Here I am again. This must be a good sign, no? One more day of the heavier dose of medicine and then I taper down to nothing. There's nothing standing between me and my weight loss but air and opportunity. I need a new plan. I can plan like a champion, but the doing it, is key. I flirted with the idea of trying South Beach, but I'm thinking it may be too complicated for me. I've read almost the entire book, but well, I just don't know. I'm thinking exercise is going to be the key and easing back in is so slow. But if I hit it too hard, well, I'll burn out. One of my officers offered to start walking a half an hour with me at night. Take it, it's a hand up, Mary. Take it. Yes, it might be good to be back. I've missed you all. I truly value this thread and all who post here. Mary P AKA/Java Turtle

Hey Turtle good to see u back!!! missed ya much!

how bout tryin a simplified south beach? just say no bread, no pasta, no potatoes, no rice and cut back on the sugar ??

thats how i started this journey... by simply eating low glycemic foods...

u can have meats, fat free cheeses, whole wheat bread and pitas.. and low sugar fruits... plus now they have the south beach frozen meals in the grocery stores..

I may try that. I saw some of those South Beach meals in the store (I tried the wraps, I didn't like them) but I may try some of the frozen dinners. I did notice they were very expensive, (way more than HC or WW) but for someone that doesn't cook (like me) it may be a smart option. Thanks for the encouragement. That plan you outlined, sounds like WW's Core. This is a dumb question, but by sugar, you mean sweets or is it deeper than that? And by high sugar fruits, oranges, bananas? It can get overwhelming, if I let it.

i usually have a sandwich in one of those whole wheat pita pockets, i have had the wraps but i think i like the pitas better.. i also take the pitas and lay them flat and put on pizza sauce and pizza toppings and FF cheese and make little pizzas for my lunch... yeah u wouldnt believe how much sugar is in fruit...

ok here are the fruits to avoid: high sugar

watermelon, any canned fruit,fruit juice, pineaplpe, raisins,

foods to avoid:

bread, cereal... special K isnt too bad, Rice, pasta, pastry, bagels, PRETZELS, honey,jam, rice cakes,

beets, carrots, corn, white potatoes, yams,


that still leaves a lot that u can eat..

i usually have nuts or FF mozerella sticks for a snack

TURTLE!!! YEAH!!! I am so glad to see you here. I have been thinking about you and praying for you everyday. You know you can do your own kind of diet. Just try to eat 5 small healthy meals a day. Lots of fruits, veggies, chicken and fish, that kind of thing. That is how I lost my first 34 pounds. You have to find something that works for you. Do whatever fits your lifestyle. Did I tell you I am so happy to see you!!

Petra - I have been using the southbeach forum for recipes. I think I was just having a bad day. I did'nt slip though so thats good. Thanks.

Angel - Good to see you back.

Curly - You are doing so good on the weight loss. Pretty soon we won't be able to find you when you turn sideways.


It is my dd 16th birthday today. WHAT?! How did that happen? So anyway super busy today so this is my flyby. TTYL

Good to see you again Turtle. Sounds like you are feeling better. I know we have some hard core SB fans on this board and a lot of people like it because you don't have to completely give up carbs but I find it not structured enough. You need to figure out how much structure you need to be successful and choose a plan that offers that whether it's low carb or low cal/low fat. As they say on the 3FC home page, All [well designed] diets work, the secret is finding one you can stick to for life.

Success with weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise so keep that in mind as well. You will have to make some kind of adjustment to your eating habits to be successful. Exercise alone is not going to do the job.

Howdy Everyone!!
I feel bad about being MIA after I told turtle she had to post or I was going to find a reciepe for turtle soup. LOL

I had the dental appointment from **** on Monday. I had a back top tooth break off awhile back. (I hate going to the dentist and have been avoiding it!) IT wasn't hurting..as the dentist said..amazing....it wasn't but I needed to get it out of my mouth. My tongue was tired of being scrapped by it. Anyway, the dentist had a heck of a time getting it out and bruised my face, my gums hurt 3 teeth away, and I am still having trouble getting it to stop bleeding. After all the pain..I probably should of done the root canal.

