Core Support Board #2
 

Spryng, I've been thinking the same thing. So post away everyone.

Thanks Janette! Now maybe I can keep up! LOL!

Ditto what Spryng said - thanks Janette!
I am trying hard to get excited about going back to work tomorrow after having almost two weeks off and its really hard! It was a great vacation and I think I did pretty well following Core. We made it a sort of foody holiday and took great foods with us to cook and avoided restaurants almost completely. We found a new organic farm near the beach house and the owner wandered through the gardens with us to choose fresh herbs, fingerling potatoes, squash and all sorts of greens. It was wonderful. My biggest hurdles were wine, olive oil and butter. We visited several good wineries on the way to the coast and between those tastings (and purchases) and cooking with butter and oil - I am sure that I overdid it on WPAs. Long beach walks and hiking along the coast to watch the whales play helped conteract any overages but I chose not to not keep track of WPAs. Weigh-in should be interesting tomorrow and I hope I don't regret that choice.

Best wishes to everyone for a great week!

Sorry guys....I posted in the other one before looking!

So I'll re-post here....

Thanks Vickie for the recipe. I'm going to buy the ingredients tomorrow and try it out and I'll let you know how it turns out. It sounds soooo good.

Jade

Frozen Yogurt
 

I've read quite a few posts about adding ff/sf chocolate pudding mix to ff plain yogurt....but has anyone tried to freeze it? My husband loves frozen yogurt for work. He says once it's thawed for a while it's like ice cream. So, I'm gonna try it tonight and I'll let you all know how it turns out tomorrow. :D

Jade

Susie, I think everyone needs a break every once in a while. At least you chose healthy foods to eat. I can relate to not wanting to go back to work--it's hard enough after the weekend but 2 whole weeks!

I am taking a couple of days off this week but it's not for fun. I think this may be one of the worse weeks I have had in a very long time. My daughter is waiting for the results on tests after getting an abnormal pap. She has to go to court tomorrow with her son for something that happens 3 years ago when he was with his dad. My DIL called me Saturday to tell me that she and my son are splitting up. Two of the most beautiful little girls you could ever hope to see. Even though I love my DIL, I know from experience how hard it is to keep in touch with the grandkids when the other parent has custody. Breaks my heart to go through this again.

Talk about stress hormones. I am beginning to think there is something to all the hype we have been getting about the stress hormone depositing fat around the stomach area. I know that is where it shows up first on me and the last to leave.

I will get through this. I will not let this hinder my weight loss journey. I did 15 minutes on the treadmill this morning--kept my promise to exercise early in the day. I got in 45 minutes with Sweatin to the Oldies on Saturday and mowed the front yard with a push mower on Sunday.

Gotta go get ready for work. Talk to you later.

Hang in there, Janette. Stress is tough. So THAT explain my "middle" situation!

Good morning all!
Janette, sounds like you have had a rough week! Hang in there! ((((HUG))))

Jade, I have heard of people making their own icecream of sorts, I guess it's kinda a controversy at times, but I know I froze a smoothie once and then added some sf chocolate syrup on it and it tasted just like icecream! Very good. You'll have to let us know how the frozen yogurt comes out.

Susie, hope your WI goes great today and your vacation sounded so wonderful!

Since I don't post much on this thread I guess I can tell everyone a little about myself (for those who don't know me) I'm Spryng, mother of 3. My dh is an OTR truck driver and is only home once every two weeks or so. I've been on ww now for almost 13 months! Hit my goal weight back in april and have been struggling with trying to get to my personal goal weight, but since Core was released the weight has been coming off again! I'm only 2 lbs away from my goal weight. I have fallen in love with Core. Those last few months on flex I was getting really tired of counting pts, I wanted to just quit counting pts and wing it... but in my mind I thought I'd be cheating so I wouldn't let myself quit counting. Then Core was released and it was exactly what I was looking for! I quickly switched to it and have been loving it ever since. I make tons of new recipes every month (many from this site) and that keeps me from getting bored. I've struggled with my weight since getting married 6 years ago so to finally feel in control again and to actually like my body again (I'm sure many of you know how a pregnancy can wreck a figure) is a big step for me. I'm actually getting self esteem again! I forgot what that was like. Well I guess that is me in a nutshell, lol. I'm going to try and keep up with the thread now so I hope to get to know many of you soon!

