Hi! Just an update both my children are healthy again , I find that when one is sick the other is not too far down the germ path! My son just turned 3 and daughter will be 5 in March so we live in a petri dish most of the time! I have had a great couple of weeks and yesterday I found myself wanting to eat everything in sight, sabotage , maybe...gotta figure out how I got to that point yesterday. I gave in a little, a bite here and there, but nothing too terrible. So I guess it is okay, still not sure. I bumped up my work out today to try and undo any damage, just in case. I feel committed to the cause still - going on week 3. Still glad to be here and grateful for everyone, newbies and veterans alike.

Heidi - I saw candy hearts today at the store and immediately thought of you...immediately sent us all some willpower dust! I DO love manatees for so many reasons. My dad and sis live in Florida and I grew up on the east coast so I became fascinated with them as a kid. Also, I was a strict vegetarian for about a year, you would think that alone would make you thin, but not in my case. Since manatees are herbivores and also pleasantly plump, I just thought it fitting to be an AZ Manatee. Oh yes, I also agree that the view from under the bus is indeed horrible, I am glad your not there too!

WLW - you finally have sun and now it is rainy and cold here in AZ, brrr but a nice change actually. Glad to hear you are back on track! Wishing you a great week.

OMW - Just noticed you are working on your last 20! Amazing, wow, good for you! Can't wait until I get there!

CAT - WeeJump, if that is the inflatable fun house I think it is, they are hysterically fun. We have similar places here that host children's birthday parties and it is an awesome work out, not that I particularly enjoy jiggling my way around inside them for all to see . Glad to hear you are still having a blast, enjoy!

2x2much - Welcome, I am a newbie myself. I agree with the other advice already given by the senior members here. I had a huge AHA! when I started journaling. As Petra said too, try to find something that will work long term and that you enjoy. That is where I am, finding out what works, everyday I learn something from the members here so hang with us and things will begin to click into place.

Lambchop - Can't wait to see that movie with my little girl, she is a true princess in every way. You did it!You are back to running! So glad your spine is cooperating!

ICU - It is so cold here today, I was just thinking about making chili and wondering where to start, your recipe looks very yummy. Congrats on claiming your #!

PeanutsMom and Annie - Fantastic on your loss last week! Congrats!

Marie - Best wishes with the new mill, I am jealous as I love new kitchen gadgets to play with! Thanks for all your support here too, it really means a lot.

OMW - Okay now I feel bad for complaining about being cold in AZ, we have no right. I hope you stay warm through the night.


To EVERYONE - have a great week!

Marie-www.homegrownharvest.com. This will probably scare you, but I eat wheat. I cook it first, of course. There are two varieties, hard red wheat and soft white wheat. I'm not sure which one is better for making bread. I prefer the hard red wheat for eating. Also, I work for the hospital, so I can't go off and do something on my own. I have to have their permission. Watching the news is upsetting me. I may have to limit my exposure.

ICU-good to "see" you again and congrats on the weight loss. I've only been real target shooting one time but I liked that too. It's a lot harder in real life that on the Wii because of the recoil.

OMW-sounds like you are having a home improvement nightmare. Hopefully it will be over soon.

Lamb-great to hear that your running is going so well. And who would have thought you would have missed it so much.

Cat-glad your having a good time with Noah.

Hi to everyone else.

Tomorrow is my big lecture at the hospital. I'm getting nervous about it. My boss put it on a powerpoint and I've made little notes on my version of the slides. I hate public speaking. Plan to play with my Wii Fit some more tonight. My quads are kind of sore today. Not sure if that's my pilates class from Sat or the Wii fit or some combination of the two.

Wow, took me forever to catch up with this week's posts already and it sounds like I missed a few from last week! Great to hear everyone is doing so well : ) I FINALLY got to move my ticker again, down to 164. Doing my happy dance! Ended up putting in 15 minutes on the elliptical and just over 1.5 miles on my lunch break today, in addition to the mile of walking to the bus. Someone asked what I'll do to make up for the lack of walking once I get my car - I'll be able to stay after work to hit the gym for an hour : ) Also, I want to find someplace to get in some swimming, no indoor pools on the bus route! My first big trip in my new car will be to whole foods and earth fare to stock up on my favorite healthy foods! I'm going to try to avoid doing the whole see-saw thing this time between my old weight and my new weight : )

Good evening friends! Keeping warm with a fire in the fireplace and lots of blankets.

Cruise, Sounds like you are having a great trip!

Petra, Interesting post. I think I used to be an abstainer but have trained myself to be moderate. It's a good feeling to feel that I have the control that I didn't used to have. I can choose to have a little and move on. Good luck with your presentation!

Newleaf, Isn't it great to feel the results of your hard work. You'll be so ready for your trip! Great job breaking up with those candy hearts!

ICU, 147.5 is yours! Way to go! Glad your neck is feeling better. Hope the change to the new school goes smoothly! I have a similar recipe for white chili. It's a favorite in our house!

Marie, Glad you enjoyed your lazy day! Your dog walking story made me chuckle. We have all manipulated situations at one time or another!

