Judy good for you trying to use hummus to take away the sugar taste. I love hummus in a pita with cukes, tomatoes, lettuce and what ever else I can throw in. Thats a good question to ask ourselves as well about eating. I have induldged in a few leftovers myself from the kids left behinds from the visit home. I missed them as soon as they left my car at the airport yesterday morning. Judy I took home some work the other day and of course don't get paid for that time but it caught me up. It feels like I am a bit more in control now at work so that was well worth my effort to do it. Good luck with the organizing.
Penny way to go every little bit counts and adds up . Keep it up. Those 11's were pretty tight but it felt good.
Nikki I have dail up and the kids said oh mom get it changed. So I am thinking of trying something else. I only pay 10.00 a month. I am on here with you all more than anything else.
Marie I love strawberries I have a small patch this year they didn't do so well. Too much rain this spring. Also the slugs got some and the birds and who ever else out there wanted some. At any rate I think I will go pick some this weekend. They are only 1.25 a qt. I'd like to make some jam and freeze some. Your swims sound wonderful. I think tonight after work I may swim. I will take my suit with me today. I can stop at my sisters on the way home. Garage sale at my other sisters on saturday. Then a graduation and party in the afternoon. I am also going to help with the room we are working on. THe kids did a lot but we have to finish up the sheetrock and mudding it sanding and get someone to finish off the woodwork. Then its painting and rugs etc. Hopefully we finish by the end of next month.The bathroom will be done later on after the inspectors come and go. No sense in paying even more taxes. The hubby is getting anixous to say the least about his garage being built as we took his for this project. Yesterday we had a bit of a blow out. I didn't turn to food though. Just went to bed early couldn't bear to deal with it at the time. He will get his garage but not til most likely Sept. Men are so different than woman just different personalities. Sometimes its hard to ignore their little outburst. He hates change and I guess its not easy. I will try to have a better attitude today maybe it will rub off. Thanks for letting me vent this is better than sweets. Huh???? I am sorry to unload here but just had to get it out.
I am going for breakfast with a friend then off to work. I will pack a salad for today and some fruit. I am trying a no meat day.

Hi, all! I'm doing well today. I'm remembering to start my day with a 15-minutes mental workout (meditation or hypnosis) and that really helps. I did a yoga workout because I've been feeling a bit stiff. I'm pretty inflexible, what with the weight and the arthritic knees, but it feels good to try the poses, and I can tell that I'm gradually getting a little better. My eating is on program, no poking around in the office kitchen for a little extra 'sumpin-sumpin.' If it's not hellishly hot, I might do my long walk on the way home. I hate to get on the subway at the Arlignton Cemetary stop all red-faced and dripping sweat....but it's only for two stops, and people are too polite to do anything but give me sidelong looks, then look away.

Nikki, I've got my fingers, eyes, legs and toes crossed for you! You've done a great job.

Penpal, congratulations on another half-pound lost! I used to scoff at all the protein diet people, but now I don't care, they're on to something. Especially after so many years of going on and off of low-fat diets, I could eat cereal and spaghetti from now until and still be hungry. Low-fat protein and lower carbs keep my appetite at bay. But if I fall off the wagon, it's hard to get the genie back in the bottle , which is a big part of why I'm losing so slowly.

Marie, I laugh whenever you say you're driving around topless! Things are even more casual out West than I thought . Thanks for the computer advice. I'll get a mid-range PC, nothing too outlandish, enough to do office work on and surf, but capable of adding onto over the next few years.

Carol, how's meatless Thursday going? I'm a proud carnivore, but I tend to eat a lot less red meat in the summer, and have been slowly learning to appreciate "veggie burgers" and the like. Hope the hubby has chilled out a bit. One of the hard things for me in a relationship was always the money. I tended to attract the happy-go-lucky types, which forced me to be the responsible one, which was never a good situation.

Have a good evening--judy

Hi everyone-

Judy - way to go on the meditation whenever I meditate I instantly feel better

Marie- topless i a jeep sounds awesome. Tomorrow is the weigh in good luck.

cac- I love my cable connection. I actualy did not lose the internet,. My entire PC crashed


I just got out of the pool from doing laps. I have everything crossed for tomorrow LOL.

