Happy New Year, ladies!! It was tough to type in "09." I'm having trouble writing that on lots of things--typical for January I guess.

Sorry I didn't post over the break, but I was just checking emails. It's tough being back at work--my mind is still foggy.

I was NOT OP over the holidays and I am so disgusted with myself. I managed to exercise, but I ate all sorts of cookies and candies and drank too much. Sigh. It's a new year and I'm on track today.

I picked up a cold around New Year's Eve and it was miserable. I'm still recovering, but I feel a lot better.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your Christmas. Such warm weather for you, Melissa. Yes, it must have been sad not to have your father there.

Lisa I wasn't OP either! No where near it. I'm up a total of 27 pounds now, which IMO is way too much. I see the doc on Friday and we will see what she says.

I have that problem every new year as well. I sometimes have to re-write checks out because I will put the previous year on it.

Not much new to report here. First day back at work and wishing I was still on vacation!

Good morning!

It's hard to believe the holidays are now behind us! It seems like we plan, plan, plan and then they're gone in a flash!

It's been quiet here--the students are still on break and I'm just getting caught up with some files and such. I had to purge some old files from my computer to free up some space and now I'm cross-eyed!

I, too, did not do all that great over the holiday. I'm actually glad to be back to work and on a better schedule.

I'm back on my thyroid med but at a reduced dose (50mcg from 112) because my levels jumped quite a bit--so now we're back to game of gradual increases. I'm just hoping I don't get those darn symptoms back (tiredness, aches, etc.) We'll see how it goes. I go for blood work at the beginning of February. Only 6 weeks until my trip to San Diego.

The weather here is strange--it's cold th is morning with snow/freezing rain coming back this afternoon. It'll make the afternoon commute home interesting. Hopefully it won't get too icy.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year for all of us!

Lori, I never had a baby, but that does sound like a little too much weight. Your doctor can advise.

Melissa, I hope, too, that you don't have those other symptoms you had last year. Your weather today doesn't sound like any fun. Why are you going to San Diego? I'm headed to Vegas on the 23rd for a work thing.

Well, I'm OP for the second day. Just taking it one day at a time. It's difficult because people are still bringing in cookies and candy to work.

Lisa - The weird thing is that I have gone from mediums to larges. I'm surprised after gaining this much that I'm not in XLs, but at the same time I can see that a lot of the weight is in my belly. I mean, I can also feel some in my thighs, arms, face. I am going to talk to my doc about it on Friday and see what she says.

Melissa - I used to have to travel to San Diego a lot for work, but I never actually got to do anything there. I would have loved to have at least gone to the zoo! I remember it raining when I was there and there were SO many accidents that day. People there don't know how to drive in the rain! It is weird though because it really is a "concrete jungle" out there, and the rain water runs like a river down all those hilly streets. Be careful if it rains while you are there!

Hi Ladies,

Happy New Year. I'm glad the holidays are over and I'm back to the same old same old routine. My eating was horrible the past 2 months. I've got to lose this extra weight.
The sun is shining here right now but we're suppose to get a very bad ice storm later tonight, so driving to work tomorrow should be awful. Maybe I can hook a ride in with DH.

Lisa hope your cold is going away. I started taking this dietary supplement called Sambucol back in October that is suppose to boost your immune system. So far I've not even had a sniffle and everyone around me has been sick. Might actually be something to that stuff...LOL.

Lori I gained 30lbs with both of my pregnancies. Have you had a lot of cravings during your pregnancy or are you generally eating the same types of foods just larger quantities? I think I remember my doctor saying a gain between 20-40lbs was normal but that was so long ago I might not be remembering correctly.

Melissa I didn't know you were going to San Diego next month. What a great time to go to get a way from the snow and cold. Hope your commute this evening isn't too bad.

Well ladies hope you're all having a good week. Talk to you tomorrow.

Pam - The recommended gain now is 25-35 pounds. I am shooting for around 40 (since at this point I can't shoot for lower than that), and I know my doc is OK with that. I'm just worried that I've been gaining quickly. I haven't really had cravings, I am just eating more and lately I have not been eating healthy things. It has been easier to eat better now that the holidays are over though. I was worried about weight gain during pregnancy because a long time ago when I was taking birth control with estrogen, I gained 30 pounds in 3 months - horrible. Since then I have always been on birth control with progesterone only. I have always been worried about how my body would react with all the extra hormones.

