Starting the topic - be back at some point after I catch up on last week's thread.

Hi all.

Karen - That was some feast that Mike made for you this weekend. I don't even like seafood and it sounded good. I hope you enjoyed every last morse.

My weekend was ok. We ended up eating dinner at my Mom's last night. We also had some appetizers at the show we went to (it was set up cabaret style, to be reminiscent of a nightclub from the Sinatra era). But all in all, it was a good weekend. I'm going to have to try hard, though, to not eat through the insanity that is brewing in our house lately. A week ago Saturday we took Luigi in to the vet for some tests because he's been eating a lot, drinking a lot and losing weight. The vet concluded that it was either going to be diabetes (which we suspected), a thyroid problem, or a heart problem. She also detected a heart murmer. Well, we've been trying to get results and haven't connected with the vet. I called again today and they're going to have whatever of the vets in the practice that's available call me. I don't know why, perhaps because of the insistence that the vet who treated him call us and the hesitation to have anyone else in the office give us the results, is that they're going to tell us we need to consider putting him down. I mean if it were the diabetes or the thyroid problem, I'd think they'd have one of the assistants call and get us to schedule an appointment as soon as possible so we could start treating him. Although maybe they're thinking that since he's 18 years old, we might not want to go through with treatment. No sense second guessing, I suppose. We'll just have to wait it out. To add to the general frivolity, we discovered on Saturday that Ana has a permanent tooth coming up behind two of her baby teeth. I'm bringing her to the dentist this afternoon. It most likely will require teeth pulling at the minimum, or possibly some orthodontia, given the general screwed up state of her baby teeth. I just have to remember that raiding Ana's halloween candy is not going to make any of this go away. I'll just focus on the dinner I'm making tonight: baked chicken breasts and roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts. Yum.

Talk to you later.

Carla

Carla – Well, it certainly must be a nerve racking day for you – {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}. You know, I’ve been in situations with doctors/vets where you think you know why they are saying/telling you/not telling something and it turns out that it has nothing to do with what you think. I’ll think good thoughts for Luigi and hope that it's just something you can treat like diabetes. And you're right, raiding Ana’s Halloween candy is not going to make any of it go away; in fact, you will probably feel worse if you do. Your dinner sounds wonderful- good for you for focusing on a healthy dinner. Oh yeah, the 51% = mandate talk has been getting me furious too. I’m glad you enjoyed the show this weekend. It sounds like you did just fine eating-wise. I’m sure things will work out with Ana and the dentist – one thing at a time and if it seems to be getting overwhelming, I like to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. It’s amazing how much something so simple can help.

Jan – welcome! Yes, I would say this is a very encouraging group. Glad to have youjoin us!

Karen – Mike’s feast is just making my mouth water and I just finished lunch! I hope you got in some good tm time. Has the weather improved? We have a real chill in the air today and have a frost warning for tonight.

I had a pretty good weekend all told but I did not get to weigh in. I guess it took me some time to wind down on Friday night (got home a little after 9:30) because I went to bed really late and opted to sleep in a bit. I got in some good exercise (a new fitness purchase came on Thursday) so that helped a bit. I could have done better at Krista’s and could have done worse. I tried to tally up what I ate, and figure I have only 10 points left for the week! It’s actually not too bad because I can certainly eat all core and I hope to earn some activity points at least from Wed on. It’s parent teacher conferences this week so I get out early each day. Tonight though, I have to come back after grad school for my assigned child’s conference at 8:00. I’m going to have to pick up something for dinner at a diner – I figure I can always have a salad to hold me and have something else core when I get home. I did not exercise this morning; I figured I’d be home so late tonight, I’d give myself a little more time in bed this morning. I’ll try to get in some yoga tomorrow morning – if not, I’m not going to stress, as I should be able to get in a bunch of exercise later in the week.

Have a great one,
Judy

Good Morning!

Carla - hugs to you! Making decisions around sick geriatric pets is a huge stressor. I know you & John will do what's best for Luigi. Jen had permanent teeth pop up behind her baby teeth too when she was Ana's age - she had a couple pulled and the new ones moved right in where they were supposed to be. How is Ana at the dentist?

