Hi all.

Judy - I hope all went well with your party. Bummer that you missed the call from the woman at the special-ed school. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it was good news.

I had a pretty good weekend. Yesterday was our anniversary (18 years) so we went out to eat with Ana and then drove through our old neighborhood in the city. We went to an Italian place with really great food. I was pretty good and saved 1/2 my entree (Chicken Marsala) and split my cannoli, which was small with Ana. Of course, red wine was involved, but all in all it was a decent day, food-wise.

Have a great day everyone.

Carla

Good Evening,

Carla - Happy Belated Anniversary! What a great way to spend it. Sounds like you practiced real restraint at the restaurant - maybe someday we'll quit practicing and actually display real restraint

Judy - hope the party went well. Are you still recovering?

I had a good weekend. Friday in Victoria with Jen was great, we did Butchart Gardens, and then shopped till we dropped. The ferry ride is about 90 minutes each way. I counted points all day and managed fine. Had good days both Saturday and Sunday. I had to take antihistamines on Sunday for an allergic reaction and slept for most of the afternoon. However, when I sleep, I'm not grazing.

Better get the dogs out for a run, they're hinting that they're desparate for an outing.

Talk to you tomorrow...

Carla - Happy (belated) anniversary! Way to go on doing so well at the Italian restaurant. That is a real accomplishment and loving Italian food as I do, I know how hard it is!

Karen - Your day with Jen sounds like you had a blast! Way to go on stringing all those OP days together. I can tell you are on a roll! LOL about not grazing when you were sleeping 'cause of the antihistamines.

Lots of good news to report although I have a lot of emails to catch up on since I ended up taking yesterday off too. First, I made 10 pounds lost - finally!!!! Second, the party was fabulous - everyone had a good time and it worked out well even with lousy weather (although some of my cousins had terrible traffic). I didn't count points but I didn't go nuts. The best thing was that I was able to relax and enjoy it since it was catered. My favorite cousin and her husband stayed over (as planned) and we did all sorts of gardening on Sunday (she has studied landscape design). I took yesterday off to put the house back together. Last piece of good news - the woman from the special ed school called after 3:00 (I was wound up all day) and offered me the job!!! I'm going to call her today and accept it. I'm still going to look for a job in a school district since a) it might pay a little better and b) if I can get summers off I can take extra courses to help finish the masters earlier. Nevertheless, I am set in a school if nothing else comes along! Now for the belt tightening. I hope Tony can find something soon 'cause after August 14th (I've decided that's my last day - I'll take 2 weeks off before I start at the school on Sept 2) money will be very, very tight!

I'd better go - I have a ton of emails to catch up on at work - oh, and I have only 42 more days (including today) left to go at this place!

Judy
163.6/153.6/135
and 108/240 workouts

Good Morning!

Judy - Congratulations on that 10 lbs!!! That's terrific news! Now to get to work on the next ten... Glad to hear that the party was such a big success. And congratulations too on the job!! You're just a bundle of good news today, girl!

Yesterday was another good one, I should have taken some extra yogurt with me for a mid afternoon snack as I got pretty ravenous, but I made it through. We had grilled chicken last night with greek salad and a monster green salad. I made history and actually couldn't finish my chicken. We ate dinner in the garden. It's looking very pretty outside. Have my WW meeting tonight, so I'm hoping for some good news to report.

Have a happy day.

Hello everyone,

Judy, way to go on the 10 pounds!! I know you have been working on it for awhile, so they are extra sweet. Congrats on the new job too! I think you are being very wise to accept this offer but also keep your options open. I am so glad your party went well and that your garden looks lovely.

Carla, Happy Belated Anniversary. It sounds like you celebrated your 18 years in a very nice and loving way.

Karen, I am sure the meeting will go well tonight. You seem to be really staying on program. I still haven't gotten back into meetings, I probably should.

I have had good days and bad, food wise. We have been spending a lot of time at the lake, so during the day I do really well ( it helps that I am sitting in a bathing suit all day), it is the evenings that are killing me. I am also frustrated that I am not exercising, but I don't seem to be moving at all. They opened up a Curves up here. Do any of you have experience with Curves?

Carpool should be here soon and I still need to braid my daughter's hair. Talk to all of you soon.
Anne

Hi all.

Judy - Oh my gosh - I'm so excited for you on so many levels! You're good news as made my day!!!! First of all, congrats on hitting the 10 pound marker. I know how you've been struggling toward it and I'm thrilled for you. Congrats on the hard work it took to get there. Secondly, yahoo for the new job! That is so terrific. Knowing that your time left at "the bad place" is limited, I bet you feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off your shoulder. Trust me, you are going to feel like a new person when you leave. The belt tightening is going to be worth it in big way. No salary can compensate for being miserable. And, as I've found out, it's easy to do away with the little extras that we fritter money away on when we're don't need to make ourselves feel better. I'm also glad to hear the party was a success. Hugs to you all the way around.

