SATURDAY: Today is Sunny Thoughts Saturday!

Amanda: We will keep praying for Nigel and his family and YOU GIRL, please please stick with it even doing it from home! I know right now things are jumbled up, but don't give up!

Later ladies, Jack and I are headed to the gym!

Faye

Good morning ladies! Wow, it's been a long time since I was able to post on a Sat. morning. I got 4 points yesterday, and I weighed this morning and I'm down 2 pounds! It's the first time I've seen the 210 number since I don't know when I'm 5 measley pounds from being halfway to my goal,too!!

I figured something out yesterday when my dd asked how come we never have frozen grapes in the freezer anymore. Well, I stopped buying them around Thanksgiving because there was no room in the freezer.......well, LIGHTBULB! that's exactly when I started having a hard time with losing the consistent 1-2 pounds a week. Now, it could have been because I was eating holiday foods. But that doesn't explain the past 2 months of frustrating stalls. So, I bought some yesterday and put them in the freezer and then watched myself grab a couple everytime I wanted to "nibble" on a little something. I probably saved myself like 500 calories AT LEAST, just by having that yummy snack waiting for me right when I needed it.

I bet that would work with lots of other treats too, like single serving SF/FF jello and stuff like that. The thing with grapes is that when they're frozen, just one or two feels like a mouthful and they take a while to eat so you can't just unconsciously shovel them in. I think I end up eating 3 or 4 and that has satisfied whatever urge I had to reach for sweets. So, 4 grapes is what? 10 calories?? When I don't have the grapes, I can easily consume a couple of hundred trying to satisfy the same urge.

So, what do you gals keep around for "emergency" snacks?? I need some ideas........

Faye---YOU LOST 8 POUNDS??!!!! That is so AWESOME! YOU GO GIRL :cheer : And no, the duvet doesn't have buttons, it has a zipper. But I just love it. It is so warm.

CARRIE AND JOY-- WOO HOO For YOU You're doing great work ladies, keep it up!

AMANDA--whatever you do, don't give up. And believe it or not, exercise is going to keep you sane during all this stress. I had a friend who had to spend a long time watching his father slowly pass away (I think it was a whole year). The only time he had to himself was 1 hour a day, and he went to a nearby gym and worked out. He was doing it strictly for stress relief, it was the ONLY way he could cope the next day. But when it was all over, he had lost nearly 80 pounds! And he didn't even realize it.......you'd think he would have noticed when his pants fell down around his ankles but he was pretty distracted. Anyway, make sure you make time for you to take care of yourself....take a walk in the sunshine. You'll be a much bigger help to Nigel and his mom if you are feeling good. We're here for you whenever you need to talk, too....

Everyone else, hope you're having a great weekend!

Until Soon,
Julie

Julie: WOWOWOWOWOWOW, almost halfway to goal that is terrific and on the lbs down too. (oh, I meant buttons on the actual duvet cover as decoration )

I have something to say about what Julie said to Amanda about her friend. For most of the people in this world who are honest with themselves, exercise is truly an ugly ugly word. One of the reasons this country is obese is that that our work now involves sitting on our butts for 8 hours instead of working the fields or in factories. Our parents didn't NEED extra exercise because they got it in their everyday life. For us, is imperative that we get exercise. I cannot stress enough how exercise has changed my life even more than the eating. Julie is dead on about it relieving stress. Think about it, can you possibly walk or run on a treadmill or lift weights or whatever and be able to be freaking out about something? I have to totally concentrate on what I am doing or....... would happen ! I sometimes go 2 times a day so Jack goes, but for the most part, I only do it once a day and for 25 minutes total. Now you have been told for it to work, you need 60 minutes BUT that is NOT necessarily true. A lot of factors play into it, your size, how hard you exercise etc. I do not NEED to do an hour for it to be beneficial to me right now. I work hard for the 25 minutes I am on the treadmill and I am seeing big results! (I lost another 2 lbs since yesterday and weighed myself 4 times just to make sure!) With that being said, I hope that those of you who don't seem to be able to find the time to do anything, will seriously reconsider, find something you enjoy and do it with gusto!

Well, sitting here jawing with you ladies is NOT getting my work done so I need to go!