AZ, happy your kids are feeling better! We all have days where we go off plan a bit, it's what we do about it that matters. Increasing exercise is a great way to compensate.

Anniedrews, Congrats on the loss! Like your avatar!

Peanutsmom, Congrats on the ticker and the loss too!

Lambchop, sounds like your back on track with your running. Your patience has paid off!

WLW, Hope your scales came to an agreement! Can't wait to hear about your new car!

CAT – thanks for starting the new thread, hope you are still having a great time with Noah!

WLW – good job sticking with your activities. I agree with others to not compare scales, it’s crazy-making! Just pick one and use that as your benchmark. But glad you had ticker movement!!

OMW – ack about the furnace! Hope you managed to stay warm and get some sleep.

Petra – totally agree with your point about moderation vs. abstaining. I also have similar conversations with people about low carb – some people *need* to do that to be successful, others are fine with calorie counting/WW or other plans where they are eating whole grains, etc. (although in moderation, of course!)

Newleaf – good for you for being able to have planned treats and then staying on plan. I think that’s important to do for maintenance purposes so it’s good practice to get used to it now! And great that you are seeing the benefit of your exercising in an activity like your walk. It’s so nice to be able to enjoy stuff like that!

Lambchop – so glad you are really getting back into your running! And thanks for the review of Princess/Frog. It looks cute to me, so I may take my boy.

ICU - "We're all laboratories of one" I like that! Similar to what I just posted above when reading Petra’s post.. And yay on the 147.5 – you are getting so close to goal, that’s great!

Annie – I love my food scale, makes measuring so easy!

Marie – another story about how exercising has made regular activities so much more fun. I love it!

AZ Manatee – glad you were able to keep cravings from getting too far out of control and you are back on track today!

My update – had another 4 point day, despite some major problems with my son, so I think I’m at least getting the hang of balancing that stress with meeting my own needs to stay on plan. Hoping my (mini)whoosh continues this week!

Sorry if I missed anyone from the old thread but hello to everyone and esp. to the newcomers. This place is fantastic!!

Good morning everyone! Today is my "friday" already, looks like another sunny, warm day. The birds have been singing so happily since our could snap broke! I agree with the one scale, as far as knowing what my weight truly is I stick with the scale at the gym. But that's only available to me 3 days a week. The crazy house scale just gives me an idea of whether I'm going up or down in between, as long as I only step on it 1x : ) I hope everyone is having a great week!

Marie - I'm planning my beach morning for Saturday. My sister is coming in to town and I've got a hotel for Friday & Saturday night. Although I get up early here it's a little difficult to really get moving before Noah gets up around 7:00.

Petra - I am a CNN junkie at home and I'm happy I'm not there. I would be obsessed with what is happening in Haiti and quickly slip into depression. Good luck with your lecture today.

AnnieDrew - Good to "see" you. I love pictures of "real" people. It helps putting a face to the name.

Natalie - Good to hear the kids are better. Some days are a killer for me, especially mid TOM cycle. I try to drank extra water to keep my stomach feeling full. Back before I started this WOL that wouldn't matter but now I find it very difficult to eat if I'm full.

Becky - Talk about inspiration.... you are kicking butt. You have the commitment and balance I so desperately want. I still struggle with the all or nothing mentality. Yesterday I spent the day watching Noah and was unable to workout (other than a 1.5 mile walk) and then for dinner we had yummy Chinese food. After that I was like well if I'm going to feel guilty I might as well have that ice cream too. It's the fricken guilt that gets me EVERY time. As I sat here this morning thinking about the next week I had resigned myself to "get it together" when I got home. This is an area of my life (being away from home) I need to deal with NOW.

Kathi - Doing the happy dance with you!!! Let's step off the see-saw together. The weather here is SC has been GREAT, much better than back home the last couple days.

I'm off to do a little shopping today and ME time.

Here are the words to the song I was speaking about -- Almost There (Princess and the Frog soundtrack) -- as it was playing on the screen, I started crying, because i realized...I'm almost there!

Mama... I don't have time for dancing !

That's just gonna have to wait a while
Ain't got time for messing around
And it's not my style
This whole town can slow you down
People taking the easy way
But I know exactly where I'm going
And getting closer, closer, every day

And I'm almost there, I'm almost there
People down here think I'm crazy, but I don't care
Tribes and tribulations have had my share
There ain't nothing gonna stop me now cause I'm almost there

I remember Daddy told me : "Fairytales can come true
You gotta make 'em happen, it all depends on you"
So I work real hard each and every day
Now things for sure are going my way
Just doing what I do
Look out boys I'm coming through

And I'm almost there, I'm almost there
People gonna come here from everywhere
And I'm almost there, I'm almost there

There's been tribes and tribulations
You know I've had my share
But I've climbed the mountain, I've crossed the river
And I'm almost there, I'm almost there
I'm almost there !

Becky - woohoo, claiming 147! So glad it's sticking for you - and glad your neck has settled down. Understand the overload thing, and may give you some relief to have one main focus without all the extras.

Peanut - congrats on the scale movement! Both my DH and I really enjoyed it, and it seemed like the kids watching it really liked it...it's not too girly, they did a nice job with the movie.

