Hi, Turtle Buddies,

Here it is - my "official" version of the fable:

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about two years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to learn in order to not only lose the weight, but keep it off and become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Happy turtlin', everyone!

Lin

PS: There are some new posts at the end of #51. Wanted to mention them so you wouldn't miss anything you might be interested in.

Hi Turtles, quick note before I head off to class.

Had my Spinning class this morning, yay! Kelly called out "Good form Erin!" at one point, two snaps up for me. I'm getting stronger. I got home to take a shower (you sweat BUCKETS in that class) and I noticed that my ribs and tummy seem tighter. Hmm. Probably just from class and it will wear off, but it's a nice little boost.

5 points over yesterday, need to make those up. I'm keeping a running total for the week, though, so I have faith it will all even out.

In lecture for 3 hours today, then home. DH is working long hours right now--the last 2 weeks have been 60 hour weeks--so I'm not expecting to see him for dinner. Maybe around 9. *sigh* But we deal with it, right? At least he's working. Since I'm vegetarian and he isn't we don't usually eat the same dinners anyway, so that leaves me free to plan what's best for me. I have this great love of either Smart Ones ziti marinara or ravioli marinara sprinkled with real parmesan. Worth the points for real cheese! I have ravioli in the freezer, I'll probably steam up some broccoli and make a salad and call it done. Flashy cook, I am not.

Thanks for the congratulations, I'm on my way! Yay! My first goal is 10%, and when I hit that I can start to wear my London jeans again. Woo woo. They're men's jeans, button fly, and I look REALLY good in them. My body suits men-cut jeans/trousers. I can't wait! And you know, I really WANT THAT KEYCHAIN. Seriously. This is a driving need.

HAve a good day, Turtles, off to lecture!

Mousie, I didn't know your name was Erin. Pretty name. Makes me think of Ireland.

Yesterday was a higher-point day for me -- I haven't journaled it yet, so I don't know exactly how high. We ate out twice, and that'll do it. I've been fine otherwise, but I don't think I'll lose this week. Just doesn't feel like it. My losses have slowed down considerably; I need to look again at how much sugar I'm eating and probably look at portions again.

Went downtown to fill out paperwork for the job this morning. Tomorrow is the dreaded dentist appointment (first drilling appt; the next one is in March). Then I start work on Wednesday. I'm feeling fairly tense, which is somewhat normal for me when I go back to work after being off for a long time.

So what did I do yesterday to unwind (besides eat)? Went to see "Lord of the Rings" for the fourth time!

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/195.5/189 by April 17

Hi, Turtles,

I was wondering what your name was, Mousie. I've always liked Erin.

WOW! You're really going strong these days. Well, one thing we obviously DON"T have in common is our body shapes. I'm the classic hourglass. When it was a fad to wear men's button fly Levi's 501's (There I go, broadcasting my age again. ), I was so disappointed because if they buttoned over my hips, they were too big in the waist. So, I was so glad when they finally came out with jeans that were shaped like women!!

Lauren, good luck with your new job. Hope you have some plans in mind to deal with the food. I remember it's usually an issue because the folks you work with like to keep a lot of junk around.

Maybe your slowdown is only due to your body adjusting to where you are now and will pick up again soon. Good luck!

I'd love to see LOTR again, but that requires another expensive trip to SJ. So, when it comes out on DVD, I plan to indulge myself.

I was doing fine, then I started to struggle a little. I realized that it was due to learning that a friend of David's has lukemia. We're praying that the chemo gets it back in remission. I'm so TIRED of getting major bad news about people I care about. I've had more of that in the past year than in most of my whole life up to now. That's my rant for the day.

However, I'm doing much better, point-wise since my walk. I got an email from my son and his grades are where I expect them to be. I'd like to see two of them go up a little this semester, but we'll see. If he continues to work hard, resisting that dreaded "senioritis", he'll be all set to start art school in the fall. Assuming we can pay for it.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Mousie,
Congratulations big time on your wonderful first week weight loss at WW. That's just great. And exercising the way you are is another way to knock off some weight. Good for you.

Lauren,
Here's some good vibes to knock off the back to work nerves. Any new situation is tricky and nerve-wracking for me, so I can sympathize.

Lin,
Glad your son's doing well. I know what you mean about a run of bad news about people you care for. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair. Hope things lift soon.

