Hi, Everyone,

Here's 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.

Lin

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, I know it's hard to have the scale stay the same, but remind yourself that it's better to maintain than to gain. Every week that you maintain, you're getting practice for the time when you reach your goal. OTOH--you also might consider whether you're on a plateau or whether you need to make some changes. If you've been journaling, you should be able to look at it and figure out what to do.

Your suggestion of 10 things might be helpful if I modify it a little. I think I need to figure out what things to focus on each day and rotate them so they all get done often enough to keep the health department at bay. Otherwise, I'll keep skipping the chores I dislike the most.

Lauren, it's good to hear that your personal problems are getting solved. And that you're getting back into your routine. I'm sure we'll see more success at the scales as time goes on. Great going on that exercise you wrote about. I can see how it's easy to let it go when you're rushing to get to work in the mornings.

Two of my family members are the stereotype absent-minded professor type. They don't notice what needs to be done and they conveniently forget what they agreed to do. When I write it down, they tell me that I wrote down what I wanted them to do, but they never agreed to it. That's why it doesn't matter whether I do it for them or not. They never admit it was their chore in the first place. The other one is super picky, but only about his own space. He doesn't consider the public areas of the house to be his responsibility. They are the master of excuses, rationalizations, etc. And they can drag out an argument so long that they could have done the darn chore in the time they spent arguing with me abou it. It's the only area of my life in which my family is more stubborn than I am. So, I have to work this one out without their help.

But I know that part of the reason I'm so bothered right now is that when PMS shows up, I'm a lot less tolerant of disorder than the rest of the month. I will also be better able to deal with it after TOM. I mainly needed to vent.

I know that I have to see a doctor about my PMS and TOM problems. You may remember that I was planning to call and make an appointment the day my dh got laid off last year and we lost our insurance.

But our current health care is more complicated because of living in Salinas. Salinas is one of the few places in Northern California that aren't in the service areas of most of the major health care providers. We couldn't use the one we've had forever because they have no emergency facilities here in town. The insurance that has doctors in Salinas is private care insurance, at twice the cost of HMO coverage. So, we had to take the HMO insurance. We ended up with no choice of primary care physicians. We had to take the only doctor in Wastonville who was taking new patients. Watsonville, at 20 miles away, is the closest town with any physicians that accept our insurance. At that we were lucky because if we hadn't found a physician taking new patients within a 30 mile radius, this company would have denied us coverage. We would have had to take the expensive coverage or continue without insurance, praying that we don't need a doctor.

Well, ladies, as you know, I don't have a car. Which means a two-hour bus ride each way to Watsonville to see a doctor unless I'm close enough to being dead to use one of the local emergency rooms. And that's just for primary care. I haven't yet found an ob-gyn who takes my insurance that I can get to on the bus. I have to spend some time on the web site and the phone.

I just get tired of everyday things in life that take more time to deal with just because I live in this particular town. I have a list of stuff that I cannot do at all or that take twice as long to accomplish just because I live in Salinas. The health care is the biggest because I cannot work around it like I can the other things. I have to use it even though "inconvenient" is an understatement.

Anyway, as you all can tell, PMS is worse than usual this month. I'm really being a complainer and I apologize. I will try to "get over it", as the Eagles suggest. I'm taking my supplements again regularly and that should prevent next month from being this bad.

As for my weight, I'm so bloated I'm staying off the scale. I got in a nice walk today. The weather is great for walking. I'm drinking my water. And doing my best with food.

Have a great day. I hope I haven't brought you all down with my bad mood.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Wow, Lin, it takes your buses 2 hours to go 20 miles?? Any chance you could drive DH to work or he could carpool one day, and you could drive to the doctor? Buses can be a drag, but at least you've got them. Here, believe it or not, we don't. Why? We're the car capitol of the USA. We don't need no steenkin' public transportation.

Get on the bus, Lin, and go see your doctor. Maybe you can use the time to watch people and get ideas for your stories. If the dark moods really are hormonal, that would be good to know, and maybe your doctor can do something for you. Have you tried any herbs? They may be cheaper. No idea how well they work, but some people swear by them.

