Starting the topic - be right back

Carla - I hope you had a good weekend and going out to eat after Ana's Spanish class went well.

I'm posting a maintain - better than a gain but obviously I wanted to see a loss and didn't see one. I had a so-so weekend - I did OK at my mom's house - I went over my points but not by much. I had a good day yesterday for most of the day - I did a weight workout and did a 1/2 hour of tough cardio too. I was set to wipe out the deficit until later in the evening when I had way too many cashews - the big jar of them was sitting out on the counter and I started with just a few and then....(Tony got a bunch of them at Costco - usually they don't tempt me). They are now put away downstairs where I won't see them and that should work OK.

I gave myself a little talking to this morning. I got on the scale and my sneak peek was up to more than the beginning of last week. Now my rings are tight but it's not all sodium. I told myself that if I didn't stop losing my progress on the weekends, I was going to stay around the same numbers I've been seeing for the last year - certainly I won't come close to losing my first 10 pounds soon let alone losing my 10% by the end of this month (not looking too do-able right now).
Have a great one,
Judy

163.6/156.4/135 and 44/240 workouts
(0.8 towards "lose 8, feel great!")
First 10% by the end of March!

Hi all.

Judy - Sorry to hear that the cashews got to you. They are a real weakness of mine, so I don't even bring them into the house. Weekends are my downfall as well, and you're right: a bad weekend can and will erase any progress made during the week.

On that note, my weekend was so-so. We went out to eat on Friday night. Didn't do horribly, but also didn't do so great and I let that be an excuse to snack. Saturday was a bit better, as was Sunday. I think that I'm going to give up evening snacking for Lent. Anyway, my sneek peak still shows me down, but of course not as much as on Friday. I'm back on track for sure. Today is day one of the SELF challenge and - ta da - I did my flexibility and strength workouts. I forgot how good those things can feel. Ana was so cute - I had her spread out her quilt on the floor and "exercise" along with me. She used pencils for her weights (her idea). I pulled some of the exercises from the SELF.com site and used some that were in the magazine. As I started to look at the different exercises, especially the felixiblity routines (yoga and pilates based) I started feeling really defeatist in terms of my ability to get on the floor, get on my hands and knees, the stiffness of my knees, etc. And then I reminded myself that I didn't have to hold each pose for as long as they said or do as many reps, etc. I just had to do as much as I could and that I eventually I would be able to do more and do it longer. So there's one hurdle over. The cardio part of the challenge this month is to do intervals. I looked at what they recommended for the stationary bike and I do way more RPMs than they suggest. I couldn't pedal as slowly as they're recommending unless I put the resistence up fairly high, and I don't want to do that because of my knee, so I'll continue on with what I've been doing and do my own intervals of speed increases. I'm really aiming to be on board for all three months of the challenge. I know that I'll be nowhere near thin when we go on vacation at the end of June. In fact, I won't even be in onederland yet. But I sure can be more toned.

Have a great day everyone.

Carla

Hi ladies,

Just coming in for a quick "fly by" to report that I was in such a hurry to leave the house this morning, I forgot to weigh myself!

I will weigh in tomorrow morning and post my results later!

Sabrina

Hi Ladies, here I am a day late again. My life is hectic but still want to make time for 3FC. I too had a difficult weekend foodwise. My sister was here to help get Mother's estate settled and we ate out every meal, shopped a lot too. I did okay. she left Sunday a.m. and my brother and SIL arrived Sun p.m. I did terrible yesterday, but plan to make up for it the rest of the week. The only exercise I've managed to get in is walking while shopping which is better than nothing.

I'm leaving again for Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow but will try to check in here before that. Hope you all have a great day.

Carla - Giving up evening snacking for Lent - wow, that's a toughie (but I guess that's the point). Way to go on doing the strength and flexibility workouts from the SELF challenge - and it's super that Ana is working out with you - great role modeling!

Sabrina - thanks for the "fly by" - hope the weigh in is a good one.

Karen C - Sorry to hear that it was a difficult week. I'm sure the fact that you were settling your mom's estate made it more difficult emotionally. Yup, walking when shopping is better than nothing - sometimes you just have to fit it in that way.

