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 three 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 in order to lose and keep off the weight. Our main focus is to 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,

Hey, Mousie, do what you can to plan a fun time for your in-laws. That's what you and your dh need to focus on. Keep them going so they're having too much fun to give you a hard time. Also, remember some people have to complain and have to worry. It makes them feel like they're showing that they care. My MIL is like that, too. Wonder if it's an English thing? She's British, too. Baiscally, keep it in perspective and don't let their whole visit be about you and your dh's weight.

Kathy, congrats on the quilting contest. That's wonderful.

Judy, the secret that everyone seems to be looking for when it comes to writing a book is that there isn't one. Each person finds her own way through the process. Writing a book is about sticking your bottom in the chair and not getting up until your day's plan is accomplished. Good reference books on writing, a few good people to read your work, some workshops and classes, etc. can help, but nothing replaces regularly sitting down and putting words on the page. If you're willing to put in the time, you can write that book you wish you could. It's easier if you don't feel obligated to get it published. It's perfectly OK to write for oneself. I did that for years.

Right now, the folks in my class are very frustrated. We've been doing very heavy assignments, all prewriting stuff to get us to dig deeper into the process. But we're going nuts because we want to write the book. So, Holly gave us an assignment to write the first scene, with an optional assignment to finish the first chapter, if there's time after we do the theme assignments. What's interesting to me is how many people have posted the scene, but not the theme assignments. Theme is hard and people seem to be reluctant to tackle it. Weird!!

As for me, I'm still plodding my way through the plot outline. It's the hardest thing for me because I don't usually plot in advance. I just go and let the story unfold as I write. Then I fix it when I revise. So, this is a difficult assignment. But I'm plugging away at it. If I can figure out how much outlining will help me structure the story without taking away the creative aspect of doing the writing, I can save myself a lot of rewriting. So, the work is worth doing, even if it is hard.

Much luck with your new year and your new class.

April, I know how hard it is to keep weighing and measuring and countint points. I've been feeling that way for a while. Hang in there. Motivation comes and goes in cycles.

Lauren, good luck with the sugar thing. It's funny that you need to cut back on fruit while I need to add it. I do so much better when I eat lots of veggies and 2-3 pieces of fruit every day. Congrats on the exercise. You'll get things back to normal once your dad leaves. Company is always fun, but they do force changes in our daily patterns that can upset our efforts, short-term.

I'm doing about the same. Still not writing it down, but I've been eating the same as I was when I was writing it down. What's interesting is that some of the portions I'm eating are actually smaller, which tells me that I ought to eat half servings of certain foods because it's enough. It's PMS, so I'm not changing anything right now. But it's not as awful as last month, so that's a good thing.

My son has totally wrecked my small amount of "spare time". He found an old DOS game that is being updated and improved to run on Windows. It's open source and being created under a freebie license from the original company. It's a system to create your own computer role-playing game. Both of us loved that game and now we're getting really hooked on the new version, which allows you to easily add your own graphics, sounds, music and even little movies. He's teaching me how to use his software so I can learn to do the movie animations and stuff. Talk about a fun time-waster!! What's funny is that he does fancy graphics and title screens first, then does the story to fit them and I write the game's plot, quests, etc. then plan the graphics to fit the story. Anyway, when we're done, we play each other's games.

My volunteer work with the web site is coming along. I finally got all of the access to the moderator stuff, but my mentor and my schedules conflict so I won't be able to finish training until the weekend.

That's about all. Things are busy here. I'm amazed at how busy I can be without really going anywhere.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Hi Turtles...

Lin, all your info on writing a book is great. I wonder how authors like Nora Roberts pull a book out of their head every month..(she has written so many books I couldn't count them on my fingers and toes) Your doing great, eating well even though you are not counting points.

Mousie I agree with Lin, take the inlaws tons of places, keep them busy, and they will keep off your back..maybe!!!

Judy (hope i didn't mess up on name,) have a good school year. I too will have to work a long time to get a pension. I started my job at the hospital when I was 42. I will have to work into I am prob 65. I am just happy I found a job I like and they like me too.I am a patient service rep at the hospital..I am like the computer person that would greet and admit the patient when they come into er. It is very exciteing. You never know if you are going to get an ear ache, or a bad cut. It is fun.

April, hang in there, your doing great. Lauren..anything for me that has sugar puts weight right around my middle. I only eat 2 fruits a day, if that. I try to eat at least one. I could eat a ton if it is ripe, and not too expensive!!!