About the bloat ... I noticed last night coming home from a church potluck that my jeans were tight! I couldn't get over the difference. I measured myself because I was curious -- and I was almost 2 inches bigger around my midsection! What's up with THAT? This morning I was back down to normal again. I figure it was the couscous I ate, which does tend to swell. But still.

I'm having a very hard time motivating myself to exercise. Didn't do it this morning again. In general, I'm just having a hard time disciplining myself in all kinds of areas right now. Seems like when one goes, they all do. I'm tracking in my journal, but often after the fact -- sometimes a day or two late, even. I'm getting lax about points. I'm not exercising much. This is the kind of behavior that gets me into ruts and eventually packs pounds back on. I see that, and yet I still do it. I guess if I had the answer to this, I'd be rich. Well, the *easy* answer, anyway. We all know the tough answer, the only one that truly works --

JUST DO IT, LAUREN.

Ah, well. At least the water weight I gained with TOM is gone and I'm back in the 180s by the skin of my teeth. I'll tell you, I'm really looking forward to the end of Lent. This is such a tough time of year for me on a lot of fronts. Spiritual struggle always is, I guess.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/189.5/174

Lin,
Get yourself to a doctor by hook or by crook. You'll feel so much better if you do.

Lauren,
I know the feeling and I can't even blame lent. Glad the two inches of bloat left. Egads. Not fun!

Mousie,
It's almost the weekend and I'm smiling thinking of you going to fly kites with dh. Have fun.

All
Okay, I'm in the pits. I can't tell you why. All I know is that I started eating and I don't want to stop. No matter that my clothes are getting tighter already. No matter that I'll hate myself.
I am not putting eating correctly anywhere near the top of my priority list. Not fun. It's as though I'm punishing myself. Egads.
Maybe it's time for me to see a therapist and try to work these feelings through. I've got a lot of confusion in my life right now and I'm eating like there's no tomorrow. I know I have to exercise and eat right for my health. I know what I'm doing is counterproductive. Do you guys think I'm eating up to my starting point so that I 'll feel like I have to diet at that point? Am I putting closure of my WW? I don't know. All I know is that WW is just not that hard. I've done it successfully for two years. My weight loss wasn't spectacular, but it was there. Now I'm throwing it away. I feel a little better. I've got to work this through.
My dh bought me a tiny turtle because he knew I was looking for one. It's small and cute so maybe I can find a good place for it.

You all take care.
Judy

Hi, Turtles,

Ladies, I agree that I need to go to the doctor. But there's another hitch. The doctor in Watsonville isn't a gynecologist. She's the doctor you see for everything else. I checked out the gynecologist list and there is only one--in Hollister. There is no public transportation between here and Hollister. So, I have to fight my way through the voice mail system and find out if I could go to San Jose and see a doctor there or if they have another solution. They'll probably tell me to get PPO insurance, but that costs twice as much.

I've never had this kind of HMO before and I really hate it. Let me tell you about the non-profit HMO we used to have and you'll understand why I'm so darn frustrated. They make a real effort to provide good customer service. The only time you would have to wait past your appointment time to see a doctor is if the doctor got called to an emergency. If you needed lab work, you could get the tests done before you went home unless you had to fast or something. They called in specialists or another doctor, if you needed a second opinion, right on the spot. When you need to see a dcotor, they have a central appointment desk that covers all of the cllinics and hospitals in the area and they try to find the one most convenient to you. They also have a bank of advice hurses to help you figure out if you need to see a doctor or to give you advice if you appear to have something that you can treat at home. Going from that great service, with a lot of choices of doctors, to this non-service, with only one doctor for the whole area is really awful. And the plan with the best service is cheaper, but we're out of their service area and they won't cover us anymore.

Anyway, the good thing about this is that my dh is more determined to move back to San Jose. He gets more determined every time we face stressful stuff that's directly related to where we live. He's going to revise his resume and cover letter and start job hunting.

He wants a promotion to the title that goes with the job he's actualy doing. At his current company, his official job description doesn't match the job he's been asked to do. They acted confused when he asked about that and essentially said that "he's a technician" and that's what his title is, regardless of whether his job matches the description or not. So, he's going to job hunt with the goal of getting a title appropriate to the job he's actually doing and enough money for us to move back to San Jose. He's hoping to find something before our lease is up at the end of the year. So, we'll see what happens.