Faye

Hi Everyone

I totally agree Faye in fact they say just a 30min walk is beneficial to your health you don't need to be jumping around like a rabid monkey i must admit i'm really missing my treadmill and can't wait for my foot to get better so i can get back to it.

Amanda, Sorry you are not enjoying the classes i'd put the 4.75 in a jar every week and save it to buy yourself a nice new outfit (in a smaller size ) instead of going to the meeting..i felt exactly the same at the one i went to and i went on to lose the weight on my own anyway I hope Nigel feels better soon, what a rotten time you are having at the moment but it will get better.

POINTS POINTS POINTS POINTS:

Julie
Faye

I made this weeks challenge of 5-4 points days! Going for 6 out of 7 this week! Hope you all did just as well. Shout out how you did this week!

Went Wallie's and picked up Thomas a playstation game called TY the tazmanian something or other. This boy CAN play a video game. He is not even 4 and he has WON both the Tony Hawk's skateboard game AND I think it is the Spiderman game. I also got him some Spidy jammies and 2 Mercer Mayer books, which I bought for my kids because I loved them so much. That is his Easter stuff because Mom doesn't want him to have a lot of candy and the other grandma doesn't listen to her so I have to or I catch !

I put in a batch of sourdough into my bread machine and I am going down and watch a couple movies I got in from Netflix today. Don't know how good or stupid they are!

For those of you that are freezing today, it is 83 degrees here today BUT the bottom falls out tonight and it is supposed to possibly freeze tonight and be low 50's tomorrow! Our tulip and dogwood trees have already bloomed as well as the daffodils, jonquils and such being in bloom so there they go I guess!

Have a great Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

OH and CAT: I keep forgetting to tell you I hope the ole foot gets back to normal real soon! Nothing like a bad appendage to mess us up!

Faye

Hello all
I'm currently at my parent's house for spring break....so you might have to count me out untill further notice.
I hope everyone is doing great

SUNDAY: Today is Silly Poll Sunday and here is our poll this week:

What are your favorite tv programs this year?

Good morning ladies. Whoo did we have a storm last night! Blew out power from 6 pm until around 11 pm. I told you it was 83 here so it was hot in the house and the rain was so hard and coming in the door and windows you couldn't keep them open. I told Jack it was a good thing we got along as you could do nothing but sit and talk to each other! Of course, he has a laptop so he could play games for a little while, but the battery in those things don't last very long. We just lighted candles all over the house and sat and talked about our trip. OOOHH BIG SURPRISE, huh? The house really smelled nice when Jack finally gave up waiting for the power to come back on, blew out the candles and came to bed.

As for the poll, I kind of have a theme thing going on here I think, my favorites are NYPD Blue, CSI and CSI Miami, Law and Order (all of them), NCIS, and I love LAS VEGAS. That is probably my favorite of new shows for the year. It is a cute show and I think James Caan plays a great gruff old boss! Wonder if I can look him up when I am there? (hey, there are probably people that think he really is in Vegas running a casino!)

Have a good day ladies.

Faye

Good Morning everyone.
Well, everything is white again. We have about 3" of new snow from last night and it's still going strong. Happy first day of SPRING Nah, really that's just how it is up here. You get these freak snows all through the spring....it'll be gone again in a day or two. It sure can get you down, though, when you're READY for spring (which I am!)

Yesterday was our anniversary dinner......so only 2 points for water and exercise yesterday. I just wasn't up for the challenge this week, I guess. Too many spontaneous things happening to mess me up. When I plan, I'm good.......when I don't, well........ SO, starting today I'm back to planning and being mindful. I'm going to be 100% of 4 point days this week!!!!

As for that exercise for 60 minutes a day for results......that is total CRAP! All I got for my 60 minutes a day was a sprained knee, shin splints, and a bad back. 20-30 minutes of sustained, honest, hard work is much better. Now, I do exercise for 90 minutes at a time in dance class.....but my body is so used to that after 20 years that it no longer even registers as exercise. It's just routine. I would LOVE to get to a point where I could actually run or bike for 60 minutes. But right now, that just ends up hurting me in the long run. DH went for a 3 hour walk in the woods yesterday, just a walk, and he can barely stand up cuz his back hurts so badly. He doesn't even remember anything he did to injure it......though it's tough when you break through layers of ice every few steps and you're navigating over tree stumps and roots and fallen branches, etc. (He walks in the woods behind our house)

So, work hard.....but work smart! It does no good to work out like crazy one day and then have to nurse a sore knee the rest of the week.