All,
I'm doing okay. My weight is up a bit--company plus emotional eating. Today my points are fine and I aim to do the same tomorrow. We had a nice weekend and today back at work wasn't bad at all. I had a lot of fun with my students. Some days just go like that. We get a lot done and they're fun to boot!
Take it easy--
Mousie--I like your real name too, Erin. Very cool.
Judy
234/208/199 MARCH 1

Yes, my name is Erin. My father's parents were Irish; when I was born if I was a boy or a girl I was going to be named Erin. I'm lucky I was a girl, since Erin is the name of an Irish goddess*. I use mousy lots because it's been my nickname since I was 4 years old ("She can make the biggest messes and be so QUIET about it!").

Lin, I'm so sorry that you've gotten more bad news. I have to tell you about this theory Jodi's mom has (Jodi was the person driving the car, in the accident I had). It's the law of Diminishing Repetitions: in your lifetime, you only do X thing so many times. After you've done your allotted total, you're done. Someone else has to do the rest. Of course, she used this to justify making her kids do the dishes but she also used it to comfort my parents about the magnitude of my injuries. Once I was healed, I would never be hurt again, because I had done all my hurting in one big clump. You've only got so many "bad news" episodes left, Lin, then it's clear sailing.

Now see, I HATE women's jeans. Have always hated jeans, until I tried on this pair in London and realized that I have a man's body. I have no real defined waist to speak of, never have. I have very muscular legs, very curvy with muscle and very little fat, but I don't have those "delicate" calves that other women have. Didn't have those even when I was 8 years old--I have pictures! I can't wear knee-high boots for that reason, though I would dearly love tall boots. One good thing, though--no saddlebags!

Lauren, I don't think your slow down is anything to worry about. You've been losing at a fantastic rate lately, and probably your body is just taking a minor break, kinda looking around and getting the lay of the land, so to speak. You'll be off again (hah! bad pun) before you know it.

Judy, you've got a wonderful attitude. I'm sure you'll meet your points goal for today and tomorrow, and your goal for March 1.

Hi, turtles.

I squeezed off another half pound this week. Am I a turtle, or what?? Actually, I was over points the past three days, and I didn't exercise either, so I'll bet that played a part. Anyway, I'm still going in the right direction, so I'll take it. Just one more pound before I hit that 80# mark!

I head for the dentist shortly to go "under the drill." Eeek. I am such a wuss. Well, it'll be over soon.

Tomorrow I start my new short-term job, so I may be a bit more absent here. I'll keep checking in periodically, though.

Mousie, I love the story behind your nickname. I easily fit into men's jeans back in high school and college, but now I seem to have more of a defined waist since I started exercising. I'll be interested to see where I end up down the road.

Lin, my mom used to be shaped like you. Then she lost a bunch of weight in her early 50s, and then gained it all back. When she gained it back, her shape had COMPLETELY changed. Part of it must've been her age, but it was still a shock. She now has skinny legs, no butt, and a very thick waist and upper body. Weird!

As for the junk food thing, this project will be in a very different environment. I won't be working with geeks, so the junk food table will not be present. Thank heavens! Although I really do enjoy working with geeks.

I'm sorry about David's friend. I've had a number of people I know get cancer this past year, too. It's hard.

Judy, glad work went well. Gotta watch that company/emotional eating thing. It's my big downfall, too. I've really got to watch myself this week and the next few weeks as I get into my new schedule. I do NOT want to gain back the past 5 pounds -- it has taken me 2 months to lose them!!

Have a great day, everyone.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/195/189 by April 17

Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, congratulations on that half pound. Almost down to 80#'s gone! That's so terrific!

UGH! The dentist and a new job in one week. Stress city! You're handling it marvelously.

Erin, or would you prefer we stick to Mousie? Anyway, your friend's philosophy is rather interesting. Wish I knew what my alotted number of these things is.

Glad to hear you're doing so well, Judy. I don't know if you've noticed, but you're reporting a lot more OP days than you were a few months ago. Great job!

I'm doing off and on these days. Most of my meals are within the average points I spend on them, but I'm still eating over points sometimes. I've been journaling about this and I'm making progress. I know what's going on, but I can't find a solution. Eating isn't the solution, and I'm not going nuts with the food. Just an extra serving, here and there, when I'm not really paying attention. Then I notice what I'm doing and I stop eating.

I'm impatient to fix my living situation. I want to move back to San Jose NOW, but I don't see any way to do that. Even if we weren't stuck in a lease, we don't have the money for deposits and stuff because we must use any extra money to get our car back in shape. So, every so often, I get to feeling like I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this apartment, seeing few people outside of my immediate family. That's overreacting, I know. But emotions can often be extreme, especially for someone with my personality. So, I try to recognize them, but I don't know how to keep them from occasionally being a problem until we can move. So, sometimes I think I eat from frustration about not being able to fix what's wrong in my life.