Nikki

Hey Nikki, I just finished laps too. I also redid DH computer last weekend. It had been a 1.4G P4 and I'd bought a new motherboard, processor (3.0G) and memory (1G). Everything else stayed the same. Of course I had to rebuild the OS drive but it is so nice. With DSL, it flies. BTW, since I'd originally built the computer over 5 years ago, the upgrade only cost me $112. Sure can't beat ebay. Good luck on the weigh in tomorrow. I'm hoping for a pound or two.

Carol, definitely vent. My DH would agree with your DH that the garage is most important. Before we finished building the house, he was building his detached 3 car garage. 6 year later, that's where you can find him if he's not around. It's his favorite spot. Did your DH give up his garage for the renovations?

Judy, you are doing great. The meditation/yoga time is so good for you, especially with your busy job. I've been using my pool for leisurely laps to unwind. I always feel better in the evenings. I'm still WATP every morning as the "real" exercise.

Work is so interesting these days. My boss is officially gone (quit, last day was yesterday) and who knows what's going to happen. My co-workers last day is now tomorrow, so it'll be quiet in my office. But hectic since I'm covering other people's job. I was literally exhausted by the end of the day. That doesn't happen too often.

Tomorrow I'm going out to lunch with the quitting co-worker and I looked at Deeny's menu (where she wants to go) and found a couple interesting salads. So eating tomorrow shouldn't be too hard.

This weekend we're (DH, DS and I) are oging to Napa Valley for the NASCAR race. Way too many $$$ but we had a blast last year. Unfortunately it's supposed to be 96 degrees and sunny. Guess what, no shade either. I'm going to slather the sunscreen on and hope for the best. And drink loads of water.

That's it for now. Chat with you tomorrow.
Marie

Yeah the new garage was to be built first it just didn't go that way due to peoples schedules and helping hands. I will contact my brother this week and see if we can get it at least started soon. Its tough and I realize it but sometimes we can't have it the way we want it. Just have to adjust a bit. Its not like its not going to happen.
Well for scale day poo! I gained or at least the scale says I did. I actually don't feel it but the scale says so. So I am back to journal intakes and watching my foods closer. I know I ate things that weren't great but had no idea I had gained a few lbs. Thats awful and I need to do something about that. No way will I put up with it. So its careful calories. Could be a bit of salty foods but not that much at any rate accept it and move it off. I say! I think for exercise I need to get to the gym or walk the extra stuff I do should just be extra. I might be giving it all too much credit as being exercise. At any rate I need to get on the ball. Maybe I should of used the scale regardless of company or not? It does give us balance. Like it or not. So I will do it again sunday and wed. fri. for a little while. It might help me to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Good for you Judy keeping on track and walking more. The heck with other people your the one that counts in this journey. Sometimes we worrry to much of what others would think or say about us in general. It makes for a tougher world and we have it tough enough I think. So just do what makes you feel good. Who knows what others are thinking maybe it is something positive. Marie keep up your good work hope it rubs off at least the clothes fit okay but I would like the scale to reflect some lower numbers too. Lots of water today, healthy eating and a bit of exercise too. Nikki hope the scale is good to you and you deserve it cause you have been being really good.

Morning everyone-

cac- hang in there scales stink !!!

Marie - hope you had a good scale day.

As for me, I lost 2 lbs to put me back at 158.0 I am bummed because since Tuesday I was seeing 157 and of course the day of my weigh in I am back to 158 BLAH!!!! I guess I should be happy though. I bought 2 skirts this week and one was a medium and the other size 8. I haven't seen size 8 in years. My boyfriend thinks my body is reshaping and thats why I'm not losing every week. Who knows !@!


Have a great day ladies
Nikki

Marie - I hope you have a fun time at the NASCAR races in Napa Valley. Looks like we're in for some hot weather next week. I bet you'll enjoy having your pool to cool off in when you get back.

Carol - Remodelling can be stressful. Guys have a 'thing' about their garages. I would love to reorganize and throw out a bunch of stuff in our garage but hubby thinks it's his "domain" so I try not to look at the mess too much. It's so hard to stay on plan when we have company. I hope the scale is good to you soon.