Annie - congrats on dropping close to 3 pounds. Glad you have a place to track everything - whatever or wherever works for you - it's working!

Marie- yeah, my fear come in with the discipline, would i get back on track and keep moving...thankfully my brain has a focus/goal so i think that helps. So happy you got to see your own progess hiking with the dogs. Hope you're enjoying your book.

OnMyWay - hope the soup helped, brrrr, and your heat is back working today.

Heidi - way to go on resisting the hearts

AZ - yeah...when my boys started kindgergarten, eeek. seemed like we were always sick! this too will pass! glad everyone is feeling better - my aunt lives in Oro Valley near Tuscon...but haven't been to AZ for a few years..my favorite place was Sedona.

Petra- hope the presentation goes well. I hate public speaking also - but you'll do great! Hope you got your Wii Fit time in

WLW - glad to hear the scale moved again - here's hoping you get your car sooner than later

Cindy - enjoy your ME time. What did you end up doing? Find any great buys? Go to a spa?

---
Scale is staying steady, and i'm fine with that. What I'm hoping is I'll start to build muscle again this week, since i lost it the last bit since i had to stop running -- while running is back on, sitting is still a chore. Guess that will take a few more weeks...

I may have told someone I'd do the Disney marathon with her in Jan next year...yeah...full marathon...a girl from my running group was looking for another slow runner to do it with, and I volunteered. Before i realized what I typed, i was like...oy, did i just do that? I did say i have to see how I get through my 1/2's first, but eh, it's a year away. Plenty of time to get there...why not. Guess it's just a "bigger" challenge. or i'm crazy. - probably both.

Hi All,
down 4 this week
trying to add as much exercise as I can to my day.

Soooo, I fell off the wagon last week. Actually I not only fell off the wagon, but my foot got tangled in a loose rope and the wagon dragged me through town and left me bloodied and broken in from on the dump!!! Not really sure what happened, but Thursday and Friday were just a totally eating fest. Anything and everything I could lay my hands on I put in my mouth. I think part of it was stress, it has been just crazy busy here between work and kids and the house and oh yeah, we have 10 puppies that we are taking care of until they are old enough to go to permanant homes. (don't ask... it is a crazy story that i will get to another time!) All that being said, I did manage to get back on track this weekend and didn't end up with any long term damage. Even managed to loose a half pound. Don't know how... but there it is. Haven't been on the site since last week either, so I have missed much I am sure. I don't have time to go back and read all the missed posts, so I am just starting from today and jumping in where I can.

Of course today is not being a good day for me... have a ton of work that needed to be done yesterday and I just got my car stuck in the ditch. My road is a sheet of ice and I slid right into the ditch and in the process of trying to "rock" my way out, I think I did more damage. DH is NOT happy with me. So instead of eating my way through the carton of ice cream that the kids must have gotten over the weekend when I wasn't looking, I am here to get my mind "in the right place".

Unfortunately, I can't stay... work is calling and I must get these reports done or their will be $%^# to pay. Hope everyones day is going much better. At least the sun is shining.... hoping it will melt some of this bloody ice.

Ciao!!

Things are hectic around here but progress is being made. Stayed in bed as long as I cold this morning. We do have a small space heater that I keep moving from room to room as I need it! It looks like both the floor and the furnace will be finished today. I haven't worked on my photos as planned but did get through a mountain of personal paperwork on the desk. I hate filing and I'm never quite sure of what to keep or shred. I'll let DD shred for me later, she's young and still thinks that it is a fun job!

My scale was down another pound today but I'll need to see it again tomorrow before I claim it. It's a great motivator to make the right choices!

Marie, I'm a big Grey's fan and I also DVR so I can get through it quicker. Also like to watch after DD11 is in bed since it's not always age appropriate!

Lambchop, I agree with Marie, just think how much thinner you will be by next Jan. Your full marathon will be a breeze!

Cat, enjoy your ME time!

Tigga, Welcome! Congrats on being down 4!

Peanutsmom, It is all about finding a balance. Hang in there with your son. Don't let the stress get the best of you and turn to food for comfort. We are here for you!

WLW, Have a good "weekend"!

BellyBuster, Glad you came here instead of to the ice cream. Hang in there!

Hello everyone. Very busy day, just checking in quickly. Doing good on my eating plan, had a "naked burrito" bar at lunch and was able to keep it under 400 calories if I estimated correctly. Hard to measure at work.

Had only 2-3 hours of sleep last night. Younger son is having insomnia issues, so we dealt with that most of the night. Hope to get back on schedule tonight. I really want to try to start doing my elliptical in the mornings.

Hope everyone is having a good, healthy day!

Hi, everyone. Just a quick post here. It has been a very busy day, which I knew it would be... so... to prepare for that, I actually got up early and exercised at 7:00am!! That is so unlike me, I hate exercising first thing. I just did the treadmill because the stair master felt like too much on an empty stomach, but I still worked up a sweat, and I knew there would be no other time to exercise later so I made the best decisions I could. Ha! Go, me!

ICUWishing and OnMyWay congrats on your losses!! And, reading about your furnace is making me shiver...