Lauren, your exercise problem may be hormone-related. I've noticed that when I'm not as picky about taking my supplements, my determination to exercise starts slipping, even though it helps PMS. You said that you just finished TOM, so that's the time when your determination seemed to be slipping. Just a thought. Maybe if you keep a journal of this, you can see if there is a pattern.

You know, I think that if I were stressed out each year by trying to do a vegan fast during Lent and lose weight but my body found those two goals incompatible, I'd do some serious praying and thinking about my priorities. I'd decide if following my fast was the most important thing, and let the weight loss go for six weeks and work to maintian my weight during the fast. If losing weight is more important, I'd let the fast go until I've reached my goal weight and can follow my fast, maintaining my weight each year from that time on. At least I'd be less stressed out about the whole thing, which should help with sticking with the program.

Judy, here's a {hug}. I don't know that there's anything we can do to help you with this. Keep coming and whatever happens, we're here to support you through it. You can do it, if you're determined enough. If you think therapy can help, give it a try. It can't hurt and it could help tremendoulsy, if you find the right therapist. Don't feel that you have to stick with one that's not compatible. Personal experience with one of my kids who asked for therapy, but the therapist was totally wrong for him. He ended up solving his problem himself. I think the main thing that took care of it was that we took him seriously enough to get him help and that he grew up. It was adolescent stuff.

If you think you're trying to get back to your starting point so that you feel as if you're starting over, I do have a suggestion for that. Throw out all of your old journals and get a brand new, pretty blank book. Open it up and use it to start again right now. Put your current weight in it as your starting weight. The past is over. That's one reason I start a new one every year. It takes the weight of the past year off my shoulders and gives me that enthusiastic feeling of newness that can be so motivational. It also helps the winter doldrums to have a pretty new book in January.

Good luck. You can get through this. We're rooting for you.

Hi, Erin. I'm sure you'll be in here posting again soon. Just wanted you to know we're thinking about you.

I'm hanging in there. It's OK. I'm being patient and kind to myself and will get through this and be able to get back OP after TOM. I'm taking my supplements again very regularly and that will help me in the future.

Have a great weekend. Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Hi Turtles. Tired, so I don't know how long this will be.

I stepped on the scale this morning and it said I am SIX AND A HALF POUNDS HEAVIER than last week! What is UP with that??? Huh??? HOW???? Now, this has always been a frustration to me, I know the 'numbers' of weight--how many calories in a pound, how much exercise burns, how much I eat, what my BMR is, etc--and they have never, ever worked. I burn 800 calories and I go up by 2 pounds, etc. But seriously! Six and a half pounds?? That's 22,750 calories for the week EXTRA, or *3250* calories a DAY extra. I don't THINK so! Ugh, this is so frustrating. I can get my rings off, and TOM just ended, so I'm not visibly holding water...I can't figure it out.

But, anyway. I wrote a new contract for the week, have the stuff to make a new pot of veggie soup, and have had, so far today, 18 points and 2 veggies. And we're off for another week. Even if I don't lose anything ever again (And yes I'm serious) I plan to keep to the moderation of WW because I eat healthier and take better care of my body than when I'm not paying attention. Which may seem like a simplistic statement, but oh well. Not like I've ever been clever.

Lin, get thee to a doctor. Even if it takes hours, even if you have to beg a ride from friends, even if you have to take DH to work to have the car--you need a doctor to help you. It sounds like something hormonal is out of whack, and a doctor could help.

Lauren, SIGH. 180s...wow, I miss those. But I'll get back eventually. Lucky duck to be already there!

Judy, even if you are unconsciously trying to put paid to WW, so to speak, keep coming back here. We'd miss you! Be patient with yourself. You may be rebelling because you're unconsciously saying mean things to yourself. Listen close, and take care of yourself. Never let ANYONE be mean to you--even yourself.

DH and I were going to fly today but there was no wind and it was overcast and gray. So, we went to the kite shop and got a learner kite, 2 rainbow tails to attach to our stronger kites, and 2 ground stakes (for setting the kites up by yourself). So now we just need to let the group know we're there!

Gotta run, Turtles, I'm getting really zonked. And, I could use some time for Physics. *sigh*

Hi, Turtles,

Wow! Erin, have you considered that your scale might need calibration, batteries replaced, or be replaced itself? Is there another scale you can weigh yourself on to double-check the accuracy of your scale? Gaining six pounds in one week seems awfully weird. How are your clothes fitting? If they're not tighter, that's further evidence that your scale may be off.

