eydie, oh I know what those run-ins with coworkers are like. I have two that I work with that are just poison. Trust me, sweetie...we ALL know what we need to do and struggle with convincing ourselves to do it. That's why we're here. BUT we're all going to get back OP and start doing things right.

I say we need a countdown. Let's give ourselves five days....five days to talk positive, get mentally prepared, organize, shop for the right food, etc. So we have Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun....what do you know, girls....MONDAY is going to be our official launching day. If you're already OP or want to start sooner, by all means do it, but if you aren't, Monday it is! Now in the meantime, this doesn't mean we stuff ourselves or binge on sweets or fatty food. No, no, no....here's a plan:

• Wednesday - Water Check. How much are you drinking?
• Thursday - Portion Check. Eyeballing or measuring or neither? Time to get reaquainted with proper portion sizes.
• Friday - Feeling Day. Why are you doing this? What do you really want? How are you going to get it? Write it down!
• Saturday - Selection Day. Eat food that you would while OP. Make wise choices, get those fruits and veggies in!
• Sunday - Set up day! Plan your meals for the week, pack your lunch for work on Monday and be sure to include snacks to avoid a trip to the candy machine or the coffee shop!

Come Monday, we're armed and dangerous! We're motivated! We're gonna have a great week and show a successful loss! AND we're going to journal the whole thing! We CAN do it. We WILL do it. We are women, hear us ROAR! er...okay...you get the drift.

Tomorrow is Water Works Wednesday.... Water, Water, Everywhere (and PLENTY of drops to drink! )

I had a GREAT day!!!!!!!!!


Welcome Lennylou~ Glad you found your way here. We have a great group and as Wildfire said we are all on the rebound here we are starting a "new" so to speak so great time to come in!

WF ~ First day of classes as usual STINKS!!!!!! My anxiety goes through the roof and stays there until I get the opportunity to read the new instructors out. I am so glad you got the apartment thing taken care of... IT is the pits being in limbo so to speak...

Eydie ~ Say this mantra Comfort food is EVIL... Comfort food is BAD!!! Just kidding... Don't kick yourself, remember just because you eat one bad thing it doesn't blow the whole day... it is the mind set of oh well, I can start back on it tomorrow I have already flub so why not eat this and that and the other and tomorrow never comes!!!!!

Sheila ~ I would love to figure out how to grill but I eat such little meat.... Can you grill lettuce? Since the harry scarry crap with Mad Cow and Hoof and Mouth we eat very little red meat so I haven't gotten the chicken thing down on the grill yet. But happy grilling

Well! I had a pretty good food day. Had to get a salad on the go for lunch, probably too much fat but it filled me up and didn't opt for the "snack machine" at school. Had another salad for dinner and watermelon and fresh pineapple for snack. I am cutting the processed sugar back out. I went a whole year and didn't use a 5 pound bag of sugar but since Baking for Thanksgiving and Christmas (the beginning of the end) I have gone through like 15 pounds and I am the only one using it and only in my coffee so either the coffee goes or the sugar.. or both that would be a good thing but the caffeine is necessary on late school nights.

Food wise I think I have a game plan. If I can get my MIL to not send stuff with my niece (who is baby sitting all summer) today it was 3 bags of Chips, a box of cheese crackers, 1/2 of a birthday cake (DH through it in the garbage this afternoon) I thought I was going to flip when she walked in with this stuff this morning. We do not buy junk... and if we do it is usually the healthiest junk you can get... I was so angry and she could tell. I told my niece that she could baby-sit but she had to leave the junk food at home it couldn't come with her. This is the kid of the SIL who almost died in February having Gastric By-pass surgery and she is 13 and already has a weight problem grrrrrrrrrrrr..... I just don't get it. Her mom has lost close to 80 pounds since Feb 14, but she is still not eating right, the little she gets to eat isn't good for her.... I am ranting I will stop!

I exercised for about 30 minutes this afternoon; I want to pick up a TV and DVD player for my little gym. I would spend more time out there if it weren’t so quite.

I am rattling.