Yesterday was a good day. We walked the dogs at the beach in the morning, and I had the afternoon to myself for a change, so I treadmilled, puttered and relaxed. Food was good. I've lost 5.4 lbs in the past month, and am feeling motivated and focussed on being healthier. I've started doing a walk/jog program on the tm which will have me jogging 5k in six months. I have to grocery shop after work so I can stay on track through the week. Nothing messes me up as much as not knowing what we're going to be eating.

Have a good day!

Karen

Judy, we were posting at the same time. Sounds like you have a long day ahead of you. Try to get some protein with your salad to stave off the hungries! Your weekend sounds fine, and you'll earn plenty of activity points to see you through the week.

I weighed in again and I lost two pounds.

scorchin - congratulations on your loss!

Karen - good for you for starting a run/walk program. When I decided I wanted to run the Race for the Cure 5K a few years back, that's exactly what I did. Do you have a specific race in mind? I'm so glad to hear that you are so motivated. I've been having a hard time recovering from the sugar infusion of a few weeks ago so I'm going to hope that some of your ooommmppphhh rubs off on me! (of course, it doesn't help that PMS is here in a big way).

I didn't do quite so well yesterday. I went to the diner and figured I would have a burger (and only eat half the roll) - that part worked. What didn't work was ordering the sweet potato fries (like it's REALLY so much healthier because they've fried sweet potatoes rather than white potatoes!) I snakced a bit when I got home last night too (which wasn't until almost 9:30). I went to bed too late so I really have to be on my guard today. I'm planning on going home for lunch and then to school - I just didn't feel like packing my lunch today and maybe I can either get in a little yoga before school tonight or a nap!

Carla - I hope things are OK.

Have a great one!
Judy

Great loss, scorchin!

Judy - I'm not training for any race, just want to be healthy and fit enough to move my carcass a little more quickly than I'm capable of now. I hear you about the sugar infusion thing. I had to sit through a workshop today with lunch provided. I didn't turn down the cheesecake for dessert, and I've been craving sweets all afternoon. I caved and visited the vending machine. I do so much better when I bring my own lunch.

Carla - I too hope things are okay.

I have an appointment with the treadmill this evening that my head keeps trying to talk me out of. Tomorrow's the end of my work week and then I have a four day weekend. Jen's coming home Thursday for a couple of days - I can't wait to see her. Friday is chore day; haircut, dog vaccinations, etc.

Have a good evening!

Good Morning -

Insomnia has struck tonight. I've been awake since 1 a.m. and finally got up at 3 because I was just tossing and turning. It's 4 a.m. here. Blech. On the positive side, I've done laundry, dusted, and have emptied the dishwasher. I did manage to do my stint on the treadmill last night. Mike and I had a tiff at dinner time, so I got my frustrations out with a good quick jaunt. I sulk for an hour or two; he likes to hash everything out immediately - so when he started up at me after I was done on the tm, I put on my coat and took the dogs for a walk for an hour. Definitely got my exercise in.

I think it's going to be a very long day at work . I'll check in again later.

Karen

Karen - sorry for the lack of sleep but kudos to you for not eating after the tiff - I tend to slip into that if Tony and I have one. Next time, I'm giong to follow your example and either go outside for a walk, or down to the basement for some indoor activity! Ugh on the slippery slope I've been sliding down since Halloween. Enjoy your time with Jen. I'm off tomorrow for Veteran's Day and Friday is another 1/2 day (as is today) for parent teacher conferences.

I'll say it again: on the slippery slope I've been sliding down since Halloween. The taste of desserts on Sunday didn't help and I was soooo tired yesterday and also still PMSy. I snacked too much at night - not horribly sugary things but not core. That's it though - I'm sick and tired of this. I was doing so well and I'm getting back to it today - my only chance to salvage a maintain or at least cut the gain back to something less than a pound! I did get 7 hours sleep last night (not as much as I wanted but more than I had the last 2 days) and plan on doing a workout when I get home. Then it's a healthy core lunch and I'm going to finish some school work. Tomorrow is a day for baking and freezing rolls for Thanksgiving, a haircut and more school work. I'm starting to worry about having too much that's still due for school - I hate leaving things to the end. I also have to try to remember what kinds of things I had around (like cous cous salad) the first month of core when I was so successful and so satisfied.