Judy - I really need to go for some yoga lessons. My mother-in-law used to do yoga every day and she said it helped keep her joints supple. I think it will be easier once I lose a bit more weight as I don't think I could do the poses yet.

Nikki - Don't be too bummed about being back at 158. I fluctuate up and down a lot before I "settle" at a weight for a week or two (or three or four......) It's great you're fitting into a size 8 now and your boyfriend it right that your body is 'reshaping'!

I'm thrilled that I'm down another pound from last Friday's weigh-in to 187! I've lost two pounds in two weeks and that's almost unheard of for me (I'm usually lucky to lose .5 pound per week). I definitely think it's because I've upped my protein. I've been averaging about 1650-1750 calories, which is about 100 more than usual. I'm just two pounds away from half-way, so I hope this keeps up!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Penny - Congrats on your loss and on being close to 1/2 there

I am off to my boyfriends for 4 days I hope I can manage to keep the eating under control.

Nikki

Thanks Nikki! Have a nice time with your boyfriend.

Hi everyone. Sounds like the scale was relatively okay this weighin but not great. I lost a 1/2 pound but I wasn't bummed like last time since Tuesday's peek gave me clue not to expect anything grand. Penpal and Nikki, congrats on your loss, alsthough Nikki I'm sorry you didn't get your wish. Aren't our bodies just uncooperative???? Carol, sorry about the gain. One thing I've noticed after years of up and downs is that if I'm going down and I don't slowly move to maintaining, I gain back easily. That might have been what happened to you. I know you and that you can get back on the losing path. I don't think I'd be so successful if I wasn't logging everything into Lifeform (database). Everything is in there, calories, weight, moods, TOM, literally everything about my journey. Looking at the history, I know TOM is supposed to be here on Monday, so I should be grateful there was a 1/2 pound loss. Anyway, I have 3.5 pounds to go for the July 17th goal. I'm thinking I can still do it. This weekend will be harder since we'll be in Napa Valley.

Penpal, definitely way hot. My thermometer currently says my pool area is 109 degrees. From weather.com I saw that Napa will be even hotter. Yikes, I'm going to melt. I used to barely lose weight and when I cold turkey'ed all my pysch meds last August, I found I could lose again. I was an angel for about a year and had lost only 17 pounds. So I know what losing slow is like. So if you're taking meds, that could be one reason why things are slow for you.

Nikki, have fun at your boyfriends. Be good and don't over indulge. I'm not saying on what.

Carol, scales are the necessary evil. Aren't they? I learned the HARD way that I can't go by what my clothes feel like. I'd known I'd gained a little, but no way did I think I'd gained 17 pounds. I've lost 14.5 of thos 17 so I'm excited. My clothes feel way loser than they did before I'd gained. That has to be the exercise. Muscles, got to love them.

I'm trying to decide whether to go swimming. I'm exhausted and going through the hassle of removing the pool cover sounds overwhelming. Hey out there, I can tell you're not being sympathetic. So I don't know if I'm going to. I bet I'd feel better if I did...

And I did it!!! I worked a full 5 day week. Amazing!!! That's the first time in 2006. I better get used to it since my contract days was just increased. But big raise.

Okay, time for dinner or swimming. I'd actually rather go to bed.
Marie

Hello girls hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was quite busy to say the least. Had a garage sale on saturday with my sister and daughters. We had a nice visit something we don't always take time for other than at a party. It was nice to touch base with each other and not be in a hurry. We had a few good laughs and sold some stuff and of course emptyed out some unneeded things.
Today I am starting over I feel good as far as how my clothes fit. I think I have lost inches but the scale has gone up and that doesn't make me very happy. So I am going to concentrate on eating healthy and putting regular exercise back into my diet. I know I have induldged while the kids visited but I also lifted things and was very active. So I am not sure what to think with this whole mess. I guess the scale is important and I want to see lower numbers for sure. So I have created a chart with my intakes, exercise and scale days marked. I am going to journal it always seems to work and I got away from it for a bit. Most likely not a good move. My current goal is to lose 5lbs by 7/21 my birthday. So I will need to get myself going right now! Hope your all doing well and are ready for a new week of healthy eating. Tonight I am going to have salmon for dinner. Trying to add in fish at least 3 times a week. I am going to preplan my dinners in hopes that it will give me more balanced meals. Going back through some old journal for some ideas as well. Wish me luck. Nikki your boyfriend could be right our bodies sure can be stuborn and controlling. We think one way they act another all we can do is try our best to stay on track and keep some type of control. Good luck all~

Good morning all, I've been gone so long that it would be impossible to list every one individually, but I've missed you guys. I'm glad to see everyone still here. We all have our up's and down's, but that's why we're here, right?

