Ladies: Good afternoon. How is everyone? I'm doing pretty well today. I forgot to tell you guys about my weekend yesterday. I was pretty good Friday and Saturday as far as food is concerned, and I'm starving now, so I hope I'll be down tomorrow. Mostly I'm just jonesing for junk food. I had 1 (1!) chip from a friend's bag, and now I want more. Grr. I will eat some healthy pop 1-serving popcorn later, at least that's healthy, if I'm still craving it. Anyway, back to the weekend -- I saw Fracture, with Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. It was quite good, if you like Law and Order, and that kind of thing. Sunday I started a new fleece quilt -- I'm getting frustrated with cotton, it just doesn't seem to turn out right, so I'm going back to fleece, only now I'm paper-piecing. This should be interesting. I hope.
Not much else is new, so on to your individual posts...
Lauren -- thank you! It's quite a thrill to be a 10 again. I remember the day when I first became a 12. I was embarassed about the weight gain -- I'd been a 10 for a while at that point, and I was embarassed that the same size no longer fit. So it's a wonderful feeling to be back there again, especially since one of my initial goals when I first joined WW was to be a size 12 again, so being a 10 is an especial triumph.
RE being OP and journaling vs. weight loss -- being OP and journaling is in itself a big victory, Lauren. Give yourself credit for each and every victory. And I'm betting that you will lose weight this week, but even if you don't, you are demonstrating your dedication and commitment, which means you're on your way!
Princess: No, that's fine. But I'm still confused.
If you want to maintain a BMI of between 20.0 and 20.9 (that is, have a BMI of less than 21), you would have to be between 113 and 118 pounds. How can I be my weight range include numbers above 118 if that puts my BMI above 20? I should just go to a meeting and ask a leader instead of pestering you. I am sorry about all the trouble. The explanation about the point changes vs weight changes does make perfect sense though. Re the pictures -- thank you! I am delighted with getting to a size 10, and I thought that several of the pictures of me with my friend Alice (the Asian woman) turned out very well. Re walking: I recommend that you start off small, Princess. You probably have 15 minutes in your day, right? You could start with that. Walking is so relaxing -- you were walking before, when the weather was good, right? Our walking season is reversed -- winter is great for walking, but it passed 100 degrees here last weekend, so I now avoid being outside during the day whenever possible.
Judy: I'm glad that you had a good weekend. It sounds like fun. I know, it's so hard when you have so many good ideas, huh?
And thanks for the congrats and the compliments! I am thrilled.
I'm glad you liked the before and after photo -- I always find those so inspiring! (for more motivation, check out the Before/After photo albums at 3FC, if you haven't already:
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=200). Thank you for the feedback. I don't want to be overbearing, or sound like an overenthusiastic cheerleader who has no idea of how hard it is; I do; but I have faith that everyone can lose the weight eventually. On the topic of "keeping it coming: Re stopping our good habits -- I know you weren't addressing me, but I have some thoughts on this -- part of the problem in adhering to all of your good habits is making it a long-term habit. This kind of lifestyle is work -- it's well worth it, but it's definitely a lot more work, especially in the beginning. The longer you do it consistently, the easier it gets, as I'm sure you know. I think it's important to keep up your efforts, one day at a time, and then before you know it, it will be an ingrained habit. For example, most days I just automatically go to the gym after work, without even debating it, but it sure wasn't always that way. I used to have extended debates with myself about going to the gym all the way home (and it was a 45-minute one-way commute!) I don't skip the gym unless I have a social event to go to (and I keep those infrequent during the week for this reason), and I go to the gym unless I am physically unwell. For another example, I buy healthy food and cook and do food prep every weekend -- but I didn't always do that. When I first lived alone, back in 2002, I bought good food and let it rot, eating what was easy and fast, and quite unhealthy. Now it doesn't occur to me to eat junk as much. Don't get me wrong, I still want to skip the gym sometimes, and I still crave junk food, but it's not as bad, and it gets easier to resist all the time. As you said, losing weight is an indescribable struggle, but it's one we can win -- it just takes time, perseverance, creativity and support. Remember, you can do this, and you will!