Silly poll......hmm, we don't get any local channels, just the satellite crap. Right now my favorites are Time Team (an English archaeology show), Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (they are SO funny!), Most Extreme Elimination (a bizarre Japanese game show that a bunch of Americans use voice-overs to make fun of.....it's really funny, and painful at the same time. Kinda like Americas Funniest Videos...why is it so funny to see people get hurt??) Oh, and there's a new comedy out called Significant Others that is pretty amusing too. Not much into dramas, life is full of enough drama. Can't stand violence. I've also started watching the Food channel fairly often. Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals is a good show for people who don't have alot of time to cook. She is fairly obnoxious with her mannerisms, but her recipes are great and easy and she often does low fat or low carb meals too.

Ok, I've rambled enough. Gotta get on with the day.

Susan, hope you're having a great spring break.

Amanda, go take a walk in that amazing English sunshine, take a drive in the countryside, pet a sheep for me (I miss my sheepies. THis is the first spring in 6 years I haven't had little lambies popping out all over).....I'd do almost anything to be where you are right now! (In England, that is, not in your personal situation)

Until Soon,
Julie

Thanks to gma2one I believe I may have found a new home. I see you already have a "Cat" so to avoid confusion you can refer to me as mscat or by my email address which is mscathywac (cathy with a c). As the thread mistress, gma, please let me know which one you and Cat think would be least confusing. Cat, it is soooo cool to meet another cool Cathy who spells her name "With A C!"

I like your daily focus. I was part of the week-at-a-time group until they disappeared before the crash. And I am in the middle of a 21-day challenge (can't seem to get into regular posts with that group anymore ).

But starting today I would like to be counted in your point system for meeting my goals and challenges. Still trying to figure out how to track them so you may have to help me get into the rhythm.

In the meantime, a little about me: Had a dynamite body all through high school and college (lowest weight 120 - highest 135). I even worked my way through college as a belly dancer. Gained 70 lbs. with first baby. Started to lose it and then metabolism changed (?), started creepin up and weighed 190 by second baby 8 years later. Only gained 30lbs with that one, but continued to creep after her birth. Highest weight has been a recent 238!

Hundreds of attempts at diets, weight loss plans, exercise plans, etc. Have considered gastic bybass, lipo, you name it. I am with medical weight loss for almost a year and have been a yo-yo never getting below 224. I am giving them a 21-day trial following the program closely, drinking the water, working out daily, and eating their expensive nutrients to not much avail thus far. I am hoping this group can keep me focussed so I can determine whether this program actually works for me or not.

Looking forward to a great week. Thanks for welcoming me.

mscat (?)
sw238/cw230/gw140

YAAAYYY! Another Belly Dancer!! Now I don't have to feel like quite such an aberration

Welcome MsCat! I, too, worked my way through college as a prof. belly dancer, quit to have kids and gain a ton of weight. Now I teach intermediate/advanced classes twice a week and am technical director of our most amazing company up here in Maine.

THe first step for me getting my life back together was joining a dance class 5 years ago. I was well above the skill level of the teacher, but I didn't care. I craved the female companionship and desperately needed to move my body. It was the best thing I could have done for myself.

Well, speaking of dance.......I'm in the middle of costume sewing ****, so I'd better get back to work! If you want to check out my troupe's website it's www.aaminahdance.com my dance name is Mira

Later all,
Julie

Hi Friends!

Thank you all for your messages of support - it really helps! Nigel's mum is much the same - very up and down.

I've definately decided to stop the WW classes - but I am definately NOT giving up! I was thinking of doing the official 'WW at home' - but I don't see the point as I've got all the stuff anyway. I'm going to look at doing it on the internet, but if not I will do it by myself and get weighed at my gym. You are all right about the exercise - it really does de-stress me, if only for a few hours!

