I think we're blessed here that if I'm buying Hallowe'en candy there's no fooling myself that its for the kiddies -- we live in the midst of nothing and no one and so no kids ever show up. We'll be going to a Harvest Festival the day before Hallowe'en when my kids will fill up on candy treats -- and then the day of we do an all night horror movie fest -- with popcorn and apples and cheese and such. I'm hoping to make a plan for what I'm serving and stick with it -- and then I'll be a-okay pointwise, I think. I can't imagine have little Snickers in the house and not eating them. Actually yesterday my whole family had long discussions about trigger foods and what that means for mom ... you see, we went to a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut combo restaurant in Cordelle, GA. My husband has always professed a hatred of Pizza Hut, and my teen usually orders as I do in deference to her own spreading hips -- so I figured it would only be my 11 year old tempting me with Pizza. That'll teach me to order and head for the bathroom right away... *sigh* I came back to find our table covered with pizza and bread sticks and my lone steak taco. Bread sticks happen to be one of my trigger foods -- if I eat one, I probably will eat all of them. Hence our chat about triggers. I think I can safely say no one will put a bread stick in front of me again for a while -- now that they seem to understand how hard that is on me. On the plus side, I did stay OP all day so that was something to celebrate.

Today we shopped in Asheville and then went to the movies. I saw On the Line with my teen -- this is a gooey eyed Lance Bass & Joey Fatone (of *N'Sync) fest. A limp romantic comedy that was very very easy on the eyes. My teen swoon'd the whole time. Hubby and kidster #2 went to see Iron Monkey which was evidently Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon without the emotional depth.

Geri -- glad to see you out and posting again. Same time tomorrow, you hear?

Terri -- working up to a new schedule can be hard as ... hard as... well, very hard anyway. Glad you found a space for us (and for you) today. I dunno about anyone else but I find I really and truly do miss my 3fatchicks buddies when you guys are AWOL.

Ta ta for today!

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope all of you that needed to remembered to turn your clocks back. I just did the ones in my office, I had been off kilter all day.

My youngest was home from school this weekend. I bribed him with doing fondue for dinner. I know, very 70's! But the guys really enjoy that and it really makes for a leisurely dinner with lots of conversation so that was nice. I invited mom over for brunch today so that she could see him while he was home. Won't have him home again until Thanksgiving now.

It has been a terrible food week. Heck, 2 weeks. I am going to sit in front of the TV tonight and go through my recipes and pick out some stuff to make this week. Need some planning in my life to make this weightloss thing work. I know I should be starting over with my next meal, but I'm satisfied to say I'm starting again in the morning.

Melissa: Wow, you are doing so well. You've gotten under 250 and soon it will be a whole 50 pounds! Good for you!

J-ann: Funny how scales are, isn't it? With mine, I am consistently 3 pounds heavier at WW than I am at home. At least that way I know before I go how bad or how well I've done.

Linda: Sorry, didn't think about customs!!! Yeah, they might get a little crazy over a container of white powder. Sorry, wasn't thinking....but what a shame we have to now! Kinda sad!

Bunny: Such an interesting life you lead! Always off galivanting somewhere fun! Asheville just has to be beautiful this time of year! I miss Carolina!

Terri: DH was in Germany on business. He brought me back a beautiful cross pendent from a cathedral there. * You should be having fun getting adjusted to hubby's new schedule. Good luck!

Guess I better go make some dinner. Don't know if I passed on this recipe before or not, but here it is:

Coca Cola Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can diet Coke
1 cup Ketchup

Spray frying pan with cooking spray and brown chicken breasts on each side. In a small bowl mix can of diet Coke and ketchup. Pour over chicken in frying pan. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.

Makes 4 servings: 4 WW points per serving

This sounds weird, but it is really good, and very, very simple.

Have a good night.

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow; He who would search for pearls, must dive down below." - John Dryden

Hey, I forgot. Did you ever wonder what the backside of a smiley face looks like? Well check it out below and then you will know!

I don't know how muchI will actually be able to post this week. It seems that my new job has me very busy now. I am not complaining because I really do love my job and I really need the money. However, it does making posting here and catching up more difficult. I will try and make some time each night, because I deserve it and hopefully it will help keep me on track.

Bunny - I think it is really great that you had that conversation with your family about trigger foods. I know how difficult it can be being around people that don't understand.

Have a good OP week all. Please send some journaling vibes my way. I need all the help I can get.
Melissa

Well, it has been a good weekend. I have read all your posts and enjoyed catching up with everyone's news.
I did lots of Atkins type cooking this weekend and it seemed to go down really well. As a pre dinner drinks snack I got a big bowl of very large prawns, and some dips like plum sauce and chilli sauce. That went down well, and was not too many WW points either. I did filet steak and salad followed by cheese - that was less good on the points front, but I managed to stay within my points limit by shovelling lettuce and tomato in to my mouth at high speed You can imagine....

I was so impressed with your conversation with your family Bunny about your trigger foods. You are doing so well - getting them on side with you. You have been really patient with them I think, but also stating at the same time what your needs are. I have been thinking what my trigger foods are. Pringles are one - do you have those? they are sort of crips only made of I dont know what - (not potato I reckon). Anyway, once I start I cant stop with them. And also for me anything like olives that sits on the table with drinks. I am hopeless with that stuff.

