Welcome everyone,

We are a group of ladies who support each other through all of life's ups & downs, not just weight loss.

Won't you join us?

Jana

Hiya ladies,

I wanted to go ahead and get a new thread started because I will be gone until sometime Sunday and may not make it back here until Monday.

Angie - you are so sweet to help out your sil like that. I bet she really appreciates you. Glad the play is going well.

Cristi - your plan to stay OP and reward yourself sounds great.

I am doing much better today. Some days are just harder than others, though, and it is scary.

Well, here's a big news flash. My mil is coming back to live with us. She's 93 and has been in the nursing home for 10 months, and long story short, we just can't afford it anymore. Plus we know she will get better care here. Neal and I are picking her up on Tuesday. She has Alzheimers and will be going to the Adult Day Care 3 or 4 days a week from 8-4. That will help out a lot. We took care of her for 2 years before she went into the home, and so we can do it again. It will be a challenge, though.

Neal wants to go to town, so I better go for now. Have a great weekend, and I'll be back Sunday.

Jana

Hi Ladies...

Sorry Ive been MIA for so long, but Ive had a week from ****.

Looks like everyones been keeping pretty busy. And staying on plan. Im so far off plan, that I feel like Im starting all over again. Im going through a "why bother" state of mind right now, thats not helping in any way.

Angie, Im so sorry to hear about your SIL. I hope shes doing better. Its good that she has you to take care of her. I wish I had family like you around me.
Im glad the play is keeping you happy. Its always nice to have something fun to take your mind off things. Even if it is alot of work.

Jana, I hope your tooth is feeling better. Hows the new and improved living room? Darn it...you need a digital camera so we can see!
I think that its very good of you to take your MIL in. Im sure you know that it wont be an easy road, but I think being at home with family is so much better than being in an institution.
My mom took my gramma in about 2 years ago, and has had a very rough time of it. My poor mom calls me crying sometimes. Gramma is 91 in 2 days, and despite recently being diagnosed with bowel cancer, is in pretty good shape. Her mind isnt as sharp as it used to be, but somehow she finds it in her to always give my mom a hard time. She constantly tries to guilt trip her about every little thing. My gram is very old country Ukranian, and believes that my mom was born specifically to care for her.
I hope things work out well for you. But dont forget to take care of yourself too!

Hello to everyone else. Forgive me for being so far behind on the posts, and not saying hi individually. Ill catch up and be back, I promise!

Take care ladies!

Michelle

Hi Everyone!

Mel: So very sorry about your kitty. We had to put our Cupcake down a year ago, and I still miss him. It's funny about cats....they really can carve a place in your soul.

Jana: I was in training this past week on my new job, which is why I haven't been here. I feel as though I just got out of a concentration camp. It is soooooo different where I am now. God has really blessed me.

Anyone trying the new Flex Points? I really like this way of tracking my points. It gets you out of that legalistic mode...you know the one...."I went one point over my limit today; I might as well eat this tree."

Love,
carree

Hi ladies,

Michelle - do you want to talk about the week that was so bad? If so, we are here for you. Mil's room is just about ready. Katie is going out tomorrow to the home and bring her pictures and personal wall decorations so we can get them up on her walls. She does not know she's coming here - it wouldn't do any good to tell her because she would forget in 5 minutes.

Carree - so glad you like the new job! You deserve it, sweetie. I haven't tried the Flex Points since I am barely hanging on with the old program. I read about it, though, and like the idea of it. LOL about the tree.

Neal and I had such a good weekend away! The Randy Travis concert was so good and Nashville, IN is totally picturesque. There are lots and lots of little shops tucked in everywhere. We bought a quilt for (mil ) Fern's bed. I had the best chicken salad croissant I ever tasted in a little coffee shop there, and we just walked all over looking at everything. There was a huge crowd because of the holiday, but it was still fun. Then after the concert we drove to Terre Haute and spent the night. Today we shopped some more and visited some friends there, then came home. We talked and talked about everything and I feel really connected to him. (I'm certain he'll blow THAT at any minute, lol)

I didn't get weighed today since I wasn't here, but I know I have either gained or maintained. There is no way I could have lost.... I have absolutely GOT to get back OP!!

Better go for now! What's everyone doing for Labor Day??
Jana

Hello all,
The play is close to opening night,,,Tuesday. And Im still laughing at most of the funny parts. I have been learning so much from start to finish.
SIL and I have been talking on the phone alot,,,shes been feeling down,,,understandably. We all went out for dinner last night for their anniversary. I had this fantastic jamabalia rice bowl...but it didn't like me,,,arghhh
Jana, good luck with your MIL.
Michelle, I always say its better keep trying then not to try at all.
Hello to everyone!
Angie

A very EARLY good morning for me. Not sure why I am up so early, it feels good to get an early start but I know by 3 I am going to be feeling sleepy.

