Good Morning !

Hope everyone had a great weekend

Good morning!

I'm giving up the coffee this week for sugar free chocolate soy milk - does anyone know if that stuff heats well? I'm cold!

How was everyone's weekend? I finally got the scale to budge - one stinking little pound! Argh! But, after looking at my geeky weight loss chart, I noticed that I have stalled for a week every 10 pounds and that the first week after the stall is a small loss and then it picks up again. I'm hoping this one pound is just part of my body's cycle and that I'll start seeing some real loss soon.

Have tons of errands to run today:

1) Get 4 birthday cards
2) return clothes to Winners - shop some more - see what I like
3) more lc bread, cream cheese, strawberries
4) Michaels for a triple picture frame (for my 3 kiddies and I have a coupon for 50% off).
5) Mall - to tailor shop to get pants shortened (can wait til tomorrow if necessary)
6) Library - to return books and get new ones (LOVE reading - my favorite thing to do when I have some down time).
7) place order for more school clothes for youngest (they wear uniforms at his school)
8) would love to eat lunch somewhere in there - or maybe a stop at Starbucks/Chapters for a decaf americano w/sf vanilla & cream

First have to "switch purses"...bought a new black purse last week - not sure if I like it - need to see if everything fits - so Ill clean out old one and make the switch - hope it's okay - otherwise switch everything back - Ugh

Looks like TOM has arrived...sorta....and my throat is really sore today - have to find some lozenges or something to take.

How is everyone doing today?

Froufy

Froufy - get you some Cold-Eaze sugar free zinc tablets. They don't taste fabulous, but they do wonders for sore throats, coughs and colds if you start taking them asap. Just be sure you've eaten something first or your stomach will hate you! Hope you get feeling better!

Good Monday, everyone!

Well, the weekend went fairly well. I got a lot done on Saturday. Sunday was a loss, though. I didn't feel well all day (which I'm blaming on those stupid sugar-free chocolate and almond bars -- should have never eaten them in the first place). Anyway, I had no energy whatsoever. Besides a 20-minute walk, I laid on the couch all day. Watched football and some movies. My DH has been working a ton lately, so I'm on my own a lot.

Jamie: I can't believe your car had the "Check Engine" light come on in sympathy! I hope it's nothing too big. I think my light must be malfunctioning or they didn't fix the problem correctly in the first place. It was just in the shop on Wednesday! Cars can be such a pain!

Froufy: Your weekend sounded fabulous (except for the kids waking you up at 7 am!!). That's great that you and your DH are able to get out and have some fun!

Star: What a great idea -- fantasy shopping -- I love it! Jamie's right -- you sure know how to live a creative and fun life!

Hope everyone has a great day!!

Take care,
Jina

Morning everyone,

I went shopping this weekend and finally was able to get a smaller size jean. I did buy this great new pair of black slacks but they unfortunatly were still a size 14. I bought them at The Limited and their sized always run a bit on the smaller side anyway so I am not stressing. They look fabulous on me. I am actually starting to feel a little slimmer.

This week I am shooting for 2 pounds.

I bought some Kayem bolonge this weekend...couldn't bear the pepperoni any more. I took three pieces and some american cheese and made roll-ups for my snacks throughout the day.

SP: haven't tried the soy milks yet. I am waiting for the new Hood low carb milk to come out though.

Froufie: YIKES, I'm glad I'm not you today. Don't over stress. You'll get it all done. Sorry you aren't feeling well.

jdoggmartin: I was on my own this weekend also. My husband moved his company on Saturday so I was left to my own devises. Of course I went shopping! Then met up with a friend and proceeded to drink too much wine all day! OYE did I pay on Sunday.

Good Morning everyone...
I seem to be stalled too - but I haven't been diligent about exercise so I really need to get with the program here. Packed up all my size 26/28 and 24's last night. So excited to be in a 22 now. If it were just my legs needing to be clothed, I'd probably be in a 16 - but it's that darn tummy that keeps me in the larger sizes.

My goal this week is to exercise at least 4 nights.
We went for a family bikeride on Saturday - fun but VERY COLD!!!!
Hope everyone has a great week.

Howdy Howdy!
Just getting ready for bed. Had another fun night at work. NOT! Super sleepy. Took the car to get the oil change then went to Autozone. Jina, at autozone they can hook up a thing that tells you what the check engine light is for for free. He told me it was the oxygen sensor and nothing was wrong and reset it. Cool. I hope yours (Jina's) is easily fixable. Then played with El baby-o for a minute. Then got big hunk of hair chopped off.

For the past three nights a guy at work keeps telling me I'm fat and have stringy hair but that I shouldn't be offended because he's simply telling me the truth. (He's 285lbs and 5'8") He is supposed to be my friend. Grrrrrr. What a schmuck!! I like the new haircut. It's lighter and softer. Came home and started to mow the lawn until I remembered I have to get some sleep because... duh... I work tonight.