Hi Spryng! Nice to meet you. I'm Vickie, 48, retired early from the Federal government and focusing on myself for the first time in 30 years. I've 150 pounds to lose but try to think of it as 10% at a time or it becomes too overwhelming. I've tried every diet (including Optifast) under the sun but Core seems to be something I can stick to for the next 2-3 years while I finally get this weight off.

I'm happily married to my best friend for nearly fourteen years, my first his second. We have no children but love animals. We have a Scottish Terrier dog, named Cassie and a Scottish Fold Cat, name Cameo whom we adore! We are also extreme baseball fans....Chicago White Sox....no Cubs!

I love to cook and my husband has been happily trying all my new recipes. He has diabetes so Core is great for him as well. So far, high blood pressure is my only problem but I desperately want to get the weight off before something bad happens. I'd also LOVE to be off the medicine. Another of my goals.

I hope you share some of your own personal recipe creations. I'm a little tired of the entree core recipes because they all have tomato in them. I like tomato but not every night. Anything without tomato would be very much appreciated!

Hi Vickie! I think that is great that you are focusing just on each 10%, how much have you lost on core so far? I do have lots of recipes to share and I post them on this board http://groups.msn.com/momslosingweight/recipes.msnw so if you want to check them out then feel free.

Janette - I am so sorry that you have all of this to deal with at one time. It sounds like a years worth of stress all rolled into one week. You and your family will be in my thoughts and I really hope that your daughter's health turns out to be fine after the repeat testings, and that the other stuff works itself out for the better. I can't imagine how much you be worried about your family.

Hi Vickie - I had to laugh at your term "extreme baseball fans" and reference to the White Sox. I am a die hard Mariners fan and guess I must be an extreme fan too after the terrible season they had.

Sryng - thanks for the link!

Actually that's a nice idea to make introductions. I'm 47 and married for a year as of next week! He was well worth the wait-- he's my cook, house-husband, and all around nice guy. I work full time but 3 days a week I can work from home, which is lovely. I'm a professor and I'm trying to finish up a PhD in the next few months. I have three "big boned" cats. My main reason to be here is to eat in a healthy way and I find that core really promotes that. I also have 17 pounds or so to lose to get in the healthy BMI range and so I'm slowly working towards that goal.

I lost my mind food wise this weekend and made some really good discoveries. Refined carbs give me a hangover and make me feel unwell. I am just LOVING my core foods today.

Have a lovely Monday, everyone!

I'll add my intro, too, as I don't think I've done one. :)

I'm 32, married for 4 years next month. I have 2 year old twin boys that keep me pretty busy and I work fulltime as a liaison between small minority & woman-owned businesses and my employer.

I previously did Atkins and went down from 220 to 187.5 but was at a stand still for a while and getting pretty tired of low carbing. Anyway, I had to find something I could live with, so CORE was introduced at a perfect time for me. It's been a pretty easy transition, am really enjoying it and am losing weight again.

I never did an intro either.

I am Heather and recently moved from TX to Greenville, SC (although we are moving back in a year or so). I have a 4 year old and 5 year old. I am a WW lifetime member but managed to gain 15 pounds back in the stressfull move (um...can you tell I didn't want to go? :p ). Anyway since April I had tried to go back to strict flex and I would lose a few then get tired of counting and gain a couple. I was down about 5 when I started Core. I have now lost about 8 more on Core. I am LOVING it! It seems almost too good to be true. I tended to eat towards Core anyway so it hasn't been a big change.

