Oh that would be neat. I know I'm getting ahead of myself. If I can do it without surgery, bonus! But, I've got so many obesity related health problems, I have to consider every option at this point.

Colleen, that is so great that you and your hubby joined TOPS together. I know it sure helps me to have my Sweetie supporting me and sticking to the same plan that I'm doing. He is actually much more fit and healthy so I use him as a role model. Plus, he loves when I experiment in the kitchen with healthy recipes. :D

Hi Everyone,
Welcome Colleen! That is great that your hubby is going to TOPS with you. My dh is a skinny minny and has just finally started to be supportive after 5 years of being a negative butt head. But I think a lot of it has to do with his 11 year-old daughter being 190 pounds, too. I have tried to get her to go with me to TOPS but she said that her mom won't agree about it. Her mom is very heavy and doesn't think any of them have a weigh issue. How was your meeting last night?
Pita and Phatansitca how are you doing?
I went to TOPS this evening and lost 1 1/2 pounds. So I was happy with my loss. Now if I could just get myself back to excerising I would be a happy camper.
I have to make a sample of a contest I brought up to the group tonight. It is called Turn over a New Leaf. It is a tree with six leaves on it. One the one side of the leaf (green) is a bad habit and on the colorful side is a good habit. Once the person turns over all the leaves first is the winner. So I am hoping that they like it once they see it done.
Well I hope you are all doing fine and having a great week. Chat with you all later.
Take care,
Kerry

The meeting went great. Hubby set up a visit with his mother for Monday without really talking to me about it first, and then the following two Mondays we'll be in Illinois on vacation to see my parents. I got a bit miffed at him, and he said that I told him it was ok (yeah, I can just imagine when he asked, since his Mom usually calls him early in the morning, usually before I'm awake). We're going to call tomorrow and reschedule with her if we can.

I'm psyched though, and really looking forward to that first 10 lbs charm.

Good morning TOPS buddies! :wave:

Kerry, way to go on the loss!! :bravo:

Well, I went to my meeting last night and I'm very pleased to announce that I lost 3 3/4 pounds. Finally I got to move my ticker down!! :carrot:

I'm off to get my nails done and to buy a new pair of workout shoes.

Have a great day!!

Pita congrats on your loss! Keep up the good work. So what kind of workout shoes did you buy?
I have been busy trying to get those last minute things done before school starts in two weeks. I am sort of looking forward to going back to school and then I am not to. Oh well, maybe once I get a set routine again I will start losing again on a regular basis.
Colleen enjoy your visits with inlaws and your parents. I know that you will do fine and get that 10 pound charm very soon.
Well off to take a nap. I had to get up early today and take my nephew school clothes shopping. Now I am worn out.
Chat with you all later.
Kerry

That's funny! You are waiting two weeks to start school and I'm waiting for two weeks to be out of school. I'll have a three week vacation before my fall quarter begins. Just two more to go and I'm out of there!!

I bought some cute pink and white Nikes. They feel good but I'll have to test them out on Monday at Curves. I have the most temperamental feet. :rolleyes:

Well, I'm off to Starbucks with my Sweetie and two of our best gal pals. It's a ritual sort of thing. I'll be good. NO lattes for this chickie!

Hi Pita,
That is funny about school. I know once I go back to school I will be on a set schedule and can lose the weight better than being free to graze at home.
Glad you found a cute pair of Nikes. I have to wait until after school starts for me to go buy some school clothes and some dress shoes. I can only wear Clark shoes. They are expensive. So I have to wait until my first paycheck in the new school year with my pay raise on it and if the shoes are on sale.
Enjoy your evening at Starbucks. My TOM of started tonight so I am hoping that by Tuesday I don't have a huge gain. A loss would be nice. So I have to watch what I eat and drink from now and until then. I have been doing good so far this week.
Take care,
Kerry

