Yes Lin, you're absolutely right. When calculating--depending on age, activity level, and current weight--it is possible to get down to 18 points. My WW leader really believes that is too low and strongly suggests not going under 20 points--using two points daily from the weekly allowance --. Interesting, huh!

All goes well here, but I feel like it's going to be a long day.
Just found out my dh's brother is in town, up from FL and is on the phone now. I bet we'll have to go visit and I was hoping for a nice, relaxing day with nothing to do.
Judy
234.6/207/204

Ladies thanks for all the hugs and advice

Lin S - I would love to sleep when the baby sleeps but i have a 4 yr. old and 2 yr. old also and the 4 yr. old doesn't nap at all anymore. I do try to lay down on the couch for a rest once in a while.

Judy- I am going to try drinking 64 oz. of water since i usually drink 32 oz.

Msmeri - It makes me happy to see your posts to.

Lauren and Bandit- thanks for the hugs and well wishes. Looks like your both doing excellent on your plans.

If i forgot anyone I am soo sorry. Like i said i am sleep deprived.

It's a new month
I tend to have a fresh start every month.
But, let's first take a look at July's objectives, and see how I did.




I am giving up my coffee creamer. (accomplished)

Eat no more then three frozen entrées a week. (accomplished)

Continue to eat one non-processed food each day. (most days)

I will wake up each day and go out for my regularly scheduled exercise (accomplished)

I will start moving boxes to the new house, little by little. Even if the guys don't help me. (accomplished) Amazing the day after I wrote that down my MIL came over with the trailer and made DH load up stuff! God is in control





Now for the new month...





We are kinda at a new beginning in my real life Weight Watcher's group. We just got a new member last Wednesday, but I can't say that's the reason though. I think a couple of the girls are just "ready" now. We have been at it since January, and I think they want to see results.

We were given homework, it was due 7/29. Each of us had to come up with 5 reasons why we wanted to get healthier. In writing. We got the idea from the brand new WW magazine.


Mine are (in no order)

1. So I don't die in the manor my father did -
with all the drastic complications of diabetes.

2. So I can fit in MIL wedding dress for our renewal, April 2011

3. Be a silent encourager to my DH and DS who are both morbidly obese

4. To own pretty, feminine, SEXY undergarments -
That don't come in BIG Girl sizes

5. Fight & Manage Depression (been doin' good)

6. Shop in regular stores "off the rack"


Now, what do I need to do to reach these goals? Keep on, keeping on.
Stay in my points 6 days a week.
Exercise 6 days a week 90 minutes minnium a day.
Just added Leslie Sansone's Yoga to my every day list, It's real relaxing!



Next week we are to present our 5 GOALS to the group



Save a dollar a day (start of renewal planning)

Get below the ugly 200 number! Hope to be there by Thanksgiving

get 2 workouts in everyday before I go to work (I start back 8/17)

Get into an organized Bible Study

Eat one non-processed food everyday.

MsMeri,
Great goals. You're very thoughtful in your approach to WW's.

Cherry, it's not easy with three young children in the house. I know you can do this and I you for committing to drinking a specific amount of water a day.

This weekend was good for me and I think the scale should show that. How is everyone else?

Take care and be well.
Judy

Hi, All,

I've had in interesting weekend. I signed up on Facebook, since my boss said I had to. Other people have said I should, but I was sure it would be too tempting to spend too much time visiting it. And I can see I know myself all too well. It's such a blast and I've connected up with so many people, some of whom I haven't talked with in years.

I've been exercising. I set a goal of 2 activity points at least 5 days a week. We went swimming yesterday. That was fun. I love swimming and hope to add it to my routine several days a week.

I've done well with food. I used some weekly points yesterday, but have some left over today. I may make popcorn later, if I get hungry. I feared I'd gone way over points because I seemed to eat a lot of food today. The thing is, I went for the produce. I really, really wanted the cheese fondue at one of my favorite local restaurants. So, I ate an heirloom tomato salad, to fill me up first. Then I ate a small serving of the fondue. Then for dinner, I ate veggies, veggies, veggies and a serving of steak. We grilled corn with chipotle pepper and portobello mushrooms rubbed with fresh herbs. I made an heirloom tomato salad with fresh herbs. And we had fresh mixed berries. And I have 4 points left over for today. It was great!

Cherry-- It's tough when you have several children. Good luck!!

Ms. Meri--I can't imagine needing to set a goal of eating non-processed food. I love real food. I've been eating less and less processed food as I get older because it doesn't taste good to me. Maybe as you eat more fresh food, you'll find that you crave it more than the processed stuff. It's a great goal.

