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Hello!

What I've learned in a week of working out:

• my house needs more attention than it gets when we work out daily
• my kids want to go to the rec center so much that they'll clean house if it helps
• I have muscles I'd never even considered

Truly -- its been a great week. I did the treadmill for at least 35 minutes on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday -- and I should be going today as well. In addition, I did weight thingies on Monday and Wednesday. Yahooooo---oooooowwwww. So I'm a little achy. But I'm darn proud of myself. The problem? I'm, er, having my monthly time and my weigh-in is today and I was not only good all week, I was darn near perfect and I bet I'm not gonna have lost anything and I'm afraid that will be depressing.

There. I said it.

I hate it when I get focused on the darn number on the darn scale, ya know? It should really be enough that I am beginning what I hope will be a lifelong habit of exercise and healthy eating, right? But it just isn't. *pout*

Terri -- thanks for starting the new thread.

Hope you all have exciting, on program days!

Well, I for one know that toad in the hole is not about real toads. Isn't it sausages and mashed potatoes? Hmmm, have to think about that one. I'm also trying to imagine sweet corn and peanut butter in a cheese sauce for cauliflower. That's a new one on me.
Anyhow, I had my weigh in this morning and was down just .6 lb. Not even a whole pound!!! But, I'm trying to focus on how I feel and the positive changes I've been making instead of numbers on an unreliable measuring tool. My clothes feel looser, my joints don't hurt as much, I have better endurance when walking and swimming and I have more energy. One of these days I will be rewarded by the scale too but I'm not going to drive myself nuts about it. I'm on a very long journey and like most journeys it will take me up a few hills and mountains, some plateaus and some easier downhill parts. Might as well get used to it.
Hope you all have a nice weekend.
LindaBC

Good morning ladies!

I'm up early and have lots to do. DH is taking our boat down to mom & dad's for cheap (free) winter storage. My step-niece will be here around 10 am for the weekend. We have planned chick flicks and maybe some walking in the woods and a nice dinner out tonight. Maybe even let DH take us to a movie tomorrow morning before she heads back home.

I have been doing okay with the exercise but not okay the last couple of days with food. I don't really have a good excuse other than making stupid choices. I'm going to enjoy my weekend without guilt and get regrouped by Sunday night.

Linda - The scale is so disappointing and demotivating sometimes. But you've done a good job thinking about all the other great benefits you're reaping. Its too bad that there isn't a reliable scale that shows how you're losing fat but gaining muscle. Wouldn't that be so much more motivating when you stepped on the scale?

Lilac - Corn in the cauliflower I can see but peanut butter? You might have to post that recipe. Toad in the hole? Anything like a pig in the blanket?

Bunny - You've got a lot to be proud of. And doing all the physical things can do such wonders for your self-esteem. I know I tend to walk differently when I'm exercising because I love how it feels to move muscle instead of fat rolls! You're an inspiration to us for all the exercise you do.

I've got the other thread printed out and will catch up on that sometime tomorrow. I better get up and get moving. Want to clean the house and burn a few calories before my niece arrives.

Have a great weekend and be strong!

It has been awhile since I posted on this thread and I am glad to see that everyone is doing so well. Things have been difficult for me. I have gotten myself into a bit of trouble because I have lost some of my motivation, actually quite a bit of it. I am really trying to get myself back into gear and knowing that everyone here has their ups and downs certainly does help. I will be back tomorrow to write more, but I just wanted to check in and say hi, let you know I am still around.

Take care
Melissa

Hi everyone!
Toad in the hole is sausages in a sort of batter, known here as yorkshire pudding. It is basically pancake batter. And very delicious it is too. I bought 95%ff sausages, and used skimmed milk for the batter.

I dont actually have the recipe for the cali cheese with peanyB and corn.....it was one my mother used to make when she was doing weight watchers in the 1970's. She thought it was very exotic, which to be honest I suppose it was. My father of course refused to eat it, but I loved it. I seem to remember that you boiled up some pasta, some califlower, and some carrots (yuk - food of the devil) and then mix up some ff soft cheese with skimmed milk and peanut butter, then put some mushrooms in a pan, with the pasta and veg and mix in the milky peanutty sauce. I think it was like that.

