Starting the topic - be back in a minute

Happy Labor Day to those in the U.S. Ut;s a beautiful, sunny, coolish day here. We have no special plans here - reading the newspaper, watching the US Open Tennis on TV (live tomorrow afternoon!) and maybe doing a little bit of cleaning up in a leisurely manner. I have two boces of teaching materials from when I was a teaching assistant for the 3rd and 4th grades that I'd like to organize and get out of the den.

I had a pretty good day yesterday. I made Carla's yummy buffalo chicken salad recipe yesterday and snacked on only Core foods. The olives and the salted edamame were yummy but I can't budge my rings today and the sneak peek as awful due to water retention so today is a guzzle water day. So far I've used only 2 weekly points (none if I counted my activity points against them which I'm trying not to do) which is good. I have no idea what to expect as far as lunch goes tomorrow at the US Open and I do want to save some points for alcohol and possibly dessert at AC (leaving on Wed and coming home Friday.)

Time to do my PT stretches and strengthening exercises. I'm trying to be really diligent about them - I ahve 3 weeks before I'm in the classroom.

Have a great one,
Judy

Hi all.

Judy - Did you make it through Ernesto unscathed? I thought of you when I was watching the news. I'm with you on the mood swings you mentioned last week. It's like I'm in constant PMS, even though my period started on Friday - early this time. I really need to take some time and plan a menu for a week of CORE eating. It seems like such a treat not to count points. Of course, breakfast and lunch remain a challenge for me on CORE, especially since I don't like eggs. Enjoy the US Open tomorrow and, of course, your couple of days in AC.

We went to a BBQ today and I did pretty well. The rest of the week has been a disaster. Let's just say that french fries were involved, more than once. I'm getting myself right back on track, I'm going to get some exercise in tomorrow if it kills me, and I'm taking a no weigh day on Wednesday. This seems to be a pattern with me - lose a nice chunk and then go crazy. My immediate goal is to break this pattern. My next goal is to stop using going out to eat as a license to pig out. Just because there are hamburgers and fries on the menu, I don't need to eat them. They'll always be there another day.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Carla

I did really well all week until the weekend came and my sister-in-law visited and we had fattening Italian food Saturday night! I also ate too much Sunday and I didn't get any exercise that day. Well, I got unofficial exercise because I was on my feet all night at a concert, jamming. Haha!

I lost one more pound, so now I've officially lost 25! Woohoo! I wish I could feel that much of a difference in my clothes. That's where being tall sucks -- you can lose a bunch of weight and not notice it. I definitely FEEL better, though.

Carla - I know what you mean about those patterns - lose some and then use that as license to eat things that I know are not the best choices. I've mentioned to you my "learn from experience" lightbulb that seemed to have gone off. That's one of the things I've started to finally get - if I keep it up, I'm going to keep running in place, so to speak. How is Ana liking school? I hope she likes her new teacher. Yes, we made it through Ernesto unscathed, thank goodness. We had a lot of rain but nothing like they had further south and while we had some wind, it wasn't terrible. You know, doing Core this week has been good - not just for not counting points (and it's been nice not to have to count points although I still write down what I eat and if I do or don't listen to the "comfort zone") but because I really do have so many less cravings without all the processed stuff. I forgot you don't like eggs - they are one of the things I enjoy most on Core. Have you every tried the Core oatmeal pancakes? II can post the recipe if you want. make the recipe, cook and eat half and save the rest of the batter for the next day, often adding a banana or berries into the batter. BTW, I just looked at the WW Core board breakfast recipe thread here - there were a number of recipes for Core muffins and such too. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53172
We did enjoy the little bit of the Open we saw today before the rain started (we managed to see 3 sets but that was better than the forecast.) We decided to go to Armstrong Stadium to see Andy Murray (young guy) instead of the women's quarterfinal. In Armstrong, all but the very-close-to-the-court box seats are first come, first served and it's great to see a match up close. I was hoping to see Martina Navratilova in women's doubles after that match but it started raining before the men's match ended - oh well!

Lisa - in my book, dancing/jamming at a concert counts for official exercise! Congratulations on losing another pound and getting to 25!!!! I bet you'll feel more of a difference in your clothes soon. It's great that you feel better.

I've had a good few days using almost no weekly points until today. We ended up leaving the Open without eating there (everything was outside and it was raining) so we went to an Asian restaurant close to home and I only used a few points since I had brown rice with my meal. I stopped before I was stuffed and took the rest home which I'll probably have later tonight as a very small "dinner." I have plenty of points for AC and should do OK for meals. We're taking the laptop so Tony can check his email so I may get a chance to check in. I'll be concentrating on getting my PT stretches and strength exercises in while I'm there (and limiting the alcohol!)