So, I will get back to normal again. It just takes spending some time with my journal. I'm doing much better today than yesterday. I have to go do my taxes and the parent part of Chris's college application. I usually wait until the very last minute to do taxes (my favorite chore of the year ), but if Chris is going to get as much funding as he can, we have to get that in now. The absolute deadline is March 2, but a lot of aid is first come, first served. So, if you wait until the deadline, you can miss out on money you qualify for because they've given it away already.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Lin, Erin or mousie is fine with me, I answer readily to both of them. It's up to you.

I'm sorry about your living situation, I can sympathize with it. One year I was living in Chicago (close to downtown) and absolutely hated it, but couldn't leave. I was stuck there for 11 months, and the only times I honestly enjoyed myself were the times I drove up to the Twin Cities (9 hours away) to see friends up there. Being stuck with an awful roommate didn't help matters either. But my time in Chicago ended, as I'm sure your time in YOUR personal Chicago will end, and then you can go home.

Lauren, 80 #! WOO WOO! The timing of it does not matter, that's a fanstastic achievement. Think about it...if you could approach someone right now and offer them the chance to be 80 pounds lighter, with that 80 pounds staying off, on the provision that they'd have to wait 3 years to get it, imagine how fast they'd grab the chance! And that's you!

Judy, how are you doing? I know you were going to meet points goals for some days this week, did that work out?

I'm off to Spinning this morning, woo me. I did some really great work on my form last night, and now my rear end is sore--but only on the right side. I can't figure out WHAT on earth I did to make THAT happen. Then I've got lecture and a test today on the Constitution. Hmm. Need him to translate the 22nd amendment for me, I can't seem to find the point. Oh! I got my first test of the semester back, from my "Philosophy of Sport and Exercise" class (it's required for the major)--I got 25 out of 26, 96%! YAY!

Hi, tortoisean ones. Turns out I don't start the new gig until tomorrow, so I get one more day off. Hooray! It's sunny and warm for Michigan (upper 30s). I'm enjoying it.

I worked out this morning with a new tape, and WOW! What a workout!! I guess I didn't realize how easy my other tapes had become. This one was by Charlene Pritchett. If you're looking for an advanced aerobics tape that's still low impact, try this one. You'll sweat! Woo!

I was up .4 at WW. I figure that means I probably stayed about the same, but I always use my at-home weigh-in to record my progress.

Lin, I know what you mean about not overeating a huge amount, just bits here and there. When I look back, that's how I gained the 79 pounds I've just lost. I did it very gradually, over a long period of time. At one point, I figured out that I probably gained the weight by just eating 100 to 200 extra calories per day. A couple of bananas. It really adds up. I suspect I'm doing something similar the past couple of weeks, which is why my losses have been minimal to nonexistant. I hope you can find other ways to comfort yourself right now and to deal with the feelings of frustration, etc. I hope I can find better ways to deal with my current level of stress, too. I know we can do it -- we're creative. It's just a matter of wanting it badly enough.

Mousie, good for you on that exam! And I loved your comment about asking someone if they'd like to be 80 pounds thinner in 3 years. That is EXACTLY the attitude I've worked on cultivating in myself during this journey. The point is to get it off PERMANENTLY, and that means that time constraints really don't mean anything. In three more years, we'll all be three years older. (God willing.) Would we like to temporarily lose 50 pounds this year? Or would we like to permanently lose 50 pounds three years from now? For me, the fast approach has always resulted in temporary weight loss. The slow approach has been so much more successful! So thanks for that reminder; I needed it today.

Have a great day, everyone.

Hi, Turtles,

Erin, congratulations on the exam. Good luck on the Constitution exam.

I, too, loved your comment to Lauren about being permanently lighter over that three year period. Part of my problem is that I'm feeling stuck. But it's all in my head because my pants are all way too big in the waist. I'm impatient for my abdomen to catch up so I can get some jeans that fit properly! I can tolerate any other article of clothing being a little big, but I really hate it when my jeans are too loose.

Lauren, your comment about the impact of gradually gaining weight by eating small amounts that are more than your body needs is my story over the past couple of years. I managed to keep from gaining it all back. I've managed to start heading back the direction I want to go, but occasionally I hit bumps. Dealing with them has really helped me with the other part--the permanence of the total loss.