I love reading daily menus and new recipes. I love to cook! :)

Hi guys!
My intro: I am a mother of two teenagers, age 49 and married to a great guy who works way too hard to support us all. I am a ww lifetime member who went "off the wagon" and has had great trouble staying on track. The Core foods are really helping me, I think.
I try to be imaginative and combine the core foods to incorporate them into what my family eats. Have been encountering opposition to whole wheat pasta and brown rice, so far. So, that makes things a bit difficult at times as I've been cooking two side dishes, etc. some of the time lately.
Linda in NH

Spryng - How did the potato "chips" turn out?

Also, which popcorn is CORE? I vaguely remember that the leader in my first meeting mentioned that a 94% FF popcorn that was said to be CORE is actually not. But I can not remember which is CORE. Help!

Hi guys! I'm starting Core again today. I've got to do it this time, my clothes are getting tighter & I don't recognize myself anymore. I've been married 13 yrs, live in Sarasota, FL, I work in Advertising Sales. I don't have much experience cooking, so this will be a challenge. I have a husband who runs away from WW pasta, brown rice, healthy foods etc so that's an added challenge. I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia when I was 22, I stayed away from white products & sugars and looked great. When I met my husband when I turned 25, I started eating tons of the bad stuff & kept gaining more & more every year. I love to read the Core recipes, I'm going to try one or two new ones a week.

Have a good week, everyone. :chef:

So nice to see all of your intros! So nice to meet you all!
About the popcorn, all 94% ff popcorn is core except for kettle corn I believe, correct me someone if I'm wrong here.
And I didn't get to try home made chips today (had pasta for dinner) but I did try polenta for the first time today at lunch and it was different, but I liked it!
Well, it's late and I need to get in bed. TTYL!

Hi All! Great to see all the folks coming out of lurk mode! It seems like we have a nice diverse group of people all with the same goal in mind. Pretty neat.

Robin, you made me laugh at your "big boned cat" as mine is as well. The Vet says she needs to lose weight but I tell him Scottish Folds are supposed to be well rounded. Cameo, too, is on a light/less food regime!

Waterlilies, glad you're here from Atkins. It was one diet I didn't try because my cholesterol is already high enough and I HAD to have some carbs. Glad Core has you moving again.

Heather, it sounds like you'll be back to goal in no time at all. Who will I talk to for the next three years? Sounds like you all are real close to your goals!

Linda, I'm surpised your family is giving you a hard time about brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Maybe you shouldn't have told them! Seriously, maybe you could "pretend" to go back to the regular stuff and see if they notice. Once sauces are on, I can not tell the difference. Maybe that says something bad about my palate!

I'm up in the middle of the night because I can't sleep. I think my furnace is putting out a funny smell. Well, at least when I'm nervous I'm not hungry!

I was happy to see more talkers and hadn't even seen Ditpen and India-Ink until I posted my last message!

Ditpen, good luck and glad you're out of lurk mode. My Sister is the genealogist in our familly. It's too hard for me. Jigsaw puzzles make me crazy after about a half an hour. She also got all the patience in our family! I think it's good to have a hobby to help us keep our mind off eating.

India, good luck to you too! Imagine, you are living in one of my favorite cities ever. Good food in Sarasota....wish I was there. My husband and I used to go there every year or so when the Chicago White Sox had spring training there. Not any more..... We went a couple of times after the Sox left but haven't visited in about three years. I have so many favorite places to eat there! Isn't it sad that some of my best memories are related to good meals?

For those of you who don't cook, you might want to check out some of the core recipes. They haven't been hard and keep you from having to eat plain baked potato and chicken/pork/beef every night. Spryng listed her link and there is also another that I have gotten alot of recipes from http://www.barbosdietkitchen.com/archive.pl. I've tried quite a few and could recommend some.