Bad kids! They should tough up and go barefoot! :D

Shy Moment,
I love your sense of humor! You are so true about kids today and wanting everything. My three stepkids think that because they want it they should be able to get it. They are learning real quick that they have to work for it or they aren't going to get it.
I bet it is very diffcult trying to find shoes that don't look too kiddish.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Kerry

^^^^^^^^Shy Moment, you are such a riot. I love those cartoon of yours too! :D

Kerry, my 15 year old daughter and I have the argument over "life is not fair" all the time. She is a very spoiled girl, who gets more than your average teenager, yet lives in a state of emotional angst. :rolleyes: She likes to complain that my boyfriend buys me more stuff than her. I just smile and say, "Honey, get your own sugar daddy." ;)

I can relate about your daughter. Because my stepdaughter got mad the first summer I was dating her daddy and we went to a county fair. He played a game and won me a stuffed dalamation with a fire cheif's hat on it. She pouted until he won her a stuffed animal.

Shy Moment you are so true about how tough they have it today. I went two years before buying me a pair of new tennis shoes this past July. My stepkids were like wow what kind of shoes are you buying of us. Needless to say it was dad and Kerry that walked out of the Shoe Dept. that day with shoes and not the kids. :)
Went to TOPS this evening and lost another pound. I was pleased since I had a family reunion on Sunday and had pizza at work today for lunch. So I will gladly take my pound loss.
Hope you are all having a great week! Heres to you all having a great weigh-in at your TOPS meetings this week! :)
Off to unwind a little bit before bed. Chat with you all later.
Kerry

Hi Ladies,
Hope everyone is having a great week! It sure has been hot and humid here in SE Ohio. Can't wait for the fall weather to make an apperance and cool things off.
I have gotten into my spanky brand new school building and have unpacked all my classroom materials. Now I have to go tomorrow for an inservice on the technology that will be at our school. So many advancements since I started teaching 10 years ago. Went from chalkboards, to dry erase and now something called a smart board. Then one day next week, my aide and I are going to figure out our bulletin boards and get my lesson plans ready for the first week of school.
My eating has been good this week. Been getting in a lot of water too. The only thing I haven't been able to add in yet is exercise since it has been so hot! Hope to do that soon though.
Hope you are all having a great week! Hope you have some losses to share with me soon!
Take care,
Kerry

Kerry, good luck with school. What grade do you teach again? I'm sure you told us, but I have a memory like Swiss cheese. :o

I went to my meeting tonight and because of TOM visiting me, I managed to turtle. That is OK, because I was up 3 lbs yesterday, but today I exercised like crazy, took a water pill, and watched what I ate really closely. I know I'll have a loss next week.

Have a great night! :hug:

Congrats on the turtle with your TOM! I know that you will have a loss next week.
I teach 6th through 8th grade multihandicapped students. This year should be different since we are actually in the building and not a portable. We have a bathroom with a changing table, shower, sink and toliet. Then we also will have a little kitchenette with stove, microwave, fridge and sink. Plus I will have a washer and dryer to teach my kids laundry skills. So I am really looking forward to the new school year.

No news here to report. I didn't go to my TOPS meeting last night, since my sister was in town for a visit and had tickets to an outdoor drama. So I went with her to that. Hope you are all having a great week!

Hey everyone! I totally forgot to come and report in. I went to meeting on Thursday and only lost a 1/4 of a pound. I'm REALLY frustrated by it because my calories have been kept under 1600, I have drank my water and then some, and even upped my workouts to 45 minutes. I was really hoping to get below 230 this week. But NO! :(

I'm not giving up that is for sure and plan to tweak a few things this week to see what I can do to get the scale to move on down!

Have a great week! :hug:

Hi-I'm excited to find this thread so active
 

Hello,

I am a TOPS member--for about 4 years now. I LOVE TOPS and when I work the program I do very well with my weight loss, I had lost 55 lbs. Then in the next two years, I gained it back. Why? I didn't make me a priority with my eating program and exercise and slowly I inched back up the scale.