I know that I can do this over time, but I get impatient with myself. I've been struggling with that perfectionist monster lately. The thing that really miffs me about it is that I know there is no perfect way to do anything, but those old tapes with their imaginary standards keep running through my head and mess me up sometimes. Eventually, I figure out that part of what's going on is that monster and I kick it back down and move on. I wish I could come up with a way to keep it down!

I've been checking my WW journal over the past few days while I've been feeling like I've been overeating. My points are actually pretty much in my range. I've just been spreading them out differently. I've been hungrier at night and eating very lightly in the daytime, so my points have averaged out most days to right where they should be. And the days where I've eaten significantly more points, I have also exercised a lot more. So, it seems like I've balanced it out without being as aware of what I was doing as I usually am. Does that mean this is really becoming a habit?

I did lose 2 of the pounds I was up from TOM. So, I'll see if the other 3 disappear overnight, as they usually would sometime this week.

I'm doing better today. My dh and I are going to San Jose on Sunday to help Chris with his college paperwork. His art show is Saturday night and he's got laryngitis. He says he's going, no matter what. I don't think it will be a problem because he has no symptoms except a sore throat and no voice.

I've got to go get a sweatshirt. It's freezing. The wind has come up but I can't close the windows because they cleaned my carpet this morning and I need to dry it out. The repair man is supposed to bring my micorwave back this afternoon. YAY! I'm tired of washing extra pots and pans and using extra energy to heat the stove and oven because our microwave has been broken for a month! The part didn't come in until the repair guy went on vacation. My usual bad timing!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Hi Guys,
This will be a real quickie. I've got a pot of chicken soup on the stove ala Lin and I'll have something good to take to work tomorrow.
All goes okay here. A week of emotional eating put me back up about two pounds . WW mtg. was very good and i'm so busy I could have missed it. Glad i didn't. Topic was what is most important to us. Our lecturer's point was that we'd help family and friends, but we don't do enough to help ourselves. Good point.
Gotta run. Glad you're all doing okay. Here's some hugs and lots of support!
Judy
234/208/199 March 1!

Judy, good for you for taking time for yourself! I've got it easy, I think--since my accident I literally HAVE to take time for myself, my body won't hold up otherwise (not to mention my brain). I'm amazed when people give me the impression that it's selfish to take time to take care of myself. I figure, if I don't take care of myself no one else is going to, either. Good for you for making time for your meeting, and thanks for your note. Even if it was just one line, we like to hear from you.

Okay, Lin, that's a second way we're different (I knew we'd find some ways someday ). I like baggy jeans. I like loose, straightleg, baggy jeans that don't hug my waist or my hips. I wear small-ish tops--not belly-baring, but not 3 sizes too large, either. One of my principle clothing laws is "half is fitted, half is loose". That is, if you've got a fitted top, wear baggy bottoms; baggy top, fitted bottoms. Since my mastopexy I'm actually proud of my top (!!!!!) so I veer toward fitted shirts.

So how's the new gig, Lauren? I know you'll be more busy than you have been, but we look forward to hearing from you whenever you get the chance.

I used to know a woman who insisted on very, very tight calorie control, very strict counting. Her point was that it only takes 100 calories a day too much--"only a banana!"-- and you'd gain 10 pounds in a year. Valid point, but she managed to scare me so much that for a couple of years I couldn't eat bananas!

Lab and lecture today, hopefully getting the Constitution quiz back. This man has been passionate about his subject for 40 years (he's right now on the work-half-a-year retirement track) and his passion makes the subject interesting and vibrant, but he's also nitpicky. He told us not to worry about memorizing the amendments, to just get the general principle. Then on the test he asked us to fill-in-the-blanks with key phrases and expressions! Most of it I got, I blanked on the first clause of the 14th though. So, hopefully find out today if I need to go stick my head in the sand. (Oh, and I needed the 23rd explained, not the 22nd. Turns out it's the amendment that gives Washington DC electoral college votes).

Been carbo-loading for the first part of the week, Spinning classes make my blood sugar crash otherwise. So I'm focusing on protein yesterday and today to drop some water. I talked to Kelly about how I can improve, and she said my form is beautiful, my focus is great, I just need to keep coming to class and work on endurance. With that in mind, I went to Nikki's class last night and made it through all the climbs. I had to ease up in the middle of the warm up, my elbow suddenly gave this huge twinge of pain, but I massaged it and got it back. So class was wonderful last night, I'm getting stronger!

Off to class, Turtles, I'll check in later.

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, it's good to hear from you. I love homemade chicken soup. One of my latest tricks with my soup is to add different leftover meats when I heat it up for lunch. It's a great low-point lunch and a lifesaver on days when I go out to dinner or breakfast with my family.