Susie, Hubby and I are "extreme" baseball fans which is something you have to be when you live in a two team town! Those folks who say they are for both teams are not real baseball fans. Baseball is one of my biggest hobbies so I'm sorry that our distraction is over until Pitchers and Catchers report! I was at the post season games a couple of years ago when the Mariners made us look like little league players.....I'm nearly over it! :stress:

Hi all!. My name is Kathy and I have a wonderful husband who I have been married to for 14 years. We have 1 child, a 12 year old boy (Nicholas) and an 11 year old daughter named Bess (Golden Retriever). We live in Vermont in a small town near Burlington. My husband was layed off from IBM after 22 years and has been working as an airport security screener for 3 years now. Less pay but less stress also. I am a computer programmer and have been with my company for almost 15 years. I have been a member of WW off and on for a long time now but have never made goal. Back in the 80's I lost almost 100 pounds myself but I had a hard time maintaining and kept losing. Once I got married and had a child sad to say most of it came back (funny how that happens). I am commited to core and to losing and keeping it off this time. I exercise at least 4 or 5 times a week and have been doing that for a year now. I started core the 2nd week of Sept. and am down almost 10 pounds. Brrrrr. It is 39 degrees here this morning and I heard the furnace start. Oh well at least it is sunny and the trees are beautiful!!

Kathy

I don't think I did an intro. I am Anne. Mom to 7 month old Conner. My husband and I have been together over 20 years and will have our 16th wedding anniversay next month.

I was on WW before I got pregnant. While pregnant I gained 49 pounds. As you can see by my signature I am down to 173 (I gained a pound this past week. Up from 172).

This is my fourth week on Core. I love it! However, my brother was in town this past weekend and it was a little bit of a challenge eating out. Which we did several times. I think I made pretty good choices. But I feel yucky from my eating.

My goal is to get as close to my personal goal weight as possible before I get pregnant again. Which we plan on TTC in January.

Hey, Kathy, it's good to hear from you. It's cold here in Chicago also. Only 40 degrees. How much do you have to lose?

I exercise every day but not like some folks. I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes at about 2.1 mph. That's about all I can handle at the moment since I have about 150 pounds to lose. I weigh in every Thursday evening. I'm in week four of Core and so far have lost 6.4 pounds. Only 143.6 to go to goal!

Hi, Vickie. I have about 50 more to lose. That will bring me down to where I am comfortable. I have no desire to be as thin as I was when I was 20. I'll just settle for healthy and curvy.

Kathy

Hi everyone,

Tried to freeze my "chocolate yogurt" but I wouldn't suggest it. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped for. Not gross, but not ice cream/frozen yogurt consistency. I think I may add it too my smoothy or something, maybe that will turn out better.

I guess I didn't introduce myself as well....I'm 29, mother of a wonderful 2yr old DD. I've been married for 9 years to my husband Bill. I was a great 9/10 before marriage and then it all went to the dogs after that. Started gaining weight slowly and it's progressed to where I can't stand it. I have about 40+ lbs to lose to make me happy, probably more to be the "correct" weight. I've tried WW before but starved on Flex so I'm really enjoying Core. I've been on it for a week now. I'm doing it on my own from home as there are no meetings closer than 2 hrs from my home, so this site is my encouragement meeting place. My real goal is to lose weight to that I can get pregnant and have another child soon without being extremely overweight while pregnant. I didn't gain much with DD as I was already a little heavier then I should have been, but I've gained most of that baby weight back and that annoys me.

So I hope to get some great ideas, recipes and encouragement from all. Keep up the good work everyone. :D

Jade

Well, just thought I'd post back here to let you know I had a gain of 1.2 pounds. Not sure if it's the Core plan or just me. But, I am officially going back to flexpoints now, I've "had it".
I think craving some bread items is just way too much for me.
I may still do a few posts here to keep up with how some of you are doing, but I guess I need to be journalling and keeping truly in portion control "mode".
Linda, bummed out in NH

Linda, this is just a temporary setback. Instead of giving up on Core, why don't you consider both Core and journaling for a week and see what happens next week? You were so happy with the healthy foods you were eating on Core. You can still have your bread.