Tonight we are having roast chicken and loads of veg. I have bought leeks, purple sprouting broccali, and runner beans. I might have enough points for some potatos of some sort too. Its a lot for a monday night, but my house mate is yelling for a roast, so what can I do...??

Must hop off and do some work now - love to everyone
lilac

oh and by the way, I love that little smiley bum....

Hello Everyone:

It took me a long time to read everyones posts. Wow there were so many. Even new ones!. I am finally back on my feet again after a bout with the flu? Broke down and went in today to get something for the sore throat....it's been three weeks with the bugger(that just would not go away).

Had a 1/2 lb loss. which was not something to write home about but I was happy. It is not the candy during Halloween that gets me it is all the pot lucks and parties. Wednesday is another one at work aaarrrggg!!!

We have a new WW leader and she is awesome. Not boring at all. Many props with her lectures. Many give away items and lots of stickers of course. She has lost only 30# but it took her a year to do it.

LindaBC: The BP thing I know quite well. I have been on medication for over 10 years. I take a pretty small dose. But, it is the weight for the most part. I lost an incredible amount of weight(weight loss clinic) back then. It was approx. a 500 calorie diet. Soon after I gained it back and then some. That is what brought the BP problem on. When my weight comes down so does the BP. So keep up with the weight loss & exercise. But, if that does not completely take care of it go for the medication. It can prevent damage to your body that long term borderline high BP can cause.

Time to get to bed.

ttfn

Sherry

272/262/under200

I can't tell you how touched I am by all the caring, thoughtful responses to my post about having high blood pressure. I'm taking all advice to heart and I'm trying to cut back on salt.
This weekend I finally started doing my weight training again. It's been over a year since I stuffed all the weights into the back of my closet. I don't know why I did that because I was just starting to feel some positive results after a month doing the routines. Anyhow, in the latest issue of Prevention Magazine, there is an article on getting fit using weights for just 8 minutes a day. Well, the way I figure it, I can waste lots more than 8 minutes a day just thinking about how to get out of doing something that takes effort so why not go for it. I didn't do it today because I went swimming this morning and worked pretty hard in the water for about 45 minutes. Then I worked for about 3 hours in the garden doing some heavy duty weeding in the hopes that the clear, dry spell will last just long enough for me to get a few hundred bulbs planted. I think I'm losing the race with the weather though.
Tomorrow I will do the second weight routine and hope to build up to more reps and heavier weights. We'll just see if having more muscle helps burn off the fat faster.
I looked high and low for gorgonzola cheese so I could make that Spaghetti recipe (posted by Slutbunny, I think) but our local Safeway just doesn't have it. I guess I'll have to try to find an Italian specialty shop which aren't too thick on the ground in my part of the world. Do you think another kind of cheese could be substituted. There was something called Campazola (sp?) cheese that looked like a combination of Camembert and Bleu cheese that I thought might do but, YIKES, it was over $8 for just a little wedge.

Linda you are doing SO WELL to get this exercise in too!!! I have hundreds of bulbs which I have not got in, and it is the prospect of three hours of weeding which is completely putting me off! I might just go and do a little bit today, so it is at least started.

I am doing ok. I have a friend coming round to lunch to catch up. We have not seen one another for ages, so that should be good. And it is WI tonight!! We will see what the week has brought.

Sherry, 500 cals a day sounds like ****. Glad you are not doing that regime now.

love to everybody
lilac

Good morning!

Woo hoo its early. The last two mornings, when DH gets up at 5:30, I get up and head downstairs to the airdyne. I have done a few minutes on it and then done a few situps/stretching type of exercises. I figure that's fairly safe to do when I'm so bleary-eyed. But it does help me feel better. Yesterday I very carefully journalled and measured portion sizes and came in right on target.

I did have a long talk with DH (again) after my post. One of my greatest downfalls is our evening meal. If I eat something to tide me over and we eat late, then I still get in too much food. So the plan is for him to fix my dinner by 7:30 and for us to put it all on the plate before going to the table. When the food is in front of me, it is such a temptation to have that extra bit. I tried to explain that I can be saying in my mind "no I will not eat that" all the while the hand is reaching for and scooping up that additional serving. I also showed him that 1/2 cup of stove top dressing is a serving size, not half the box. He knows that I am a bread/potato/cheesy hound so we're going to work on controlling that together.

Bunny - Having those conversations with the family are so important to being successful. This is hard to do when there are others involved. I had to smile when I read your post because I had just had that type of chat with DH.

Geri - Thanks for posting the smiley butt. That is so funny! Also thanks for the recipe. Gives me something new to try. How's your recipe plan coming? Its so hard to get focused but you can do this. You have before and you will again.

Lilac - Yikes! That's a lot of weeding and bulb-planting. But will be very good for burning extra calories. Hope WI goes well! Have fun with your friend.

Sherry - Hopefully that flu will be gone and you can get back to normal. But a 1/2 pound loss is a good one. Think of two sticks of butter no longer on your body!!

