Good morning and happy new week!

I'm not my usual perky Monday morning self today (maybe it's insufficient coffee?) - got on the scales and the three pounds I've worked very hard to lose since vacation are back. All it took was one anniversary dinner and one piece of DH's birthday cake. Can I blame DH???

Yeah, yeah, it's probably only water and will disappear in a few days ... in the meantime, I think the best thing is to stay off the scales for a few days and just do The Things That Work. That, and do something about the rest of the German chocolate cake! I'll probably slice it up, report the number of slices to DH, and freeze it. Freezing cake isn't a major deterrent but having to confess to DH that I've been eating it is, hence the count of pieces.

I started last week at the gym saying that I needed to find some more clients and the heavens opened up and rained clients! All of a sudden I'm so swamped that I found myself dreaming about workouts all last night. I'm exhausted! Now that I've got so many clients, my challenge is to consolidate my schedule so that I'm not working every day (which I have for the past two weeks). I'm fortunate because I set my own hours and can schedule clients whenever it suits them (and me), but I have a hard time saying 'no' so end up working every day. Note to self: be tough and at least say no to Sundays (I had two appointments yesterday - at 8 AM and 1:30 PM - so work really chopped up the day).

Goals for the day = clean eating, cardio, shoulder workout, clean house, laundry.

Enough about me ... how's everyone's summer going? Ilene, are you done with school yet? Mel, what mother-son bonding experiences are planned for the summer? How are our prego ladies doing with the heat? Love to hear from everyone and feel free to tell me that cake is the .

MeG ( you know what ? I had written MeL )--.... KEEP AWAY FROM THE CAKE !! Cake is the ...

I had an ok weekend, pretty quiet which is good, extremely hot outside... I ran Saturday from 7am-8am and whoa by the end of that run I was beat and it was hot already.... I love our new central AC ... I went to see an outdoor play on the Saturday night which was awesome, there was no food involved so all was good.

Sunday I ran on the and did back and biceps...

Today, I am goind LEGS ... I may bike to the gym


TTFN

Hi ladies-
I'm new here. I just wanted to say Hello. I just recently hit my weight loss goal. I'm now just finishing out my weeks at LAWL hoping to get a bit of a buffer before I start the maintenance part of my program. Anyway, I have so many questions for all of you. Right now I just want to ask... were you happy with your body once you hit your weight loss goal? I started out at a tight size 20 and can now fit into 6/8's or even some 4's. But I feel like I'm a "fat size 6" or something it's just really weird. I know I need to get back to the gym and tone up. That is probably why I'm still feeling "fat". Anyway, I'm 5'7" large framed. I'm now at 145.4 and don't know when to stop. I keep feeling like there will be this magic number that I'll be happy at, but the number gets lower as my weight goes down. Anyone else have this problem? Anyway, I have more questions, but I'll save them for later.

Thanks,

Mandy

this is my first post on the weekly discussion board.

just popping in to add my weekly goals.

i weighed 119 this morning and i hope that by next monday i will down another pound.

i plan to get in a mountain bike ride or two if the weather permits and i will be counting calories as usual. i am trying to stay between 1400-1500 cals a day right now. my intake is not to go above 1700 without gaining. i have been doing well so far. i don't find this a challenge at all since i don't eat much food anymore and don't get hungry much either. i do crave the occasional sweet but i try hard not to give in.

oooooh, i love my grocery shopping loot this week. we shop on mondays and i plan out each meal. we just got back from shopping. our grocery bill was 20% higher than usual this week but we needed olive oil and we got a good price on chicken so we stocked up. i love going around the grocery store with all this healthy, natural stuff in my cart, while everyone else is carrying junk in their baskets. i cringe now at the sight of what some people eat. ewwww!!!

eating well and being healthy is soooo worth it!

good luck to all this week!

jen

Meg, step away from the cake!

Welcome Mandy and Jen!

I think I'm finally over the kidney stone episode, so I feel more like a normal person again. No more trips to the emergency room for a while.

I am getting huge! I can't imagine how big I'll be when the baby comes. Plus I'm gaining weight way too fast, and I'm going to have a lot of work to do when this is all over. But I know what to do eating wise, when it's safe to restrict again, and I miss intense exercise, so I have some confidence that I'll get back to where I was.

Since I still track what I eat, I have discovered that I eat about the same (both quantity and quality) on the days I try to do well, and the days I just kind of relax about it. The difference is on the days I relax I don't feel like a failure. So I've decided to relax since it really doesn't make a difference. My stomach is starting to get squished now, and I can't eat much at a sitting anyway, so maybe it'll take care of itself. This is sort of counter to all successful maintenance behavior I've learned over the past couple years, and that is frightening to me, but cleary pregnancy is a very special situation, and calls for different strategies. Mine seems to be evolving into, do what I have to do to get through this and pick up the mess later. Sigh.