I'm actually feeling quite motivated diet wise at the moment - I think I have just come to the realisation that if I don't take this seriously then there is a real chance that i won't have children. I think hitting 31 last week has helped me to realise that I really need to lose weight NOW if i want to have children anytime soon. i know people have children when they are 40 or over, but there are increased risks and I relly want to have them soon - I'm feeling very broody! So i want to stop cheating myself out of my chance of motherhood - the longer I stay fat, the further away my chance of motherhood! I'm not explaining it very well - but lets just say that my body clock is tick tick ticking away!

Take care

Love Amanda xxx

I feel at home already - a kindred bellydancing spirit - what a coupe! Checked out the website and registered, Julie. Not from Maine but I would like to just hear about what is going on in your dancing community.

Thanks!
mscat

Well how grand! I am so happy you joined us mscat. That is what we will call you! I know Julie has to be thrilled someone else knows bellydancing. Some of us (as in me) only know bellydancing from the fact that is what the skin does when you walk!

mscat: You can do this kiddo, I know you can and we are here to help you. I am affectionately known as the as I am known for "nicely" keeping you in line and on task! I am enclosing the bio list of the ladies in this group. Some post a lot, others have quit posting, some just wander in and out. I am including bios only on those that post often or occasionally to keep you from getting confused. Please pm me and send me a bio to include for you!

Hi, my name is Faye, I am 50, have been married 31 years to a wonderful and totally supportive man, have two grown children, Jack, who is 30 and getting married April 10, and Kelly, who is 26, married and has given me an adorable grandson, Thomas who is 3. I have a Yorkie named Fortune and a cat named Butterscotch. I am not working right now, but have been looking. I exercise everyday if I can and my stats are at the bottom of my posts. I have a website: www.freewebs.com\trexnonny/ Please visit it and let me know what you think!


Julie

35 year old, stay-at-home mom of 3 (9,8,and 4). I live in Maine with my husband and the kids. My highest weight ever was 265 (I was pregnant at the time). I started at 3FC at 241, am currently around 238, and my goal is to be in the low 160s. I am working toward a smaller goal of being under 200 pounds by the end of the year.

Carri ( Satine ) - Hi! I am a 30 year old female, married to my high school sweetheart for 9 1/2 years, no kids but one adorable little westie dog named Les. Have lived in Indiana all of my life. Started to gain my weight right after I was married, I got comfortable and lazy...anyhow have been doing a great job lately, focused and need to lose about 90 pounds for goal. Great to meet you!!!

Hi my name is Amanda. I am 30 years old and live in Sheffield, which is in the north of England, although I am hoping to move to Ireland soon. I have a long term partner, Nigel and a cat called Marley.I am a qualified social worker,currently unemployed. I am a Christian and a vegetarian. My hobbies are reading, especially thrillers, watching comedy on T.V and making cards. I also enjoy going to the gym, although I feel it is too early to call that a hobby!

I have just over 100lbs to lose, but seeing all the successes on these forums is a great inspiration and I know I will do it - and you can too!

Hope you can join us

single mommy of one lovey soon to be 7 yr old son going on 30. Lost over 40 lbs back in 2001 weight came back in 2002 when i discovered that I had endo. the pain meds and the lupron helped with that matter. restarted my weight loss on 2/6/3 date of hyst. sw 213 cw 177 goal 150. i am realistic in my goal i know with a large bone structure i will look awful if i go lower. i do ww bbut since june when i found out that richard was leaving i have just been aiming ot eat right, i am now able to get it back on tract and the workouts are in the process of getting to where they need to be but it is hard working 2 jobs and being a mommy to get it all in. Sandy/Gigglez

Hello,my name is Joy Lee,and I currently live in Sylvester,Georgia. I am 46 years young and I weigh 258 lbs at this time..I have been working out and watching what eat ,keeping it low fat and healthy as possible..I started out at 329 lbs,which was my highest weight ever...I have lost down to where I am now in about 8 months..mainly by the exercise and healthy eating..I do a lot of walking and strength training ,sometimes adding an exercise video..I am very active,as I have 5 children ,ages 27 to 7 years old,and a 2 year old grandchild{ girl}...I have 2 boys and 3 girls,2 of which are still at home...we do a lot of family activities,sports,family hikes and theme parks,so I really stay on the go and stay very busy. I have a goal weight of 180,which I hope to be there by summer of 2004 . I am looking for all the support I can get,and be able to give all that I can.

