I'll try to get back a little later with a post - starting the thread for now.

Judy

Hi Judy!

I weighed in this morning and I lost 4 pounds! Hope everyone else had a good week too.

Hi everyone,

My name is Danielle. I am just starting weight watchers and hope to have some luck in losing 10 pounds. Most of all, I need to learn how to handle life stresses without the aide of food. Anyway, just interested in weight watchers at home. I need lots of advice! Well hope everyone had a great day.
Talk to you soon
Danielle

Donna - great loss - congratulations!

Danielle - welcome! You've come to a great place for info and support.

What a weekend! I did not get to weigh in (stayed up too late the night before and wanted to get as much school work done as possible on Saturday) but all things considered, my eating hasn't been badI ate reasonable at our friend's dinner party and didn't have anything when we got home. - and that's where the story begins. Max, our little 2.5 yr old cat seemed to have eaten a flower from an arrangement we had been sent and when we got home, he had no appetite and was vomiting. We took him to the vet both yesterday, where he got some standard treatment and the vet didn't think there was much to worry about, and then again this morning when he still had no appetite and was vomiting again. The vet that was there today (our vet is at a conference) was very thorough (I brought the flower in again). As Tony went to get the flower correctly identified at a local florist, she was on the phone to the poison hotline. After some very nerve-racking time, we found out that the flower Max ate was NOT in the lily family. Thank goodness, because the only treatment for that as lilies are horribly toxic to cats, is hemodialysis! It turns out what Max ate is from the tulip family (phew!) and the blood test indicated that his kidneys were fine. He's at the vet overnight with IV fluids, he hasn't vomited since he's been on them (since this morning) and while he still didn't want to eat, he was back to more of his feisty self when we went to see him this afternoon (he's an incredibly affectionate cat but turns into a little hellion at the vet). So, I'mt aking tomorrow off - I'll be on the phone with the vet at 9:30 and hope to bring him home early tomorrow. I haven't slept well or much since Saturday night - I'm exhausted. I guess I've been so nervous and upset that I haven't eaten through this. Now I just have to catch up on some school work!

I'm off to watch a little TV and get myself to bed early!
Judy

Hi all!

Donna - excellent loss! Congrats

Danielle - welcome You will find tons of information and support here - visit often!!

Judy - so sorry to hear about your cat Glad to hear that he will be OK though...it is so scary when things happen to our pets, especially since they can't talk and tell us exactly what is wrong.

Well, two of my kids are feeling better and my youngest is slowly getting there. He is really starting to cough everything out, which is a good sign. I was not feeling too great the past few days and needless to say did not eat too well. I think it was a combination of feeling a little sick, nervous about resuming my old job duties, and just overall stress from the kids being so sick. I did not make very good food choices, and for the past two days have been feeling it! I have had such an upset stomach and massive craps from eating so much junk. I can't believe I did what I did - but I am not going to dwell. I am going to just pick up and move on. I just received my first issue of WW magazine and read the article about beginning to walk. I had every single intention of starting the program (since it starts on a Monday and has a great plan for the following 6 weeks); but by the time I got home from work and completed a project from the part-time work that I do on the side - I was just so wiped out.

So even though it says to start on Monday - I am going to start on Tuesday. Or, I guess I could just count today as a day off from it instead of Wednesday, right?

I don't know - I need to do something. I know I say it every week, but after working all day and coming home and doing normal things at home here, plus my part-time work, when I stop moving...I just crash really hard. I am still only sleeping like 2 hours, then up for 2, etc. because of my back. Maybe exercising will finally push me over the edge to actually sleep through the night. That would be so nice!

Someone asked what I do in last week's post: My full time day job is a dispatcher for a good sized service company. My part-time job is as a legal transcriptionist. So, yeah - I do LOTS of sitting which isn't good for losing weight or my back problem. LOL

Well here is hoping everyone has a great week ahead. We are going to have some nasty, wet weather hitting Austin this week. I hate gloomy, rainy days! Yuck!!

Take care all

~P

Welcome Danielle! I'm new too!

Judy - I hope Max makes a full recovery and is able to come home soon. How scary!

TxMom - Glad to hear your children are feeling better. Hopefully their recovery will mean less stress for you. I crashed last night too (and I only have 1 job and 0 kids!) I made supper and sat on the couch and promptly fell asleep and didn't wake up until hubby came home around 9pm. I woke up, kissed him goodnight and went to bed! Treadmill, what treadmill?!

