Good morning everyone!!!!

Well, I told you weigh-in was not going to be pretty for me...and I held true to my word. I gained 4#'s!!!! YIKES!!!! Now I have 2 weeks to get rid of that.

I totally relate to what you said yesterday Wendy. We know what we need to do, but it is like we sabotage ourselves....and why I do it, I don't have a clue. Wrong!!!...YES I DO!!! I wish I could figure out a way to banish stress from my life...at least slow it down. Actually would love to get rid of the majority of the people that come in this house. Lately, I wonder if it is worth the problems....this has been going on for 16 yrs!!!!!

Anyway, I was very proud of my chapter last eve. Everyone else lost and it was installation for us. The leader had car problems about 250 mi from here so she could not make it back. She asked me if I would do it....so I put my other 'hat' on and we had a nice ceremony. Ate way to much at the restaurant....so now it is time to behave and get this excess poundage off.

CONGRATS to you CC for another loss. Don't be surprised to have your losses slow down since you are getting so close to your goal weight.

Sherrie, stop worrying about the scale. When you do that, that is when you start wandering from what you KNOW what works. They are just numbers.....keep moving in the right direction!!!

Must run......and I was so happy to see all the posts yesterday. Take care everyone and may you have a wonderful day. I plan on hitting that water bottle and I hope alot of you will join me. Take care and here are some {{{{{{{{LOSING VIBES}}}}}}}} to start off your day!!!!!!

TOPS Hugs,
Summer

Going good here so far this morning. Yesterday ended up in mid day being a stress day. I wanted hamburger and ff so bad. I wanted to go to Wendy's after my doctors appointment, and If i hadn't been there so long I probably would have. In stead I ate some m&m's and a homemade easter rocky road candy bar. The doctor wants to put my restrictions low, but if he does that then I lose my job. He said I have a big decision to make. He said he can't make that one for me, but It probably would be easier if, well put it his way. "If I could win the lottery". In other words. He knows no one will hire me if I lose my job, and going back to school with a three year old at almost 39 isn't at the top of my priority. Not sure If he will put me on perminate disablity or not. Workman's comp hasn't asked for a second op. yet, and he said they probably won't till they start questioning the restrictions. He also said my pain tolerance is up to me. He knows I'm in pain, it's just how much and how long am I willing to deal with it. I know that this isn't half of what some of you ladies go through. I just wish someone else would make the decision for me. If I was let go, it would be so much easier. I was able to get back on track last night.
So I know that I can do this. All of us can do this, I know we can, and I have faith that we can.

Summer,

Hey girl. You can get rid of that 4 lbs in 2 weeks. You have done it before but it won't be easy.

STAY AWAY FROM THE CARBS GIRL. That will get you in your leeway again. It works everytime along with the exercise. You know what you have to do so just DO it.

That was nice that you did the installations for her. Sounds like you had a great time. You went to a resteraunt for the installations?

I was invited (well our chapter) to this broadway bar and grille place yesterday. I got a whole book of free passes for the movie part. This is a place where you eat and watch a movie. She said we could hold an event there if we want. We have never gone out as a group to do something like this before. She even said that they would make a special menu up just for us to keep us in our guidelines so we don't eat the wrong foods. I thougt that would be great. I was thinking that maybe we could do a christmas party there. Go for dinner and the movie as a group and it will be only us in the place. But then again it will be expensive but we can hold another 50/50 raffle to come up with the money. We made almost $200.00 the last time and we could have sold a lot more tickets but we only had 500 of them. The most it would be is $270.00 for the group. Or we could put in 1/2 and the member could put in the other half. It will be between $10 - $15 a pc.. I have a feeling that they won't go for it. But the most they could say is no right? It would be having a buffet at the meeting place. I know that is a lot cheaper. But this place said they are going to keep track this year of who they give donations to and see if they are getting business from them in return. So I thought it was a great idea.

Wendy,

You do have a big decision to make girl. It wouldn't be so bad if they would put you on permanent disablility but I have been there done that and it is almost impossible to get it. They consider if you have another hand to use to work with then you can work and don't need the disability. So they make it impossible for anyone to live that is in your situation. Good luck with your decision. Are you going to have a second operation like you had mentioned before?
I am glad you got back on track that is great. You are right that we can do this.

As for me the scale is now up 2 lbs. I have been figuring my points with the plan I have been doing. But to get in all my food for the day it is putting me at the very top of my range. I can't be eating there everyday. So I think that I am going to go back to plain ole water and just have the 2 cups of tea seperate. I lost the weight when I drank the reg water with nothing in it. Also I looked at my plan I was following and wrote down the points next to it. I am going to drop 2 servings of bread and 1 serving of milk and that will put me at the bottom of my range which is where I need to be to lose the weight. I always lose when I eat at the low end of range. So this is what I came up with.