I also had a lot of life changes in those two years and I used them as a crutch. I'm ready to not do that anymore and I'm looking for added support; this time I am going to reach my goal weight!

I'm looking forward to getting to know you gals and encourged you and being encourged.

I just called my exericse pal and we are going to meet at 1:00 for a walk. I got up yesterday and went for one too. I have two goals today. No, surgery sweets between meals today and to get that walk in.

I'm looking forward to reading and answering everyones posts.

Welcome to our TOPS group, Suzie! :hug: I'm so happy to have you here and look forward to getting to know you.

I so understand the need to make yourself the priority. Otherwise the weight that we so want off isn't going to happen. I once lost 45 lbs going to TOPS and then stopped and let life get in my way. NOT this time!!

I really believe that having a good support system and accountability are vital to our success.

Evening Ladies,
I went to my TOPS meeting tonight. Mind you I haven't been there for two weeks and gained 3 3/4 pounds. So I am hoping that now I am back to school things go better for me and I can start taking the weight back off.
Welcome Susie! What part of Ohio are you from? I live in the Southeast part of it.
Pita I hope you have a loss this week when you go weigh-in. I know that you will be at or below 230.
Well I am off to do some school work. Today was the first day of school. So I guess I should try and get back in the swing of things. Chat with you all later.
Have a great week!
Kerry

Good evening Ladies:

I plan on making it here every night to post--it keeps me honest with myself and it's sort of my journal/log.

I didn't do to well at lunch today--I forgot to take it with me and I bought it in the cafeteria, but I did go for a nice walk after my nieces soccer game and I had a light supper to make up for lunch.

I've gone for a walk every day now since Saturday morning. I'm getting back into the swing of it---doing a lot of self-talking to myself. Sometimes I have to talk to myself and talk myself out of "using food to satisfy my frustrated desires" it feels silly but it does help me--as long as I do it.

Kar: Thank you for the welcome! I'm sorry to hear about your gain. You know why it's important to go to the weekly meetings---it keeps us on track. You did a good thing by going and getting back on track.
You asked where I am from in Ohio. I'm in South West. Smack dab between Columbus and Cincinnati. My chapter is TOPS OH-0776.

Pita: Thank you for the warm welcome--I'm looking foward to getting to know you too. I remember when I slipped out of those 230's into the 220's. It was an amazing feeling. I hope that happens for you this week.

Ladies, I'm looking forward to Taking off Pounds with you both!

Morning Ladies,
Hope you have a wonderful day! I am planning to stay on track again today. Just eat breakfast, lunch, snack with my students at school ( a healthy one), dinner and a snack of 100 calories Cheese Nips). Plus drink my water for the day too. I am hoping that this evening I can talk my dh in to going for a walk with me. Or I will just go by myself.
Susie that is great that you are getting back on track too. Wonderful news about walking every day. I use to do that but fell out of the habit when I got sick earlier this year. Now I have to work on getting back on track with that too.
Pita hope things are going well for you this week. Did you finish up school? I started back to school yesterday.
Well I am off to teach my students for the day. I will check back in with you all later.
Have a wonderful day!
Kerry

Good Evening Ladies,
I had a pretty good day today. I gave in a little to a sugar craving, but not as much had I have in the past. Still, I don't want to give in at all. I'll keep working towards it. I want to want to loose weight more than give in to times like that. I have to really be careful when I do, because it can get out of control very easily for me.

I did walk tonight--2 miles.

Tomorrow is weigh-in; I might have a gain because I didn't really start watching what I was eating until Monday.

I'll most likely check in Friday morning. Thursday evening is busy for me with the meeting, then working out and then getting dinner.

Looking forward to reading your posts.