Jana, glad to hear you and hubby had a great time. That is something me and dh definitely need to do, get away. I think that is great you will be taking care of your MIL. My mother and Aunt tried with my grandfather several times and it just didn't work. He almost burnt our house down and then turned the gas on in my Aunt's house, so it wasn't a good thing for him to be left alone. He kind of just fell apart when my grandma died. Mentally and physically there was nothing wrong with him, he just didn't care about anything. So I think you are doing a good thing. Like Michelle said just don't forget about taking care of yourself.

Carree, I have been reading up on the Flex points and I am going to give it a try.

Michelle, sorry to hear you had a bad week. Hope this week is much better for you.

Angie, sorry to hear SIL is not feeling down, of course this is understandable. I am glad she has you to talk to as it helps to have someone to lean on when dealing with such a loss.

Well, ladies I am so ready for September. It is a new month and day and a new beginning for me. Time to get serious and get this weight off!

Hope EVERYONE has a GREAT Monday/Labor Day! Later...

Hello ladies!

It's September 1st! And I'm ready to get serious with myself on my body image. (why wasn't I before???)

I want to set a goal for myself to lose 10-15lbs. by the New Year.

I have decided that I am going to use my old Nutrition Program that I used when I worked at Sony. It was a great program for me and I was able to lose the weight in a slow manner, not all at once then plateau. (I guess I might have if I had continued with it!!)

So here is what I plan on doing:
The first week of every month, I will post here my weight. Let you see my progress. I only plan on weighing in every other week. Weighing every week doesn't seem to work for me. I also plan on measuring myself once a month. If my weight doesn't look like it's budging but my inches are decreasing, then I know I'm doing something right!! Right now, my scale is still at the other house, (I haven't finished cleaning that place up yet!!)so later this week I will post my weight. I'm sure it's not what I want it to be....but that's why I'm starting this four month plan.

I am going to start out measuring everything I take in. For at least the first three weeks. By then, I'll get used to what the portion size is and I won't have to measure. I don't plan on limiting myself on anything! If I want something sweet, I will have it. Just not HUGE portions of it. I will also start using my WW cookbook, and make meals for the family that everyone will like and is healthy. And the water!! I must figure out how much water I need to drink and work my way up to it. I'm doing OK right now, but OK isn't good enough if I want to do this.

I will be using either Fitday.com or my own handy little journal that I can record everything in. I have one that I used previously but it's packed somewhere. I want to find it to see what I ate and how well I did. And to see what I did that kept me going.

As for excercise..... I plan on starting my little work outs here at home. Your typical stuff you can do. I actually have quite a bit of stuff that I can used like the excercise ball (love that thing) a Total Gym 1000(works great when I actually use it) thigh master (have no idea where that came from!! used it only a couple times) and a few other misc. things laying around. I even have some workout tapes!! (So what exactly is my problem here!!!) And I want to take advantage of the bike path that is just down a few blocks from my house.

Ok, that's it for now. I feel like I have more to say, but I can't think of it right now.

Oh.... for my first month goal, I would like to lose 2-4lbs. And drink up to eight glasses of water a day. EVERYDAY!! No reward system yet. Haven't quite figured out what it is that I would want once I reached a goal. Maybe just everyone doing the happy dance with me.

Anyone else want to join me with this?? We can post the first week of every month our progress. And no matter if we reached our goal or not, we will still be there and support each other and pat each other on the backs for just staying OP. (looky there, I can type that and know what it stands for!!)

Chat with you all later
Marti

Good morning ladies,

Angie - if you told us the name of the play, I missed it... Good luck tonight!

Cristi - we have lived with mil before, and have done some prep work. The knobs are off the stove, the knives are put up high. (she tries to open stuff with them in the middle of the night!) the bathrooms are better organized and Neal put locks at the very tops of the outside doors.

Marti - wow, you've got a real good plan! I will join in as far as reporting my weight loss, but won't be posting my actual weight. There are too many freinds, family and people from my church congregation who know I come here, and I don't want to broadcast the number, lol. I hope to lose 15 -20 more by the end of the year. I use regular old school paper in a 3-ring binder to keep track of my points. And I figure them up the night before while I am watching TV. Every morning I fill a half-gallon pitcher with water and when it's gone, I know I can have some iced tea. I should probably drink even more water, but so far, so good.

Well, today Makenzie gets a scope done as an out-patient. They will be checking the tube from her kidneys to her bladder and looking for any abnormality. She will be sedated and I will be there with Mary since Dale has to work. We will have the other twin, Madison, with us.

Then, this afternoon, Neal and I are going to pick up his mom. Her room is so pretty! I put the new quilt on her bed, and added her old dresser and her pictures so she has some familiar things. I bought a potted plant that is blooming and put the book "Chicken soup for the Golden Soul" on her bedside table. We hung a new bulletin board to display her greeting cards and snapshots, and I made a sign on the computer that says "Fern's Room" to stick in the center of the board, since she gets so confused.

