Hi everyone:

Went to curves last night & since I joined (Jan 9th I am down 10# & 9 inches) One more #/inch then I get my name put on the wall & get a T-shirt -
so next month for sure. Also got in a workout last night & then went again at 6:30 this morning - nice way to start the day.

Friend brought the cereal & it is excellent. Nice & crunchy even with milk.
1 point for 2/3 cup because of the fiber - so definately a keeper.

Princess - nice for you to have supportive husband with this. My bf always is wanting pizza & fast food which makes it tough. But lately if I plan ahead I can avoid some disasters.

Happy HumpDay - Keep moving!

Woohoo Bandit! Fantastic results! Inches matter far, far more than pounds (although it's always nice to see the lower numbers on the scale ) and you're just clockin' them up! Way to go!

Princess--Fridays are always welcome around here, because that's 'date' day. Not that we don't have lots of time for each other during the week (we don't have kids), but date day means II treat myself to mexican food.

I'm chugging along, Turtles, I'm making chicken and veggies with risotto rice to take to a potluck later and planning my day around that. Need a workout today...hmm...

Bandit, wow--that shows what perserverance does! You have had an amazing weight and inches lost. I hope you feel great about this. Weigh to go! wild and exhuberant applause. Good for you. And thanks for sharing. Yes, I see your bf likes things that don't help us out, but I also see that you often plan around what he's having and use good substitutes for yourself. Double

Mousie, hope you got in your exercise and very glad you got some veggies together for a potluck. Sounds like fun.

Princess, getting off meds will make a huge difference. And I echo supporting your dh because it's the right thing to do and if he's with the program, it's easier all around.

Ariana, how are you doing? Glad you don't have to work quite as hard as before, and thanks for the exercise update. I guess I have to consider something in the weight lifting area==at least for my arms which are getting remarkably flabby. Yuck! LOL

Today was a good and busy day. I lost .6# at WW WI. I'll take the loss, but I was disappointed since I exercised more this week than usual and I counted all my foods. Well, I'll keep with Core for this upcoming week and if I don't do better than that, I'll switch to Flex for a bit.
You all take care, do well, and keep on turtleing.
Judy Itry
234.6/209/thinner into onederland

Good morning everyone!

Sunny and cold here today... more bad weather expected for this weekend with the exception of possibly on Sunday... we may get a bit of sunshine and a little warmer...

Took the easy way out for dinner last night and made FF Hotdogs on lite bread with a vegtable and some baked beans... I just did not feel like cooking so having those in the freezer came in really handy. I am going to make something with Chicken tonight but have not figured out what yet.

I have parent teacher conferences this afternoon for my high schooler... should be interesting

I did not even bother getting on the scale this morning since I woke up with my TOM and I figured that I would just go into melt down if I stepped on the scale... 3 more days after today for the meds ! Can't wait to be done with them!

How is everyone doing today? Any big plans for the weekend?

Princess

Hi turtles:

Congrats Judy on your weight loss. Any loss is so great! Keep up the good work & it will definately pay off.

Thanks for all the support, eveyone.

Just got back from my official w/i at ww. Was down 1.6# so was very pleased with that. Getting in some exercise really, really helps me.

Going to movies tonight to see Failure to Launch - should be fun & I am having my popcorn - been thinking about it all day. I know thats sounds terrible but I can't help it - wouldn't be the same not having popcorn at the movies. Also have 2 bbq's this weekend, so that will be my challenge. But I know if I plan and bring something point-friendly I will be OK. This is one area
I have to take control of - I have alot of social things year-round & can't keep blaming that for over doing it.

Sounds like everyone is right on programme - so keep up the good work.

Bye for now.

Princess,
Sounds like you plan and prepare by having the FF hot dogs in the freezer.
I know it helps me a lot to have the right foods handy. Good for you! It just shows that even when you are feeling punk, you can still do the right thing.


Bandit,
When I realized today was Thursday I thought about your movie popcorn.
Now, how crazy is that? I'm now fantasizing about friends' foods. LOL. Anyway, you've done great this week and your weight loss shows it. Glad you hooked up to Curves and are doing so well. : Enjoy the movie and the popcorn and have fun.