Hello everybody! Yesterday, Hubby and I got back from 10 days in Illinois with my family. We're broke and exhausted, and so gla to be home. I watched very carefull, and used my food journal for about half of the trip. The latter half not so much, but I still did fairly well. I weighed at night when we got home, which wasn't smart, but I was very anxious to see if I had made my goal of not gaining. It looked like I'd gained three pounds, but I decided not to "count" it until I weighed today at my usual time. The scale was down to what I weighed before I left, so I made it! Yeahhhh!

Our TOPS meeting isn't until next Monday, so I can still lose. I'm giving a presentation on the exchange cards available on the TOPS website to our group, so I definitely didn't want to have a gain on the day I provided the program.

Evening Ladies,
Colleen, sounds like you had a nice vacation. I will keep my fingers crossed that you don't have a gain on Monday for your weigh-in. I hope that your program goes well.
Susie, glad you had another great day of eating and getting your walk in. Hope things go well for you tomorrow night at your meeting. You never know you might have a loss after all.
I did really good with my eating and water intake today. I tried to get a walk in with my dh this evening. We were on our way to go walk when we ran into two of his buddies and they wanted him to do something with them. So he took me home and went to be with them. I was so mad. I couldn't walk by myself after he dropped me off because it was getting dark. I don't mind walking in the dark with him but I do by myself. He promised that tomorrow evening he will go for a walk with me. I guess I will just have to count all the walking I did at school today as my excerise for the day.
Pita how is your week going for you?
Well I am off to go to bed. 6 am comes awful early and need to be brighted eyed and bushy tailed for my ten special needs students. I will chat with you all tomorrow. Have a great evening!
Kerry

Good morning ladies :wave

Well, I weighed in last night and to my utter disappointment I was up a 1/2 lb. Now this is solely because I was ovulating yesterday!!:mad: I have been tracking my cycle for about 6 months now and I do gain during that time. At least it wasn't more and the scales showed a pound down this morning.

I have upped my exercise at Curves this week to an hour! :exercise:I'm very proud of myself for doing this and soon I will begin walking a few nights in the evenings with my daughter. My boyfriend told me yesterday as he was behind me going up the stairs that my shape has really changed and I'm looking firmer and leaner. How I love that man! ;)

Colleen, welcome back and good for you for not gaining while visiting the family. That is awesome and you better be VERY proud of yourself. :bravo:

Susie, you are doing awesome! The walking is going to pay off big time as you know. I think it's good to check in here often and I plan to do the same. Support is so very important I have discovered. :)

Kerry, you will get those pounds off!! Like you said, being back at school and having a more structured routine will help. :hug:

I am out of school for the next three weeks. I took my final on Wednesday and found out that I got an A in the class. I'm sure I did in my other one as well. Which means that my 4.0 GPA is still intact. :carrot: I go back on 9/26 and will be taking Principles of Selling and Accounting. The accounting book weighs 10 lbs and cost $147. Isn't that insane!! :eek:

OK, I'm off to Curves to do my hour. We are having coffee later with our friends and then a lovely trip to Walmart for needed items to get through the weekend.

Have a terrific weekend and remember to Take Off Pounds Sensibly!! :D

Hi everyone,

I went to my first TOPS meeting yesterday. Although I've been doing well by myself, I wanted some real-life support, so went to check it out. There's only one group that meets during the day, so I went. I think I will join next week. my weigh-in was similar to my home scale, so that helps.

I looked at the TOPS book they loaned me, I won't be doing the TOPS-specific plan since I'm following the Sonoma diet, but I look forward to the support. One lady gave everyone (including me) cantaloupes from her garden! Very nice.

Jax

Hi Jax :wave:

Good for you for joining TOPS. I don't follow their plan either and they don't push it. What I like besides the support is the accountability to myself that weighing in once a week gives me. It keeps me honest and on track, which is something I really need. ;)

Hi Everyone:

I've been trying to get here. I'm glad I finally made it.
I am happy to report that I stayed the same at my weigh-in. Mentally I needed that (or a loss), so now, I can work really hard to see a loss at this coming Thursdsay's meeting.