Be good and stay OP!!
Jana

Hello,

I put in a message yesterday in Buddy Up section and got a lovely e-mail back from Marti. She suggested that I join this group. I hope that that is OK. I just started dieting two days ago. I have put on about 20 lbs this year, after loosing 15 lbs last year!!!! So you can see my weight goes up and down quite often. It seems that what my body likes to eat results in me being a size that I am not happy with. I am 40 years old, 5'2.5" and just weighed in at 150lbs...the most I have ever been when I am not pregnant (I balooned up 50lbs with my first child and a restrained 42 with my second!!!) Anyway, I would like to get some support by being able to chat with other people going through the same thing. I have started the Turn Up the Heat Diet that was printed in September's First Magazine. It seemed really healthy, and something that I may be able to do indefinitely. I would like to be between 115lbs and 120lbs. Has anyone else done this diet? I would love to hear about it and about any other tips that anyone may have on loosing the weight and keeping it off!!!!

Nancy

It is great to have you here, Nancy. I am not familiar with the diet that you mentioned in your post. I am doing the new Flex Points with WW.

Hi to everyone! I am on vaca this week. Just relaxing and getting a few things done around the house. It is supposed to rain all week, but oh well.

Love
carree

Hi Nancy welcome to our group! I doubled your first pregnancy weight with my first. I was 130 lbs before pregnancy and when I went into delivery I was 232 lbs. And right now I wish I weighed 232...I am another 30 lbs over that, and am 5'6.

Jana, the show Im doing is called Ruthless. Our first real tech rehearsal was last night. Did well....gun shots and ringing phones where they should be...lol

Tanner's first day of grade 6 today. He was up REALLY early...too early so I know that DH is going to have to deal with a cranky monkey tonight. ( he loves monkeys and call him King Monkey Man)

My SIL and I are spending tomorrow pealing apples...oh ya
I have so much to do today,,,first off grocery shopping.
Have a great day ladies!
Angie

Nancy!
Glad to see that you're here. I hope you enjoy our little chats we have. I have a question for you, what is the "Turn up the Heat" diet? I'd be interested in hearing what it's about.

Carree- what is involved with the flex points? Where would I go to see how it works? Should I just go to the WW website? Sounds interesting.

It all sounds interesting. I'm willing to try anything on top of what I'm already doing. I'm doing.... pretty good. (don't sound to confident there do I?) I'm having problems again with my water intake. The lemonades and juices just sound more appealing this time of year!! But I know I must get more water, that seems to be the BIGGEST help with my weight loss.

I still don't have my scale. Maybe I should just throw the darned thing away and just go by measurements! I'm sure if I did that then I would be having scale withdrawls!! So I will go get it tonight!

Well, I got a real eye opener yesterday while I helped make a pie. The layout of my house is; the kitchen is open to the dining room area where the built in hutch is. Well.... the hutch faces the kitchen and there are three...not one...but THREE mirrors. And boy oh boy!!! When I took a look at myself in the kitchen testing the flavor of the pie filling ....... what a sight I saw!! Talk about getting an eye full!! I'm not saying I'm huge or anything, but I sure didn't like what I saw. Whose idea was it to put those mirrors there in the first place???? Seeing yourself eat is not a pretty site. So maybe those horrible mirrors will help me acheive my goal a little better.
Ever watch that show on TLC "what not to wear"? They put you in a room with mirrors all around you.... That has got to be some kind of torture chamber I'm sure!! Maybe I should install something like that in my walkin closet! Give myself a reminder as to why I want to do this.

Ok, I've ranted and raved about the mirror issue so I will go for now. Hope you all had a great weekend and the beginning of your week is a good one.
Take Care

Marti

Marti:

Flex Points is a different way of tracking points. You start with a Target Point number (based on your weight). Mine is 24. You subtract points used from your total just like you would in a checkbook as you "spend" them.

In addition, everyone is given 35 Flex Points to use in a week. You can use all of them, none of them or some of them. You can even consume them all in one day.

Also you have Activity Points so when I work out with The Firm I get 3 points for that hour of exercise, but I have to use those points on that same day. Sounds complicated, but it's really easy.

So what do you think?

WELCOME Nancy, glad to have you aboard.

Jana, hope everything went fine today with Mckenzie, poor baby. I always hated taking my kids to the doctor especially when they had to get their shots or blood taken. Sounds like you are ready for your MIL and you have the room all prettied up for her. I know she will like.

Marti, sounds like you have a plan and are ready to get serious. I too am ready to get this weight off, of course I have quite a bit more to get off than you. BUT as we all know it is just as hard losing 5 pounds as it is 20, 40 or more. I have seen that show on TLC, seems my hubby and I watch A LOT of TLC with our favorite being Trading Spaces-I LOVE that show!

Carree, hope you are enjoying you vacation time.

Angie, sounds like you are having so much fun with the play. How is your SIL doing? Peeling apples?? So what are you guys going to make with the peeled apples? Something good I know. How was Tanner's first day of school today? I bet he is one tired Monkey Man.

My day was good. I am so proud of myself. I have stayed OP with my eating , exercise and water drinking for two days now.

Hi to EVERYONE else. Hope everyone had a great Tuesday. See ya ladies tomorrow.