morning girls,
just starting today's thread...

Hope everyone is doing OK today. I'm trying desparately to eat healthily but keep getting thwarted by booze and nice food! I had a fantastic time in Amsterdam - lots to eat and drink and about 4 hours sleep. I think my fave food was warm goat's cheese with honey and thyme on rosemary bread. mmmm.
BF and I have decided when we're going on holiday, now we just have to decide where! and i've got 6 weeks to shape up for the bikini! i had planned to go to yoga this morning but i slept really badly (hot and thundery in london) so i'm going to do legs, bums and tums at lunchtime instead. just got to summon up the energy...
so many replies i wanted to make but must do some work first.
kirsty

Although I would guess it's no longer morning where you are. You mean to tell us that you go to work not for the internet access, but to actually "work"? Glad you had a good time in Amsterdam...the bread with the cheese, honey, and rosemary sounds fantastic...but I'm a sucker for chevre on anything!

I did the Jen running program again this morning, and as a result, I'm sweating profusely. What a great workout. I'm still on week 1, but I'd rather do something than nothing, and in the end, I will still be the woman from the Nike commercial. At least I'm going to imagine myself that way.

I made the soda cake yesterday (1 box white cake mix, 1 can of diet sprite, mix it and bake it) and it was awesome! Hubby, who usually resists anything lowfat, ate three pieces. Of course, this defeated the idea of it being low points, but since he doesnt' have to worry about that, I'm glad he dove in. I did use the kind with the pudding in the mix, but I cut it into sixteen pieces instead of 12, so it's still 3 points per piece. I highly recommend this!!!

Not much more to blab about...I better get in the shower before Aaron wakes up...when that happens, I can kiss that shower goodbye until at least noon -- ugh! Have a wonderful OP day, everyone!

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just wanted to share that quote.......

Kirsty - Amsterdam sounded fun. I'm glad you had such a good time.

Lucy - congrats... 9.6! You're a star!

Jayne - you are amazing.... doing that running challenge. Good for you. Week one looks like quite the workout... awesome. So the soda cake is good???? Do you really just put in diet soda. LIke Diet Sprite? Nothing else?

JP - thanks for sharing.

The power went out in my buiilding yesterday..so I couldn't make dinner.... so some friends and I went out to dinner.... but all I could think about was hooker shirt hooker shirt hooker shirt... and so instead of ordering the chicken burrito with the works, I got swordfish skewers.... it was grilled swordfish, peppers and plantains... and I only ate about half I can't imagine it was more that 6 points for what I ate. ANd they ordered margueritas and I ordered diet cokes.

So right now I'm STARVING. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast but I'm still STARVING. My stomach is making noises! And I was thinking of going to the cafeteria.... but I don't want to break down and get something bad.... so I'm going to see if I can hold out. All that is stopping me is my hooker shirt. HOOKER SHIRT. What I really want is a bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwhich. Hooker shirt. Hooker shirt. AGH!

Lisa

I am having suuuch a grumpy day for various reasons so ofcourse its the lunch day with my friend (altho Grumpy I look all kindsa pretty according to my friends including the one who liked my friend) well My doc on monday said i ahve to watch my knees so the running challenge is out for me buut I can stiil do the in fact last night before bed I danced around my room listening to the radio for about a good 10/15 minutes i'm not sure i had the actual banana dance down but it was fun we should include all those kids games we all used to play on the playground too diversification my darlings!
LISA! i swear i'm going to build a shrine to you and your hooker shirt you had a great night op wise and still had fun as for the bagel
Hooker shirt hooker shirt DIET COKE HOOKER SHIRT
Kirsty amsterdam sounds wonnnnderful and so does that rosemary and cheese thing mmm
bbl

LISA ~diet coke, hooker shirt, diet coke, hooker shirt, diet coke, hooker shirt~ hope these vibes help!!!

KIER, you are a total babe, we know from seeing your picture, so just go to lunch and knock them dead wtih your wit!

PJ, great quote!

Hi Girls!