I just found out that a very good friend of mine is going to be married on the beach in the Outerbanks next June. You know I want to go to that wedding looking good. I feel that if I loose 50 lbs for that wedding I will think I look amazing. It would be fun to show up and have everyone surprised at the weight I have lost. It's my new goal to work towards.

Pita: that 1/2 lb gain will be gone next week. I used to have a gain around my ovalation time too.

Jax: TOPS is an amazing place for support. I'm glad you joined and I'm glad that you joined us too.

Kar: I don't like to walk in the dark by myself eithier. Have you every tried the Walk Away the pounds videos? It's a thought since it is now getting dark earlier in the evening.

Kap: That is so great that your journaled on your trip and that you are the same weight. I bet you will show a loss on Monday. Good luck with your program.

Well, I need to go finish cleaning my bathroom. I was in the middle of my house cleaning when dh and I decided to catch a matinee meeting--we went to see Hairspray--I LOVED it, and I didn't get my bathroom cleaned before we left, so I'm going to finish it now. Tomorrow the Y is open and I want to get there for a workout and not have to finish doing housework.

I plan on checking in tomorrow.

I'm so excited. I weighed myself this morning (after the cat of course, explain that in a bit), and I'm another 2 lbs down. It seems a little fast for just a couple days at home, so I may have actually "lost" while vacationing, but gained water weight from the higher salt (we ate out more than we usuallly would, of course). Ooh, I can hardly wait to weigh in at the meeting Monday night.

Ok, as to the cat getting weighed first. When I first bought my scale I wanted to tests it's accuracy, so I would put the cat on the scale and praise her for sitting still, so I could weigh her and then myself. I never gave her a treat, just the praise, but it wasn't long before she would come running as soon as she heard me get out the scale. The problem was, she wouldn't want to get off, and if I set her on the floor and stepped on the scale, she would step on with me. Then I had to have my husband call her to get her off the scale (he'd shake the treat jug, and then give her a treat, so the habit got even stronger, because she now gets a treat for the whole silly business. Well, when we returned, from our long trip (poor kitty, 10 days without a weigh-in) the first time I got out the scale, kitty nearly killed herself rushing to the scale. She was running at such top speed that when she hit the linoleum, she slid, nearly whacking herself into the wall. Oh, it was so funny. Even a cat shouldn't be THAT thrilled to get weighed.

Hi,

Kaplods: I'm glad to hear that the scales are showing you good things--I hope that tomorrow night is a great weigh-in for you. :hat:
Your kitty story is so funny. :lol: I have a kitty like that--he makes me laugh everyday with his funny personality.

I had a great workout today. The Y that I belong to is open again on Sunday's. I had a great cardio workout. I did 30 min on the treadmill(did 1.50 miles) and then 10 min on the eliptical (did .70 miles). Worked up a great sweat and worked up a better "feeling good about me" feeling.

I'll see you all tomorrow.

Colleen, I nearly spewed my iced coffee all over the monitor with that cat story. Wayyyy funny!! :lol3:

Congrats on the weight loss!! :bravo:

Keep up your good work as well, Susie. :)

Yesterday wasn't such a great day for me. We ended up at a party over at some friends where I nibbled on this and that way more than I should have. Then it was off to dinner for a not the best choice of chicken I could have ordered. Then two iced coffees at Starbucks which kept me up most the night. I managed to do 45 minutes working out this morning, but it about killed me. I'll be back on track tomorrow after a day of lots of water to detox myself.