Have a great one!
Judy

Hi all,

Lisa - Congrats on losing the pound and on a terrific total loss. I'm 5'8" so I understand about 25 pounds not making a difference in clothing size, etc. Hang in there and that will come soon. And it's the greatest feeling.

Judy - I'm glad you were able to watch a few sets at the Open before the rain came. Thanks for that link and I'd love the pancake recipe too, when you get a chance. Lunches I'll be able to manage with soups, etc. and I'll probably use a few points on whole wheat bread. I think over the weekend I'll do some menu planning. If you check this while in AC, I hope you're having fun.

It's back to business for me today. And I have to start moving. I was going to go for a walk this morning, but I've been up since 6:00 sending business e-mails and doing laundry. Sigh.

Have a great day everyone.

Carla

I hope some of this isn't TMI. So last thursday I was a week late and took a pregnancy test that showed positive! I kinda had a feeling it would.. I was exhibiting some signs. Very tender breasts, high amount of fatigue even when getting naps and sleep at night, a weird metallic taste in my mouth, feeling bloated in my abdomen. According to timelines starting from the first day of my last period, I'd be about 6 weeks along.

I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, but some scary events have happened in the meantime. I'd been feeling a little bit too much cramping for my liking. I don't remember that happening during my previous pregnancies. So yesterday at work I felt fine and thought it might've just been something I'd eaten. Then I started cramping again, went to the bathroom and realized I was bleeding. I passed a very large clot. Larger than a quarter and I've been bleeding off and on since and smaller clots, but still larger than I'm used to with a normal period.

Last night the pain was pretty bad. I had to stay laying down and had the worst time getting to sleep. Bleeding has increased to what would almost be normal for my period. So, I'm pretty scared at the moment. I had very uneventful pregnancies in the past, so this is pretty unusual. I've never even dealt with morning sickness or anything. I'm going to give this another day or two and then retest myself like the nurse suggested and see if I still show up as pregnant. I can't move my appointment up, Monday was the soonest they would see me even knowing what's going on right now. So I have to sit and worry.

As for eating - I've sorta gone off WW until I figure out whats going on. I'm sticking to my plan in that I'm trying to eat healthy foods, but I am not limiting myself as much. I don't think I'm going overboard. I'm trying to listen to my stomach and do what it says, which at times means not eat and other times means eat more. If I am pregnant.. do you think its possible to switch to the Core program while pregnant? Or do they suggest you drop it completely? All I know is right now I feel very confused, stressed and worried. I've been so caught up in all this I havent even weighed myself in a week.. thats pretty crazy since I normally do every day.

Gina - I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you've been having. I think you are smart to eat healthy and worry about the specifics of WW once you've dealt with the medical issues. I am upset that the doctor would not see you before Monday! I could be wrong but I don't think WW allows women to be on the program when they are pregnant. Of course, it's something to check with your doctor. {{{{HUGS}}}}} to you!

Carla - I hope you got out for your walk. Here's the pancake recipe:

Put the following in a blender:

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cup oats
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
(I also add a dash of nutmeg and two dashes of cinnamon.)

Blend until it is the consistency of pancake batter. Spray a griddle and cook as you would pancakes. I use sugar free syrup which is no points. If I have blueberries I add them to the batter; banana works well too. I usually have 1/2 the recipe at a time and find it filling although on Wednesday morning, before going down to AC I had the whole recipe because I wasn't bringing anything for lunch on the trip except some fruit.

AC was fun and I did fairly well. We had two nice dinners out, I came back with a few weekly points left, did all my PT strength and stretching and even got in over 10,000 steps each day. We also won (a little) which always helps! Tomorrow we're going to my mom's for the last pool day. On Sunday, I have some things to do to get ready for an interview on Tuesday for a PT Reading teacher position. I don't really know if I want to work part-time (from the perspective of New York State requirements for teaching experience for an ongoing certification) but I figure it can't help to check it out and if nothing else, it's good interview experience. Monday I have a doctor's appt (going over cholesterol tests) and the dentist. I need to be careful over the next couple of days. I've been having a harder time than I expected with the upcoming 5 year anniversary of 9/11 (all the things on TV don't help) and I'm definitely an emotional eater.

Have a great one,
Judy