WEEK # 6 JuLY 23rd - 29th

HEY THERE YOU AMAZON CHALLENGETTES! I know this past week has brought both teriffic news and some challenges. I love that all you gals have been there for both sides.

Monday 23 (banked 2 pts /actvy 2)
Tues. 25 (used 1 of bnkd pts / actvy 1/2 pt)
Wed. 20 1/2 (banked total 5 1/2 pts / actvy 1/2 pt
Thurs 23 (banked add'l 2 = 7 banked and 4 activy avail)
Friday 30 ( 39 - 9 Act/bnked = 30... did 4 ad'l Act. and have 2 bnkd remaning)
Saturday 30 (40 - 10 = 30... did 8 act today and used rmg 2 bnkd)
Sunday 32 (39-7=32... 4 add'l Acty and used remng 3 bnkd)

7/31/01 OK I pretty much blew it over the weekend. Thought I'd show a weight gain (Mon) but managed to lose .6 (???)

My biggest challenge this past weekend (Fri 7/27 - Su 7/29) was a weekend of sailing and eating and striving for sanity with hubby and two ten yr old boys. Well...luck and focus on what's important and not the food...was with me part of the time.

I am still having the hardest time. I just can't seem to get with it, and this is not like me, I am a go and get 'em kind of person!
I weighed the same as I do now in April-3 months ago! I worked hard this week to try and keep points, and I blew it every night! And then of course I didn't lose-I gained. I am not gaining much-just maintaining. I thought that starting training to be a receptionist would motivate me. Yesterday I thought I had only used 19 points and I was totally depressed to see that I had actually used 25!!!!!!! I am trying everything to motivate me, new recipes, new clothes, low pt foods, fresh veggies and fruit, enlisting my husband to help, using this website, exercise, , etc. I just can't kick this emotional plateau. I am going to try drinking a ton of water today and see if that helps. And I am going to Subway for lunch and that always helps.
Have a good day all!

Chee, forgive me if you've mentioned this before, but how far are you from goal/how much do you want to lose?

This weekend is going to be a bit of a challenge for me too. We are visiting friends upstate, near Albany, NY. That is going to be a lot of fun but harder to stay OP. I've been mainly eating at home the past month or so and have been successful in doing so. But it is harder when I am eating out.

Aw, you guys rock and that is basically it. I went through my journals yesterday, those I did on line and see a few trends that are disturbing at least and enlightening at most. I'm definitely a good planner in the morning and afternoon, the evenings are awful and the exercise is not consistent as it was the first 12 months I was trying to lose this
toddler.

So, what have I learned -- You do really need to only eat 22 pts when you are in the lowest range. I need to plan my evenings better. I need to maybe journal starting at dinner. I need to keep up the exercise and really track my progress and travel, no matter how mundane is no excuse for excessive eating.

I have gained approximately 8 lbs since nov. 1. This is not good .

monday 7/23 27.5 -2
tuesday 7/24 22 -2
wednesday 7/25 26 -3
thursday 7/26 25
friday

You will get it off. Just be patient with yourself. It took me about three years for this to click. I was up and down with the ups higher than the downs each time. But now I have lost 12.8 lbs. since May and hopefully I can keep up that momentum. Maybe I will actually get one of those 10% keychains. Everytime before I blew it before I reached that level. I'm hoping to make that 10 in the next month or so. I'll let you guys know if I do achieve it.

Well... it seems like the operative word this week is DINNER. Maybe we should call this and next week the DINNER CHALLENGE!!!

Chee and Lala you are not alone in this. I know I've been losing, but in the (not so distant) past, each time I stumbled was when I just blew in at dinner and offtime snacking. Ususally due to stress, frustration, etc. But regardless what it was "due to" it came down to munching my points away. So I'm wondering, what's going on at night at home or out that's obstrucing you? Is it eating in front of the TV? Late night munchies when finally everyone else leaves you alone and you get a break?

And Chee, you're right on. I thought I could lose at 30 pts per day! Then at 25! and had to admit I have to average no more than 23 per day/week to lose. Especially since I'm at that lower end.

I'm not saying anything new, but I really had to hunker down and plan dinners and evenings compulsively for quite a few nights to get my fat brat back to the regimen. I know you know all this stuff. Just hang in there and the losses will catch up to your perseverence.

I like the idea of a dinner challenge!
Obstructions:
okay, I don't have a tv, I eat at the dining room table with cloth napkins, no newspapers, no distractions except for a 15 yo cat who likes to join in and claw DP's leg if meat is served and a nine yo basset hound who also enjoys the protein part of any meal.
late night munchies: no, not really. I sometimes have a snack after I have gone to the gym and taken the dog for his evening perambulation.