They do have sexy lingerie in larger sizes. Google. Maybe they don't have any in the size you are now, but I bet you can treat yourself before you get to goal. Then you can get a wardrobe of them.

Judy, you GO!! Looking forward to your weighin report this week. I bet we get to celebrate with you!!

Keep on turtlin'!

Lin, let's connect on Facebook! There are a bunch of people with your name, so I'm not sure how to find you. You can hunt for my name in the Ann Arbor, Mich. area.

Your veggie dishes sound wonderful. Did you add oil as well? If not, how did you get the herbs to stick?

I wanted to eat the house down yesterday, so I overate on fruit and then at dinner ate an entire bag of frozen veggies. (Heated up, of course, with salt and pepper and spray butter.) Corn, asparagus, and carrots. Yummy, but what was UP with that?? Today should be better, simply because I'm nowhere near my kitchen for most of it.

Other than that, had a very relaxing weekend and spent most of it on the front porch. We've got some busy weeks coming up, so it was nice to have the breather.

Meri, I love your approach to this journey. I'm going to take a page out of your book and set myself some goals for this month:

- Get in at least 2.5 miles of walking (or equivalent exercise) most days of the week
- Eat more vegetables in an effort to meet my WW points goal of 21 points per day (thus far, I've been eating more like 24-28 points per day)

Judy, glad this weekend went well for you!

Cherry, your 4-year-old doesn't nap anymore?? Yikes! No wonder you're exhausted. {{HUGS}}

Princess, woo-HOO on that great loss!!

Have a great day, everyone.

Yesterday was another good day. Our dd invited dh and me to a "family film night" wherein we got to watch That Darn Cat with our 4 year old grandson and his mom. Our dear son in law made tacos and nachos for dinner. I knew ahead of time this was the menu, so I brought a tossed salad with me with some sliced steak on top in case I was tempted to overeat with the tacos. Well, it finally happened. The company was soooooo funny and lively that I ate a moderate, temperate amount of food and enjoyed the company. The food wasn't the most important thing, at all. Next we watched some of the antics of our grandson while my dd caught me up on news about the family. I had trouble sleeping last night, so around 3:30 AM I came downstairs and got a small snack. I may not have had enough to eat during the day. Anyway, I'm nervous about my trip that's coming up soon. I'll be flying alone to meet girlfriends while dh stays here.

Hey, Lin---thanks for your take on eliminating certain foods. Very thoughtful. I know what you're talking about when cravings are so *present*. I also know that keeping trigger foods in the house is not ever good for me. Luckily my dh and I are on the same eating plan right now and we've stopped having Chinese food and pizza, etc. delivered. I'm cooking all our meals, but they are simple. I'm eating loads of fresh produce, huge salads, and small portions of protein at each meal. It's working for me for now. I'll miss my WW meeting this Wednesday, but by eating filling foods while away, I hope to at least stay the same. I may be doing more walking than usual and that may help out.

MsMeri, yay!!!! Let's get into onederland together this year. Definitely by Thanksgiving!!!!

How's everyone doing with Bandit's Summer Challenge? We've got five weeks to go! :

How's everyone doing? take care and be well and keep on drinking that water!
Judy
234.6/207/204 and into onederland soon

Lauren, you and I posted at the same time. I found in the past when I needed a large amount of food like you did yesterday that it was often hormonal. This whole journey is simpler now that I'm into menopause. That probably sounds wacky since so many have trouble losing weight during this time of their lives, but I'm so much more peaceful and my hormones aren't raging and although the weight loss is probably slower, it isn't as difficult.
Judy

Morning, turtles:

WOW, so many posts in the few days I was away. I have read through them and congrats to all of you who have lost weight, excercised and stayed on track. That is truly awesome!

At my w/i I stayed the same & was alittle disappointed, but I know it is so much better than a gain. So just have to accept it and move on.

I went up to my gf trailer & that was the first time I drove there by myself, so was happy not to get lost. We have alot of fun, but I think I did overeat a few times. This was the first time this year she was in the pool, since it has been too cold & rainy up here. Very sad to think summer is half over before we got a decent weekend.

On the upside, there were a few ladies I hadn't seen since last year and they all commented on my weight loss & 1 lady didn't recognize me at all.
So that was very encouraging since sometimes the people we see all the time just don't notice the changes.

Judy - since starting this journey I always journal. I find that really helps me stay on track.

Well, I came home late last night so I would have today at home & will be grass cutting & hedge trimming. It is a holiday up here so very short week for me since I don't work Fridays.

Hope everyone has a great day & here's to a new month!

Afternoon all and happy Monday to everyone. I hope that everyone is doing well. Things are chugging along here... the weekend was rough, constantly hungry and picking at this things that I should not... will have to wait and see.