Well as for me, I have been doing ok the last 2 days. I did neglect to write down yesterday, I started doing it but got a little laxed aftger breakfast. I think I was withing the point system, until this patient came in with a few krispy cream donuts..ever heard aboutthese? I heard they were the best donut in the world so I had one...Well it was a tasty donut but it didn't seem any different..Well it was about 4 hours old, she bought it near SF and we live 3 hours away. Anyway I stayed op until that crispy cream donut. I got on my scale this morn and I don't think it did any damage. Am off today and plan on eating well, actually cooking 2 meals, tommorrow I am going to have to be careful. The college is haveing a opening reception for us Art Quilters and I actually get to go. I will have to eat lightly up until then so I can have a little fun at the reception. I am so excited about the opening.


Well got to go start quilting. I am doing a fun block call Road to Arizona, or Pay Peter to pay Paul. Quilts have several different name. I got this pattern from a book called the quilter's gift..It isa great story about this king who demands everything from his people. This quilt maker refused to give him a quilt casue he is too greedy. The quilts she makes are so beautiful he will do anything to have one. Her demand on him his to be generous. to give back to his peple the things he has taken, and give them more. They end up being good friends, andhe gets a quilt and he keeps on giving . I love the story so much. The quilts and the pictures are great...I have the book that has the quilts but not the actual story book yet. Later for sure..

bye for now..

Kathy

Hi, tortoises.

I'm now up a total of 3 pounds from my lowest mark a few weeks ago. I suspect it isn't water, either. Amazing what a few extra points each day can add up to, isn't it? I'm determined today to stay within my points. I'm VERY tired of being in the 180s, very ready to go down a decade. I've been here for 5 months! Talk about a turtle!

Gorgeous weather. Warm but not humid; bright sunshine. Lovely late summer/early fall days. Cool breeze coming in the window.

Lin, the writing class sounds interesting, as always. So does that role-playing game software! Glad I don't have it!

Erin, my dad was like your in-laws: he was always after me about my weight. Then, in my mid-20s, I got down to a size 6. He praised my new size -- and then started getting after me about my hair and my clothes!! A light-bulb finally went off, and I decided not to worry about what he thought anymore. It would always be something, so why bother? Fortunately, as we've both gotten older, this has become less of a problem. I hope you can get past caring what your in-laws think and just enjoy the good parts of their visit instead. It makes life so much more relaxing!

Also, that's great about the energy you're getting now with your more balanced diet. What were you eating before that caused you to be out of whack? Too many carbs? Too little fat?

Kathy, your job sounds interesting. I could never do it, though! I just hate hospitals. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it.

Hello to everyone else; sorry I don't have your posts in front of me to respond to.

I put a bunch of clothes up on ebay and am watching them sell! It's so much fun. So far one woman has bought about 5 of my items. She must've done a search on my name to see what else I had for sale. Cool! I'm going to put the money toward our trip in October.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/185/179 before Adirondacks

Turtles,
I bit the b ullet today and hopped on the scale. I'm up 4 pounds, but I think I can drop them.

Lin,
the way you write is fascinating and the computer game structures are neat too. I have way too many things to waste time with, but I love the way you're putting your all into your novel.

Lauren,
Neat that you're selling clothes on eBAy. I like to buy and sell on eBay and have found it a fun enterprise.

Erin,
About the visitors, you'll be fine. Glad you're posting and keeping us up to date.

April,
Glad you got to the gym and are back to getting in a walk.

Miata,
You have the right person. I'm the one who took years out of my career to raise my family and now I'm working to boost my pension a bit. Glad you're doing so well with quilting. I started a cross stitch baby blanket with a darling duck on it and I think I'd like to get back to that real soon.
Right now I'm getting used to my class and I'm tired.

All you Turtles--lurkers and writers--good luck, be well, do well.
Love,
Judy

Hi Turtles..Our reception went very well, the quilts are beautiful up at the college. I was real proud of them. Mine esp!!! I ate a few munchies at the reception but the scale this am was the same, thank you Lord!!!. Today I did some errands and one of them was to the Health club I belong to. I had a feeling my hospital overpaid them..I was right...I have been paying with a credit balance, so they are going to send me a check for 92.00!!! What a surprise..So you know what I did?>??? I joined Curves..You have prob heard of it..it only takes 30 minutes, and it is machines and based on circuit training..This gal from our dept does it along with weight watchers...She has prob lost 22 lbs compared to my 7. She goes about 5 or 6 days a week. I checked it out today it and looks great, and I think (I mean I know I will do it, !!) it willwork. so far I have been recording and weighing my food. I may just call them up at work and see if i can get my orinetation tomorrow instead of Monday. I just can't wait to start.

Nothing else knew except I now have a new top on my miata. I punched a hole in the plastic window...Opps..Thank goodness my dh was in a good mood when he discovered it..I felt bad. I love the new top. Can't wait till tomorrow. I will be driving 45 minutes to a quilt show with a friend, and as long as it is not raining, the top will be down..It will feel good. Will plan on eating well, and no junk food unless I count it.

Bye now..