I had an OK day yesterday - tough on the work/career change thing but OK otherwise. I was feeling very PMS'y yesterday although the calendar says it's a bit early for that. In any case, I ate within my range and got on the treadmill after work for a mostly walk/run session - not my usual intensity but my knees were saying they needed a little TLC. I have a dentist appt this afternoon - depending on when I get home and how I feel I may try to do a yoga workout. Tomorrow I have to leave work in the afternoon to get to a wake in Brooklyn (meeting Tony there) so any kind of activity is out tomorrow. Today at work is pretty stressful so far - I'm going to have to watch myself this evening. All the more reason to try to get a yoga session in tonight. Oh, and note to Judy, pick up your knitting tonight!

Have a great one,
Judy

Hi all,

Sabrina - Hi! Hope you can slow down soon!

Karen C - Walking around shopping is better than no activity at all. I know that the stress and emotions of settling your mom's estate make this a difficult time to concentrate on being on program. Just do the best you can when you can until you can settle into your new routine.

Judy - Sorry to hear your day has been stressful so far. I'll send you positive vibes that you turn to knitting instead of snacking this evening. I hope you're able to get a yoga workout in. I know how you hate missing two days of workouts in a row. I was very PMSy yesterday too. I do believe that monster will be taking up residence in my house for a few days. Should make the start of this no evening snack thing interesting.(Y ( (I think I'll be picking up my knitting needles too.

Karen B - I hope your PC isn't giving you more trouble.

I had a good day yesterday until nighttime snacking hit. At least I kept it to low point/low fat snacks, but still... I just finished a 1/2 hour on the bike a little bit ago and have been enjoying a delicious bacon and tomato sandwich. (I managed to get some really nice vine ripened tomatos at Costco.) For those of you that like bacon, Oscar Mayer center cut bacon is quite the points bargin: slices for 1 point (3 slices for 2 points, 4 slices for 3 points). My sneek peaks have been good, so I'm hoping for a happy trip to the scale. Tomorrow is my dr. appointment, so I'm hoping it will show me back down to my weight at my last visit.

Take care.

Carla

Hi gals,

Doggonit, I'm up to 160 again! Grrr!!! However, it is my TOM so
it's probably just water weight. Still it was a realy bummer to see
THAT number on the scale again.

Judy: I hear you about the cashews - they are trouble. I have a hard time resisting nuts of any kind, except peanuts, which I can
take or leave. It's so easy to keep munching on cashews and before you know it, you've consumed several hundred calories. Yikes!

Carla: Mmmmm ... bacon sandwiches. I love BLT's with a thin slice
of red onion on a piece of toasted sourdough. Mmmmm ...
I'm drooling now, see what you did???

Karen: This must be a very stressful time for you. Kudos to you for hanging in there at this difficult time.

It's almost 5pm and I still have about an hour's worth of work to do before I can leave the office. Take care, and have a good week everyone!

S.

166/160(boo!hiss!)/135

Hi All,
Mind if I join? I just restarted counting my points for about the 20th time, and would like to check in here for some accountability. I used to go to the meetings, but its the same old same old, I know the material, I have the tools, and I don't want to spend anymore money on the Program. The most I ever lost was 15lbs, as soon as my clothes start loosening up, I tend to go off program. Now here I am, heavier than ever before, and really starting to worry about my health. So here goes:

Barbara
185.5(YIKES!!!)/184/140???

Barbara, welcome! I'm happy you found us and hope we can give you the support to get where you want to be.

Judy, sorry to hear about the wake. The extra stress is a kicker, then the dentist, PMS, wow have a hug ((HUG)).

Carla, good work on the workout. Good luck with the dr and the weigh in.

Sabrina, hang in there, you'll be back in the 150's after the temporary water weight gain is gone. Just try not to let it get you down.

Thanks for the kind words, it is very difficult emotionally dealing with closing the estate, liquidating everything, dividing up a lifetime of my mother's possessions. It gets to the point where I just want to run away, so I'm glad to go to FL this evening.

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday and my brother decided we would celebrate with Popeye's fried chicken. I'm not going to kick myself over it, but I will work extra hard on diet and exercise. I'll miss weigh in this week, so hope to have a good report next Thursday. Forgot to tell you I was down another pound last week!