I have actually gotten Dave to do WW with me. He won't go to the meetings but we bought a scale for the house. He went for a walk with me last night. We covered about a mile around the big block..up the big hill. I had to laugh last night, we were in bed and he was caressing "my girls". He said you really are going great but I am not that happy. THought it was because I drug in on the walk. He said no...you were right that felt good after I walked. I said what is a matter, he said..you are losing "my girls". Yea let him lug "my girls" around for the day... I have gone down 2 bra sizes. LOL My other NSV(non scale victory) is I can pull off my jeans without unzipping them. THis does come in handy...when I am running to the potty after drinking a liter of water.

Turtle: Welcome back!! Glad to see you!! Don't stress..just do what you can do for now. It doesn't matter how long we took to get to goal but it is the journey of all of us getting there. Mentally prepare yourself. Reward yourself often. Take it one moment at a time! Watch the frozen dinner..they are normally full of sodium.

Petra: Enjoy your days off. I did all the check up things with M this week for school. My baby goes to school on Monday!! Yes, I am taking the morning off. LOL I have to agree with you somewhat about sucessful weight loss but I think it is 80% mental, 15% diet and 5% exercise. For the long haul we really have to have a clear mind to keep on keeping on.

Zacksmom: Welcome!! THis group is a great group of wonderful ladies!!

Sunshine: That is so great you are down almost 60lbs. I bet you look amazing!! M's teacher from last year noticed I lost weight. Made me feel good too. LOL My goal is to be in onderland by Halloween. Anyone up for a "the scale is not so scary Halloween challenge"?

Momx3: Flustration is ok... I honestly think this is more mental than physical. We have to mentally prepare ourselves everyday. It is not easy but will be worth it in the end. Maybe combining the good parts of several diets to fit your lifestyle, tastes and wants might work easier. Maybe write down your plan of action. You can call it the Momx3 diet.

TEB: I know what you mean about NO TIME. My exercise time has been cut down drastic this last 2 weeks. I have blown off swimming lessons for M because it just doesn't seem like enough hours in a day. Next month starts dance lessons. I have to get myself more motivated to exercise. I bought me 5 new to me Richard Simmons videos on Amazon.(most with shipping were under $3.00) I am looking forward to them. I am going to the Y today after work then I will get dh and M to walk with me. We are also buying Dave a bike as an early bday present. M and I want him to bike with us. LOL

Curly: Thanks for the info on sugar. I didn't realize watermelon had sugar in it. I eat a lot of fruits but been trying more and more veggies. I only like corn and carrots. LOL We had the farmers market this weekend and I bought some huge cucumbers and have been cutting them up for lunch. My passion right now is tomato sandwiches. LOL Makes a low point lunch. I try to get all my veggies in before afternoon snack and if I have more for dinner... that is a bonus. LOL

Angel: sorry to hear about your sister. I am going through the same with mine. She is 4 years older and has lived a hard life. It didn't have to be so hard for her but she made it that way. She has anal cancer and now several other cancers. If they would of found it in time I am sure it could of been treated. She also had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago but there is nothing left of her body. She is now down to 80lbs and hanging in there. I know I will get "that call" soon. I have mixed emotions about it but I also know that I have to live for me and my family(dh and M). Dh and I both need to get healthy for M...when we agreed to adopt her we promised her we would see her grow up. Dh isn't getting any younger (55) and either am I (39) We need to take care of ourselves so we can see her graduate and get married. That is why dh doing WW with me is so important. He doesn't have to lose it to goal but getting about 50lbs off would be great and more would be even better. I don't want to have to go through another thing like the horse lady earlier this summer saying we are too fat to ride.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL DAY!!! I will try to post more often.
Hugs and Blessings
Lisa
Wyoming