Judy: Sounds like you did great though at your get together with the family, even with the late night snack.

Bandit: Yep, staying the same is always better then the alternative =)

Lauren: Thanks! I was pretty darned happy about it also =)

Have a great day all.

Bandit, staying the same isn't fun-----but you should see a nice loss next week. :

Princess, it's a kicker when we get soooooo hungry and want to eat and eat. I'm sending : that those feelings are gone by now.

Cherry, how are you doing?

Chrily, are you with us once in awhile?

Lauren, Lin, and MsMeri, keep on keepin' on!

The Turtles are the best.
Judy
See you all in a few days.

Hi, Everyone,

Lauren, I have a Misto pump oil sprayer. I love it!! So, we lightly sprayed olive oil on them, just enough to allow the herbs and spices to stick and keep them from sticking to the grill or burning. I love summer produce.

I sent you a PM with a link to my home page on Facebook. If that doesn't work. I'll try searching for you. I'm in San Jose, CA, so you could also try searching for me by my name and city.

Judy, I'm with you all the way on the hormonal thing. Glad it's gone.

Nice job with the family film fest. It sounds like you've got a good plan for your upcoming trip. I'm looking forward to hearing about it. You're so close to onederland. I don't think you'll have trouble meeting it sooner than you think!!

Bandit, nice that you didn't gain. Maintaining may be nothing more than a bit too much salt and it will show up next week. Good luck to you.

Princess, hang in there. This week should be better.

I'm doing fine, so far this week. I walked extra today because I had to go to the bank and the post office for work. And, we have shopping to do this evening, so that will be more walking, but I won't count that as activity points because it will be too much starting and stopping.

Keep on turtlin'!

Hmmm, no PM, Lin. Wonder what happened to it? I'll see if I can find you by city.

Great idea on the oil mister -- I keep forgetting about those, and we actually have one.

Judy, WTG on that dinner out with family and focusing on the company rather than the food! Woo-hoo!

Princess, weekends can be tough. Hope the week is going better for you.

Bandit, YAY on all the friends' comments about your new weight! That's terrific!

Having a decade birthday, so I'm having a steak dinner tonight at a good restaurant, and DH made red wine slushees for dessert. Last night I had a birthday ice cream cone, just because. I do love ice cream! We walked downtown and back rather than drove, so that helped -- about 2.5-3 miles.

Other than that, eating is going fine. Still very hungry and wanting to eat a lot, but I'm containing it. I always lose well when I do. Or, at this point, maintain well -- that's all I'm looking for right now, with all these extras! I am looking forward to losing again, though.

Oh, great NSV -- I got the results of my blood work back, and my blood sugar has dropped well out of the borderline zone and into normal! Hooray! I was concerned, because diabetes is huge in my family, and because even after 9 months or so on the program, my blood sugar went down only 1 point. But after another half year, it went down another 11, so all is good. I'm so glad! Eating a low-glycemic-index diet and losing weight really does help.

Have a great day, everyone.

Morning all and happy Wednesday to everyone. DS went and had all of his wisdom teeth taken out yesterday, some of them were impacted so it was a rough surgery and I was busy with him for most of the day. Food was ok yesterday but I could have done better.

We had huge ugly rain storms come through here yesterday, tons of rain and lots of flooding. They are gone for the most part now but everything is soaked!

Our state fair starts here soon which is always a big calorie laden event I am sure we will go this year just not sure when.

Lauren: Happy Birthday! Great news on your blood work results! You have to be thrilled!

Lin: Great job on getting in extra walks... may I ask what you do that you walk so much during the work day?

Judy: Family Film Night sounds like fun! Sounds like you did a good job on your food so that is a good thing.

Bandit: It is wonderful that you were able to get away for a while with your friends... I understand what you mean about the whole "staying the same" thing... always better then a gain but still not a loss.

Hi, Fellow Tortoises,

I hope your birthday turned out great, Lauren.

YAY on the blood sugar results!!

Princess, to your DS. I had all of mine out at once and I remember what that's like.

Have fun at the state fair!!

My job itself isn't what gets me walking, except in a tangential way. My husband got a job that's about a half hour drive from here and he has to take our car because public transportation is way less convenient for him. So, I take the train. I take the train or bus everywhere I need to go during the work week, and getting to and from public transportation puts the miles on my feet. So far, since last Friday, I've earned 24 activity points. It's nice to have that built into my life because I don't always have time for an extra workout.

I'm still doing great. Yesterday I went to a place that has these great tiny desserts for coffee. I bought a dessert to take home and share with my dh. I'm eating my half, but there'