It's been quiet this week again. Hope everyone is having a good week.

Anne

Anne - Kidney stones AND pregnant, not a good combo. My sister-in-law did that and it was terrible because they couldn't do anything about the stones due to the pregnancy. I have never had the joy of a kidney stone but I have seen them drop my macho DH to the floor. I am so happy to hear that you are past the pain! How much longer before your baby is due?

Jen - I too find myself feeling superior in the grocery store to those with carts full of garbage. It sure is out there for the grabbing! Unfortunately my DH hasn't bought into the health kick, so I still have Pepsi and something discusting for him to take to work to eat as an excuss for breakfast! Everything at home stays healthy. Although you are WAY younger and almost an inch shorter, our weight goals are similar. I am looking forward to following your progress! Welcome to the group!

Mandy - Welcome also! I think you have to be careful of your fat perception. When I was losing no matter how low I got, I thought I needed to lose more. Finally when I hit 113 and everyone was telling me I was too thin, I finally realized that maybe I was. Then I decided to gain back two pounds, where I would feel comfortable and others wouldn't complain. This caused a couple of problems. First I got into the sugar habit again. I have a sweet tooth that once it is started doesn't know how to quit! Second I screwed up my knee and couldn't exercise so the pounds just flew back on. I am now back on the weight loss wagon but it seems to be so much harder this time around.

Meg - Life is so unfair. Those pounds come on so easily and off so slowly!!

Everyone - I noticed that when I put the weight back on (about 7 pounds) it seemed to me that it was all on my waist and thighs and in the form of cellulite. I am wondering if this is normal. I am also wondering if this is just my perception because I had been thin and now I am not use to the extra pounds, so it just feels worse in those areas.

Another question I have is does anyone besides me have people absolutely go nuts on you when you mention that you are watching what you eat. When I mention that I am on Weight Watchers people just freak! I try to explain that I am just doing maintenance but they still aren't happy with it. I hate to even mention it anymore but it is so much a part of my life, it just comes out.

After reading an article in "Family Fun" magazine, my DD has decided to collect postcards from all of the states. I'll be sending a private message about it to you. If you are willing to help, she would really appreciate it. I know we have some members who are from other countries. Postcards from you would be great too! Thanks!

Sue

Hi,

I am a bit over the weather this week. Cough and chest is congested. I still go to work... Duh!

Meg - throw away this cake - it is not worth it !

Jen and Mandy - welcome here!

Anne - poor soul, kidney stones??? That must hurt a lot! I hope it is over... I watched my mother going thru this nightmare, I feel so sorry for you! And do not worry about weight now - the same women can gain different amount of weight with different pregnancies, so wait till baby is born... Weight will come off...

I had excellent weekend, baked zuccini lasanga - basically the same old lasanga but instead of pasta I put Zuccini in. I LOVED it, and even though I ate too much, I still lost couple of pounds as my stomack reacts to tomato sause with Zuccini in very funny way of quick elimination. He-he

Exercise wise I did not do much, just ook it slowly - mowned my lawn with push mover, went for bike ride with kids, went for agility class with dog. Just took it easy. Last week I went to the swimming pool to check whether I actually swim 400m for my triathlon in August, and I barely made it to 400m - way to go, I still have 1.5 month of time to get up to speed... Neven mid that I will have to ride bike for 20k and run for 5K right after swim. I am still excited

Have a nice week everybody...

Sue, sorry i never noticed you would be good with postcards from canada as well. i will do that for your DD.

on what you said in your messag, yes people are now starting to bother me about my weight loss continuing. just today my SIL told me i am small enough and poked fun at me to my MIL about how i never eat anymore. i try to ignore these comments. i know where i feel happiest and most comfortable and i will continue until i reach my goal. i know how many calories i need and i rarely get hungry, so why would i eat if i'm not hungry? some people just don't realize how we feel about losing and maintaining once we've lost. i am doing this for me....not them.

hey, i started at 154 and am nw 119 going to 115 as final goal. neat....we really are much the same

Hi all, Its nice to see so many familiar names still here and still maintaining. I visited here a week or so ago to read an old thread about blender recommendations. I was so tired of blenders that couldnt cut the mustard (so to speak) so I spent my cat's college fund on a new vita-mix. Oh my. I'm 60 and decided it was time to have a really good blender, so even if I eventually lose my teeth, I'll still be able to eat good foods in liquid form, and boy can this thing liquify anything! Its 2 freaking horsepower!!! I've only had it 8 days, and I'm in love.....

I am doing very well both in mind and body. I havent lost much more than when I frequented here afew months ago, perhaps 3-4 pounds, but more important, I havent gained anything either. I really learned an important lesson when I spent time here, and that is when one is not in weight loss mode, its so important to be consistent with eating in order to not re-gain, and then have to re-lose those same old pounds yet again. Thank you for that essential concept. My own wl pattern seems to be to lose in stages with time in between. This is not by plan, it just happens. In the past I would restrict food and lose weight, and then totally relax and regain some of it. What a drag. I still totally enjoy my food, but no more total relaxation.

