We are the Turtles Group here at 3fatchick.com. We welcome you to join us as we work toward good health and fitness in a persistent manner. As our inspiration we use the race between the turtle and the hare where the turtle was the victor because he didn't give up. We believe in keepin' on even when the odds are against us. We believe in giving each other support. Good luck to us all!
Judy
Itryharder
(for Lin and Lauren)

Good morning lurking Turtles, good morning Judy and Bandit! I'm in an exceptionally good mood this morning, I don't know why but why fight it?

Successful weekend, if you call battling a head-and-chest cold successful. At least I survived, right? I'm still adhering to my goals, and I feel positive about the choices I'm making.

Keep on keepin' on, Turtles! Never never never give in!

Yay! I loved that pep talk, Mousie. This is a tough time of the year for planning and preparing and at the same time avoiding all sort of unmentionable goodies. Thanks for the pep talk.
Hey Bandit, are you back from your trip? Hope all goes well.
Love,
Judy Itry
234.6/202/thinner into onederland

You know, Judy, I was thinking about that today. I realized that I've done exceptionally this holiday period (so far!). I had no Halloween candy--put a sign on the door and left the house dark. Thanksgiving was at a restaurant, and I had measured, reasonable amounts of just a couple of things. I baked 26 DOZEN COOKIES for Bah Humbug Day and mailed off/gave away every single one of them--I didn't even sample the batter! We missed hubby's Christmas party this last saturday because we were (are still) sick. We have another Christmas party coming up at a friend's house that I have to tackle, and then on Christmas my parents (the only family who lives here) are traveling to PA and TX to see my siblings and their families so we're not planning anything 'big' then. Since Halloween I've lost 6.5 pounds!

I know it sounds like I'm bragging, and I guess I am proud of myself. But the point I wanted to make here is that it IS possible. I've had to be a bit of a humbug, I guess, but really I'm just trying to make decisions that are right for me. And that's reasonable.

Make the decisions that are right for you, Turtles. Take care of yourselves that way.

(I'm really turning into a motivational speaker today!)

Mousie, Motivate away! What an inspiring recap of these past months. My goodness, I hope you are incredibly proud of yourself. What you've accomplished is amazing. First of all, you've lost weight during this really tough time. Secondly, you've faced food challenges that would have brought Hercules to his knees. So, brag on Mousie!!! I don't think you bragged anywhere near enough! Here's a :wow: and a to insure that you continue to do well and to be sooooooo proud of yourself.

Hey, I have a funny thought: I love the dancing carrot smilie. Why? Because it shows that you can be fit and healthy and still dance. No need to be morose about eating right. Surely we're doing the right thing for ourselves!
And, although my two Christmas celebrations are almost here and eating will be challenging to say the least, I am the cook and have plenty of foods that I can eat. So here's a for Bandit, Mousie, Granny, and me that we can support and encourage each other, have a wonderful holiday, and emerge from 2005 slimmer, healthier, and more fit! Bring on 2006: we're ready!

Love,
Judy
234.6/202/thinner into onederland

Dear Turtles,
Whoops, I had a tiny gain at my official WW WI yesterday. Even so, if I keep it all together in my head and stay on track I can meet my goal of breaking 200# by New Year's Day. My WW leader had a great idea. She handed out
blank calendar pages for the month of December. She suggested we go home and mark each day where an eating event will occur. For example, office party, holiday gathering at friends, dinner out with bowling group, etc.
You get the picture. Then she suggested we write P for "pure" in all the boxes that are left. Stay OP for the P days and use WPA's for the events.
Sounds sensible and mature to me. Let's go Turtles!

:
Judy Itry
234.6/202.8/thinner into onederland

Judy, you're so close to your goal and you've still got two weeks--I can see it happening! I usually go up then down a big chunk. You seem to do the same, though not quite as dramatically! So I think next week will be a good loss.

I'm trying to "collect" as many good days as I can. I've got one more event, and then I've just got to resist the "holiday spirit" trap!

Hi turtles!

Sounds like everyone is doing amazingly well considering all the challenges.
So keep up the good work!

Mousie - nice job motivating everyone - we can all use that.

Judy - I really liked the calendar idea. I think that would be a big help.
I think sometimes we overdo everything when we really don't need to and just use holidays as an excuse for making bad choices.

I am all for enjoying yourself etc but I for one use events/holidays as excuses.

Anyway, had a lovely trip (didn't win any $ at casino) but got in some shopping and had some nice dinners and some swims and walks. Also bf got his meetings done and I mostly relaxed (slept) while he was away. But overall it was really nice break for all the functions up here.

Next week I have Christmas things everyday except Thurs so I really need to do well this weekend and I am trying to get in some extra excercise as well.

I have my w/i tonight and know I will be up. I can feel it through my middle.
But will still go to meeting and face the music.

We are expecting lots of snow tonight & tomorrow so I will be shovelling lots.
That is really good exercise. It takes me 1 hour to shovel drive & walkways.
And after that I am really hot - but feel good, even though my arms & butt are sore.

Sending lots of Holiday Cheer and Best Wishes to all our Turtles!!!

Hi Bandit! Glad to hear your trip was a real vacation and you got to relax and play a lot. It's so nice to have a chance to just pause and regroup, isn't it?

Wow, you've got a lot of events next week! Good idea to set your sights on doing well this weekend, and to get some extra exercise in. I'd go out of my head, with something almost every day!

I hope you got acceptable news at your weigh-in. I know it hurts to go up, but it sounds like you're learning lots from it. Once things settle down and this season is over, I'm sure you'll be out of the gates like a racehorse for a win.