Just a thought....would hate to lose you.

Jade, sorry your experiment didn't work out. I would have loved some chocolate frozen yogurt. I'm thinking next week may have to include some points for a tiny piece of gourmet chocolate. I think the TOM is nearly upon me. Drat....I'll probably be all bloated for my Thursday weigh in. Oh well. I'll be on this for at least 3 years. It's a marathon and not a sprint.

You know, I have been posting for a couple of weeks and never 'officially' introduced myself :D

My name is Angie live near *sigh* HERSHEY, PA....:chockiss: (Some mornings you can SMELL the CHOCOLATE on the air!)

I have been married to my second husband for 4 years. I have two daughters from the first marriage and we are now a newly formed family. My older daughter is 15 and the fireworks have been a flyin'!! LOL!!

I am a programmer for a major health insurance company and I absolutely love my job. My biggest hobby is FERRETS. I have five and no matter what kind of day I am having they make me smile. They are the best pets!

I am a Southern Baptist gal from Dallas,Texas and now I am in PA married to a Jewish man. :):) Go figure!! Love comes from all sorts of funny places!! We were married in Hershey Gardens and are extremely happy. Currently he is back in college earning his Master's degree in order to become a teacher. Both of us are in our late thirties and are both in college..hahaha. I am taking courses to earn a diploma in Computer Technology, so he and I are a couple of nerds. :)

My husband is very supportive in how we eat and exercise. He loves vegetables! YAY!! I hear how some spouses can be downright onery when it comes to banning Little Debbies from the house....hahaha

In my weight loss career I am at a total of 120 pounds lost. I also wanted to share that I have had plastic surgery to get rid of loose skin if anyone had questions about that process. I have come so far and don't really have that far to go! For those of you who are just starting out KEEP GOING...you can do it. You just have to accept that it isn't going to be a fast process and that you won't ever be able to go back to your 'old ways'. I should know, I just earned my second 10% keychain!! LOL

Angie, thanks for the words of encouragement! I've 150 pounds to lose and I've just started. I'm figuring it'll take me 2-3 years.

Welcome. Isn't it nice to have supportive hubbies!

Linda, I hate to see you give up on Core but glad to know that you are going to continue on flex. We all have to do what works for us. Good luck and do check in from time to time to let us know how you are doing.

A little about myself. I have been married 36 years, have one daughter with 2 grandsons and one son with 2 granddaughters. Funny how that worked out. I have 3 dogs (keep taking in strays) and 1 inside cat (also large-boned) and 3 inside kittens (rescued from a stay that came to the house that wouldn't be tamed) and 3 outside cats. DH keeps saying that the kittens are big enough to go outside but I'm holding out.

I have reached goal three times but always have a hard time keeping it off. Two years is the longest I have gone at goal. Seems to just come back on overnight. I am either a size 10 or a size 20. I swear, I never have any clothes in the closet in the size in between.

Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts. I have faith everything will work out for the best. It's the waiting and not knowing that always gets to me. I have been cleaning like a madwoman all day. At least some good will come out of it!

Jade - were you trying to freeze the yogurt in an ice cream machine? We do pudding mix in our cream machine all the time and it turns out pretty well. It does get pretty darn hard in the freezer and is best straight from the machine. I have never tried ff plain yogurt - but LF Vanilla yogurt and fruit work pretty well also.

Susie,
No, I don't have a machine. I was just trying it in a bowl. I freeze the individual yogurts for my husband to take to work. By the time he gets to eat them they've thawed quite a bit I guess and he likes them that way. I just thought maybe it would turn out the same, but he gets regular yogurt, not the ff stuff. I don't know if that makes any difference, but I think the little bit of fat that is in it may help???? I don't really know. So I'll just eat it from the fridge instead. Not a big deal.