My veggie garden is doing well and finally producing. I just love eating stuff fresh out of the yard. This is the time of year I eat lots of green things besides broccoli and lettuce, LOL. Tonight my salad was steamed Italian green beans and zucchini in a nice vinegraitte. Yum.

Good to see you all, Jan

Hi all,

Meg - stay away from the cake !

Sandy - good to hear you are doing well!

Hello to all the newbies

Jansan - good to see you back.

Not much to report here. Wheater is fianlly turning nice, i think I'll go out ans sit in the sun

have a great day
rabbit

Rabbit - I hope you enjoyed your day in the sun. It was cold today and acted like it would rain at any minute all day but didn't until close to 7 p.m. I think the high was 68 and windy. Tomorrow is suppose to be better and the weekend beautiful. I am hoping to take the children over to a friend's pool on Saturday.

Jan - you must live south if you have mature veggies in your garden. We get such a late start here in Michigan. I did see one blossom on a tomato plant today though. I can almost taste it now! Have you ever heard that song, "There are only two things that money can't buy and that's true love and home grown tomatoes"! So true.

Jen - okay we are so close in size, goal and current weight, now you just need to motivate me to exercise so that we can reach that goal together!!! Unfortunately I have tendonitis in my knee that prevents me from doing most of the things I enjoy. I am managing to golf though, so that is a start!

I picked up my new camper today. It is probably small by most people's standards (26 1/2 feet) but it was a new experience for me to haul it. I am use to my little popup camper. We made it home without taking anyone out though, so that was good. If the rain stops tomorrow I hope to get it loaded up and then start searching for campsites. Maybe I should start out with just pull through sites! Luckily with all Michigan's lakes, we are not shy on campgrounds! Does anyone else like to camp?

Sue

hi Sue,

How lucky you are with a camper !!! I live in europe, and your campers are HUGE to us. I went to california in december 2002, rented a camper & trekked around with my husband and kids and it was LOVELY !. I especially liked the sites in the natural parks and state parks. Our family remambers that as one of the top vacations.

enjoy !

rabbit

well, can you believe it, i stepped on the scales this morning and i am down 2 more pounds since monday!!!!!!!! i am losing so fast right now! so now i'm 117! i was 116 before i found out i was pregnant (which i miscarried, in case anyone hasn't read my story) and i want to go to 115. but now that i am losing so easily i might go to 110.

sue - i love to camp, but i'm more of a tent and cabin person. i have always wanted to travel across canada in an RV though. you can do it! you can lose those pounds you want! what are you doing to exercise?


it has been raining all week here and i haven't been on my bike yet. the trails here are very technical and rain makes them dangerous to ride. sunday should be nice so i am looking forward to burning a tonne of cals then!!

Hi Maintainers
I've been in no-internet limbo and felt cut off from the world. All is well here, but swamped with new clients, end of school years, house renovations (we currently have half a roof and the roofers have disappeared onto another job ).

Food and exercise is good...maintaining, maintaining. Not so exciting, but better than NOT maintaining

Hi jansan

Off to do cardio, then back to the gym,
Mel

Jen - Wow I can't believe that you are still losing so quickly and you are so close to your goal! That is great! Just be careful that you know when to stop. This is coming from someone who doesn't always know. Some people will say you are too thin just because they aren't use to the new you or perhaps just because they are not so thin themselves. Others won't say it until it is true. According to Weight Watchers healthy weight for a 5'3" person is 113-135 (for the 25-45 age group). When I joined WW just over a year ago the weight just seemed to melt off. I was kind of addicted to the scale going down. I got down to 113 1/2 and everyone, even people I trust, told me I was too thin. I think I would have kept going otherwise. So I gained back a couple of pounds and most people, including me, were happy. Then I screwed up my knee and couldn't walk let alone exercise and QUICKLY gained back seven pounds. Now I can walk but not much more so the weight is coming off VERY slowly. I weighed in last night at 119 1/4 but my period started today, so I am hoping I'll show a loss next week. Only you can know for sure what your best weight is but I thought I would put in my two cent warning! Just make sure you are eating right and still feel energenic.

Right now my exercise routine if fairly non-exsistent. I will walk nine holes of golf or do major house cleaning but that still doesn't even equal the walking I do during the school year. Every night I think to myself "tomorrow I will exercise" but tomorrow never seems to come in that department. I am hoping you all can motivate me to do a little bit every day. If anyone has any "fun" exercises that don't involve a lot of pressure or twisting of the knee, I'd love to hear about them.

Mel - glad to hear from you, I was getting worried!

Sue