Welcome back Mary... I see you are still as gabby as ever.
What kind of car did you buy ?? What year ??
Still at the library ?? How is your husband and son ?? Didn't your son get married ??

Valerie... of course we missed you. glad to see you posting.
Love hearing about the horses. Your seminar sounded very good and informative.

Lilion... I want to thank you for your little saying under you name.
"Life is a journey" .... A journey with speed bumps. LOL I am hitting quite a few bumps in the road recently and it is taking it's toll on me. But I must remember... that is life.

Thin... how did chat go tonight. I forgot completely about it.
Your last two posts were only about chat.... Let's hear it girl... we want to know about YOU !!!! How does DH like his new job ?? He comes home Friday ??? How's your mom ?? How are the boys new homes going ?? Will they both be ready to move this weekend or still working ?? What about the gas leak ? See ... there is plenty to talk about.

Michelle ... where did you go ??? Losing those 5.5 pounds make you so light you floated away. ???? Come tell us how you did it. Share your exercise program. Share your life.

Barbg... I think when it comes to will power... it is not just you three triplets ... I think we are a gaggle or herd or litter of weaklings here. BUT ... we can also become triplets of successful abstainers and /or exercisers.
Your mom's stuff is really cool. I think those 2 yellow pitchers are like mine. I would have to bid on them if I were there. Good luck on the sale.

Terri ... I am confident you will get your food AND exercise together and you WILL lose your 10 lbs by xmas. I agree... South Beach is best for me and my diabetic husband too. DH's health improved 100% when he does LC. It is not for everyone... but it is a life saver for diabetics and ME.

Ruth.... our weather here has been CRAZY. We have had record low cold (19 Tues night) and record HIGH (89 last week). This week is pretty darn nice. Upper 60's - lower 70's ... perfect for a fat girl.

Jen... you haven't been here in days. Come out and play !!!!

My food choices have been improving. I am working towards PROGRESS .. and I am making progress. I had another lose today... but waiting till tomorrow to see if it is still there before changing my tracker.

My water is up and down. If I think of it... I go drink a 20oz bottle... but usually I just plain forget. I even like water... I don't know why I forget so often.

Good morning! Sorry I bailed on ya'll for a few days! I got my glory and ran huh? Thanks for the nice words of encouragement.

2Cute...exercise? Ha! Not that week and looks like not this week either...I haven't gotten there yet! What I do is use my daily points and not my flex points unless I have something special to go to like dinner or a party. I figure if I'm heavy handed on the cream in my coffee or measure something wrong or have a little bite of this or that then those flex points will take care of that stuff! That way I don't feel deprived!
I also can tell you I hate an egg mcmuffin from mcdonalds that week, 2 tacos and a chalupa from taco bell but I just counted them in my daily points and went on!

Mary welcome back! I just jumped back in recently too! So do tell...what kind of car did you get? I want a new one now too!!

Well ladies, I must get my rear in gear and get ready for work! 3 of us from work are going to the mexican restaurant for lunch then going to get our flu shots! So I will be back later to catch up with the rest of you chicks!

Have a great day! MichelleK

Well, I didn't make it to chat last night! I fell asleep in my recliner before 9. Sorry!

I just wanted to check in right fast this morning and say hello. Today is cleaning day around here, so I had better get to it. I tell you, Friday seems to come around every other day. And who stole the year away? This is the fastest I have ever known a year to go by. It must be true that the older you get the faster they seem to go.

Well, chickies have a super OP day, I am gonna try to. Iwillbe....Ruth

I hope someone made it to chat with Thin last night! I was locked away in my sewing room finishing my gown for tomorrow. Today is WI day and I'll really post after that! Wish me luck!

HI gals--sorry I haven't been around--I've got a temp in my office that I am training and it takes most of my time.

I'll post later once things die down.

Went to WI and gained 3 pounds!

It takes about 2351 calories a day to maintain at 257. One pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories, so eating an extra 500 calories per day will cause you to gain one pound a week. I've gained 3 pounds in three weeks. That means I've had to eat an average of 2851 calories per day. I just didn't think I'd been that bad.

I knew I hadn't been "good". I expected a bit of a gain based upon what the scale at home was saying. But, I didn't expect 3 pounds. I'm no longer more than 1/2 way to goal. I hate myself.

Well, okay, I don't hate hate myself. But I am royally pissed off at myself.