You guys have such great suggestions, all of which I've worked through. I cannot take my dh to work and keep the car. The logistics are impossible. I'd have to drive him at 4 am to San Jose, then drive back to Salinas, a two hour round trip. Later, I'd have to take our car to Hollister and back, between forty minutes and an hour round trip. Then, I'd have to do the two-hour round trip back to San Jose to pick up my dh. Having him carpool doesn't work because he can't find anyone to carpool with. He's been looking since we moved over here, but he works a really early shift (he leaves at 4 am) and no one else who wants to carpool seems to be on that shift.

Even if one of the above solutions were workable, my dh won't let me take our car, anyway, for two reasons. One is that when I drive more than about a half hour, I can't walk without a lot of pain because of my legs being immobile while I drive. Freeway driving is especially hard on my circulation. Two, there is a rather large hill between here and Hollister and he's not sure our car is capable of pulling it safely. It doesn't do hills without overheating, but there's not anything wrong with the cooling system that we've been able to find.

Your other solution, Erin, of getting a ride from friends won't work because all of my closest (in terms of distance) family and friends are in San Jose and they won't do all of that driving just to take me to the doctor for a checkup.

I only see two solutions, rent a car, which we cannot afford right now since we spent quite a bit of money on the two trips to San Jose this month. That might be possible in May or June. Or, see if I can get permission from the HMO to see a doctor in San Jose. That might be possible, but since it's out of our immediate area, they may not allow it. Anyway, I agree with you all that this is really important. I just wish it were easier. I have had enough large stresses in my life recently that I don't need to accumulate a bunch of small ones.

I'm finally getting past PMS. This was an especially difficult month and I'm making sure I get in my supplements so next month is better. I've been doing my best to write down my food and to get in some walking. I need to do an errand in a few minutes, but I'm not looking forward to the walk because the weather is cold, gray, and wet this morning. Maybe I'll get lucky and get back before it starts raining again.

I'm looking forward to holing up here after my walk and working on my book. That, at least, is going just fine. Also, my oldest ds has a job interview tomorrow and we all hope that he gets it. It's likely to be a lot more hours than the 8 each week he's getting at his current job and he's more likely to get benefits, which he needs because he's too old to be covered under our policy. So, send him good vibes and karma and prayers, please.

Anyway, I've got to go. Judy, hope to hear from you soon. Hang in there.

Hi, Lauren.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Dear All,
Some good news. All the things I worried about since Jan. 4th.
have been resolved in a positive way. I have even stopped overeating and feel a little better.

I read everyone's posts today and was encouraged that although we all have problems, we're able to work them through and keep on going.

I have decided to give WW mtgs. a pass for awhile. I am doing nicely. I lost a pound from the rapid weight gain I had. I'm not making any big decisions about WW and mtgs. or anything else.
Right now I know what to do. My problem has been not wanting to do it from time to time. I am making less demands on myself.
If I need higher points from time to time, that's okay. I also realized that I've done well these last few years. I got used to working with myself as I age. (Okay--I really still do feel like I'm about 25). I haven't gained a lot of weight back. I have lost weight over these years and it is improbable that many people go straight down in weight using the WW plan without a few setbacks. And even if they do well, good for them. That's great.
It's just not me. I'm trying to get on top of my need to worry too much and I'm trying to establish healthy eating as a top priority.

I wish you all the best. I am now and always a turtle and I'll always be here for you too.

Lin,
I hate to offer suggestions to you because I really know that anything I can toss out is something you've thought of and discarded. but at least know that I'm hoping for the best for you and I hope a miracle comes through your window to help you.

Lauren,
Lent and vegetarianism is so tricky. I'm glad you're almost through this time of year. I am so proud of you for being in the 180's. That is great.

Erin,
Beginner kites sound like fun. Physics does not. LOL. Let us know how your group does this weekend.

Love and good vibes,
Judy
219/215 at home/ lower

Hi, turtles. We're in the middle of our Holy Week, so I've been pretty busy -- services each night. But these are the most beautiful services of the year; I don't want to miss them. Just means I have less time to come here.