I've had a really productive day starting with some yoga. I pointed it out and it's one point for the activity I do. After running countless errands--some of which were frustrating--I realized that I had paid good attention to the food I was eating and was still on the right track. Met friends and rambled through some model houses--very upscale and high end. When I asked for a brochure they didn't even attempt a sales pitch! LOL. Guess they figured I wasn't in the market for a new house anytime soon. In any case, we rambled for two hours and I decided to give myself an activity point for that as well. I am very serious about this week because if I don't lose weight being so careful, then I will need to switch to Flex to shake things up a bit. I really don't want to do that, but I also don't want to be careful and not lose weight. Therefore, I'm doing my best this week!

Bandit, I hear you about social activities. I have lots of nice things to do too and they do always involve eating. I can't say that they revolve around eating, but the food is always yummy and a challenge. Depending on what it is, I bring something good for me, make substitutions, eat less and avoid the highest caloric items, or figure something else out. My WW leader always emphasizes that our lifestyle isn't going to change, but it is up to us to figure out how to get fit within the lifestyle we have. I know that's what Mousie was saying the other day when I let my dd's being here for the weekend sabotage my good eating plans. And I am determined to practice and plan and prepare and figure things out beforehand.

Whew! Didn't mean to go on.
Ariana and Mousie, take care and here's for us all!
Love,
Judy
234.6/209/thinner into onederland

So very happy that Friday is here! Weigh in tomorrow at WW so that should be interesting... DH is down a lot again this week according to our scale and I am happy for him. I am ready to see the scale go down for myself but I know that is not going to happen with is since I am still on the meds and it is that TOM. Sooooo we will just keep on chugging along...

Not much is new here with the exception that I guess Mother Nature did not get the memo on the fact that spring as arrived since it is snowing again... just a little bit but snowing none the less

How is everyone doing today?

Princess

Good morning Turtles. It's my weigh in, and this morning I'm UP by 3.0 pounds! I'm not panicking because I know why I'm up--a combination of TOM and a little too much baguette yesterday (bread makes me bloaty). I'll concentrate on getting that down next week, once my body has figured out that this is NOT a fun way to be!

Bandit, you're just flying right along! What a great loss. It does sound like the exercise is the trick. The weeks you miss it you don't lose, and then the weeks you make it there you have great losses. You must be feeling great right now.

Judy, it sounds like you're making decisions you're happy with. I'm glad that you're making progress toward a life that will sustain everything you care about--your family, your activities, AND your health.

Princess, I don't know if I could deal with snow this late in the year! My goodness, it's almost April! Of course, that may be the Southern Californian in me talking.

Ariana, I forgot to answer your question about your workout. I'm sorry.

The programs that are set up in machines make it really easy to do interval work, and if you're in shape they're a great option. However, if you haven't done work like this before or if you're new to exercise, they're a little bit too intense. Too much, too soon. You said you do a program that's 2 min elevated, 2 min flat? My hesitance with that would be that the working interval--2 minutes at the elevated height--is a really long time to keep your heart rate high. So you'd either not be pushing yourself as high as you need to go (to sustain the interval, you'd have to work a bit easier) or you'd burn out and not be able to do as many sets of intervals.

Now, this is assuming you're concerned about your heart rate and your intensity levels. I'm making assumptions about your goals here. It IS entirely valid to do the program on the machine, and you WILL get more benefit doing that--even if each interval is "easy"--than just working on flat (or at a constant elevation). You will always, without fail and without exception, get more benefit if your workout changes--elevation, intensity, speed, resistance, whatever.

Have a good day, Turtles!

Hi Turtles,
Princess, soon the meds and TOM will be finished and the weight will come off. Keep on doing the right thing. I hear how determined you are. Here's
a to keep your spirits up. Good luck on your WI. It could be better than you are expecting.

Things are going better here than they have in quite a while. I am being much more careful with what I eat and the amounts. I have also done yoga 4x this week and yesterday I went out with friends and we took a leisurely stroll through some model houses. Now that the weekend is here, I have to be very careful with my emotions and food. I don't have any plans yet, but that changes at a moment's notice around here.

