Jen, good idea on the squats. I work in an office of about 20 females with one bathroom. And it is the size of a small closet, so I would have to be creative in doing squats! ha! But things like that can really make a difference! Good, creative thinking there!

Jen, mine is the Heinz "one carb" ketchup--probably the same one you have. I did find a no sugar added ketchup at Whole Foods, but because it was Whole Foods, there were also no artifical sweeteners of any kind. It tasted like seasoned tomato paste :p Great going with the squats! Every little bit adds up!

Slash, I share a bthroom with MANY women, too. Plus, it seems like half the time when I need to go to the bathroom, the cleaning people are in there cleaning, which would be fine, except they're MEN, so they prop the door open, and you can't go in there while they're cleaning. Damn these 2 liters of water I drink each day at the office! :devil:

I'm on Day 4 of Phase 1 (round 2!), and I'm still doing pretty well. My scale was still pretty happy this morning, though I'll wait till Monday for my "official" reading.

I brought the puppies to the vet this morning for their big snips--when I pick them up, I will have 2 genderless puppies and no fear of mutant incestuous offspring!

No posts yesterday, where was everyone?

I am here mostly to vent. I know that I shouldn't be stepping on the scale as often as I do, which I probably do at least 3 times a week. I am still waivering 1-1.5lbs back and forth during the week, so probably not a true loss yet. I do realize that there are things I could be doing differently and number one is drinking more water, as well as probably eating a bit more. I am loosely following the weight watchers plan and I know that I am not consuming my full points in a day. I believe that I am allowed 28 points and yesterday I consumed 18. I still ate three times a day, but ate a lot of veggies and they are not high point counters. I don't get a chance to eat while at work so it is breakfast, lunch and dinner for me those days. I realize that eating less slows my metabolism, but I am not starving myself so what is going on?
Feb is almost half over and I have lost only 1lb so far. I still celebrate the pound gone, but truly would like to meet my goal for each month.

Vent over, hope everyone is having a better week than I am.

Newstart: Sorry to hear about your frustrations. I know how that is. I think you just need to keep on it and keep trying. When I hit those times... which happens a lot... I try to remember that there isn't any other option than to keep trying. We can't stop now! If I went back to the old ways, how much more weight would I have??

I definitely feel your pain, though. My problem has been trying to get over this flu thing I have had. I'm going into my 4th week and it is getting better, but the cough kills me sometimes. With the weather being cold, it makes it difficult. I am so tired of snow!!!!!!! I can't believe that I keep wishing and praying for 40 degree weather. Usually by now we're in the mid 40's, approaching 50's. Oh well, nothing we can do about it, I guess.

Hey Jill, midwife, Jen, anyone else: How's it going??

Have a good weekend.

Whew, we certainly are dying off here, aren't we? Hopefully, that just means people have found other places to post, not that they've completely fallen off the wagon!

I know I have been posting a lot in the South Beach section. I went off plan for Friday night and Saturday, but I'm back on now. I'm still at a lower weight than I was when 2008 started, so all has not been in vain!
I have had quite a productive weekend. We went and picked up Bean (our female puppy) from the vet yesterday morning--she'd had to stay there 2 nights after she got spayed on Thursday (we were able to pick up her brother on Friday evening). They're both doing well--we're just trying to keep them from playing too rough while they recuperate.

Anyway, after we brought her home, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I chopped some veggies, made 2 sugar-free salad dressings (posted my recipes in the South Beach recipe section if anyone's interested), went out for dinner with Jeff, stopped at the grocery store on the way home, put the groceries away at home, and made some egg "muffins" last night (egg, cheese, turkey sausage, bacon, chopped spinach, and onion in muffin tins).

Today, I have already gone out and raked up all the leaves in our front yard and bagged them for the trash and cut down some dead plants in the garden. Now I'm crunching on a big salad, then head up to take a shower, and then we're off to dinner with friends tonight (I've already planned on what I'm going to order, and I'm even bringing my own salad dressing!).

I'll weigh in tomorrow morning as planned, but I'm not expecting much of a loss, if any, due to the time spent off plan and the few days when I was ON plan but ravenous and eating way too much food.

So yeah, I've been a bit busy! Hope everyone else is doing well!!

Hi, Ladies :wave:

I have been trying to keep up with you over the past week, but have not been very successful ! I must make a point of taking a few minutes for myself at the end of the day to check in.

I was travelling a few days last week, so hopefully this week will be somewhat normal !

Take care and chat soon :D

Hi all,

Jill congrats on the weight loss!!!!!!!

Life seems to be a little crazy these days. I'll try to pop in more often. I had my weigh in on Friday at curves. My weight is up 1/2 a pound, but tom is due any day so I will not worry to much. But I am also down another 1/2 inch. That brings me down a total of 13 inches!! As long as the inches go down I'm happy, hopefully the weight will drop soon too.

Hope your all having a great day!!

Hi y'all....I'm still around, but reading more than posting. I haven't felt like I have had much to contribute lately, so I just stay quiet. I am staying away from the scales because they do my head in.....I give it way too much power, so I am skipping it for as long as I can. I'm tired of a hunk of metal and springs judging me every day! Whether I lose a hundred pounds or never lose another pound, I am ME and I am WONDERFUL!!
(/rant) Now that that's over....