Kathy/Miata

Hi Turtles,

I am hanging in there. This week I am down .4 of a lb. The 2 weeks before I stayed the same. This last week I have been doing good with WW. I do write it down every day.

I walked at the gym on Wed. & Fri....that is real good considering I haven't been to the gym since March. Am going to go three times a week.

Our dog...Charlie....he is a Border Collie was castrated 2 days ago. He was pretty quiet yesterday....but today he seems to have more energy. Charlie usually sleeps outside...but he is sleeping inside for 3 or 4 days a week. I think DH & I woke up about 4 times last night. The dog would be on the floor on DH's side of the bed for a while, then come to my side, then move to the hall. He didn't seem to stay in one place for very long.

Have a great weekend everyone.

April

Hi, Turtles,

Kathy, Krispy Creme has a reputation, but I don't think they live up to it. I tried one early in the morning, freshly made, once and it was pretty ordinary. I don't waste my points on them.

Lauren, have you noticed that you tend to lose fairly regularly, then stay the same for several months, then lose again? If that's your pattern, you may be stuck with it. But you are going down and you will get to goal.

Good luck, Judy, with your renewed efforts. And with your new class at school.

April, way to go with the .4 pounds. Keep writing it down.

Erin, hope your new plan is going well. Hope you get a chance to write soon. I think, if I remember correctly, you're back in school now, so I bet you're super busy these days.

I'm super busy, too. It's amazing how busy I've manged to become without leaving my house. I've been asked to help moderate the boards on one of the other forums where I'm a regular. Plus, I've been doing the training for the Harry Potter boards. And working on the book, which is going better. Anyway, I haven't been able to post as often because I simply run out of time. So, I'm letting you all know that I'm not disappearing into oblivion, but will probably only be able to show up three or four times a week instead of every day.

I'm doing OK. Not great, but TOM is almost gone, so my appetite is getting back to normal. My main goal is to get more exercise. I like it when I exercise, but I've been lax lately because I've been so busy. Got to do it first thing in the morning. That's the only way I'll get it done. Too bad I can't convince my husband to walk with me after dinner. I'd never miss if I had company, someone counting on me to help them with their exercise.

Got to go. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Hello, tortoises.

Had a good workout last night -- a good, hard 45 minutes of treadmill and bike, plus cooldown and stretching. Then I worked out another 40 minutes or so on weight machines. I'm finding that very interesting; it's new for me. Our club has a gazillion different kinds of weight machines. I'm finding it interesting to see what I'm capable of doing -- and to feel aches in muscles I didn't even know I had!

In general, though, I haven't been getting the level of exercise that I need as often as I should. DH and I walk most evenings, but I don't get my heart rate up very far. Still, it's beter than nothing, even if it doesn't go that far in helping me get weight off.

Eating is getting back under control; I've been within my points the past few days (albeit at the top end). I'm just entering into my hormonal two weeks, though, so I doubt I'll see much of a loss for a while. I think my body has just taken up residence here in the 180s; I've been here for more than four months now. I'm SMACK between sizes right now, which makes clothes-shopping interesting. Fortunately, I'm too broke to buy much.

Judy, back to school! I'll bet you're pretty fried. How is your class this year?

Kathy, I'll be interested to hear what you think of Curves. Keep us posted, OK?

April, good for you getting back into the gym! And congrats on your loss.

Lin, sounds like you're busy doing things you enjoy. I'm glad.

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/185/179 before Adirondacks

Hi Turtles, just have time for a brief note (it's 2:19 am).

I've started school and am very very busy. I've got 20 units this semester, which means 27 hours of class (lecture and lab time) and 34 hours on campus a week. Thankfully I don't have to work (DH supports us, and supports the idea of me just focusing on studying), or I would be falling apart at the seams right about now. Thankfully, also, my new eating plan is working well with my body and I'm awake and energetic all day.

My advisor says that I can graduate at the end of next summer, the way things look now. YAY! Finally, a degree! I've only been working on it for 10 years, it's about time! I'll just explode with pride, when I finally walk. My mom and dad were so thrilled when I told them, the first thing my mom said was, "and they said you never could!" and then my dad said, "Vegetative state, huh? We TOLD them they didn't know you!" So smiles all around.

Lauren, the problem was not enough* carbs, actually, and too much fat. I was trying to do 40% protein/30% carbs/30% fat. That obviously wasn't working! Now I'm on 50/30/20, and I feel sooooooooooooooooo much better. The 40/30/30 thing works for a lot of people, but not for me.

Anyway, Turtles, I'm still around but am going to have to squeeze time out of my schedule for anything that isn't class or studying. It sounds like everyone is doing great, and I'll try to drop in occasionally. Don't forget me!

Hi, Turtles,

Lauren, it's so good to see you so positive about exercise. I guess what it takes is persistence in doing it long enough. I've been walking a bit lately, but not as much as I did last year. I want to start doing videos again, but that will have to wait until my son goes off to college. Then I plan to do videos during the week when no one else is around.