Snowshoveling does NOT sound like fun! Eww! Too cold for me. That's why I live in Southern CA. It's expensive here, but we don't have to shovel snow, or scrape ice off our windshields!

I weighed in this morning with a 1 pound loss! YAY! I could hardly believe it. I expected to be up, after a large loss last week, but it said 276.0. So I'm down 1 pound for the week, 6 pounds for the month, and I'm 1 pound away from my Christmas goal! I'm going to work very hard to get that goal--what a good Christmas present!

Touch bases when you get a chance, Judy. You still out there, Granny? Check in, we'd love to hear from you!

Keep on going, Turtles!

Hi Guys,
Have to make this very short, but I need to keep in touch. You guys are doing great. Mousie, you must be so proud. Looks like tweaking your eating is really paying off.
I've got big doings this weekend as it will be our "first" Christmas with son and his family and the other kids all joining us. I've got good food planned, but there are too many snacks around for me to be comfortable. Ugh. Gotta think of the people, not the food.
Good luck to us all. I'll write more on Monday. Bandit, exercise like a wild woman because your upcoming week is a toughie. Mousie, keep on keepin' on. You've done tremendously well. Send a big hug for me because I am two pounds away from my Christmas goal and need all the help I can get.
and :
Judy Itry
234.6/202.8/thinner into onederland

Judy--Just a quick note to let you know that I got your mail! Thank you!

Excellent Mousie. Let me know what you think.
Well, this was a wonderful weekend for me. All my kids and grandkids were a pleasure and it was exciting to have them all here. Now I'm exhausted and still not finished with getting ready for our real Christmas. Food wasn't the best, but also not a disaster. I think if I just count all the extras I had, I've used up my 35 WPA's and I'll hang tough for the upcoming days until my WI/
I fell and hurt my foot pretty bad, and it's getting better, but the treadmill was out. That's never a help.
Hope all goes well with you all. Take care and for us to do the best we can all the time.
Love,
Judy Itry
234.6/202.8/thinner into onederland

Ouch, Judy, I hope your foot is okay soon! I've been fighting this chest cold for two weeks now, I understand the frustration of wanting to exercise but just not being able to!

I've read through the booklet and you're right, it looks a LOT like how I [would like to think that I] eat! I'll have to find some recipes and things, this is definitely a more effortful way of eating.

I've finished my Christmas shopping as of this morning, and now I'm exhausted. Still need to finish wrapping hubby's gifts, get my nephews' gifts down to my parents' house so they can take them on their trip, and generally clean up the detrius from a "getting all Christmased up" weekend.

Party last night went brilliantly, I was so busy helping with the food that I never ate the food! The whole evening I had one piece of broccoli. Then we got home and we were both so tired, so we just went straight to bed. So actually, I came in under my calorie goal for the day!

This was my last "event" that will be excessive. My parents would like to take us out for a holiday meal before they leave on their trip to visit my siblings' families, so that's wednesday night. No idea where we're going yet, but my confidence is high that I can make a good choice.

I've got my eye on losing that last pound to make my Christmas goal. Eyes on the prize, Turtles! What is YOUR next goal?

Mousie,
You're doing great!!! Right now I want to send : to Bandit because I remember her saying she'll be out doing Christmas parties every night but one this week. So Bandit, stay tough, walk around a lot, and let us know how you're doing!

Mousie, there's lots of food on Core that is out of a can if you get stuck: veggie baked beans, lots of soups, so it's not as work intensive as it first looks. There are also lots of recipes on the Core board here on 3fatchicks that you might be interested in.

I love that you're so close to your goal! Weigh to go. and

My goal is to break 200 by Christmas, but that may not happen. Actually 2 weeks ago, on my home scale I broke 200#, but I've been going up and down since and right now after our wonderful weekend my weight is up pretty high.
My aim today is to stay as close to Core as I can, drink plenty of water and tough it out. My goal is to break 200# by New Year's and I think I can do that. Best of luck to us and all the lurkers!
Judy
234.6/202.8/thinner into onederland

Ah, Turtles. I'm painfully bored. I've got a package (my new laptop) being delivered today but UPS. Unfortunately, apparently during the Christmas season their delivery window is 7am-MIDNIGHT! So I had to scrap my plans for the day (gym, volunteering) and hang out at the house. At least my laundry is done! The kitchen is clean...bed is made, bedroom is cleaned up...I've had a nice 30 minute walk on my treadmill...possibly I'll tackle my ironing next.

I'm doing well with regard to food, though! Hubby offered to go to Rubio's (mexican food) and get me lunch, but I told him no, thank you--and ate a salad with grilled chicken instead! So far today I've had breakfast burritos made with egg beaters, "carb chopper" tortillas (high fiber, in other words), a bit of cheese, and leftover taco meat from last night, a protein shake made with skim milk, and my healthy lunch. Woo me! Not eating out of boredom or frustration--yet!

My weight is steady, and I honestly don't know if I'm going to see a loss on friday or not. I don't ask much...just one pound! Heehee.

I read in another post the idea that we try to boil this all down to a numbers game--calories in, calories burned through exercise, BMR, RMR--and we need to remember that our bodies are living organisms. There are other things going on, besides just weight loss/gain/maintenance. When this living organism is ready, it will adjust its weight. Somehow the phrase "living organism" is very comforting to me, and I thought it might be to you all, too. Especially being so close to breaking through the 200-pound barrier, Judy--your "living organism" is very busy right now!