3 fruit, 1 milk, 3 fats, 6 protein, 2 carbs, 2 veggies

But for the veggies I am getting a ton more then that because I measure out all my stuff for my salad for dinner and I end up with 6 cups total for my veggies in the salad. So that is a lot of veggies which is good. They are all free for me also. The ones I use anyway and they are not the starchy ones either. So I will start that today. I hope this works.

I can't honestly believe that with my scale up 2 lbs that I will have a loss tonight. I have done great all week and I haven't eaten any junk and I have had all my food groups and 1 gal of water/tea for the whole week everyday but yesterday. I only had 64 oz. yesterday but that is what you should have everyday anyway. But I think that going back to fresh clear water is a big key.

Any ideas here ladies. I am not changing what I am doing. I am still counting my points but I will be eating less of them. I know the points work and where I have to be in order to lose and I have had too many points all week.

This is my menu for the day:

1/2 cup dry oatmeal (yes I do cook it.LOL)
1 cup skim milk
1 egg

15 oz. no sugar added peaches

huge salad

3 cups iceberg lettuce
1 cup tomatoes
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup cucumbers
1 egg
4 oz. of ham steak or chicken or no meat at all
Italian dressing 6 tablespoons (2 good kind it is low in fat only 2 grams for 2 tablespoons. So I am having 3 servings of this.)

1 cup skim milk
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce

1 bag 94% ff popcorn

1 gal water/tea

this is usually 28 points total for the day. My range is 22-29. So see what I mean.


You all have a great day. I don't think I will lose tonight for sure with my scale.

But I am not giving up I am just cutting back. I can't give up because I want to reach goal this year. If I don't lose then I will never reach goal.

I cut the carbs and not the protein because I figured the protein will keep me full and I don't need more then 2 servings of carbs a day.

Sherri

Good Morning
I was going to post later. But thought NO I am going to post now. I will go for my walk here in a little bit. Want it too warm up just a little. And I will walk 2 miles today.

Summer You will get that 4 lbs off in 2 weeks. You know alot of it could be fluid retention. You may have ate more salt than you realized. And it will be off in no time. Sounds as if you got back on track already with drinking water. So keep it up. Write down what you eat, weigh and measure. I know that sounds like taking alot of extra time. But you are worth that time. You have a great OP day.

Shortstack. Sorry your Dr's appt dont go so well. I am sure you will make the right decision. I will keep you in my prayers. Congrats for getting back on track.

Sherri Hope you are doing ok.

To everyone else Hope you are having good losses this week. And staying OP.

Well better get off here. Will check in later. Have a great day!!
A TOPS PAL

Good morning everyone. I just remembered something I learned a few years ago. The way our bodies gets rid of weight is for the fat to be converted to water and then we get rid of the water. Now I think we all know this. But here is the thing I didn't realize. Water weighs more than fat. So, if our body is in the process of converting fat to water, and we have not yet shed the water, we will weigh more for a brief period of time.

Summer, what did you do for the installation? I would really like to have an idea, as we have our meeting tonight and i would like to do something, but not sure of what, since our club is so small. Anyone have any ideas for me?

Shortstack, Congratulations on not eating that burger and FF. Sometimes those cravings can really do us in. I am so sorry you are having to make such a tough decision. I wish someone could make it for you!! When I went on disability, the Dr. told me Ihad no choice, so was spared that agonizing decision. back on track...great!!!!! Did you get more sleep last night. It must have been rough yesterday to have so little sleep, then a difficult Dr's appointment on top of that. I hope today goes better for you.

Well, I let my little dog out to the yard and she took off (does this occasionally) so I had better go see if I can find her. She always comes home ok, but occasionally a neighbor brings her back for me and though i am grateful, I am also a little embarrased.

Hope you all have a great op day. I plan to.
Mary ann

Thank you everyone. Next appointment is in 2 months.
mary ann-did you find your dog. Hey thanks for reminding us. This might be one reason for platues(if the is spelled wrong(sorry), spelling wan't great for me).
Summer you hang in there. we can do this
coco glad you stopped early.
Sherri- I know how you feel. You can do this.
Christie, Eleni, Lara,Mickey, Bev, hope all is well with you ladies.

Sherri, come on girl......lets have some positive {{{{VIBES}}}} for at least a turtle tonight since you think it might be the other way around. Visualize yourself being and feeling lighter. Also in regards to having our installation at the restaurant, they have a private meeting room that is 'special' and the chapter DOES NOT pay for the members meals. The owner sets up a special menu for us and the cost is totally on each member. We never have a problem with people worrying about the cost 'cause we get a good deal. [the owner is a member]

Wendy, what are you having health problems with? Disability?, you're too young and there are alot of women that have gone back for additional education with more children, special needs included. Pick yourself up, dust off, and put a pretty smile on your face.