Water Tomorrow Check~

Amy
154/154/130

Hello Everybody
WELCOME LENNY LOU I am 33 Married for almost 17 years (6-1 is my anny) 2 kids 12 yrs girl and 4 years boy,with bi-polar, currently weigh 264 (again) and I WILL lose 5 pounds by my birthday (6-19) I dont have any set program just pretty much watching intake ( which I havent been lately or I wouldnt be back up to 264 again,) Catholic but not your run of the mill type Cathoilic since I do have an open mind on all religions and beliefs..I am 5'6" and my goal weight is 160..Thats me in a nutshell I guess..We are a great group here as you will see for yourself , glad you joined us
Amyjo , I bet even lettuce would taste great on a grill!!! But I will let you try it.. I prefer my lettuce cold and crisp ( Romaine) with tomatoes and cukes myself .. I know there is all that meat scare everywhere but I will eat moderately what I enjoy and if it is gonna kill me then at least I die with smile on my face and a steak in my plate.. There is only soooo much chicken one person can deal with.. I will eat more chicken ( boneless and skinless during the summer) and veggies..
Wildfire , you really have an agenda for the week planned .Here is an idea how about who ever starts the threads put it the weekly agenda in the opening post..That way we almost always see it and if we forget what we are supposed to do on any given day we can look at the beginning of the post?? I am gonna be in top form mentally for Monday and at least that will give me time to get my good food shopping in this weekend!!
Eydie, Luckily I dont have co-workers but that doesnt mean I havent met any "unique" people in agrocery store or gas station or doc office that makes me feel like that..
OK since today is Wednesday I will have to announce what my water intentions are for the day since it is 8:30 here my day cant start without coffee.. By bedtime tonight I WILL have at least 4-20 ounce bottles of water in me.. (Total of 80 ounces ) cant promise any more then that but I will get at the least that much in me..
Last night for dinner I had 1 grilled porkchop and 2 very small baked on the grill potatoes and a side of tri color pasta cuke and tomatoe salad ( like a reg salad but used pasta instead of lettuce..( My lettuce didnt look right)
Last thing I found out yesterday that I will be able to have a little garden out back after all..Land lady is planting one and the other half is ours to plant on.. Although I cant plant any root type veggies ( Like carrots or beets or onions) but I can do cukes and tomatoes and peppers and above ground stuff ( No corn either I notice the soil isnt good enough for it.) I thought I would be doing planting in buckets. TG I found out different..
Well enough ramblin on for now.. Hope everyone has a great day and I will see you later
Take Care
Sheila

I'm ready! I have my water glass filled and the bathroom to myself for most of the day... hehehe...

Lennylou - Welcome!! I'm 32, Pagan, single (divorced), momma to 4 kitty cats and an ex-Weight Watcher leader. I'm following a slightly modified version of the points system, and with my 25 pound loss, I'd say it's workin' juuuuust fine. I wanted to recommend to you the Tanita scales if you're going to buy yourself a new scale. They're extremely accurate and not too pricey. Mine was always right on with all the WW centers I'd worked at (over 25) so I think they're great - well, I liked it better when it read 145 instead of what it's reading now, but hey, we're workin' on that! Welcome again to the group!!!!

Amyjo - Same here with the grill. I'm not breakin' out the BBQ for just me. I have my George Foreman grill and LOVE that thing!!! I can whip up a chicken breast, that tastes outdoor grilled in less than 10 minutes and have it all cleaned up in a few minutes. Good luck with the new classes!

Wildfire - YES!!!! People are starting to notice and it's honestly very scary. I love it, but at the same time it makes people realize I'm loosing weight and there's a part of me that thinks they're going to be watching my progress (aaah, and accountability). Like the new Subway commercial where they all start saying "Garred's off his diet" when he's caught eating something they think is "bad". It's odd to crave the acknowledgement and fear it all at the same time.
I also agree with Sheila that at the beginning of every new thread we should add the weekday plan. I'm working on Water Wednesday right now!!

Eydie - Ooooh, do I know what you mean about the co-worker setting you off!!! Except, my co-worker is my MOM!!!! Talk about sending you to the fridge.... I love my Mom dearly, but as a co-worker she can really push my buttons. Funny thing is is that my stepfather always jokes that it'd be worth firing her and keeping me. She drives him nuts too...

Well, off to water myself...