Karen - Your day with Jen sounds lovely. So too does your dinner in the garden. Good for you for stringing together all those OP days. It's great that going to meetings has given you that extra spark.

Anne - I don't have any personal experience with curves, but I hear that you get really good results there. I know about doing well all day and then losing it at night. That's a dangerous time for me too. I found that when I set a "no snacking after dinner rule, it really worked well for me." Come to think of it, it's probably time to make that rule again.

I had a good day yesterday, although I think I overdid my sodium consumption because my rings were tight this morning. So I'm working on flushing that out. I'm on track for another good day today as well.

Talk to you later.

Carla

Hello all,

I recently acquired my weight watchers at home diet...and I guess this might be the thread for me Do you all weigh in every week, or just come here as you please and talk about whatever goes?

I've been posting for 3fc off and on for a couple of years now...i am getting really fed up with being fed up....growing up i've always been chubby...and I always wanted to lose weight for one reason: have a boyfriend. Obviously I am older now and realize that this isn't the way the wafer crumbles...I have someone in my life who i love very much, and i know he doesnt care how much i weigh, but i want to lose weight now for myself. i am sick of squeezing into airplane seats, restaurant tables, and feeling like i am choking in my sleep.

so, that said i guess this is a new attitude is going to come with some real results because now i am doing it for myself, and no one else.


By the way, my name is Melissa...nice to meet you all...

Hi Melissa, nice to meet you too. Hope you'll find the support you're looking for here. We weigh in on different days, pick whichever you like. We tend to focus on weighty topics, but also keep up to some degree on what's happening in each other's lives.

Anne - Are you eating enough in the morning and at noon? Are you letting yourself get hungry and then chowing down like there's no tomorrow in the evening? I haven't been to Curves, I have a friend who goes, they have circuit machines, and I believe the program consists of circuit training with some step cardio between machines. No free weights, so it could be a bit limiting I guess. On the other hand, my friend has done pretty well there, but is getting a bit bored with the same stuff.

Carla - hope all that sodium gets flushed away in time for a good weigh in tomorrow morning. Keep that momentum going for another good day tomorrow. Is Chicago all abuzz with the US Open happening nearby this week?

Off to make dinner and then off to weigh in. I've been considering eating light before weighing in, but that's silly. I'm not going to be held hostage to a scale. If I've been doing what I should be through the week, I have to trust that the scale will reflect that without limiting food or fluids before I get on it. (It would be so much easier if I could do a morning meeting though)

Minus 5.8 lbs last night!

Good morning everyone,

Karen, my mouth fell open when I saw your results. Way to go!!!!!!! You have shown me that if I would actually stay on program I could drop this weight. I am inspired To answer your question, no I eat most of the day I just want sweets in the evening. I am hoping that it has just been PMS and I can get myself in check again.

Melissa, welcome. I try to weigh in here on Thursdays. I too have been trying to lose weight most of my life. Now I look back over the years and wish I weighed what I thought was heavy then. Oh well, that's life.

Carla, You are right I need to close the kitchen by 7:00. The kids get in bed shortly after that and so I don't really even need to go near there.

Today is the last day of kindergarten for my daughter. She was quite excited and wanted to wear her blue velvet dress (they had free dress today) and was crushed when I said it would be to hot for it today (around 80). It is amazing to me that she is getting so old on me. Tomorrow we go to my son's last day of preschool for this year. They are having a little picnic which will be tough for me. Friday will start 2 and 1/2 months of the park and the lake for us. It is times like this that I know I have a wonderful life, admittedly I wish I was a little thinner, but still things are pretty sweet.

Take Care, Anne

Hi all.

Melissa - Welcome. I've been struggling with my weight all my life too and understand the feeling of being fed up.

Karen - WooHoo - way to go!!! Congrats on a great loss. Good philosophy to eat a normal dinner and not restrict food and liquids before your weigh-in and clearly it didn't make a difference on the scale. Yep, Chicago is buzzing about the open, although we do have the Western Open every year and we just had the LPGA Kellog tournament, so we're a bit golf jaded.

Anne - They do grow up quickly, don't they. I can't believe Ana is already five. When we were on vacation, I got a tear in my eye watching her ride the merry-go-round all by herself. It was just yesterday that I had to stand next to her and hold her up. I echo what you said to Melissa about wishing you weighed the weight you considered fat back in the day. I was just thinking about that when we were driving around. In high school I was all upset about weighing 150 - now that would be 10 pounds away from goal for me and I'd be thrilled.

I didn't get that sodium flushed out. My rings are tight and I'm just not going to do a weigh-in. I think I'll wait until next week. I don't use a lot of salt, but obviously I have to be very diligent about sodium because I seem to be retaining water more and more lately.

Have a great day.