Here's my schedule:
work: 9-5:30 or sixish
grocery shop, dry clean, errand on the way home
at home by 6:30ish
feed children (animals)
start dinner (have a snack if I'm starving)
have dinner around 7:30-8:00
go to gym around 9
return at 10
clean up, get ready for work, take dog for last w-a-l-k, in bed by say, 11:30
In this time I'm also supposed to garden, arrange stuff, field phone calls and clean up the house.

My main challenge is trying to plan meals when we either have people over for dinner on the spur of the moment and having a DP who doesn't know what she wants for dinner until around 5:30 pm. Sigh.

So, it seems that if I was to tranfer my journal entries to paper (quelle concept) and take that home and know what I have left, then I'll have a better idea of what to do for dinner.

Okay, thanks for listening.

lala

Good Afternoon

Week of July 23 - 29

Points Range 20 - 27

Monday 21 pts
Tuesday 34 pts
Wednesday 20 pts
Thursday 26 pts
Friday 22 pts (Weigh-in)
Saturday 20 pts
Sunday 27 pts

Avg 24 pts/day

I have found out I am not a stress eater. With all the rain lately, we discovered the back side of our house leaks. We will probably have to rip off all the siding, replace the siding, studs, headers, and windows. This problem has probably been going on for a few years, but since it was inside the wall, we did not know. We only found out now because I wanted to replace the picture window in my kitchen with french doors. Instead of stressing, I prayed. I knew it was beyond what I could cope with.

You are lucky. I am most definitely a stress eater, but I have been taking a supplement 5-HTP to control that, and, wow, what a difference. I can exactly correlate my recent losses with when I started taking it. Before that I was yo-yoing all over the place.

Hello ladies,
Well, as you may recall from yesterday I am starting out trying to lose eating 30-33 points per day to get back to goal. Today marked the end of my first week of this endeavor. Well I gained 1.5 pounds! eek! I worked out 4 days, ate all of my veggies and drank all of my water and then some. I should mention that it is my TOM, but still! I checked my journal and I averaged 31 points per day. My WW range is either 20-25 or 22-27-please don't tell me that I need to eat that low to lose. I like to eat!

I am willing to take this slow so I am remaining upbeat about it and went to the gym tonight and did 60 minutes of high intensity cardio. I checked the points slider and it said that I get 8 points! Is that right? I have an old exercise slider do they have a new system for that? I sure won't be eating those 8 points!

Chee Hang in there! I finally declared goal last September after 7 months of gaining and losing the same 3 pounds! It was brutal. I was within WWs range but wanted to lose at least 10 more pounds. After that I was able to lose 5 more pounds, I think it was because I stopped stressing about it.

Winter I'm sorry about your leak. That is awful. We just bought our townhome last fall and have had our eyes open to the world of home repairs. We got a new roof because of a leak but our homeowner's association paid for most of it, we are lucky. But now since we have been getting some heavy monsoon rain we get mud running down the basement wall- nice.

Myra What is 5-HTP? I have never heard of that one. I am not really a stress eater I think I am more of a boredom eater.

Good night everyone,
Carla
172/173.5/165 WW/150 personal

5-HTP is an herbal based supplement that helps raise serotonin levels that have been battered by long-term stress. It works great for stress related depression, helps stop binge eating and carb craving and helps with stress-related insomnia. I have an article about it if you are interested. But it is mainly for stress. I don't know if it would work for boredom. But I have a mega-stressful life and that is why probably the 5-HTP has worked so well for me.

Thanks for the info Myra, fortuantely my life is not that stressful. Part of my boredom eating is cravings beacause of sugar which I am combatting pretty affectively by reducing refined sugars.

I weighed myself today (I know I should weigh myself less but...) after my 1.5 gain over the week and I am down a half a pound so there is hope yet.

Carla

That is great! It is amazing how fast those small losses add up. Keep up the good work.

Hey there gals. Just checking in... I'm tired from a wonderful but exhaustive weekend (the sailing thing) and am a bit frustrated at myself for not being able to keep the points down. Helping my husband to keep track of and entertain two 10 yr old boys was draining and I soothed myself "upon occasion"- averaging 40 points Fri, Sat, and Sun before subtracting activity and banked points. That being said it certainly could have been worse!

I even lost .6 lbs this Monday 7/30 bringing me within .4 of my WW goal (135). But somehow I'm just not that excited. I'm feeling a bit deflated and am not sure why. Probably just tired and need a couple of good night's rest.

Carla welcome to "our gang" and being honest about 'liking to eat'. Me too. And congrats on the 1/2 lb weight loss!!!

Ahhh. I just wish I could eat and average of 30 points / day's worth and lose, but it's not meant to be. I know that I need to be really careful this next week - otherwise I'll find myself gaining back these hard won losses. Thanks for being there guys.