Thanks though.
Jade

Hi all, Vickie, thanks for your support. This week, I think, I shall remain with this core group in terms of learning, posting, etc. but go back, still, to flexpoints. We are going away to my in-laws for the weekend and I'll have absolutely no control over what is being served as well.
I had heard in the first week or two that the Core plan came out that some people find it good to bounce back and fourth from one plan to the next and that sometimes will help with losses?
Have to admit, I had great hopes for this Core plan and was awfully discouraged to see a gain again when I have worked so hard. My body, since the beginning of summer, has remained within a range of 149 - 151. If I were on "maintenance" that would be so great as I am really staying "put", but as I want to be down to 136 and dearly want to be a ww leader, I've got to find a way to make these pounds finally budge!
Only kidding when I say this, but thinking of liposuction!!!! Then, once it is gone, then manintenance would work, right? Totally a joke, as I am grossed out by that process..... the only thing that will make my body take off excess fat (my humble opinion!) is dietary and exercise/activity.
But, I feel as if I can't possibly cut any more foods out of my life and be "happy" and not feel starving all day, I feel as if I am exhausted from my workouts and treadmill routine. So, what will it take?
Maybe one of you has an answer that I can ponder.
Linda in NH, frustrated but not giving up on ww

Linda, what it is going to take unfortunately is perservance and patience. Two things I struggle with every day. I'm sorry you're going back to flex because I'll miss you here but that is purely selfish on my part. I didn't know you plan to be a Leader but just from my experience with you here, I think you'll be a great one!

Is there a chance that 136 is too low for you? I think you're very smart to switch to flex when you know you are going to spend at least a week in a situation you can't control. I think about it when I go to restaurants and order food cooked Core way. Really, I don't know what they are doing back in the kitchen. I just have to hope they've honored my requests!

Lots of continued luck. I hope you do still come to visit here. I'm sure I'll be here for a long time.

Hello everyone! I have a point question. I bought Jennie-Os All White Turkey Roast w/gravy. A serving of the turkey, gravy and all is 2 pts. According to my point guide a serving of turkey is 2 pts., this of course is CORE. Because the gravy is on the turkey, do I need to count these points or just let them go, b/c turkey is CORE and the points are the same? I hope this makes sense.

If it is real Turkey - not processed, pressed then sliced - I would consider the turkey Core and just count the points for the gravy. Generally - processed deli meats are not considered Core.

Wow it is so neat to read about everyone. I love that we are all so different even if we are focused on the same project! I'm so impressed with the big achievements AND the big commitments.

Linda I think you have to eat the way that's right for you. If it isn't core, then don't fight it. You gave it a great try. Do you remember the days when WeightWatchers came out with a plan called "Fat and Fiber?" They decided all you had to do was keep your fat below a certain level, your fiber over a certain level, and eat what you wanted. I gained 10 pounds on that plan! And I didn't eat sweets either. It was just plain wrong for me. Core works fine for me, but I can see where it wouldn't work for everyone.

I had a great lunch today but sorry, it has tomatoes in it (was it Vicki who said she's sick of tomatoes? Sprinkle 2 cups or more of fresh baby spinach with salad dressing (you could use your oil for the day, with vinegar or lemon, or I used Kraft light sundried tomato and took the point). Wilt in microwave for 1 minute or more if needed. Add 1/2 cup of lentils and one tomato chopped (sorry, I'm still overrun from the garden). Slice a chicken breast on top of that. It looked absolutely wonderful and tasted good too. I like LOTS of food, and this made a real bowl full.

Have a lovely evening!

Robin, it was me LOL, that is tired of tomatoes. Your recipe sounded so good I'll be giving it a try! I'm not sworn off tomatoes forever, I just want some things to mix in between.

Next year I'm going to have a garden....now that I got my early retirement!