My name is Sandy, and i am 40 years old. I have been married to my best friend for going on 11 years. We have 3 beautiful kidlets... a 10 year old daughter and 2 sons 7 and 4. I like to read and play on this machine... but my passion these days is painting and redocorating... i think i have painted almost every piece of furniture in my home...lol I only have a couple more to do... and i have to redo my kitchen table as my daughter and her friend decided to "do" their nails on it... so there are a few bald spots...Oh well... I am determinded to loose this weight and come out of my shell. I wish everyone the same ...


JUDY: I am 43 yr old single mom of Billy, my 13 year old wonderful son.
I have weighed as much as 308 when pregnant, and have gained and lost the same 50 pounds of the last few years. I was slowly and steadily losing weight until my husband died last March. At that time I had so many other things to take care of, I kind of got lost in the shuffle, and now I am back up to 298. things have settled down now, so I can take care of me again.

I am a Real Estate secretary, so I sit most all day.

Hello, my name is Susan and I'm an english major/theater minor at Oregon State University. I plan on being and english teacher someday. I decided in July '03 once and for all that I didn't want to spend my entire life overweight. So off it goes!
__________________
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My alma mater is getting their behinds beat ON TV by Oklahoma State in the NCAA basketball tournament right now. I am not a fan of basketball and was reading, but got bored with that so decided I would come up here and check and see if anything is going on.

I took a day off my program and had a good old fashioned hamburger today. Haven't had one in a long time. I did, however, make them at home so I used as low a fat ingredients as possible, but still went over my fat for the day, but that is ok because I AM IN CONTROL!

I had to go out to Walmart's and buy tidy whities today to take with me to Vegas. I bought all those clothes because I checked weather temps for this time of year in Vegas and decided I could wear sweaters and pants and of course it is in the upper 80's and 90's there so I am taking 3 pair of my shorts, two of which are white/cream. All my new undies are colored except one pair so had to buy more and had to go with plain ole cotton! How boring now that I can wear something else! Sheesh, try and update your wardrobe and see what you get?

Well, ladies, I will check back later. Hope you all are having a nice quiet Sunday afternoon!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE MISSING AND HAVE BEEN FOR AWHILE, WE JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE MISS YOU AND HOPE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND JOIN US AGAIN SOON:
Lisa, Beth, Amanda456, Pam, Donna, Debbie, Dorothy, Anna, Kim .

I am going to check with the other Lisa and see how she is doing. I am hoping her pregnancy is coming along well!

Faye

I e-mailed all those who have not been here in a long time and this is th reply I received from Donna, who asked that I post it here:

Faye, I glad you took time to email me, I have just been really busy and not doing well at all with diet.
My son's baby was born on march 12, 3 weeks early, all is really good with them and my first grandchild "Laken Elizabeth" is just beautiful!!! They live in Kansas, 3 1/2 hours from here. so the last two weekends I have been in Kansas and the two weekends before that we bought fifth wheel, and we traded our pick-up for a bigger one that will pull both the trailer and our boat, I will be going back to Kansas next weekend, then i will have a free weekend and then going campimg from april 15 thru 24 , then back to kansas, I hope i will get back OP , all the ladies in our little support group have been very supportive, and i hope that i will some try to get back with the group, until Thanks for thinking of been, keep me in your prayers, that I will get back on track. IN the meantime good luck to you all and thanks for being there went I need evevryone.
Faye , if you could copy and paste this into our boards , I would apprecate it,
Again, thanks and hopefully I will get back to posting soon.
Donna [ newme4me]


Donna

IN GOD WE TRUST

MONDAY: Today is Mission Monday and we continue with March MADNESS month. Let's work hard this week to really dig in our heels and get those 4 pters! I am counting on you ladies to work your program!

GOOD MORNING! It is 5:11 am and I am up and rearing to go! I am getting ready to do mornng chores, take Jack to work and head to the gym. I took yesterday off from the gym and feel refreshed and ready to tackle it again this week. Let's have a really good week of 4 point days! Remember, your behind not shrinking, your cholesterol sky high, you diabetes out of control, leg swelling and the like only hurts you, not me or other posters! Let's work to make our bodies healthy and the side benefit will be a more beautiful outside.

I will check in after I get back from the gym this morning. Until then......

Faye