Got the results of my MRI on the knees. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with my knees. The bad news is that there is some kind of lesion on the end of my femur (big leg bone). Have to go in for more bone x-rays tomorrow. Not too worried, I just want to be able to exercise without pain.

Do you guys find that your TOM effects your weight loss? I've been spotting lightly for the first time since I had the baby 8 months ago and associated cramps. I'm nervous that it will mask any weight loss. What have you seen?

Well, Gotta get some shut eye. Have a great day! I'd like to think of something special we could all do together. Maybe Star Princess could help think of something. Something we could independently do for ourselves that is creative and self affirming. Then we could share the experience if we wanted. If you guys are interested.
Take care. Muchas Muchas hugs.
Jamie

Hello all!

Just to answer a couple questions from the last chat thread:

Jamie: Mechanical engineering - my thesis focus is on robotics & dynamics. My undergrad degree, however, was called Systems Design Engineering, which is a mix of mech, elec & comp engineering with some human factors and human systems thrown in - really quite interesting. But....I'm not even sure how much of an engineer I want to be when I'm done! I think I need a break - at least from all the theory and calculations and stuff!

Froufy: Montreal! Although, I've been to Quebec City several times and the old part is definitely an enchanting little place.


You know, Kim, in Ontario you can legally go with just clothing your legs!


My morning has been semi-successful ... I'm still trying to track down a test machine at the university that meets my needs. I have a couple leads, hopefully one of them will come through because I just want to get this set of testing over as it's been hanging over my head for awhile now.

First off...

Jamie - YES TOM does affect The scale. I think I am having that issue now with my spotting as well! I am still 175.. not buging even though everything is going great. Although I decided this morning I am cutting out the Davinci syrup too...

UGH.. I think I am on a plateau now. I am bummed, but at least I am not gaining. I will exercise a bit harder, get in a few more veggies than I have been, and I am going to eat a few more calories than I have been. I just wish this dang TOM would end!!!

Busy day today, need to pick up DD at school, then off to the treadmill. Had to make a bazillion calls this morning for the kids school auction project.. so I didnt get to the gym as planned.

anyway, I will check in later.. got a few more emails to catch up on!

I was out of touch all weekend long... but that's okay, I'm back today.

I had a mediocre weekend - Dh has influenza so he slept a lot leaving me to do the rest myself. I feel bad but am glad I'm back at work so I can relax a little bit.

I didn't do too badly over the weekend... but think I'm going to look into switching from induction to OWL for my own sanity. My hat is off to you ladies who do induction for months - I just don't think I can do it anymore. Not that OWL is that different but I refuse to add guilt to my menu if I happen to go over 20 carbs. So, I'll read that chapter tonight and see what happens.

I know my weight loss will slow, but it's already slow, and it took me 10 years to put it on. I need to be free!! But, I also need to exercise and have been working on that. My Champagne goal is to include exercise most of the days of the week.

What I've learned from Atkins over the past month or so is this: moderation is okay, portion control is easier if you're not eating things that "glop" onto your plate like potatoes, pasta, rolls, etc. What I miss, among other things, are the convenience of Deli sandwiches for lunch. Yes, I know I can eat what's inside the sandwich, but that's not "convenient." I do miss convenience.

I don't miss the "obvious" carbs like the sugar, pasta, etc... but I do feel like it's a LOT of work avoiding the hidden carbs in things. I have obsessed about carbs now for a while and it's getting easier to not do that as long as I stay pretty much on program. It's becoming second nature to eat low carb and I think that is a much bigger step in the right direction than staying on strict induction.

I'm happy that I can have decaf coffee that is now ONE carb instead of SEVEN - and I can thank all the ladies here for that enlightenment.

Okay, enough of that soap box.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Lekker - Oh now THAT would a LOVELY site!!!! My big belly hanging out with just a pair of size 16 leggings!!!

I LOVE Montreal! We went to a huge Jewish wedding there about 6 years ago and it was so lovely. The wedding activities took place over 3 days - brunches, dinners etc. DH and I ended up at a karaoke bar with many of the guests and my dh (not drunk or anything) was up on the stage singing Nancy Sinatra's "These boots were made for Walking"!!! Never laughed so hard - didn't even know he knew the song. What a great fun place though. I loved that the streets were alive and kicking at 2AM. Such a fond memory for both of us.

I need some input please.....

I have been doing the induction for over 5 weeks now and have last 8-10 pounds. I have added LaTortilla Factory tortillas once a week so that I can make a pizza and I have nuts on an occasion. My question is what about fruit? Since I am not losing very fast I am hesistant to leave induction however I really need some variety AND FRUIT. I can't believe that was just me saying that......I never used to eat much fruit!

Can I add a small amount of strawberries?

Hi Jane - the way your progress is totally up to you. If you feel you're ready to move into OWL, then go for it! If you're just feeling restless because you feel like you don't have enough variety, then spend some time on the atkins and other low carb websites and gather up some new recipes to try! There are some fantastic ones out there!

Thanks Star....good advice. I have been checking for some recipes all day. Maybe that will help mix it up a bit.