Lisa - Hooker Shirt, Hooker Shirt, Hooker Shirt! Now, does your cafe serve anything healthy? Mine usually has apples or yogurt and something like that would take the edge off your hunger so that you don't just go nuts at lunch. If not, may I suggest guzzling mass quantities of water?

Kirsty - glad you had fun in Amsterdam.

Kier - go enjoy your lunch. Doing something like that may actually improve your mood.

Jess - How did your date with BF go?

Jayne - I freely admit to being petty and having an insane dislike of naturally thin people no matter how wonderful they are! (OK, I may actually like them but I still can dislike their fast metabolisms!)

Lucy - how did WI go? Welcome to the world of work - give it a little time that feeling of "did I do it correctly" will disappear.

Cat - good job on having just one piece of pizza instead of a whole pie - that's not splurging or going off program - that's working the program as you should.

Kim - don't worry that you haven't lost very much on the scale. Working out will increase muscle tone and pull everything in and you will actually look thinner even if you weigh more than you'd like.

Well girls, was at an amusment park yesterday - it was a blast! I am next to worthless today though as I didn't get nearly enough sleep. Went with Christian, Sean and a girlfriend of mine. So Christian's interested in me, I'm attracted to Sean, Christian wants to hook my girlfriend up with Sean, my girlfriend is interested in somone else and Sean is interested in yet another woman. Screw "love" triangles - this thing is a horribly mutated "love" maze. I'm going to need to think about how to extract myself from this gracefully because it is just too nuts for me to deal with. On the other hand, we all had an amazing time and enjoyed each other's company.....well unless we're all lying to each other to maintain appropriate social behavior patterns.

Have been having a worse WW week than ever. As you are all aware, I've been having increasing trouble managing the eating OP since the end of May. Between the day off of work and freaky things like no electricity in my neighborhood for several hours, my exercise program has gotten tossed this week too and I'm not happy about it. I went to 3 meetings last Saturday and have been re-reading all my program materials and still can't seem to find my motivation. I know that this is supposed to be a lifestyle and that being fit and healthy should be motivation in itself but it is just not doing the trick for me right now. I lost 40lbs in 5 months when I was busy trying to look good in a bridesmaids dress. I know it sounds shallow, but I almost want to ask a male friend if he'll go to dinner with me at a really fancy restaurant (the kind that requires a little black dress) with me in 3 or 4 months and then use looking astounding in that dress as a motivator. Have you guys ever done something like that? If not, how do you keep your "I want to be fit and healthy" vibe going from day to day?

I apologize for the book. I'm really tired and rambling. I'm also extremely disappointed in my ability to maintain the weightloss and venting to all of you.

Hello to all of those checking in as I'm typing or later today.

Laura

Laura... wow. 2 peas in a pod we are. Both like Seans but their freinds like us... and our power was out in our neighborhood. Funny!! Yeah, that is some love triangle... sounds more like a love octagon. I'm thinking if you're really not into Christian... you should eventually let him know. Have you guys been romantic yet? As for motivation.... you are awsome. 40 pounds in 5 month. Although I know too well how that motivation can fade. If you haven't noticed I bought a hooker shirt that doesn't quite fit as my motivation. I use boys and clothes as my motivation most of the time. I think you're idea is great. A nice dinner with an amazing dress... that could keep you going. Actually purchasing that dress may help too. If I don't get into that hooker shirt... it will be quite a waste.

Kier - lunch with a freind? Is this a male friend? Just wondering. Jayne's right - you are a total babe. Thanks for the support and the cheering section! It totally helps.

Jayne - thanks honey... those vibes are totally working. Although my stomach has been talking to me all morning... I have managed to refrain from entering the cafeteria.

Lisa

Sorry I have been quiet the last couple of days. Had to pick Emma up at daycare early on Monday because she had a fever. By evening so did I and we were both miserable sick and didn't sleep well. So Hubby and I took Tuesday off to be together and enter my quilting stuff in a competition. Turns out I am even more sick and Emma still is, so she stays home with us and we were not a happy crew. Oh it was rotten. My tummy still aches, but Emma went back to daycare. She seemed much better and no fever.

That's it, trying to catch up with my stuff here. I have a lot to do.

Oh and hubby bought a truck because he sold his sports car. So at noon we have to sign the papers and get that!

Laura, just a quick note to tell you my latest motivation. Adult onset diabetes is up 200%, and the majority of risk falls to women in their mid-thirties, although they are seeing a huge increase in women in their twenties. My cousin (very thin, I might add, but with a six pepsi a day habit) found out he had adult-onset diabetes last week by slipping into a coma. They had to amputate his foot before he woke up because gangrene had set in. He's awake now, but still in ICU, where they estimate he'll be for at least another month because his blood sugar is so out of control and they don't know how to stablilize it. They're also watching his other foot, which has a nasty infection, and we're hoping that one won't have to be amputated, too. I haven't said too much about this because it's been a lot for our family to handle. But I'm sure you all have noticed my renewed commitment to WW, and it's due in large part to all that Mark (my cousin) has been through and all he still has to do. He was a competitive skiier and a great golfer, so we're all giving him paraolympic materials to try to motivate him to get out of his depression, but, understandably, he's pretty down right now. So that, in a nutshell, is great motivation to get your health in order. I don't mean to bring anyone down, I just hope that maybe someone else can draw some motivation from Mark's experience. Enough rambling, time for me to wash floors (oh yippee!!!).

Lisa and Jen, we were posting at the same time. Lisa, you WILL get into the hooker shirt...there's no if about it. You have come a long way, baby, and you're in the final lap. You can do this easy!!!
Poor Jen, poor Emma...it's miserable to be sick but even more miserable to have a sick baby, because they just don't understand anything beyond how rotten they feel. I'm glad she seems to be on the mend, and I hope you are too, soon. Congrats on the new truck, those are always fun papers to have to sign (owership papers, that is, maybe not necessarily loan papers!). Take a joyride tonight!

Thanks Lisa- it's good to know that I'm not the only one whose partial motivation is cute clothes and guys! I guess I didn't realize the hooker shirt wasn't a perfect fit - I thought you were just saving for a special occasion and wanted it to continue to look great. I may do the little black dress thing. I've always wanted one but never owned one cuz I always thought that I was too heavy. Also, please check your PM's.

Jayne - thanks for posting the story about Mark. I know it is those situations that I need to think about when contemplating why I want to be healthy.

Jen-L - sorry you and Emma are so sick. I hope you both feel better soon.

Laura

Jayne thanks for the kind words i know i'm pretty but grrr sometimes ya know
it is a male friend and i dont really know if i'd want something with him
ideally i'd like someone my own age who could have fun and still be responsible
and thanks for the info on your cousin mark I will be praying for him and its a wakeup call b/c i have family who passed on due to diabetes and I know i have to start looking at life from more of a future standpoint
my eatings been crap the lately I found the mathmatical way to calculate points Today we're going to aubon pain but i'm prolly just getting a coffee as it was my boss' bday and there was enough food to choke a horse this AM i didnt eat breakfast and now i think i'll skip lunch b/c OH DEAR i'm full
Laura your love maze sounds confusing! maybe you should ring sean and ask him out for a drink
as for the motivation how about goign to a show or a club or something where you can wear the little dress or indeed a hooker shirt ala our vixenish compadre lisa instead of a food centric event or maybe dinner and dancing I've alllllways wanted to do that! Jen I Hope you and emma are feeling better What color is the truck? whats it like
Lisa yep its a male friend tho i dont know what i want from him if anything
Lucy WOOHOO and btw i'm from jersey and moved to N-florida too
tho i'm back in jersey!
the moods improving ahh the wonders of crappy eating!
OOH i have a new lipstick from clinique its called Just Gorgeous! so inspiration!
love
Kier

You know....I work computer support, but do you think I can figure out how to make an image small enough to post....NO! Can anyone help me. I have Adobe Photoshop, but I don't know how to reduce the file size without making the pic 1 " x 1"!!! HELP!!