Maryann, for our installation we do the flower and candle one. Each office along with the weight recorders have a color assigned to them and their artificial flower and candle are the same. Some of our members have beautiful candleholders. The one in the center [the talles] is the candle of continuity. The other 6 are off on the sides sloping downwards. Each offices duties are talked about and the member pledges to do their job as read. They then light their respective candle off the continuity one and are given their flower. You can also look up what each flower that you choose represents or stands for and mention that along with the office. They can tie in beautifully. Like the rose generally represents love and I think to be leader, you should love TOPS and the members that will be led. We have a beautiful table with the candles lit and the flowers placed back on it. At another big table we then had our meal. BEFORE the installation of new officers, I honored the outgoing ones with their officer charms. These are 2 poems/recitations that we use......

OUTGOING OFFICERS POEM:

Can you imagine the bedlam on us that would befall,
to hold a meeting with no officers at all?
No one to weigh the members, or roll call, what a mess.
What happened at LAST meeting, waould be anybody's guess.

NO one to rap the gavel when everybody yaks,
No one to pay the bills, THESE are some awful facts.
We've had our ups & we've had our downs. But on this we MUST agree,
Without officers to guide us, we'd all be up a tree.

It's not the love of glory that makes them give of their time,
It's not because of money, they NEVER earn a dime.

Officers want to help our chapter, and take weight off too.
Cheers to our officers, the whole fine crew.

In conclusion we wish to say THANKS from everyone.
You've helped us each in many ways with the splendid job you've done!

REDEDICATION PLEDGE [said at end of installation and ALL members repeat it after the Installer }

I AM AN INTELLIGENT PERSON, THAT IS WHY I JOINED TOPS.
I WILL CONTROL MY EMOTIONS & NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO STAY HOME, BECAUSE I FEAR I MIGHT HAVE GAINED.
EVERYTIME I AM TEMPTED, TO FIND FAULT WITH MY CHAPTER, CRITICIZE MY FELLOW MEMBERS, OR THINK ABOUT QUITTING I WILL REMEMBER.....
MY CHAPTER CAN BE NO BETTER THAN I HELP MAKE IT.
MY FELLOW MEMBERS NEED MY HELP, AS MUCH AS I NEED THEIRS,
AND IF I SHOULD QUIT TOPS, I MIGHT NEVER REACH MY GOAL.
THEREFORE, I, HEREBY REDEDICATE MYSELF TO SUPPORT TOPS,
THROUGH MY WEIGHT LOSS AND MY ACTIOINS, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.

I hope this helps you out a bit. We had a really nice ceremony.

TOPS HUGS,
Summer

Cutting way back on bread and exercising really paid off
4.75# loss
We had our installation dinner tonight. The ladies gave me a beautiful corsage made up of tiny roses. That was so sweet of them. Everyone had a good time
It is wayyyyyyyyy past my bedtime

Eleni,

Way to goal lady. You are doing awesome. Congrats on the loss. I guess you will be repeating what you did this week for next week right?

Hey I gained 2 lbs tonight. I am not happy but I didn't even want to pig out like I normally do. That is a good thing though. I am not going to give up. I am going to reduce my intake and lower my points but I will still be getting in my food groups. I know I have to have no more then 23-24 pts a day to lose weight for the week. So I will make sure I am low in pts this week which means giving up some of the exchange sizes. I will do this. One way or the other. I can't give up or I will never reach goal.
I am sad to say that I came in with a gain for the 6 week goal. I wanted to do so well this time and I didn't.

Okay what is the next challange? I will try again. Start over right eleni?

Hey I get to go to another workshop that is going to be just like the one that I couldn't go to last saturday. I just talked to the coordinator and she invited our chapter to come. It is for a different region but it is identical to what they talked about and did last week. So I can't wait. It is going to be April 20th. I have already marked my calendar so I will be going. I emailed the new leader to tell her. I will announce it next week to see who else wants to come. Plus she is not charging us to attend because we already paid for 2 people to go last week. So I am so excited. I am sure I will learn a lot. I hope the leader gets to go to. I hope she is not busy that day.

I am out of here. Going to start fresh tomorrow. It is my cheat day so have a great on plan day everyone.

Welp I TURTLED!!!!!
But hey I guess that is good, we had a great instialtion ceremony and I am really looking forward to getting to help other ladies reach their goals. I am going to be working with a great lady, and I just know that she is the right one for the job
Eleni ( mom )- WAY TO GOAL!! What an awsome loss!
Sherri- No matter what the scale said.............
You worked very hard all week!!!! Do not get down and know that your hard work is going to pay off! And I am always here so CALL ME if you need me
To the rest of you i think I am going to hit the hay LOL, I will get back with you guys in the morning