The sad part is, I think back on how I've eaten the last few weeks and, while I knew I wasn't eating to lose, I also don't think I was eating any differently than a normal person would. I mean, I wasn't eating chicken fried steak and cheesecake every day! So does this mean I can never ever eat like a normal person? Will I spend my entire life having to watch every little bite that goes into my mouth? Somehow, in the back of my mind, I had the idea that, if I lost weight, and then simply ate normally and wasn't a pig all the time, I wouldn't gain it back. Stupid, huh? Guess I know better now.

I hate fat. There seems to be something fundamentally unfair about the fact that you can actually kill every other cell in your body...but fat cells never die, they just shrivel up then lay in wait for you to do the wrong thing so they can attack.

Okay, tantrum over. Self-pity over. Time to get back up on that horse as it were. I now have 10 lbs and 5 weeks to Christmas. I belive this to be totally unrealistic for me, I simply like holiday food too much...but I'm not going to change the slider, it will at least give me something to think about. I will, however, be back over 1/2 way to goal by then or die trying!

Lots of nice posts... but no time for replies. Just popped in for a minute to read and say go see the movies... "Dreamer" and "Walk the Line" Both very good movies.

I worked like a dog today on the house. All but my office and bedroom are soooo clean you could eat off the floors.

I will try to catch up tomorrow. I want to be in bed by midnight.
Just had to post something. I know how frustrating it is to come here and no one posted. So, although this isn't much of a post... it is better than nothing.

Good morning ladies, as 2 cute says, I don't have much to talk about this morning, just wanted to check in and say howdy!

I didn't do so good with the program yesterday, I had one of those days when I couldn't find the food that satisfied. I didn't overeat, but I ate some more of those corn chips, now if I was real smart, I would throw those things in the garbage! .

Thin, I sure hope someone showed up to chat with you! Sorry it wasn't me.

Maybe it is just too early, but I am out of chit chat for now. See you later! Iwillbe....Ruth

The chat was great Thursday night, if everyone overlooked my typing/spelling and spasmatic s key!!!

I just dropped in to say hi. The first day of the estate sale went really good, but there is still tons of stuff to go. I plan t o go back over there later this morning. Also my ebay stuff goes off today so I need to get more stuff up for next week. I think I'll do some Christmas stuff this time and see how it goes.

I'll check back in later.

No time to post this morning. Just a quick hello. Today was WI day in our house and it wasn't nice for either of us. At least I wasn't up like DH. Just goes to show what happens when you're successful and then let your guard down. Very frustrating for him but that is exactly what he did - tried to go back to some of his old habits.

I'm still waiting for TOM to arrive. Got all the PMS symptons but nothing happening. Loads of fun.

Lilion - I really want to respond more to your post. You are not alone. You are not whining. This is so frustrating. I'm at a very similar place both with the scale and the emotions. But don't let the emotions fuel the food. I almost cried yesterday while getting dressed. My weight is mainly in my stomach area and have this wonderful spare tire which I am very self-conscious about. I just can't wear clothes that emphasize it or make it obvious. Since I have put back on the 10 pounds I am having trouble finding clothes to wear in my closet that are not too tight around the middle for my comfort level.

Oops, got to go. Finish this later. Make it a good day!

Good evening ladies!

Its nice to come in and see some posts! I hate it when I keep coming back and no one has posted...I feel deserted!!

Valerie...I think I made a good choice at the Mexican Restaurant. They have this Mexican spinach pizza, it has the crisp tortilla with steamed spinach, beans (not refried) real fresh beans, diced tomatos, scallions and cheese. It comes with a dab of guacamole and sour cream but I put on some fresh salsa instead. I ate half and brought the other half home. My 5 yr old likes the guacamole so he dipped some torilla chips in it and shared the rest of the pizza with me for dinner. I also had an unsweetened iced tea with equal in it!

Teri thats what happens to me...I have a good week then I start to slack off a bit. I found myself doing that this week already! Today I nipped that in the bud...and I'm walking the straight and narrow again until WI on tuesday! Then my plan of action is to behave really really well wednesday, then enjoy myself thursday without overindulging, and walking the straight and narrow again for the rest of the week until the following tuesday WI. I did this before during the holidays and always lost each week! I have to remember that its not the food thats important its the company!!

Ruth did you throw those dang corn chips in the trash yet? Would you believe I threw out some halloween candy??!! I figured my son wasn't keen on those particular pieces and I certainly don't need it and John is not a big candy eater so I threw quite a few handfuls away!! And you know what? It was so easy and so rewarding for some reason!

2Cute ya wanna come clean my house? My bedroom is really the worst since John and I cleaned last night. He did the living room and vacuumed the house and I cleaned the kitchen and finished the laundry!