I hate being between sizes. I'm sure you'll hit the next size down soon, especially if you continue to keep your exercise level up and stay inside your point range.

Erin, good luck with school. Please keep in touch when you can. We not only won't forget you, we'll miss you!!

It's so good to hear that your new food plan is working well for you. With all that exercise you do, it doesn't surprise me that you need more carbs.

Congrats on finally seeing the end -- the awarding of your degree. Great news.

Well, I've been very out of control with regard to eating since that really bad PMS I had two months ago. This past month was better. but I'm now getting back under control. I feel a lot better about how my life is going with regard to food, exercise, etc. I don't know what will happen, but I'm hanging in there.

I'm doing fine with all of the things going on in my life. It's really busy, now, and I like busy. I just wish some of the busy paid money. But, at least it's keeping me from sinking back into that awful depression I had a while back. So, that's worth it to me.

Hi to all of the rest of you. I hope things are great in your lives, too!

Have a great day!! Happy turtlin'!

Lin

Hi Turtles...Just a note to say hi. Had the flu so I didn't eat much the last few days, lots some pounds, but I don't like doing it that way..I would rather stick to plan, etc then lose it sick. Thank goodness it was just a 24 hour thing. Believe me it felt more 96 hours while I was going thur it...

Didn't even get to go to my Curves orinetation. Too Sick. I will prob go tomorrow before heading to Sac. I think I will be up to it by then. I could do it today but thinking about jumping on that platform makes me want to puke, so I will make an apt before leaving.

Well got to get my kitchen cleaned up, dh did some dishes yesterday, but i have pots and pans to do. Went to a quilt show on Sat and am totally stooked. I saw so many beautiful quilts, cant wait to start some more.., wall hangings, small quilts..

Well bye for now..

Kathy

Hi Turtles,

I am still here. It's pouring rain here today. I am going to the gym to walk later.

I went over in my points on Sunday by about 6 points. I was upset about something & I seemed to want to eat everything in sight. It's a good thing I stopped at 6 points.

My pants are getting too big. They seem to long in the crotch now. I bought some underwear one size smaller& they fit!! Now that makes me feel good.

I am going on a trip to visit family in Ontario next month. I will be there for 3 weeks & am looking forward to it. I won't bring my food scale, but will try to be OP while there. I don't want to come back home gaining.

Have a great day.

April

Dear Turtles,
You're all so busy. I've got a minute, so I'm posting. My dd needed a vacation and my dh and I went along since her buddies are all busy right now. She lives in NYC and with the WTC anniversary coming up, she didn't want a lot of sadness surrounding her. We all grieve in our own ways.
Anyway=-we headed out to the beach and had a glorious few days. I took off MON. an dTues. as personal days. Didn't fit well into my schedule at work, but my dd comes first.
The class looks much better than last year's and I'm happy about that.
Vacation was great. Food, so so. I am cooking my supper right now and I'm having spaghetti and Boca Italian sausage. That will fit right in with the rest of the points I spent today.
You all take it easy. Keep on keepin' on.
Judy

Hi Turtles. Miata here. Today is my orientation to curves. I am very excited. I have made myself a new deal..No getting onto the computer till I have made my way to curves. I just realized I spend lots of wasted minutes on this computer, not with you guys, that is not wasted, but after i read your post, post myself, i go other places, i play games, i look up things, i spend sometimes an hour just farting around..My dh who is not a night sleeper and is finally asleep on the couch, doesn't seem to mind so I just do it..Well guess what??? no more...I will get up, get dressed, eat shredded wheat and coffee, maybe do up some dishes (while food getting a bit digested, and then go. It will only take about 5 minutes to get there, and if I do the 2 rounds of circiut it will take about 30 minutes..One gal that has lost 25 lbs, goes thru 2 1/2 times...I may do that..(big plans hun???? better just get thru 2 !!) I am so impressed how how much this gal has lost. Like I may have said before, she has belonged to the local gym since she was 5. She said she has never lost like this before..She is also a vegetarian weight watcher memger. (she is also 21!!!)

Ijust realized how much I never liked having to do the 45 min of machines then go into the weight room and do lots more. I can handle 30 minutes ...I willdo good with this!!!

April, you are doing great!!! New underwear!! Yea. I have lots of underwear...Lots are too small. I can't wait till I can get into every one, then get rid of them and get pretty ones!!! No thongs for me though!!! they are for young things....like my dd's...I have also lots of work pants that are too small and I can't wait to get into them..Once they get to big, I am going to hem them into capris, cause they can be big, and still look good, if not, they will go to good will. I want to get lots of new fun clothes, and get rid of some of these old large things...

Wellll it is time to eat, then digest then go..

bye for now..

Kathy