I haven't been doing very well the past few weeks with the program, and this morning at my weigh-in I was at 192.5. Bleah. I'm not sure how much of it is the pseudo-vegan diet (I'm eating fish and egg beaters), how much of it is the travel (the weekend up north, the weekend in St. Louis), how much of it is the eating out (major birthday party dinner for a friend this past weekend; also ate at a Thai restaurant), how much of it is the stupid journaling (writing it down several days AFTER I ate it), or how much of it is the lack of exercise (I'm down to a couple times a week right now).

In any case, it all adds up to weight gain for me.

On the bright side, none of this gain has been due to snacking at home. I haven't fallen back into that particular bad habit at least.

Tonight at WW, my leader talked about why people drop out of WW and how we can stay the course. It was pretty appropriate for me right now, since I skipped last week's meeting entirely (and that was one of the factors she mentioned).

Lin, that's good news that DH is committed to finding something back in San Jose. Sounds like that'll clear up a bunch of your problems and frustrations. Your old HMO sounded fabulous; I can see why you miss it. And glad the book is going well.

As for the vegan diet this time of year ... it's really a mixed bag. I don't know how much it's responsible for my lack of weight loss. Can't tell. I do think that observing Lent for a couple of years prior to my joining WW was instrumental in my gaining enough self discipline to do what I'm doing now. Fasting is powerful stuff. I may just have to resign myself to not losing weight during the Lenten fast each year (which lasts about 2 months, by the way, not 6 weeks). I really don't know.

Erin, seeing that number on the scale must have been a shock. Had you had a really big loss the week before? (I don't recall offhand.) Did you work out especially hard, causing your muscles to hold fluid? In any case, no way it's all fat. Keep at it, and it'll go. Still, I can imagine the disappointment and frustration. Patience is such a tough virtue, even though it's critical to what we're doing. And you're doing great.

Judy, I hear you about taking the break from WW. I did that for a couple of years, as you may recall. I didn't lose anything during that time (well, I gained, lost, gained, lost, gained, lost ...), but I learned quite a bit. Just don't take a break from us, OK?

I'll check in again when I can and will post more again next week.

Onward and DOWNWARD, dadgummit,

Lauren
274/192.5/187.5 (virgin fat)

Lin, I'm sending you all sorts of good vibes for getting to the doctor and getting yourself taken care of. Also for your son--it was not a fun time when I was too old to be covered by the Navy (my dad's retired) and didn't have a job so no coverage of my own. Something will turn up--about 2 months after my "disqualifying birthday" I was promoted to fulltime at the library, and got benefits!

Judy, I think you've made the right choice. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter--it's your choice, end of story. But still, it sounds like you've made the right choice for yourself. Your writing seems peaceful. You don't have to do WW or anything like it to still come talk to us, though!

Okay, Lauren, I have to bite the bullet and ask: what exact religion ARE you? You've made comments about Lent, and services, and a different New Years (or some other holiday?), and about prayer and beliefs and things like that, but I've never actually caught where you said what religion you are. It doesn't matter to me, really, I'm just curious.

A strict vegan diet is no animal products of any kind--no beef, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, gelatin. This means bread made without eggs or milk, pasta made without egg or milk, no candies that have gelatin in them (kosher gelatin is okay), no hot cocoa that contains powdered milk, no fried foods that are fried in animal fats, and no food that has been cooked in contact with animal foods at any point (like on a shared grill). A vegan diet is very, very hard and very restrictive. You spend most of your time reading labels and shopping at speciality stores. A vegan also needs to take supplements of the B vitamins because those are exclusive to animal products. Vegan is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too labor intensive for me, that's why I'm lacto-ovo (I eat eggs and dairy, no fish, shellfish, beef, poultry--nothing with a face and/or a heart). Vegan is healthy, in theory, but I tend to think it's healthy because of the emphasis on fruits and vegetables, not because of the restrictions. Anyway.

My hands swelled up something fierce (does anyone say that anymore? My DH and Best Friend say I'm bizarre, but my family says it all the time) the day after I posted, so I guess it WAS all just water. It's coming down now. I'm, as I said, not really counting the numbers. I'm concentrating on exercise, eating when I need to (my blood sugar plummets after Spinning and I need to eat carbs), and eating vegetables. Sounds good to me.