Barb I missed the chat last night because I fell asleep! I use to really enjoy our chats in the past!

Lillion...never give up! You have the right attitude! A little set back sometimes makes us strive harder to get where we were and move forward! Keep up that good attitude and you will succeed!

Jen sometimes training a temp takes longer than just doing the job yourself! LOL Sometimes temps just don't train well! Good luck!!

Well ladies...I think I'll lay on my bed and read a magazine and just relax for a bit if thats possible with a 5 yr old! He's watching a video right now so I should be good for about 30 minutes!

Have a great night! MichelleK

Hello chickies, How are you? I really don't have a darn thing to say this morning, but I am going to talk anyway

Michelle, throw away my corn chips I know I should!

My Dh went to the Dr. and had blood work done. OWWW, he was not a happy camper. This man has always been able to eat anything and have a perfect blood work, and I might add keep his weight under control. This time everything was high, and he was borderline diabetic. I guess that means that I will finally be able to cook just one meal. It is going to be difficult to keep him away from the sweets, cause that is what he loves the most. I know there is a lot more on the market today for diabetics than in the past, so I will just have to get creative. Lord help me! I may need to padlock everything. He has never had to deny himself anything! Can you even imagine that? I can't, I have dieted all of my life it seems. Of course, If I was doing a good job of denying myself things I wouldn't be this FAT!

Lilion, 2cute, Valarie, Thin, Barb, Jen, and Terri I hope you all have a good Sunday. I hope I didn't miss anyone. Ruth

Good morning ladies,

I've been out scouring the Biggest Loser website. Looking for ideas so that I can develop my own plan. I cancelled my online WW and will not be going to anymore meetings; much to the disappointment of my friend from church. But truth be told, I just don't want to do it anymore. Not that I have anything against the plan because I do believe it works if you're willing to work it. So I signed up for the Biggest Loser Club for a month or two. It does have a lot of good food ideas. I also like South Beach so I will be taking ideas from that too. I used to use BalanceLog as a calorie counter/food journal so that might be good to go back to help me get a grip on how much I'm eating.

What it really comes down to is planning meals and making healthy choices. And being accountable. This is for life no matter how much we want to only do it to achieve a goal. The harsh reality is it is for life. So I'm trying to work out something I can do for life. So I think I'll dig out the colored recipe cards. I had different colors for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menus to help make planning a little easier. Go through and pick out the menu plans for each meal of the week and there's the plan.

I also am going to use their exercise program as a guide. Yippee, Sunday is rest day. I will have to walk the dog tonight though. Tomorrow is cardio and strength day. Cardio is a minimum of 30 minutes of walking, treadmill, stationary cycle, or stairs. I can continue with my stationary cycling in the morning. The goal is to work up to 60 minutes. I am going to try their circuit training plan which does not require machines. I'll do that in the evening. Maybe I can involve DH in helping me with that.

Lilion - Sometimes we have to go back to the basics. I too didn't think I've been doing that badly but sometimes going back to the beginning is an eye opener to maybe we haven't been doing as well as we've thought. I'm very sorry for the gain and how frustrating this has been. It really hurts when it happens to us. Feels cruel sometimes too. You can pick up the pieces. hey, how was the SFC day and how did the new duds work out? Hopefully you'll have a pic or two.

Ruth - Yep, throw out the corn chips. Sorry for the results for DH but sometimes our spouses need the harsh reality kicking them in the face too. Good luck with being able to help him improve his diet. Maybe you can work it out so it helps you too.

Valerie - Good words of advice. Thanks and you're right. We are moving in a healthy direction and every victory counts. Do you use the rolls of paper or just buy them. I like buying horses. Maybe my reward can be a new horse for every 10 pounds gone. At the rate I've been going, DH wouldn't have to worry too much about me buying more. But I am going to change that. I'll have to find another reward though because I have my hands full with six.

Michelle - Sounds like a darn good plan for being successful over Thanksgiving. I'm borrowing that plan for DH and I. Something else I read in someone's journal is that the first bite tastes every bit as good, if not better, than the 15th bite so why bother with the 15th? A good reminder that we don't need to eat it all to enjoy.

2Cute - Now that you've been doing all the cleaning is it time to start decorating for Christmas?? I've been contemplating how much I will be doing. I should spend my time cleaning out and de-crapping the spare rooms.

Thin - What's up?

I best hit the shower and get off to Sunday school and church. I'll have to make a trip to the grocery store after church. I had wanted to go out and work with the horses this afternoon but the weather doesn't look too cooperative.

Have a great day!