Linda - You're very inspiring with your water work and doing your strength exercises. Keep up all your great efforts. It will make a difference in your BP eventually. Gosh, want to come help me get my bulbs in?

Well, i better get my rear in gear and get to work. Oh yeah, I have turned my mind off the Halloween candy since I posted my sins. So its not taunting me anymore. Woohoo! Confession is good for the soul!

Have a great OP day ladies and be strong!

Hi,
Well, weigh-in last night was great. I lost 3 more lbs, and I thought I only needed 2 1/2 to reach my 50 lbs. but it was 3 1/2 so I have 1/2 to go. I know it's only a start,but I can see my clothes fitting better,and I can actually wear something and look nice. I have a friend at WW who gives me all her clothes she outgrows,I give them to my daughter, with the understanding that I get them back,when I get there.She likes it,and I'm snooping into her closet to see what I can "borrow" haha...With 4 daughters I never had that chance,cause I was always bigger than them,but now they have competition.
Have a great week?
Sue

We're prepping for Hallowe'en this day -- we go to a local harvest fest held at our fairgrounds and its tonight. My 11 year old will be a Jellyfish (made from a clear umbrella, bubble wrap and glued on oceanic stuff) and I'll be a lady bug. My teen and husband steadfastly refuse to play -- but will be joining us at the fest anyway. Then we're home to watch endless horror films -- that being how my teen and husband prefer to spend Hallowe'en! Tomorrow we have company coming -- my husband's best friend from his college days, his wife, and his son. We haven't seen them in years -- and they've never visited us here -- so we're all very excited. My home is clean and smells all fresh and I've got dinner planned already. All is right with the world.

mom4 -- Hello, mom! I'm desperately looking forward to the day I can share all those pricey clothing I've bought my daughter over the years. Look out Tommy Hilfiger jeans -- here I come! Nice to see you here -- and congrats on coming up on the 50 pound mark! You must be so proud!!

Terri -- what a great way to use some of that "spare" time in the morning!! Getting up and stretching just has to make the day all better. (Me, I go for making the bed each day and count that as my stretching exercises -- -- gotta start somewhere...)

Lilac -- dang, gal! Is there anything you don't do? When you're done gardening there, come here okay? Although I must say that when I realized you really weren't gonna come and cook for me I began cooking for myself... I wonder if the gardening will go the same way?

Linda -- the Gorgonzola I got did look like a combination of Bleu Cheese and Camembert so that might indeed do well. My family loved the sauce -- its definitely worth trying to figure out how to do it.

ssdiane -- Congrats on the new, energized leader at WW meetings! How exciting! My mom just changed her meeting location because, as she said, her leader made "watching grass grow sound interesting..." She found a good mix -- and its gotten her back to being truly enthusiastic about the program.

Melhoward -- we'll be here waiting for you when you do make it by. Its so important to find time for yourself ... but sometimes that just seems too impossible, eh?

Geri -- the Smiley butt is hysterical!!! Hey -- where are you anyway? Shouldn't you be here by now?

And finally -- its Beautiful Woman Month -- and this was in my in-box this morning so I'm sharing it with you other lovely ladies!!

Now how do you expect me to remember my WW points when I can't even remember which 3FC groups I belong to?

I live in Baltimore and have two grown sons, one married and in NJ, the other lives nearby and is getting married in less than 3 weeks. I've already resigned myself to looking in pix exactly the way my mirror sees me. (Yuck!)

I have over 150 lbs. to lose and a lot of that was put on in the past year while I recovered from surgery. I'm back at work now (Admin. Asst.), but not doing any better diet wise.

So, please help me feel less defeated and more "I can do this." It seems like everytime I have a winning week, it is followed by a BAD week. I just rejoined WW because I thought starting over would give me the incentive I needed, but it isn't working. I really need to hear some words of wisdom from people who have been there, done that, and conquered the wrong frame of mind.

My corgi will thank you, too, because she doesn't get any walks.

Talk to you soon,

Good Evening Ladies,

Hope this finds everyone well. I have been reading and lurking, but seems like everytime I try to post, the phone rings, the dog has to go out, and doorbell rings, etc, etc......Anyway, I have the house to myself tonight...I am not answering the phone or the doorbell and the dog is in her pen...thus I get to post! I have been continuring to go the the Y for the aquafit classes. It is such a nice workout and I really love going. It feels nice to move my body again, something I have not really done since my last weight loss effort. And it really feels so good, I wonder why I ever quit. I did a one mile walk followed by the aquafit class and then swam a few laps and sat my butt in the hot tub for 15 minuits...a nice way to spend the morning! Too bad work gets into the way of doing this everyday!
Now if I can get myself in the habit of journally again. Seems I try to do it all in my head instead, and I know that is not the way to be successful.

gobbie...You can do this! We all can. We just have to choose to do it! The only obstacle in our way is ourselves! and that tends to be our biggest obstacle.

slutbunny...thanks for the poem. It brightened by day!

mom4...you rock woman! Way to go on your loss! You will be at 50 before you know it.

Well better scoot! The whole house to myself and so much cleaning to be done!