Terri

Water Report: 8-16 oz glasses today! That's 128 oz! *L* Since I've given up pop completely, the water intake is much easier to accomplish. It was warm here today, too, which helps.

I was just trying to come up with ideas to get us all back to basics and ready to go, but if you would all like to complete the week (we're missing Monday and Tuesday) or come up with different things for each day of the week and post it on our welcome post, I think it's a great idea!

Punkin, it's great that people are starting to notice! I do understand, though...you don't want them observing every morsel you put in your mouth...and wondering if they're waiting for you to fail. THAT AIN'T HAPPENIN!!!! You're going to continue to astound and amaze them all, and we're going to help you.

Sheila, that's great that you can have a garden where you are now. Maybe try some basil/thyme/etc. too, to spice up your meals.

Amyjo, glad you survived the first day back. First day anything is always stressful, until you get used to the people and surroundings. Take out salad is certainly much better than take out fries. That's incredible, all the junk food your niece arrived with! You'll have to tell her it isn't allowed....you don't want your kids eating it all summer. Sad, though, that her mother hasn't informed her what eating like that will result in. After all the problems with the gastric bypass, she still doesn't sound like she's changed her ways.

Flower, come out, come out wherever you are! How are you doing?

Eydie, how was work today?

Lennie, hope you had a good day!

Still looking for Ruthie, Lamorgan, Venus...and anyone else who would like to join in!

Tomorrow is portion day. A good exercise is to fill your plate with the amount you normally eat. Then, before you start to eat, weigh/measure the food on your plate. Many people find that they are eating twice the recommended portion. Some people have success in taking half of what they normally eat and putting that on their plate. Surprisingly enough, it usually is sufficient. I know I'm guilty of eating it all just to clean the plate, then sometimes feeling too full. If I'd only taken half it would have been plenty.

Let's have a great Thursday!

I did get in my 80 ounces.. YIPPPEEEEEEEEE that is like 70 more then yesterday..
Now watching serving size will be fun.. Example I had two 2 1/2 inch circualar hamburg patties on buns.. They started off big but once the fat melted thats all that was left..And also two very small red potatoes baked on grill.. That was my supper.. Now I need to start eating 3 times a day again.. Will start that tomorrow along with 80 more ounces of water ( or should I try for 90?)
Gnite ladies
Take Care
Sheila

Ack, sorry for the brief reply. Thanks to all for the warm welcome, and I will try to write more tomorrow. Today ended up being exhausting, and I am ready for bed. One of my friends had her birthday today, and since no one in her family was celebrating it, I decided to drive in to town, buy her flowers, and take her out for lunch. Didn't anticipate a problem, except that she asked to go to Bennigan's, and I didn't realize til I had gotten there that I had no idea how to figure points for any of their food. I had 20 points to work with, though. Ordered a lage Boca burger with mushrooms and onions and cheese -- tasty, but seemed very fatty after I got it. I ate half, and took half home for my son. Not sure if I ended up overboard on it, and to be honest, since it was her birthday and I won't be eating out often as a usual thing, I'm not gonna worry too much about it. <g>

I suspect part of that is due to the fact that I also started my period today, after a round of progesterone pills from the doctor. Ugh. <g> Not a day I really wanted to go into town, actually. Ended up going back in not long after I got home from taking her to lunch, to take my hubby to doctor -- turns out he broke his ankle skateboarding this past weekend. It has been black and blue and very swollen, and he has been having difficulty walking. I told him I thought it was broken, and I couldn't see why he hadn't just gone to the doctor right off the bat. At any rate, now it is in some sort of "boot" thing, too swollen to put in a cast, and I am having to play nursemaid and errand girl because he is supposed to stay off it as much as possible. Not a problem, except that I do feel all crampy and grouchy and so on, tired out, and not in the mood to be nice. LOL Ah well, guess I should be glad the worst I did was maybe go over points at lunch, because I could just about kill someone for chocolate right now. Hoping the hormones will have faded somewhat by morning...

Well, sorry to not give a better reply to all your great welcomes, but I am longing for bed. Have to spend half of tomoorw in town, as well, but will try to get on here and visit the boards tomorrow at some point. Til then, take care, all!

lennilou