Yesterday I went to an apple festival at the royal horticultural society gardens at wisley. I tried lots of different apple varieties and bought a huge mixed bag but I cant now remember which variety was which

Today I am off for brunch with an old friend (have to watch to points on this one. I will stick to having lots of coffee. ). I have planned to have lamb chops for dinner with loads of no point veg, and (guess what ) apples for pudding. so I think I can have about 10 - 12 points worth of brunch and still have a glass of claret tonight....!! yum! And off later to see the film AI - I have heard mixed reviews of it, but its on at the local cinema so we can walk there, which will get my steps for the day up.

I am still using my pedometer. I had 3000 odd steps yesterday. One day I got up to 7000. But the main thing it is showing me is how incredibly sedentary I am... but at least I cant fool myself. I am aiming for at least 3500 a day, hopefully more. I will build up from there, but am not yet at that level.

Terri - You have a boat!!! I am so jealous. did you ever read swallows and amazons? cool book.

Melissa - sorry to hear it has been hard for you. Motivation really does come and go. I have been struggling for the last few days. I have noticed that my cats are eating loads, and hungry all the time - putting on fat for the winter I think. So maybe our bodies have an instinct to do the same and dont like it when we are doing the opposite! Do you have a list of 'reasons to lose weight'? That might be helpful to review at this point. I sometimes find it is the smallest thing which gets me back on track.......eg 'I want to be able to get up from the floor without using my hands' Good luck and you are welcome to post your frustrations and triumphs here anytime!

Linda - .6 is in the right direction! and it could well be a muscle mass thing. and you have a great attitude to the other changes which are happening. This is about us living our lives in a more healthy way - and you are. Oh the tyranny of the scales!!!!!

Bunny - how was your weigh in? I hope you had a reward in smaller numbers, but if not, you know exactly why and it sounds as if you had a very healthy week. And I always gain when I have my period, or at least maintain. You and your family are doing so well!

Ok - off to brunch. I am going to be late I think - its raining and all the idiots will be treating the roads as a skid pan.
love
lilac

Monday now. In the end we saw 'Amelie' not AI. Amelie was a good film if a bit long, and a bit French.

Went over by six points yesterday so it is catch up day . I really hate playing catch up rather than saving the points up before hand.

Today I am working all day so I had better get off. I have two litres of water, an apple and two manderines in my bag. My joints are stiff, which is the result of too little water. Weigh in is tomorrow.

lilac

Hello Everyone:

I did not fall off the planet. I have been under the weather. Usually I watch my Grandson on Mondays & could not do that because I did not want to give this junk to him. It has been a bit boring sitting around watching TV. Every time I think I have enough energy to move I over do it.

I read everyones posts and can't really remember who did what but everyone is doing soooo weeeellll..!!

Thanks Linda for the info on the printing.

I found the Light and Tasty magazine. Just in time for Thanksgiving. But, I think I am going to my moms for that Holiday.
I did see the applesauce cake recipe.

Lilac: My father is working on a fireplace mantle for us. He is making it out of black walnut. He is a little slow so we should have it maybe in 2004. The remodel to our kitchen/family room went of course over budget & there was no $$ left for the mantle so my father came to the rescue.

Hope to have more to post later. My head is just fuzzy today.

Bye
Sherry

Well so much for weight loss and exercise leading to improved health. Today my doctor tested my blood pressure and it's a whopping 170 over 90. This is higher than it's ever been and he's making ominous sounds about "treatment" whatever that means. I have to go back to have it tested once a week for a few weeks just to make sure it was correct. He says to continue with the WW and the exercise and not to worry but it's hard not to, especially when every single person in my Dad's family, including him, died before the age of 62 due to heart attacks and/or stroke. He'll probably cut me off salt too. Bummer!