I have found a Pilates gym! FINALLY! YAY! It's *30* miles away, but the benefit is it's a mile from my old high school and 2 miles from my best friend's house. And she's joining too. So it all works out. I want to firm my tummy and torso with the goal of wearing my dress at Fest over Labor Day. I have 4 months...wish me luck! Exercise has never been a challenge to me, so I expect no really problems.

I'm at 111 points for 4 days, the weeks is going well. And so far 2 Spinning classes . Whee!

Talk to you later, Turtles!

Erin, glad to hear it's water. (How could it not be?) Wonder what you did to retain all that water?

We're Eastern Orthodox. That's the same as Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc. Ours is Orthodox Church in America, which has Slavic roots but the service is in English. We've got people from all over the world there. The Eastern church and the Western church (Catholicism) split in around 1054 for a number of reasons. Since then, Catholicism has added to its doctrine and radically changed its services, while the Eastern church has not. When you go to an Eastern church, you hear the liturgy as it was sung in the earliest centuries after Christ. DH and I converted to this church about five or six years ago. (We were Protestant before that.)

As for the vegan stuff ... there are some Orthodox who are that careful. (Although I don't know anybody who's concerned about sharing a grill.) In the past, I've avoided all meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs, including stuff like powdered milk in things and frying with animal fat (not that I ever eat stuff fried in animal fat anyway). In fact, you're also supposed to avoid any oil during most of Lent, though I've never strictly observed that. This year I added back fish and egg beaters. I've never worried about eggs in bread and things like that -- though true Lenten food avoids them, and many people in our church follow the fast strictly. It's left up to your own conscience.

The point is not to get all caught up in what you're not eating. If you start doing that, then you're missing the spirit of the fast. That's why I don't get super particular, because I know how obsessive I can get. Lent is meant to be a time of simplifying your life (to the degree possible) so you can spend more time in meditation and prayer. Getting all caught up in dietary stuff would detract from that. You're also supposed to give more to the needy -- more money, more of yourself. The money you save on eating less should go to others. I definitely haven't gotten that part of it down yet; I spend too much on food during Lent. Vegetarian food can be surprisingly expensive unless you cook a lot from scratch.

Many Orthodox monastaries follow this fast all year round, except on feast days.

That's no doubt more than you wanted to know!

Actually, Lauren, that's all fascinating information. As you all are aware I am not a religious person, but the rites and rituals fascinate me. Thank you for explaining.

I don't know what on earth I could have done to hold that much water. I generally hold about 5-7 pounds of water the week before TOM, but this was the week AFTER. Thankfully it's all coming off, and I didn't freak out so much. I just figured it HAD to be water. Again, the numbers of weight loss, and I knew I hadn't been eating that much.

No Spinning this morning, Kelly is out of town and the sub I don't like is filling in. So, no Spinning. My Best Friend and I are going to see Cirque du Soleil tonight, yay! DH said not to buy him a ticket, for the price he wouldn't get much out of it but it would mean lots to me. I've seen Cirque once in Chicago, their show Quidam. This show is Dralion..yay!

Anyway, careful about points today because I'm going to be awake for a long time, but I have no fears.

Have a good day, Turtles!

Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, I wasn't aware that your Lenten season is about two weeks longer than ours. I'm glad you explained about your church. I've always been interested in learning about different faiths. One of my sons is studying the religions of the world and I've been learning a lot from him and from reading the library of books he's been amassing.

I'm a little confused about your report on your meeting topic. Was she talking about people quitting the program or dropping out of the WW orgainzation? I'd be interested in a more complete list of why people drop out and what she suggested to help stick with it, if you can remember.

Erin, I'm glad you found a Pilates gym and a friend to share it with. It sounds like fun. I'm also glad you discovered what your weight problem was. Water retention is a total pain! I've got a ton of it right now. And I can't wait until it goes away!!

Judy, I'm glad you've made a decision you can be comfortable with. You do sound so much more peaceful with yourself. BTW-the most frustrating part of aging is precisely that you don't feel any different inside and it gets annoying that your body doesn't act or look the same way you feel inside.