Good luck to us all!
Judy Itry
234.6/209/thinner into onederland

Hi Turtles,
Mousie, we did it again! We both posted at the same time. In any case, I'm glad you know the reason for the weight gain and I'm sure it will go away soon.
Take care and thanks for such a great answer to Ariana about exercise. It helps us all.
Judy

Great Turtles think alike, eh, Judy?

Yoga four times this week--go you! I'm impressed! I miss yoga. My yogi stopped teaching to pursue her dance career, and my particular injuries make some (many) of the poses downright impossible. Going on the theory that yoga is supposed to be relaxing, and it was driving me up a WALL to do it, I stopped. But good for you for doing it! My hubby has started doing it, too, and he is getting benefits too.

So far this morning I've walked 2 miles and had an apple and peanut butter. Fruit tastes really, really good after exertion. But now I must get cleaned up! See you later, Turtles!

[FONT="Courier New"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Dear Turtles,
I would love to be included in your group. A little about me. I am a 54 yr old ww member. I have been attending ww since the first week of Jan. and have lost only 8 pounds. I have severe arthritis and take 2 mediations that are injected. 1 of them keeps me from losing weight. and the arthritis causes swelling. That particular medication is only used for 6 months then I get 18 months off. I have been going to Arthritis water aerbotics classes 3x a week for an hour then walking for 40 mins. The other days, I walk for an hour. I also work out at home doing belly dancing, pilates, cardio-strip dance (lots of fun) and rebounding. I have been able to wear pants that did not fit in Jan. so I really think that once I stop the medicine, I will drop the weight pretty quickly.
We have a 16 acre farm in a small town in N. Texas where we grow organic herbs and vegtables. we eat very healthy-fish and chicken, lots of vegtables, no sugar or white foods and small amounts of fruits.
With my health issues, I have no choice but to be a turtle. It has taken me a long time to accept this. when the weather is cold, rainy or changing, I spend hours in bed wrapped up in an electric blanket in pain. I had to quit working in Jan 05 due to the pain and fatique. My husband is a hair stylist and I go into the salon and help him when I am feeling well. I miss the contact with other people. I plan on attending beauty school in May to become a facialist. That would allow me to schedule my appointments when I am feeling well.
Looking forward to sharing tips with you all soon,
Lulu

Well, ladies, I tried to do a workout like mousie recommended. I had to try several settings on the machine, but I'm trying this now, on one of the Precor elliptical machines (legs only, not the kind with moving arm controls.)

Warmup: 5 minutes, at increasing cross-ramp heights until I get to about mid-level on the cross-ramp
Interval: I stay at the same cross-ramp height, but ramp the resistance up to 10 for my 30-seconds of high-intensity workout and down to 5 for the 1.5 minutes of lower-intensity workout. Then cooldown for 5 minutes.

It's hard to tell on the machines how that affects my heart rate. I think the machines are way off, since it sometimes registers at 46 when I'm huffing and puffing, and sometimes at 200 when I'm doing a lower intensity cycle, and sometimes at 200 when my hands aren't even on the sensors. So I'm going to go with this and see how I do. With longer, lower intensity workouts on the off-days. What do you think, Mousie? I appreciate your sage advice.

Hey, by the way ladies, if you are interested, there is a good sesame chicken stir-fry recipe that I tried this weekend at:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...ghlight=sesame

It's the lower one, by ArizonaGirlKathy

Well, sorry about that last post. It's late. I tried to put it in Wednesday, and the site timed out, and I went Grorcery Shopping Thursday, so it doesn't take into account anything said since Wednesday afternoon.

This is my third post in a row. Can you tell I'm stressed out? I'm actually having trouble breathing. I'm getting really frustrated, and I'm exhausted, so that isn't helping...but I wanted to tell you guys, to have you as my witnesses and my accountability. I've had it with being stuck -- I lost 25 pounds in nine months and then I've been sitting at 175...I'm not doing this anymore. I'm going to change this. Mousie, I've started doing what you advised as far as working out is concerned. I'm going to commit to doing no fewer than 4 workouts per week, and I'm going to start doing the Wendie plan on Wednesday, since that's when my schedule will start. (http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60078). I am going to knock this on its ***. I'm so tired of being overweight. I've had it!