Hope everyone has a great week. I'll check in again on Wednesday.

Hi everyone.

Sabrina - Sorry you had to see that number on the scale again, but it really is probably water weight and you'll be seeing a better number soon.

Barbara - Welcome aboard! I've been on the yo-yo cycle with my weight for longer than I care to think about. I'm trying really hard to get serious about exercise and am hoping that helps stop the cycle.

Karen C - Mmmm - Popeye's fried chicken. Actually, the points for the chicken aren't all that bad - 6 for a breast I think. Have a good trip to Ft. Lauderdale.

I'm happy to report a 3.6 pound loss. This means I'm exactly where I was weight-wise at my last dr.'s visit. I'm glad I'm not higher, but I could kick myself for the time I've lost. Oh well, nothing to do for it but to do better now. Yesterday I ate up to my max points - had my own little Low-Fat Tuesday. Today is a day of fasting (two small meals if needed and one main meal) so it should be a low point day. I'm planning to get on the bike later and I'll probably help John shovel some of this snow that we got, so I'll definitely get in a workout.

Have a great day!

Carla
271.4/265.8/140

Carla - Great loss - way to go!! Sorry to hear about the snacking and good for you for keeping them low point/low fat. Did you go over your max? If not, I say don't worry too much about it. Snacking in and of itself isn't bad - in fact, the woman Rita who does so well has constant snacks throughout the day - but she doesn't go over max. Way to go on getting on the bike. How was your knee afterwards? Good luck at the doctors.

Sabrina - sorry about the gain - you'll be out of the 160's again next week - it's no doubt TOM.

Barbara - welcome! Stick around - I think we are a pretty motivating and supportive group.

Karen C - Congratulations on your loss last week. Sorry to hear about the Fat Tuesday chicken but my thinking is you count it and move on (as you are doing). Here's a great big {{{{{HUG}}}}} right back at you - I'm sure what you are doing is so difficult. I'm sure it will be great to get back to FL.

I had a very so-so day yesterday. I got home and did a yoga workout which felt great. Dinner was this great cabbage soup with turkey sausage that Tony made - very low point - so low point in fact that I had to snack quite a bit to get to my minimum (it was too crazy during the day to get some snacks in). Well, once I got started.... nothing was really unhealthy but I did manage to go over by a few points. Between the popcorn and the sushi last night (we had gotten some at Costco and that was my late night snack) my rings are incredibly tight and my sneak peek was horrible so it's guzzling water as much as I can today. Oh well, I'm back on track and plan on NOT repeating that tonight. Today will be a rest day from exercise but I plan on doing something tough tomorrow.

Have a great one,
Judy

Judy - My knee was fine after the bike ride. Thanks for asking! I too went a few points over max last night, but since today will be a low point day, I'm not worried about it. Hmm popcorn and sushi - double sodium whammy. But, you'll be able to flush it all out with no problems. That's my problem with snacking in the evening - once I get going it's hard to stop.

I ended up shoveling for over 1/2 hour, so I think that will be my workout for the day.

Talk to you later.

Carla

Thanks so much all for the welcome, just been sitting here trying to catch up on all the posts. It sounds like a great group. Do you all weigh the same day of the week?

I just got done walking with a Richard Simmons tape here at work (almost 2AM). I work the night shift, and sleep during the day. I think that really messes up ones metabolism as we really only eat 1 meal a day, dinner, before coming to work. Then we get here and snack. I have noticed after working the night shift for the past 12 years, that all the other girls here have slowly gained through the years too. We don't sleep much during the day so we are tired, couch potatos when we wake up, make dinner and come back to work. Plus its GirlScout Cookie time........

Barbara - We all weigh on diffierent days. I weigh on Wednesdays. Whatever works best for you. Good for you for getting in that Richard Simmons tape I can see how doing shift work would be hard in terms of watching what you eat. Do you have access to a toaster and/or microwave at work. That would help with low point snacks.

As I expected, I ended up under minimum points yesterday, but not by too many - just seven. the next few days are going to be a challenge: we're going to get into the car today and drive to either Wisconsin or Michigan and take a couple days mini-vacation. So, I'll be eating out. I'll be sensible and make the best choices I can.

Everyone, have a great couple of days and a terrific weekend.

Carla