We are going to get a "wintry mix" down here tomorrow. I hope its not a lot of ice!

We're going to San Diego for a big 7's rugby tournament that they hold there and we're hooking on some extra days for fun. We leave on the 12th and come back on the 17th. We'll be staying closer to Coronado (National City area) and the games are at Petco Park. I'm looking forward to the getaway. We went to CA for our honeymoon and did get to the San Diego zoo. I'm not sure what all we're going to try and do while we're there. I know that the roads get really slippery when it rains.

I just worry that something will happen with my dad while we're away.

Lori: Hopefully the weight gains will taper off now for you. Your doctor will be able to tell you if you're gaining too quickly.

I got called in to work at WW tonight so I won't be going right home after work-- hopefully the weather will cooperate for me

My friend and I got outside at noon and got a nice hour-long walk it--I feel good about that! Now to get the eating under control!

Melissa,Since you work for WW, can you give us a description of the new program in a nutshell?

I'm putting off my WI till I can shed some of this Christmas weight. I'm on my third OP day. It's tough. I will lose this weight.

Momentum is great! It combines the old Flex and Core into one program which is great. Members are encouraged to eat "filling" foods (core) and there's a check off in the new tracker. The other nice change is that all liquids count, although water is the preferred liquid but research shows it doesn't matter. There are also boxes in the tracker to check off fruits/veggies, milk, oil, liquids, lean protein, vitamin and a spot to circle if you get your whole grains in. Activity is now one of the healthy guidelines.

I think a number of members were already doing something similar and talked about it and WW heard. I know I tracked and worked at getting the "core" type of foods in because they stuck with me longer.

There's also a spot where you can graph how hungry you are.


I went to my meeting today and noon and had to duck out because I have this awful dry cough that starts and then I can't stop. It was horrible because I can't catch my breath when it happens. I was able to weigh in and listen to about 5-10 minutes of the meeting and then I had to go out. I was really happy with my WI--I was down 2.2#! I'm excited about that one! I knew my dress pants were loose yesterday but that doesn''t always mean my weight is down.

Melissa, That sounds good although I never quite understood the Core plan. Congrats to you for the loss. OMG--I have the same cough! I had to leave music rehearsal on Sunday because of it--I couldn't catch my breath and everyone was looking at me askance.

Lisa: This plan is a lot easier because the food guides have a marking as to which ones are filling, just like the way core was and you try to get those in your daily foods. It's not that bad. This cough is driving me crazy--I was doing good until I came home from the banquet and had another spell where I got lightheaded and thought I was going to pass out. The worst part is gasping and hearing yourself kind of whistle. Ugh! I have some Mucinex DM and was hoping that it would help--it seemed to be until I got home

Melissa, The Mucinex DM has been a big help as well as Robitussin DM. At least my coughing jags are now few and far between. I coughed so hard that I pulled something in my chest--probably a muscle. This is one of the worst colds I've ever had.

The new program sounds interesting. I'm on my fourth OP day.

Lisa: I don't have any other symptoms--no stuffy nose, no head congestion, just this stupid cough. I had another episode last night when I came home from work--my poor husband hasn't had the honor of seeing one of these attacks until last night and he thought I was going to pass out. I hate it when I can't catch my breath and the stress makes it even worse! I didn't cough last night (or not that I know of).

The new program is good--it's more about using filling foods with your daily foods to help keep you satisfied and sustained throughout the day. A lot of members really like the fact that it's not all water too for liquids. If you can get your hands on a 2009 food companion that'll help you out or when you go for your WI ask for the Week 1 book and that'll give you a good idea as to what is a filling (core) food.

It's snowing and blowing here this morning--last night was icy and this morning wasn't much better--we had blowing snow with it! Temp is only 26 and from what I've seen of our forecast it's going to get a lot colder by next week!

I'm working on getting on a better schedule, both sleep and eating. It's been hard because I haven't been eating "regular" meals in terms of things keeping me satisfied.

I was given the Week 1 book, but didn't read it yet. I'll do that.

Your weather doesn't sound like fun at all. Sorry about the coughing--I can so relate. I haven't had one of those coughing jags for a couple days, but I still don't feel 100%.

How are your wrists?