Jill: Great job on the loss! :)
Slim: You're gonna be in no time!
Newstart: Not sure if you watch the Biggest Loser, but eating too few calories was addressed when three people on the same team admitted to practically starving themselves. Jillian really let 'em have it for that one! You can't eat too few calories--eventually it catches up with you.
slash: thanks for asking about me!

Hi all,
I'm still around, too! Working a lot and very busy with the kids. I have mostly been working my plan. I did have a small binge with chips, dip and ice cream yesterday, but it is a small speedbump and I am moving on.

Yes, Jen, you are wonderful! :hug:

Soontobe, strong work on the lost inches!! :carrot:

Go, Jill! You are doing such a great job staying on plan. I know you will be out of the 300s very soon! :carrot:

Hi Louie! Just make sure you are taking time to relax and take care of yourself. I shall take my own advice! :dizzy:

Newstart, I am a BIG believer in eating enough calories. Sometimes just adding in some avocado, a drizzle of olive oil, a few olives or some nuts will bump your calories and help you get to that sweet spot! ;)

Diane, I am SO done with winter! And I'm south of you, where we don't have too much snow or freezing temps. Come on, summer! :cool:

I am still around as well. Have been having an okay week so far. Today is Valentine's day and I am cooking my husband's favorite meal and for dessert I made a chocolate and raspberry fudge cake. I had a taste, yummo. I won't partake in it though. What on earth I am going to do with the rest of the cake I don't know.

Anyone else have Valentine's plans?

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Hi y'all...our Valentines plans aren't anything elaborate--just grilling steaks and watching TV snuggled up. Still, it will be enjoyable though! :)

Newstart: your cake sounds great!

Jeff and I are going out to dinner. I didn't really want to since we already went out both Sunday and Monday night htis week, but he knows I hate to cook, so he didn't want me in the kitchen on V-Day. And he can't cook anything more complex than a Hot Pocket :dizzy:

We're going to a Brazilian restaurant near us. They have servers who bring the freshly cooked meat right to your table and carve it onto your plate. I'll be having some variation of chicken, turkey, different cuts of steak, pork, sausage...at least it's a good choice for low carbers!

Well gals, the valentine's pics are back, and the verdict is in...

I am officially HOT!! :) (See my avatar!)

I've got other shots, but would probably do better sharing those privately....

Jen, that photo in your avatar is GORGEOUS! Wow, that is just awesome. Any others you care (or dare! ;) ) to share, you can PM me.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day! Jeff got me a steel flower (he works in a metal shop)--the only flower I have that will never die. And it's engraved with a little "inside" message, which is really sweet. We had a great dinner, and I hardly went off my program at all. I had a LOT of meat (pork loin, chicken, New York steak, sausage, top sirloin, prime rib...) and some seafood salad, roasted veggies (broccoli, yellow squash, and zucchini), chickpeas, and black beans from their salad bar. I didn't get a salad only because I was unsure of the ingredients in the dressings. I know my fat was higher than it should have been for South Beach, but overall, I did extremely well on limiting my sugar intake. I'll just be drinking some extra water today for all the additional sodium :dizzy:

Jill, good for you for sticking to the plan. I am having a hard time the last couple of days. I have had a few chips, and some sugar. Once I had a taste though it is hard to walk past it. Kudos.

Jen, your avatar pic is fabulous. I would love to see some others if you are willing to share. You can pm me if you want to share. BTW you are HOT!

Fabulous picture, Jen!!!

I'll check back later and write more. :-)

Thanks for the compliment girls! Check your PM's!

Jill, WTG on sticking to it last night! :)

Great Picture Jen!!!

Jill, WTG!!!!!

We had a quite valentines at home with the kids. We are going out tommorow, hopefully I will stick to it and not go overboard!!

Jill you are doing so awesome! Well done!!

That's great Jill...Keep it up and you'll reach you goals in no time!!

Hi gals--I am back on track! I'm losing water weight every day and am starting an exercise streak! I want to see how many days in a row I can do a minimum of 30 mins activity.

Hope all y'all are doing well!

I used to say that too....but I know that in order to be successful, I have to do it. So....I am slowly changing my mind about it. I am committed to 30 minutes every day with no excuses!

You will too Jill--I remember it was not too long ago that you were doing WATP very faithfully. You'll get back to it when you are ready.

Hi guys!

Can you believe it is almost March?

I have been busy with life but sticking to my plan. Mostly. But what is great is that "mostly" seems to be enough. No drama here, just eating healthy and exercising most days.

It has been a weird week. Two women in their 30s who I know here in town died from cancer. They both have kids. It is so sad. Life is short and precious. I have been doing a lot of playing with the kids and reading to them. Other stuff is less important.

I'm proud of each of us for recognizing that health is important. Cheers!

Hi y'all! It's 3 am....and I must be lonely...LOL

No really, I'm unable to sleep....been having a long conversation with our houseguest and my mind is pretty wound.

The good news is--my weight keeps dropping and dropping!! And I have kept my streak alive!