Oh dear, we are a blue lot! Poor sherry not well and poor linda with her blood pressure and me with my aching joints.....!! But on the brightside tuesday is my day off, and I have a day to do what I fancy. Someone is coming to fix my oven this morning (the timer doesnt work) and I am going out tonight to see a friend. Apart from that i am going to work on an essay for college, and I am going to go for a long walk to get my paces up. I did nearly 6000 yesterday. i really like having the pedometer as it helps me monitor myself.

love to everyone
lilac

Hi everyone! I can't believe I've been AWOL for soooooo long. Please forgive me. I see that a number of my good friends are still here so that is encouraging. I apologize that I have not read a thing since I've been gone, so I won't be able to make personal comments to each of you. I would hope to catch up, but being gone for a month, doesn't make that an easy task. I think I'd rather not feel so overwhelmed and just start from here, if that's ok.

My food has been up and down since I left. No real progress, but no real setbacks either.

I think I wrote that DH and I had cancelled our anniversary trip to San Francisco. Instead we spent last week in little trips to places closer to home. Saturday and Sunday we started out in Fort Wayne, IN visiting some friends. Then Monday morning we left for Niagra Falls. What a wonderful trip! For those of you that live close enough to make just a couple of day get-away work for you, it is a wonderful entertainment value. We stayed at the Marriot Fallsview on the Canadian side. It was $169 US for 2 nights lodging, dinner for 2 one night and the breakfast bar for 2 both mornings. A great value. Our room had a king size bed and a jacuzzi tub. And the really neat part is that it is located on the cliff just above the Horseshoe Falls and the one whole wall of your room is windows. We were on the 16th floor and the view was breathtaking!!!

I am hoping to be back now on a regular basis, as I have really missed all of my friends here. My goal is 25 pounds by Christmas, so I need to get going!

Have a good day, my friends. I will talk with you later.

"Undoubtedly, we become what we envision." - Claude M. Bristol

Hope you can use one more person in your group. I am attempting to do WW at home for the moment. I have joined WW numerous times and have always had good success and then I think I can do it by myself and always manage to gain almost everything back. So this time, I am going to try to do this at home and work since I have access to an accurage digital scale at work. So with some of your sopport, ideas and encouragement, maybe I can do this by myself. I joined the YMCA last week and have been walking and swimming several times, so since I am committed to that for a year with monthly payments, now is as good as anyother time to drag out my WW material and start on that too. I hope to get to know all of you a little better along the way!

258.6/258.6/under 200 for now!

Good morning!

I'm in Florida this week with a girlfriend -- visiting because she's been uncertainly healthy lately. Its been lovely -- AND we've been on points or under almost every day (I was over my "goal" but still under my "max" one day when I messed up and ate three meals instead of just small snacking meals all day -- got a terrible headache too and won't do that again any time soon).

Not much time -- we're about to hop in the car for the 9 hour trip home.

Glad to see you back, Geri -- I've missed you!!!

Pawleys Gal -- we're always glad of new company. This is a great group -- and we'll love having you here!

Everyone else -- miss you, too -- I want to be posting again regularly (and reading regularly) and will be when I get home.

We got back home last night. It was a long trip -- and we had to leave the cooler behind because we were bringing back so much stuff! Soooooo I had to snack on the road, as it were. Actually I did fine -- and surprised the heck out of myself as a result! Tomorrow is weigh-in and I feel good about the possibilties there -- as long as I avoid the evil salt monster for the remainder of today.

Today will be given over to catch up work -- gotta pack something like 70 items and had more than 1000 emails when I got home (though I think I processed most of those last night).

Welcome back, Slutbunny. Sounds like you had a great time in Florida. We've been having major monsoons here on the Wet Coast. Rain, rain and then more rain. Also some high winds for a couple of days. I can see snow up on the high mountains but we rarely get any here except for the occasional flurry in December or January. Mostly pretty mild and wet here.
I've been trying to cut down on salt because of my worries about high blood pressure. I didn't think I ate that much salt but you know something, I do add a shake to just about everything. Food just doesn't taste like anything without some salt but I know it's one of the first things they warn you about with high BP.
Tomorrow morning is my weigh-in so wish me luck. I've been really op all week so there should be some kind of reward dontcha think? Doesn't always happen though. I do try to focus on how much more flexible I am and how much more energy I have but I'd sure like to see faster movement DOWNWARD on that WW scale.