Carla - I'm thinking of you!

Have a great one,
Judy

Hi all.

I'm here and all is well! I worked yesterday and didn't have a chance to get on afterwards.

Scorchin - Great loss! Congrats!

Judy - Check out this website: sorryeverybody.com. Click on gallery. I had to laugh at the sweet potato fries - sounds like something I'd do. I'm on that slippery slope with you. It's amazing how one taste of sugar leads to another and another... I'm trying really hard to get it out of my system this week. Sounds like you're getting a bit stressed about school on top of being tired from not enough sleep. Deep, calming breaths, girlfriend. Hang on.

Karen - Terrific weight loss for the month! Good for you for starting a walk/jog program with a specific goal in mind. I so need/want to do something like that, but I just never get my butt in gear. Great way to handle the tiff with Mike. I'm with Judy -I tend to eat. I hope your insomnia is short-lived, especiall so that you can enjoy Jen's visit.

Another gain at the scale today. And it's ending here. I was going to declare a "fresh start", but couldn't figure out how to change my start date/weight on-line, so I"ll just go from here. I'm doing flex this week because I really need the discipline of tracking points and journaling. But I'm sticking to core foods for the most part. I have to work these sugar cravings out of my system. Things are 50/50 on the kid/cat front. One of the baby teeth in front of Ana's permanent tooth is slightly loose, so we're just going to keep a watch on it. If she hasn't lost the baby tooth or it's not significantly loose by Christmas, then he'll want to pull it. I guess we're making progress on Luigi: we actually got a message from the vet on our machine yesterday. I just missed her call by about five minutes. At any rate, she's in the office today and when I called to talk to her, they said she'd call after she's done with her current patient. We'll see. I need to remember my advice to Judy: deep and calming breaths as I'm starting to get myself stressed out. I volunteered to help the mom who agreed to plan the school holiday party and it turns out she's done nothing, so I think the bulk of that may fall into my lap. And we're hosting the Christmas party with our college friends this year and the house is a wreck. And Thursday of next week I'm meeting with someone about doing some freelance writing - user documentation for banking systems. It would be perfect because for the most part it could be done from home. So keep your fingers crossed, please.

Talk to you all later.

Carla
279.6/269.8/145

I'm new here, and I just wanted to pass a "hi"!
clip

Hi Everyone;
I too am doing ww from home. I am not going to a group just using my literature I have from the last time. Point system.
I would love to join with this group for a weekly weigh-in.

thanks
shaun

Clipper and Shaun - Hi and welcome!

Welcome Clipper and Shaun! Hope you'll join us. Carla and Judy are die-hard WW's ... I follow many WW principles, but generally do my own thing. These days I'm concentrating on eating healthily without sugar or refined starches, which I gather is more or less the Core program.

Carla - sorry about the gain. Great attitude about putting an end to it! I will find a link for you tomorrow that I've found very helpful around getting my head around what it is I need to do. I so hear you about sugar. I didn't believe until recently that sugar is addictive, and now I'm completely convinced that it's something we need to steer miles clear of. I'm telling myself that all that crap isn't going to go anywhere; when I'm done losing, chocolate etc. etc. will still be there; I'm just choosing not to eat it. BTW, when I was using WW online I transposed the numbers for my starting weight, and to change it I had to contact them through the website. Keeping fingers crossed about Luigi. Hopefully Ana's tooth thing will take care of itself. The freelance writing thing sounds like a great opportunity - fingers firmly crossed!

Judy - enough of the slippery slope already. No more sugar! Do a SBD phase 1 if you must to lose the cravings. Could be what's making you so tired too. Or maybe it's post election stress disorder. Enjoy your haircut tomorrow, it'll give you a little boost!

I dragged my sleep deprived self through the day in one piece. I had a near miss by the vending machines at work this afternoon - I wanted a diet coke, but was so out of it due to lack of sleep that I put my money in the candy machine instead, and the thing wouldn't refund my money, so I had to buy something. Got an Aero bar and gave it to one of the residents; she was tickled pink.

Dinner was wild mushroom and spinach lasagne (did you ever make it, Judy?) that I made last night. Too tired to exercise tonight, I was going to do some squats and shoulder work, but it's going to have to wait. Off to my nest now.

Karen