I'm doing better. I'm getting my supplements in and trying to get in some extra milk products. I'm getting addicted to having one of those Yoplait Whips with a little granola as a midmorning snack. And I've been drinking hot chocolate at night lately. It's been cold and cloudy for most of April and the hot drink is really good.

I'm planning to eat at the high end of my range for the week. I don't want to cut back too quickly and I've been out of control due to PMS and stress this month. But I'm starting to feel calmer and more capable of coping with all of the stuff that's been going on in my life. The other thing I must work on is rebuilding my walking habit. If I can do those two things this week, I'll be happy with my progress.

My son didn't get the job. They did something really weird. They had two group interviews and hired everyone from the first group before they even talked with the second group. So, they said they'd call him if any openings came up.

Well, I've got to get to work. Today I'm mainly doing research. I need to find out more about mapmaking and weather/climate before I can map out my worlds.

Have a great day! Happy turtlin!

Lin

Hi, Turtles.

Sorry for the confusion, Lin -- my leader was talking about people who don't get to goal, who give up. I did write down the 9 points she made, but I don't have that list with me. Here's what I remember:

-- Getting bored with the program (she had us all share tips with ways to perk it up, including getting creative with your food and focusing on the benefits)
-- Disliking exercise and therefore not doing it
-- Believing people who tell you you're getting "too thin" and should stop even though you're not in your goal weight range (believe it or not, I'm already getting some of this from some people; I think they're responding to the dramatic difference in my size rather than what I actually weigh today)
-- Quitting going to meetings
-- Letting events (like parties or vacations) throw you off

There are four more I can't think of offhand. Anyway, she didn't just list these; she elicited tips from the group (and offered some herself)on how to deal with each one. I found it very motivational and a much-needed kick in the pants.

Lin, I was a religion major in college (have I mentioned that?) and so studied a lot of different religions too. I decided for a while that I was a Buddhist-Christian. Now, many years later, I've figured out what I was missing -- eastern Christianity, which I've found in the Eastern Orthodox Christian church.

I'm glad you're doing better. That is very weird about your son's interview. Doesn't sound like a great place to work, that's for sure.

Erin, how was Cirque du Soleil? I love to watch them but have never seen them live. Glad you're de-ticking now.

I've been within points and working out each day, and am back down in the 180s again. I've decided that fat attaches itself to me when I get on the scales on Tuesdays (my weigh-in day) and then leaves again during the week. Actually, I suspect it's that I don't get as much exercise on the weekends and that's also when I attend events with lots of food. This weekend will be no exception, though I do plan to get exercise.

Anyway, hope everyone has a lovely Thursday.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/189.5/174 in September

Hi, Turtles,

Thanks, Lauren, for posting more details from your meeting. I know that I see myself in some of them. Although I haven't completely quit, I see that some of those things have caused stumbles.

It's interesting that you were a religion major in college. If women were more welcome in the clergy when I graduated from high school, I might well have become a pastor. I envied the guys I knew who pursued that goal, even though neither of them actually achieved it.

Cirque de Soliel looks like it would be great live. But whenever I watch this or dance performances, the constantly moving camera is so distracting from the performance. I feel like I never really get into the mood or continuity of it. So, I don't watch.

Except Bravo showed a performance of the Trockadero de Ballet that was hilarious and the video director didn't mess it up. Have you seen them? They're guys who do classical ballet, en pointe. All of the dancers are men. It's not like a drag show, they just exaggerate the classic moves and put in funny bits. They're great. I'd love to see them in person if they'd come to San Jose instead of San Francisco. San Francisco is a great town, as long as you don't have to drive to it!!

I realized something this morning. I get really impatient and expect to get back to normal before the PMS water retention goes away. Well, since one of my doctors mentioned that one of the main causes of the PMS issues is the water retention, that's sort of expecting the impossible. So, I need to be patient with my body and stop fighting it. I need to just do the best I can to maintain during PMS and accept that my weight loss will have to take place during the other two-three weeks. But I also realize that if I don't take my supplements, the symptoms are so bad that I can't cope. So, even if I have to cart my vitamins and calcium supplements and a bottle of water around, I need to make sure I take them every day.

So, things are going pretty much the same. The book is going fine. Actually, I should say the world-building is going fine. I'm working through the details I need to have in place in order to get the details in the story. It's fun, but hard work.

Hope you all are doing well. Have a great day!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin