Starting the topic. Be right back

Good Morning...hope everyone had a good weekend and is having a good day...more later, gotta dash to work.

Karen

Cheryl - there's always room for one more - welcome!

I didn't weigh in on Satursday - I opted to sleep in a bit. I did OK at my sils on Saturday - could have been better and could have been worse. I had a good day yesterday - Tony and I went to the pitch & putt which is part of Jones Bech (pretty close) and had a good time. I don't know how much swinging a golf club counts as exercise but the course was at least a mile and we walked it. I did OK food-wise - I ate my max but didn't go over. PMS is really here - lots of salty and sweet cravings. We had FF hotdogs last night with sauerkraut and pickles so it's no wonder my sneak peek this morning was frightening. I hope I can make the 1.8# loss it will take to get to 10 pounds lost by Saturday but with PMS that might be tough (from the water retention standpoint). I'm going to try like he** to get there but I'm telling myself that it I get closer it's still a victory. I'm going to try to eat at the lower end of my range - maybe that will help shake things up. Have a great one!

Judy
163.6/155.4 /135 (last week's numbers)

Hi Group!

Judy -- I'm rooting for you to make that 10# mark, so drink, drink, drink that water! (P.S. I can't believe you would eat sour kraut and *then* take a step on the scale the next morning! ;-) I'm sure you were seeing *a lot* of water retention)

I managed to keep to my personal challenge to stay OP M-F, stepped on the scale Sat AM and saw a *4 pound loss!!* Unfortunately, that four pound loss turned into only 2 by Monday morning. I was completely off the program Sat and Sun, drinking too much alcohol Sat and eating brunch on Sun. At one point I drunkenly asked my friend how many pts she thought were in an entire bottle of merlot, and she informed me that I should be wondering how many pts were in *2* bottles of merlot! EEEEEK! We spent the weekend with our 3 couple friends, boating, etc... fun, fun fun...but there is a weight loss cost.

This week's goal is to stay OP for 6 days, and get in more exercise. I have a poster pulled out from a magazine of a toning workout from Denise Austin that I want to incorporate.

Holly

Holly - Congratulations on that great loss and for staying OP M-F! Well, weekends happen. The important thing is that you get right back Op and it sounds like you are doing that. It is tough to stay OP (or even close to it) when a lot of alcohol is involved - BTDT!!! Great goals for this week - I know you are going to meet the challenge.

I had a great strength workout at lunch - a new total body one - I was drippin' afterwards. Work isn't too bad today (knock on wood) so I hope that this evening will be a good one snacking wise. Dinner is salmon, asparagus and corn - simple, yummy and point friendly. I'm guzzling the water and am off to fill up now.

Have a great one!
Judy

Hi All...

Holly - way to go on your terrific loss! Sounds like you had a great weekend, and your goals are great. Climbing back aboard each time we slip off the wagon is what counts.

Judy - weighing after sauerkraut sounds like masochism!!! I'm sure you're doing better than the weigh in suggests. Pulling for you big time to hit that 10 lb. mark!

Well, a very pleasant day turned into a nightmare earlier this evening. I took our dogs out for a run, and poor Lucy disturbed a wasps' nest and was swarmed and badly stung. There was really very little I could do as she kept trying to run away from them. Eventually they were all gone, I rushed the dogs home, called the vet, gave her a whopping dose of benadryl and Mike & I have been icing her all evening. She doesn't know what to do with herself. I was lucky and only got one sting; it hurts like ****, so I can just imagine how tormented she's feeling. The vet wants to see her in the morning, so I guess I won't be going to work.

Hopefully Tuesday will be a little less eventful.

Karen

Karen - Oh my, I hope Lucy is OK. I'm glad that you only got one sting. Please let us know howshe is after the visit to the vet. I forget, is it Lucy who loves eau de salmon mort? I'll keep my fingers crossed that today is much less eventful!

I had an OK day yseterday - I can feel the strength workout I did yesterday at lunch. I did OK foodwise. I banked 1.5 points although the popcorn I had last night didn't help how tight my rings feel this morning. I have an (unplanned) visit to the dentist this afternoon. The crown over the root canal is riding high and it's irritating the whole area. I don't know if I'll need any novacaine - if I do it should cut down on the food intake!

Judy

Karen - How awful about the wasps! My sister in law was swarmed and badly stung (approx 20 stings) this week while trimming a hedge (bees). I hope all went well with the vet today.

Judy -- is your new strength workout a video tape? I hope the dentist can fix you up without too much mouth distress!

TOM is making is a real challenge for me to stay OP, but I stuck with it last night. I probably had 5 pts in popcycles, but I didn't go over pts! Tues through Thurs I don't see DH until after midnight, so it is easier to cook pt friendly dinners. I hope that will help me stay on track this week. I really have to work in exercise. I jumped on the trampoline last night with my son, but I haven't managed to set aside time for me to do a tape, take a walk, etc...

Have a great day all! Holly

Hello,
How is everyone! I hope you all had a great week, I don't have time to read last weeks thread, I will try to catch up later.

Vacation was good, the tournement went well (they made the semi-finals) Cape Cod was nice too.

I am back on the wagon so make room for me (I need a little extra room for my bigger butt)

I will try and get back later but I have to sift through this HUGE mess on my desk.

Have a great day

Good Morning...

Judy - good for you for doing the strength workout...no osteoporosis in your future! Hope all goes well with the dentist today.

Holly - great for staying within your points. I know what you mean about it being easier to stay on track when you're not cooking for dh. Hopefully you'll be able to make it back to exercising again asap.

Michele - welcome back! Glad to hear that all went well on vacation. LOL re the bigger butt.

I took Lucy to the vet first thing this morning, she's had more benadryl, painkillers/antiinflamatories, and a medicated bath. I think I got my exercise in just bathing her - 90 lbs of squirming energy. She's doing better today, we had a long night with her. Lucy isn't the one with the dead fish fetish Judy, that's Gillis...although Lucy has rolled in a few foul things this year. I'm trying to convince myself to go climb on the treadmill. I've been so lazy with cardio for the last week or two.

I tried on a pair of jeans this morning that I haven't been able to wear since I met Mike (>3 yrs) and they fit.

I think I'll go through my closet and get rid of some of the bigger sizes so there's no excuse to hang on to them.

Karen

Hi everyone.

Judy - I'm pulling for you to reach your 10# goal on Saturday. But you're right 0 any movement closer is a victory. Now stay away from the salty foods! Easier said than done during PMS, I know. I hope your dentist was able to take care of the crown with a minimum of discomfort.

Holly - Congrats on a great loss. Weekends are indeed a tricky thing, especially when alcohol is involved. Good for you for hopping back on the wagon.

Karen - Oh my gosh - poor Lucy. I was stung by a bee on vacation and it hurt like heck, so I can only imagine how miserable the poor thing was. Thank goodness you were only stung once. I bet she's more cautious about what she pokes around in for awhile. Congrats on the smaller jeans that fit!!! Those types of victories are sometimes sweeter than seeing a lower number on the scale.

I'm doing ok. Still waiting for TOM. My PMS symptoms have subsided so it should be here any time now. I guess that's my new pattern: PMS starts earlier and then goes away a couple of days before TOM (except for water retention). Whatever. Today I went shopping for a dress for the wedding I'm going to on Sunday. I went to the very large mall in my area, something I hate to do, and went to more stores than I care to. And I came home with nothing. Everything was too chiffony, sparkly, mother-of-the-bridey for me. I did try on one dress and kind of liked how it looked, but it was a bit too hot pink for an evening wedding, I thought. So I hope that my old standby black dress still looks ok. I simply must get out of these woman's sizes. And I have to get these arms toned. Any dress that I liked was sleeveless. Luckily this did not drive me to the Ben and Jerry's store for a double scoop cone.

Have a great day everyone.

Carla

Carla - Yay that PMS has subsided! I hate shopping for clothes for special events...can never find anything either. The only time I see great stuff is either when I don't need it or can't afford it. I'm sure the black dress will be fine - the only person whose dress will get remembered is the bride anyway. You asked about Jen last week and somehow I neglected to answer. She's home till Sunday, and is then going back to Victoria to start school. She and her boyfriend and her cousin are sharing a basement suite this year as they wanted to be off campus...she's looking forward to setting up house for herself. She's been doing some clerical work for one of my friends since she got back from California.

Lucy has slept the day away. My hand has swollen a lot today from the sting, I may be able to use this as an excuse to go out for dinner. I've been pretty point friendly today, so I have some room for indulgence if need be.

Karen

Holly - Good for you for staying within your points range. Jumping on the trampoline is a good start as far as exercising - maybe you can start "small" - make it a mini goal to get in a walk or tape once or twice this week. Yes, the new strength workout is a new tape - it's a total body, endurance kind of tape (lower weights, faster reps) - Donna Read's All out Strength. Yesterday I really felt all the muscles I worked. Yes, the visit to the dentist helped. The area is still a bit sore but better than it was.

Michelle - Welcome back! I'm glad to hear that vacation was good and the tournement went so well. Where did you stay on the Cape? Getting back from vacation is tough - good luck on getting through the stuff on your desk. Welcome back on the wagon - there's plenty of room!

Karen - Way to go on getting into those jeans!!!! Gillis - that's right - talk about my brain being made of Swiss cheese! I'm so glad to hear that Lucy is better together. Sorry to hear about your hand - I hope you had a nice dinner out. Hey, that sounds like quite a cardio/strength workout - bathing a 90 lb squirming dog! How did you do with the treadmill? Did you climb back on? I did a treadmill workout this morning - I really didn't want to get on it but I felt so good afterwards.

Carla - Way to go for not diving into the B&J's after that less than fun shopping experience. I really dislike shoppng - unusual but true and it's so hard to find formal wear that isn't either a prom dress for someone who weighs 90 pounds dripping wet or the mother-of-the bride styles. I know what you mean about sleeveless dresses. I feel that way about sleeveless tops - this summer I decided I wasn't going to be uncomfortable any more even if I do have "bye-bye" arms. It worked but I still don't think I'd get a sleeveless gown. Listen, you WILL get out of those woman's sizes - you are doing all the right things to get there! I feel like POMS starts a little earlier for me too but I don't think I've gotten that little break before TOM. I'm having a hard time staying away from the salty foods - I've had popcorn two nights in a row but I've decided that tonight is my last popcorn snack for the week!

I had a good day yesterday although I ate at max points. The dentist just adjusted the bite of the crown so there wasn't any novocaine. I was pleased that I didn't snack through the Yankee game that we got to watch last night. I picked up my knitting instead. I tried to guzzle the water and will continue to do so. As I said to Carla, I'm going to try to make tonight my last salty snack light. It's really been sort of funny this week - the salty/sweet carvings have been there like a gangbusters but I've managed to satisfy them in a pretty low point way - popcorn followed by ONE chocolate Snackwell cookie, eaten very slowly. I did a good workout on the treadmill this morning. So far, I haven't eaten any of my exercise points and hope to continue to just let them accumulate. I have one challenge this week before weigh in. We are supposed to join our friends tomorrow night at the new baseball park in Coney Island for the Brooklyn Cyclones (AA baseball - NY Mets team). We will be in a "corporate box" thanks to our friend and there will be some kind of food but I have no idea what. Of course, the forecast is for rain so I don't know if we'll end up staying or not.

Have a great one!
Judy

Good Morning!

Judy - Sounds like you're doing just great...within points, banked exercise points, gallons of water. Congratulations for smart snacking too. Hopefully it'll stay dry for your ball game tomorrow. Good news that you didn't need freezing at the dentist. Yes I actually did climb on the treadmill yesterday, and I'm heading back for more when I'm done here. My hand is more swollen today than yesterday, so I won't be going to the gym today as I don't have a strong grip.

Had a good weigh in this morning, down .5 lb. It's not much, but I'm happy with it.

Hope you're all doing well...

Karen

Hi all.

Michele - Oops - I forgot to welcome you back from vacation. Glad to hear it was good. We've saved a seat for you on the wagon.

Karen - Sorry to hear your hand is swollen. I do hope you were able to use that as an excuse to go out for dinner yesterday evening. How exciting for Jen to be setting up housekeeping. I remember how much fun that was. Congrats on your loss - every bit counts!

Judy - I don't like shopping much either. I never go to the mall just to look around - I go only when I need something and then I only go to those places where I'm likely to find it. I did exactly the same thing with sleeveless tops. I've worn them all summer, but for a formal occasion, no. Good for you for managing your cravings so well and for not using your exercise points. I know you'll do fine at the b-ball game tomorrow.

I didn't weigh in the morning. Still retaining water and didn't want to deal with it.

Well, I'm off to bring Ana to my MIL's house. She watching her until John is home from work so I can go into the city to meet my friend (the one who is getting married on Sun.) for dinner. This will be my first trip into the city since my last day of work. I plan on walking to the restaurant from the train station, so I'll get a nice bit of exercise in. We're going to a Mexican restuarant owned and operated by a well-known chef - Rick Bayless if anyone sees his show on PBS. So there will be a margarita involved for sure. Luckily his food isn't fat laden - no whopping
burritos or anything. So it shouldn't be too bad.

Have a great day.

Carla