I have been a member of Weight Watchers in the past. I am thinking of becoming a member again and doing the version from home/online. Can you give me any advice on this? Any suggestions? Etc...

Hello pfiz! I'm new too and just started WW last week. WW sells home kits on their website, but you can find cheaper ones on ebay (that's what I did). The one I bought didn't have the sliders (just books to look up the point values), so my coworker gave me her extras. I'm not going to any meetings. I'm using message boards like 3FC for the support instead.

Hi All...

Too tired to say much tonight...I don't leave for work at the crack of dawn tomorrow, so I'll be back in the morning.

k

Good Morning!

Donna - way to go on losing 4 lbs. That's great. You must be feeling good this week. Don't be discouraged when the loss slows down, as it always does after one or two weeks.

Danielle - welcome! We all need to learn where to turn (other than the fridge or pantry) in times of stress. Learning your triggers is a big step in the right direction.

Judy - Poor, poor little Max! I hope he's doing much better. It's so nervewracking when you have a sick animal. Are you doing okay?

TxMom - Glad to hear the kids are getting better. Ahem...quit procrastinating, and get on your treadmill. I will if you will. I say this because I've fallen into exercise avoidance mode and need to get back to working up a sweat every day. I sleep like a log after I exercise - I don't have your back pain, but I'll bet it'll help you.

Hi pfiz...fire away with any questions - everyone is willing to share.

As for me...I'm looking at 8 months of monumental amounts of work and stress at the office. I'm putting in long hours and coming home dead tired, and I'm not fitting in any strenuous cardio, although I'm still doing weights with Mike regularly. I know the answer to this is to get on the treadmill first thing in the morning...I'll start tomorrow.

Have a good day...it's beautiful and sunny on the west coast of Canada this morning.

k

TxMom - glad the kids are feeling better. I know how illness and nerves in combination can put me into a situation of not making good choices. I agree with Karen - try the treadmill - slowly at first - I think that will help you sleep - I know I sleep better when I am getting some workouts in.

pfiz - questions answered here!

Karen -
what's going on at work over the next 8 months?? Well, you know that exercise helps with stress - good for you for keeping up with the weights - now get thee to the treadmill!

It's been a very stressful few days. Max continued vomiting yesterday and the vet told us we should take him to a specialized care place yesterday which we did. They are fabulous there - all kinds of specialists but all kinds of people who are really compassionate - both to the patients and their families! They took x-rays from a different angle and found that there is a foreign object in his GI tract. The decision yesterday was to keep him on fluids and take more pics today - if the thing moved into the colon, he'd get rid of it naturally - if not, surgery is in order. It's been nerve-wracking waiting to hear from them today but we did when I was at lunch. The foreign object (something oblong - either a piece of stem or he ate something else) moved but not enough to come out by itself so they are doing the surgery later this afternoon. The doctor said the prognosis is excellent.

I've been I bundle of nerves - to the point where I couldn't even eat much lunch today. I'm skipping school tonight - it's just one class and I can't concentrate. I want to see if we can go see Max later tonight (this place allows owners to visit their pets, even in ICU - we saw Max last night). I did a workout yesterday before we went to the vet's and I think it might be a good idea for me to do some yoga after work. I don't know if I'll be able to get on later - we lost cable yesterday - no TV and no internet. They are supposed to come today, but who knows.

Thanks for all the well wishes for Max!
Hey Carla - how are ya?
Judy

Hi all.

No school on Monday = means no chance to post for me. Yesterday was work. But here I am.

Donna - Welcome and congrats on a great loss!

Danielle - Welcome to you too. Turning to food in times of stress, etc. is a big reason why I ended up weighing as much as I do.

Judy - Poor, poor Max. And poor Judy and Tony. What an ordeal. I hope the surgery goes well - which I'm sure it will - and that Max is home with you soon. How great that you get to see him, even in ICU. Luigi sends his very best regards. I think doing some yoga after work is probably a very good idea.

TxMom - I'm glad to hear that your boys are getting better. Man, you are one busy woman. And not sleeping straight through on top of it. I don't think I'd be able to function at all. I hope that everyone is completely well and you are able to get some good rest soon. I'll have to check out that WW magazine. Maybe their walking program will get my butt in gear.

pfiz - Welcome. We're glad to help you navigate WW.