I like your report on your meeting topic. We women seem to need to hear that all the time. It's odd that we have so much trouble heeding the message to take care of ourselves, since when we do it, our lives flow much more smoothly and we are better able to do the taking care of others we do so much of. But we quickly forget and fall back into those old habits, like making excuses about how we don't have enough time to take care of ourselves.

But, if we'd stop meddling in other people's business so quickly and let them have the joy of caring for themselves, we'd have the time. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be caring, but that we should pick more carefully which problems we get involved in. I'm great at getting involved when I shouldn't. It's a lifelong process to learn when to back off and when to step in.

Erin, your story about the woman and the banana was hilarious! The problem with her approach is that caloric measurements aren't that exact. And you don't (and can't) know exactly to the calorie how many you need to maintain your weight. It all fluctuates from day to day. That's why we're given an appetite and feeling for when we've had enough. Unfortunately, for many of us, we never learned to pay attention to those signals, so we misread them.

That caloric needs fluctuate is also why I'm glad WW has a range. It seems to work better for me, anyway. And it allows for me to pay attention to hunger, using the points as a guide for portion control.

I'm gradually getting back under control with points and the rest of the program. I think that PMS is one of the biggest issues for me. It's been the reason I gave up on losing weight in the past because I just couldn't seem to make it through even one month without totally sabotaging my efforts and not caring that I was doing so. I'm being much more careful about my supplements now. We're going to San Jose on Sunday and I'm going to make sure I take them with me. They've helped more than any other advice for PMS help I've ever tried.

Today is a good day. I'm going for a walk in a while. It's back to being sunny after a cloudy and rainy day yesterday.

I've been thinking about the serenity prayer lately, as I mentioned in an earlier post. I realized that, for me, part of what affects my serenity is in how I use my imagination. I have an overactive imagination, which is good for a writer, but can be a pain in everyday life. When I use it to focus on what's wrong, either by worrying or being afraid things will never get better, etc., I'm not peaceful or serene.

But when I use it to imagine that my problems are already fixed, then I find myself realizing that it's just time between now and when that happens. The time will pass and the problems will get taken care of, one way or another.

So, I'm trying to remember to imagine myself at my next goal, my next smaller size, and my car is fixed and we're moving back to San Jose and so on. What's weird is that by focusing on the problem being already solved, I'm finding it easier to figure out what to do next to make it happen. And it's easier to follow through because I've imagined myself doing it, so it just seems to flow naturally from the imagination to the action. Like choosing the right food or exercising or writing the next part of my story or whatever needs to be done.

Even if the future doesn't hold all of what I want in my life, thinking this way sure makes the present better. And that's what's important, since we can only experience this moment.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Hi, tortoise beings.

Lin, I SERIOUSLY liked what you are doing with your imagination right now. Like you, I have an overactive imagination, and it's hard to reign it in sometimes. I think what you're doing is way smart, and I'm going to do it, too. It helped me to break that 200 barrier, for example -- but I've stopped doing it lately. I need to visualize myself at a smaller size again, and visualize myself in a job I enjoy. That latter is going to be hard, since I still haven't figured out what job I would enjoy.

Also, I too am having a tough time with PMS again. I've been taking calcium but not as regularly as I need to. I've been VERY hungry the past few days, have eaten at the top of my points (and one day over), and now feel bloated. Harrumph. Part of my hunger, too, is because I really pushed myself with exercise a couple of days. I realized I've been coasting for too long -- but I didn't realize how much until I tried this tough workout. I think I forgot about sweating!

As I expected, I'm finding it a challenge to get used to working again. But I'm looking forward to buying a laptop with the money. It's time to replace our home computer, and I'd like to do it with a portable. So I'll keep focusing on that as I sit in my little, windowless cube and try to figure out what I'm doing.

Erin, you seem way too young for a mastopexy! Now, *I* on the other hand would benefit greatly from one, especially as I've lost weight. Put that in your "more than I needed to know" category.

Judy, so what do you and I need to do to put aside that emotional eating this week? For me, I'm finding sitting at a desk all day doing something boring just makes me want to eat. It's like a form of entertainment or a way to break up the tedium. I brought fruit and veggies with me to work, but I also brought WW bars and popcorn. I think maybe this coming week I'll just bring fruit and veggies to work, other than my lunch. And maybe I'll also have to just grit my teeth and bear it. Whatta concept.

Well, have a great weekend, all. I'll be watching the olympics.

Onward and downard,

Lauren
274/195/189 by April 17 79 pounds down!