Carla

Hi everyone -
I'm down another 4. Had a problem over the weekend with holding water - not sure why but weighed in today and lost the 4 lbs. Very happy

Karen - WOW - what a fantasic result - you go girl!!!! (where do you get all those happy little bananas?)Thanks so much for all those happy little guys helping me celebrate! Way to go on making it through the mid-afternoon snackies!! You are on a roll girl! One thing I find helpful to have with me at work (especially for the way home) is the WW Just 2 points bars. There hasn't been one I haven't liked (how can you not like something covered in chocolate?) and the ones that say "Nutrition Bar" have enough calcium to count as one milk. I'm sure they sell them at your meeting. Wow, your attitude towards weighing in/eating is very healthy - much healthier than mine (I have a morning meeting and I don't even take a sip of coffee before I weigh in - sort of dumb).

Anne - Thanks for all the good wishes. Sorry to hear that you have been having a hard time during the evenings - that's my tough time too. I haven't gone to Curves myself, but I know a few women at my meeting who do go and they really like it. From what they've said, seems like a really efficient, well rounded workout and they like it enough to go regularly. Have you tried low point sweet things - I find that ff, sf jello with some ff cool whip can satifsy my sweet tooth and it's barely even a point. They sure do grow up fast. We went to Anthony's pre-school graduation (also a little picnic) and it was so sweet. Sorry to hear it was too hot for your daughter to wear her velvet dress.

Carla - thanks for all of your good wishes. Yes, I do feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off my shoulders! I'm glad to hear that you've experienced what I think I will - that giving up the little things is easier when you are not miserable 5/7 of your time. It's funny because one of the things I decided was that I have to buckle down and get to my goal so I can stop paying for the meetings this week - it helped my snacking twice this week so far. I like the "no snacking after dinner rule". I haven't been able to enforce that totally but if I let myself have 1 or 2 things (not junk food) I find I can (recently) stop it there. Are you guzzling that water? Can you think of what you had that is making the rings so tight or is it getting near TOM?

Melissa - nice to meet you and welcome! It sounds like you have the best reason in the world to lose the weight - it's for you! This is a pretty "loose" thread - a couple of us have gone back to meetings and even with those who do WW At Home, we weigh on different days.

houndlvr1 - congrats on that great loss!

The support from my friends here on this board is a constant source of support for weight loss and well, for life! I thank you all. I have done OK the last couple of days - I've snacked a bit and used a couple of banked points but have *not* gone into a deficit - not bad since we are eating leftovers from the party - thankfully there were no appetizers left. We've been eating salmon, chicken and tonight is some lean steak. We still have a couple of nights of leftovers left but I'm planning them into my day and doing OK. I just finished a good weight workout at lunchtime and I guess it's time to go back to work. I have an interview at a local school district tomorrow for a special ed aide job - not really what I want but I'll go and find out about the job - the woman with whom I made the appt told me to mention my interest in assistant teaching so that's what I'll do and we'll see if something comes of it.

Have a great one!
Judy

Hey...

Anne...they sure do grow up fast...and in a few years, you won't be able to get your daughter to wear a velvet dress! Wait till they get cool and want designer labels! It sounds like you'll have a wonderful summer!

Carla...sorry to hear that you're doing a camel-woman imitation. It's gross feeling all bloated up with excess fluid on board. Hopefully you'll be back to normal soon. Just quit being so darn diligent with the sodium!

Judy...the dancing bananas come from the smilies on the left when you click on Post Reply...then click the Get More and voila... Good luck with the interview, I hope they'll have a TA position available too! I looked at the WW just 2 points bars at my meeting, I'll have to try them. Anything that's chocolate is good with me...most things that are chocolate are 6 points.

I've had another good day, on track with food and water, just going to take the dogs to the beach before it gets too late. I'm using some imagery this week for my weight loss journey...my WW leader said you can look at it as a road, and you can either take the straight and narrow road (OP), or you can take the scenic route...I've been on the scenic route way too long, OP, NOP, NOP, NOP, OP, and need to take the straight and narrow road to get some results happening. I was getting way too tired of messing around with the same 5 lbs.

Must go, Mike is waiting in the SUV with 3 silly dogs...

Hi all.

houndlvr1 - Congrats on a great loss.

Judy - I think it was pickles that did me in with the water retention earlier this week, plus some ham. I've been remembering to put lemon juice in my water and that's been helping. Sounds like you're doing really well with snacking and with managing the leftovers. Good for you. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the local district has a teaching assistant position open.

Karen - Had to laugh at your comment to Anne that soon she won't be able to get her daughter into a dress. That's happened in my house already, much to John's dismay. Ana has announced to everyone in the family not to buy her dresses because she's not going to wear them. Another suggestion for a keep at work snack is the Slimfast snack bars, if you have them in Canada. I particularly like the peanut butter crunch - tastes just like a Butterfinger. Most of them are 3 points but they have enough calcium to count as a milk serving.

I've had an ok couple of days. Some challenges this weekend, but none that can't be overcome. Our church's block party is Saturday night. I know what the food is and can work it into the day - just have to watch out for the wine. Sunday is an art fair in town, but I can easily stay away from the stuff they sell there. Not sure what I'll make for John yet, but it will most likely involve beef.

Have a great day and a terrific weekend.

Carla