Hi everyone.
Lisa.....yeah, I know EXACTLY what you mean about your sister (my sister). It all comes down to choices. My sister's is a sad case because for the last 30 odd years or so, she made the choice of drugs and alcohol, throw in there some really bad loser boyfriends who had an 'anger management' problem and its not a pretty thing. My boys don't even know her or 'of her' as they've never met her and dh and I have made these our choices for obvious reasons. I've also experienced the "congratulations on your baby" when I wasn't and another time ....I was totally humilated with a spa that didn't have a suitable fitting bathrobe for me when I went on a girls spa weekend. Of course it didn't help that they "pretended" not to speak english....yeah right!! This was an extremely posh resort spa, and you mean to tell me ....THEY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH? People can be so rude!!!

TOM came this morning.....great huh? so I've been couching it today. I will get back to the gym tommorow. Just a thought......when you're reading labels.......4gr of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. So when a cereal says, 12 gr sugar, thats 3 teaspoons of sugar!!! HOLY COW!!! Almost everything has sugar in it, but I've heard its the high fructose liquid sugar (heavily refined sugar) that is in all the news right now. My word of thumb, is to try to eat natural occuring sugar with little or no added sugar. Some would say that any sugar is still sugar, but you can only do your best and not add to it !! I find the more sugar I eat, the more I crave it. Then the sugar eating leads to high carb eating....(cereals, cookies, etc) Then before you know it, you have a yeast infection!!! yuck....

ps....toasted tomatoe sandwiches with Miracle Whip Free are the best!!!

No the best is toasted tomato & cheese sandwiches with mayo ... from what i can remember.. lmao havent had any bread since march!

Sugar is sugar is sugar. And as I have said before, sugar is an addictive substance, just like alcohol, cocaine, or heroin. I just threw out an article today that I had on my desk about sugar stimulating opiate receptors in the brain (for real!!) Does very similar things in your brain. Beware all white powders!

Lisa - I am up for a "Halloween Challenge". We seem to be pretty close to the same weight right now so let me know how you want to do this. I would also like to be in onederland before Halloween.

Me three

yep i'd love a challenge!!


p.s. Momx3: dont think we have to worry about me losing that much ... plus i have wide shoulders so ill never b petite.. i'd like to be under 2 thats for sure... i havent really decided how far under 200..

Hello and howdy to the PIC Chick Divas who roost here. How goes it with you? I'm still hanging in there. Crawling out of the deep dark woods and blinking blindly into the sun. Wow, how long was I under? Feels like weeks. I'm starting back slowly. I've been "sort of" OP and "sort of" drinking my water. But exercise has been non-existant. Too many naps to work out. On an odd, but possibly good trend, my weight was down this morning. Uhhh okay then. I don't know where THAT came from. But I'll take it.

With classes starting back up at the college (I'm a police dispatcher there), my over time details have gone through the roof and I'll be working a lot of the time now and until Spring . This could be a jump start or a set back, depending on my energy, I suppose. Hang in there Turtle. You can DO this.

I've kept up reading the thread (pretty well) but I've missed interacting with you all. I hope to be back full time (and commenting to individuals) real soon. You all inspire, motivate and ROCK me. Thank you!

Good Morning Ladies....INDEED!!! Although its a rainy cloudy day, the sun is shining somewhere ...right? Yesterday was a great day for me and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm finally out of my 'watching tv and ice cream habit' !!! You know it takes a while to stop a habit, go figure!! Its been over 2 weeks now and the mindless eating has stopped. I consciensly (sp?) make a habit of 'closing down' the kitchen with the lights off and watch tv without going back into it later. So far so good. Other changes and although I know they are small baby steps....they do make a difference. For instance, I am cutting back my portions of starchy carbs. If I have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, then I have a breadless meal for lunch or I have raw veggies and dip instead of a couple of rice cakes. Like I said...small baby steps!!! I am eating lots of fresh/raw fruits and veggies with seem to help in the fibre department ....**wink wink** if you know what I mean!!! hey? its all good. All this talk of a challenge is good....I'm in if we do one.