I knew I had gained some weight, I just didn't feel right. I got on the scales this morning to find 3 ugly, mean pounds had returned! Guess I didn't get rid of those creepy little things after all. They were just there waiting for me to mess up so they could return. I have to say I have been pushing my luck lately. eating way too much junk. But I'm on the straight and narrow again today, and upping the exercise too.

It looks like it's going to rain here this morning. I had planned on walking to the library for my exercise. I may have to rethink that!

Hope everyone has a lovely day, Freda

Marie - Congrats on the .5 lb. loss. It's baking here too. It was 103 yesterday and it looks like it will be the same today. I think the heat makes me swell up! I can't get my rings off and the scale says I've gained 2 lbs. even though I've been on plan. I'm hoping it will come off when the weather cools down a bit. You mentioned it might be meds that make my weight loss so slow. The only meds I'm on are for my thyroid, so maybe that's got something to do with it. I'm eating about 1600-1700 calories per day, so I don't expect to lose quickly on that amount but it's what I'm comfortable with.

Carol - Good idea to eat more fish - it's so healthy and I find it easy to digest. I'm like you in that if I stop journaling my food I immediately start gaining! It's so hard to 'guesstimate' our food intake. I know some lucky people can lose weight without keeping track, but I'm not one of them! Wishing you good luck for getting back on track now that your company has left

Freda - I'm glad you're back and hope that those pesky pounds are soon gone!

Hi everyone, good luck Freda and Carol getting back on track. It's never easy. I totally agree with Penpal, I don't log my food = I gain. This weekend I did really good with food. We were in Sonoma Nascar Race and that's never easy. I didn't have my computer so I didn't log Saturday or Sunday. Today I put everything I ate and stayed at around 1400 cals both days. YEAH!!! I walked tons yesterday (no choice since the parking was way far form the track) and it was ridiculously hot. I sweated from places I didn't know I could sweat from. Best yet, I used enough sun screen and did NOT get burned. Pretty amazing for being out in the sun from 10:00 in the morning to 5:30 in the evening. I'm so happy about that. The biggest surprise is the stupid TOM came early just so it could be pesty when it's hard to handle. But I survived and Since Friday was day before TOM, I actually might have lost more than the .5 pound. If I knew I was getting TOM the next day, I wouldn't have weighed in. so I'm going to skip tomorrow's weigh in and weigh again on Friday. The diet is going great. My clothes are either too baggy or fit perfectly (the previous tight ones). Finally my body feels like it lost weight.

Penpal, my ring that's too big got too tight sittin gin the gradnstands yesterday. It's now in my purse. I understand the heat swelling everything. The only exercise I'm going to do today is to swim after work. We didn't get home till 1 in the morning so I'm not going to WATP.

Freda, good luck with the walk to the library. Rain sounds like a nice change at the moment. But then again, I love driving my Jeep topless.

Carol, I'm glad you had fun at the garage sale. Sometimes it's just nice to sit and chat, isn't it?

Well back to work. Just couldn't stay away while at work today.
Marie

HI Ladies-

I am still atmyboyfriendsbut thougght I wouldcheck in. Yesterday andSaturday I saw 157 again.Woohoo. I did not weigh in today but had some candy yesterday.Hopefully if I detoxtoday tomorrow I will be157 again and friday 156. I went shopping again yesterday and had to buy allsmall shirts as mediums are to big and some smalls are even to big now. I can honestly say I likehow I look now and after another 10 pounds are gone I think I will be satisfied with my weight.Of course, toning is a whole other issue.


I will catch up tomorrow when I get in.

Have a great day ladies
**Nikki**