Karen - Hearing you talk about your next 8 months is making me tired. (Well, the fact that I didn't get enough sleep last night doesn't help either.) I hope you're able to make time for yourself in the coming months. Be good to yourself! I'd tell you to get yourself back to that treadmill, but I'm in no position to lecture anyone about exercise.

I'm astonished to post a 1.6 pound loss today, since my eating didn't improve much this past week and I had Chinese twice (the original takeout and then leftovers) this week. I would have liked to have had the entire 5 pound gain from last week gone, but I'll take what I can get. I swear my eating will be better this week. Still on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster trying to decide what to do about Ana's education. I've informed the public school that we will not be pulling her out of her current school and putting her into kindergarten this year. That means that I'll be taking her from her school to the public school every day, on a varied schedule, for the remainder of the school year. It will be hectic, but it must be done. We still have to decide about next year, but we have time for that. I'm going to spend tomorrow morning observing a first grade classroom at the public school. I'm still leaning strongly towards keeping her in Montessori, but we'll see. Right now I'm just trying to muster the energy to go to work this afternoon. I'm tempted to call in and tell them I'm not coming on the grounds that I'm tired and cranky and am likely to be surley to small children and make them cry (not true, not true). But it will probably do me good to go. I'll just have to have some coffee first.

Talk to you all later.

Carla
278.2/273.4/145

Carla - congratulations on the loss - that's impressive especially with Chinese food. I know the feeling of wishing that the whole gain was gone but we'll get there my friend, we'll get there. Even though it makes it really hectic for you, I think it's a good thing to leave Ana where she is but have her go to the public school for services. Obseving the first grade class is a great idea! The yoga did me wonders yesterday - I think some ativity on your part might help with all the stress of trying to make the right decisions for Ana. So whaddya say, Carla? How about committing to doing *some* kind of activity today, even if it's walking in place while you watch tv?? The drill sergeant is back tomorrow!


Max had his surgery yesterday and the surgeon called us at 5:00 to say that everything had gone well. She said that what was stuck in his intestines looked like an earplug (I wear foam ones to bed - I can't imagine how he got one as I keep them in a little container or else they dry out but who knows!). Anyway, last night she said that she expected they'd want to keep him there for a few days but they called Tony this morning and said he was doing really well. They are going to see if he'll eat this morning and they are thinking of sending him home late this afternoon as they figure he'll recover, be less stressed, etc. at home. I am *thrilled* - I hope he comes home today so I can spoil him tonight!

I guess the relief from all the stress brought back my appetite - I snacked a bit too much last night but I did stop eating at 9:00. I'm getting better at it. I did some yoga when I got home yesterday but I don't know what I'll do today, if anything. It depends on what the situation with Max is.

Have a great one!
Judy

Hi all.

Judy - I'm so glad to hear that Max is doing so well. It's amazing what cats will get into and eat. I hope he is able to come home this afternoon so you can love him up this evening. I wonder how your other kitties will react to his homecoming. When we had both cats, whenever Luigi had to stay at the vet for whatever, Trotski would hiss at him when he came home. I don't know if he was mad at Luigi for being away or if Luigi smelled like the vet's office and that bothered Trotski. You're right about the activity helping with the stress of decision making and I'll try to give it a go tonight. You'll chuckle to hear that I once again, in my annual exercise in futility, signed up for the SELF challenge. Perhaps I can make it through three weeks this year. :-)

I just got back a bit ago from my morning in the first grade classroom. I really enjoyed it. And my already very healthy respect for teachers has only become healthier. It was productive in that I got to see the teacher work with some of her struggling students and picked up a lot of good tips, etc. for using when I work with Ana at home. The teacher was very, very generous in structuring her group and individual lessons in ways that would be helpful to me. It was counter-productive in that it confirmed that we are fortunate enough to have two very good educational options for Ana. Ah well, the answer will come to us. So far, so good on the eating front. This week will present some challenges, though. Sadly, my SIL's father dropped dead of a heart attack yesterday, so we'll have a wake and funeral to contend with. It's very sad, but it's a comfort that he died doing what he loved - golfing. Just serves as a reminder - you never know.

On that note, enjoy your day/evening to the fullest and I'll talk to you all later.

Carla