Morning All,
Welcome Jax! Glad you joined TOPS and us here for support. I think you will really enjoy yourself at TOPS. I know I do for the friendship, accountablity and support.
Colleen how did you do yesterday at your meeting? Congrats on the weight loss from vacation. Love your story about your cat. RAOF Hope your program went great.
Pita, every once in awhile it is not bad to splurge at a party. I am sure that you will be fine come the time you have your weigh-in.
Susie, I have some WATP tapes. I just have to movitate myself to start doing them again. But when it is nice out, I like to walk outside. I will start working out again soon.
Well I started the afterschool program last night. I will do this every night except Fridays. So I am at school from about 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sure does make for some super long days. I hope that I can get into a routine with it soon. Well I have TOPS tonight and shall see if my eating habits and drinking lots of water have paid off for last week.
Well I better go and check to see if my kids at ready to come into the building yet. Chat with you all later. Have a great day!
Kerry

I lost! According to the scale 7 lbs (7.5 for hubby). It didn't seem like that much at home (maybe I'm being paranoid). Next week I think I will to weigh in at home, right before I leave for the meeting, as I'm not sure I trust the TOPS balance scale. Tthey have to add a "C" clamp to the end of the beam to weight my husband and I, and it seems a little low for me, and a LOT low for my husband, and yet the weight loss at meeting seems larger than what I saw on the scale. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I'll be glad when our chapter can buy its own scale (they're using an old scale owned by the church and it's already been recalibrated a couple times, and the weight recorder still isn't happy with it. At fall rally, we'll be doing some raffles and craft sales to try and raise money for a good digital scale).

Oh, and cat lost .2 lbs too! The vet wants her to lose 1 to 2 lbs. Hubby thinks she looks fine (though he says that about me too), The cat has the little paunch cats get when they've been spayed, and the vet said that if she can get rid of that, she'll live a lot longer. She should see MIL's cat, now dubbed "chunkalunka" because she looks like a 30 lb lump of fur with a tiny head attached.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone - just like the meeting.

Colleen - we have a cat with a "post-spay" paunch too - although hers makes her rather wide. I'd like her to lose a few lbs (she went from 7 to 10) but our other cat (ex-male) is almost too skinny, so even the vet was at a loss as to what to do. Ours don't like to be weighed though

Only a small change on the scale here over last week, two more days before my meeting. The TOPS scale was close to my home one, so I'm assuming it will still be. I think there will be more variation at meetings though, depending on what I'm wearing. Not an issue at home.

Jax

I've never had a cat that liked to be weighed, though I had a tortie before that would sit still for a few seconds to get weighed. It gave me the idea to teach this one, but I was sure I was going to have to give her treat bribes to teach her, but I read a book once that said even with cats to try praise before resorting to treats to teach behaviors.

This cat is ridiculously uncat-like, I've never run across one like her. I almost wonder if she's got some siamese in her (my previous tortie did), because she's a constant talker, and follows us around more like a little dog. I'll stop now, or take it to the pet page, because I can go on and on about our "furkid." Though actually sometimes she acts more like the furmommy to us, making sure we take our medications, meals, and naps ontime.

Collen Congrats on the weight loss! That is great after being on vacation for two weeks. Keep up the great work!
Jax I am sure that you will have a loss at your next meeting. I know that my scales at home are very close to my TOPS scales. Sometimes it only changes by a pound or two.
Hi to Pita and Susie.
Have a great afternoon. I will try and check back in this evening after my meeting.
Kerry

Evening,
Well I went to my meeting and lost 2 1/4 pounds. I was happy. That helped making up for the 3 3/4 pounds gained last week. So I am back in the losing game. I really think that being at a brand new school building which is big is helping. I have to do a lot of walking to get from my room to all the important areas in the building. After my body gets used to the long hours afterschool, I think I am going to start incorparting 30 minutes of excerise in the evenings. So I hope that I can start that next week.
Hope everyone is having a good week!
Would you folks like to do a challenge for the holidays? I don't know what we could do, but I know it would help me if I had a challenge of some kind during the holidays.
Well I better go and get ready for bed. The alarm goes off early at 6 a.m.
Chat with you all later. Have a great evening!
Kerry