Can I please join your group? It seems really positive and encouraging.

Lateral: You are of course most welcome here. We are positive, positively goofy, positively positive that sooner or later we will get this weight off and positive that we can do this. We are glad to have you. The ladies here are wonderful so just join in on the topics, pts, whatever you wish.

Faye

Welcome Lateral! I'm Julie...I belly dance and write and I'm a little

Well, ladies...I just got back here and now I'm leaving again. I'll be in Virginia for a week letting the kids visit grandma. We only get to see my mom once a year or so. THey can't wait!

I just got back from the grocery store with lots of healthy snacks and sandwich fixin's so we don't have to eat crappy road food.

Everyone have a great week! I'll see you back in 10 days.
Julie

Where does grandma live in Virginia - I'm in Tidewater.

A big welcome to our newest member. Let us know a little about you and join right in.

I'm better today - exercise and water. Food is still not where I want it to be.

Hi all,

I'm giving myself 4 points for yesterday - I went about 150 cals over my 1600, but I'm making allowances for the PMS, and it's the lowest I've managed in a few days!

CARRI - Glad the procedure is over and DH can rest up. I will pray that it is effective and stops the pain.

JULIE - Enjoy your week away! Hope you get on with your mother, otherwise it could be a very long 10 days!

SUSAN - I love bread too, especially during PMS and TOM. Well done for getting straight back on track - I suppose after 196lb lost, you are allowed an off day or two!

FAYE - Are you still getting on that treadmill? How are you doing with your food?

LATERAL - Hi there! You are most welcome to join us! We are a close group and we all support eachother through the good and bad. Faye will post our intro's, although they maybe a bit out of date now - I keep meaning to update mine! Tell us a little about yourself!

Hi to Dorothy and Nikki!

Love Amanda x

FRIDAY: Today is Fabulous Futuristic Friday. Come one girls and tell me something you want to wear, buy, go to, etc when you have lost lbs.

Lat: Here are the groups stats, though some of the ladies have never sent me anything so they aren't on here. Like Amanda said, these are dated, except for mine so they may be a little older or some of their circumstances might have changed a little.


Hi, my name is Faye, I am 51, have been married 32 years to a wonderful and totally supportive man, have two grown children, Jack, who is 31 who got married April 10, 2004, and Kelly, who is 27, married and has given me an adorable grandson, Thomas who will be 5 in June. We live in Memphis now, but were in the Navy for 20 years and moved all over the place. I have a Yorkie named Fortune and a cat named Butterscotch. I am stay at home, but plan on starting my own candle business in the fall. My husband Jack, works for the city of Memphis.


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!
The rest of you, just tell her about yourself and I will steal what you put off your post and put it in the stats folder.

Julie: Have fun with "grandma" in Virginia. Beautiful state so I am sure you will enjoy yourself. I lived in Va Beach twice, been down to Charlottesville, Lynchburg that area too and it is gorgeous in those mountains.

PTS:

Amanda
Susan

Amanda: Honestly, I have done nothing for a few weeks now. I am not going to make excuses, just that I am having a really hard time with my allergies now and leave it at that. I told dh that next week I have to get back to what I was doing whether I feel like it or not. Thank you for thinking of me, I really appreciate it.

Everyone go out and make this a great day

Faye

I am 63 years old, married for 32 of those. I have no children but one spoiled cat, Cupid because he has a white heart in the dark grey fur on his back. We've lived in Yorktown VA since 1987, moving here from Akron Ohio. My husband is disabled now but was a chef.

I originally joined WW in 1971, weighing a whopping 356 pounds and lost 214 pounds over the next 2 years to reach my goal weight of 142. I kept it off and worked for WW as a meeting leader until we moved to VA. 6 years ago I was diagnosed with severe asthma and put on pednisone, I also quit smoking immediately upon that diagnosis, and my thyroid decided to start dying a few months later (dr. said it was probably affected by the prednisone). So to make long story short, I ballooned up to 192. Started working with a dietician and went back to WW and did manage to get back to 175 but couldn't get below that. Points and I had a very hard time. Last year when Core came out I jumped on the band wagon with my RDAs blessing and I've lost 15 pounds. I had my goal raised to 155 since I'm now a lot older than before. You would think I could lose 5 pounds, but it is hard work. My thyroid continues dying and I have to keep having my meds increased. I'm on inhaled steroids for my asthma. My goal is to get to 155 by the end of the year.

I found this to be an interesting article, since it seems to be the premises behind WW Core Pland and South Beach. Just some food for thought. I do know that this is how I eat 99% of the time and feel great. When I don't, well, that's another story.

April 14, 2005

New Study Suggests Being 'Choosy' About Carbohydrates and Other Foods May Be More Important Than Counting Calories
Most people who are trying to lose weight start by counting calories -- even weighing and measuring out precise portions. But a new study suggests you might be more successful if you focus on changing the types of foods you eat. Researchers at Chicago-based Radiant Research found that overweight and obese adults who focused on choosing the "right" type of carbohydrates (high-fiber, whole-grain, low-glycemic) lost more weight and body fat compared to dieters who adopted a low-fat, portion-controlled plan.

"The results showed that by modifying the amount and type of carbohydrates and increasing lean sources of protein, people were able to lose almost twice the amount of weight and body fat as people who followed a more traditional approach of counting calories and limiting portions," said lead researcher Kevin Maki, Ph.D., who presented his findings at the Experimental Biology scientific conference, Abstract # 448.5.

Dr. Maki and colleagues evaluated the weight loss of 86 overweight/obese men and women, ages 18 to 65, who followed two different diets for 12 weeks. One group was on a traditional low-fat diet and decreased portion sizes to shave off at least 500 calories a day.

The second group was told simply to eat until hunger was satisfied. They were instructed to follow a "modified-carbohydrate diet. These participants changed the type and amount of carbohydrates -- replaced refined grains with the slower-digesting and more nutrient-rich whole grains -- and focused on lean sources of protein.

Impact of Modifying Carbohydrates

The dieters on the modified-carbohydrate eating plan lost significantly more weight and body fat compared to their counterparts on the low-fat, portion-controlled diet. They also experienced significant improvements in triglycerides and the ratio of total to HDL or "good" cholesterol. Research suggests improving these factors are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease.

"Adopting an eating plan that includes a moderate intake of carbohydrates with an emphasis on nutrient-rich whole grains appears to enhance weight loss," Dr. Maki said.

Calorie Balance

The participants in the study who followed the modified carbohydrate approach tended to consume fewer calories than those on the portion-controlled plan, even though they were not counting calories and were instructed to eat until hunger was satisfied.

"Our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that modifying the quantity and quality of carbohydrates in the diet and changing the types of food you eat may have important influences on regulating calorie balance," Dr. Maki said.

While the reasons dieters on the modified-carbohydrate plan consumed fewer calories are not fully explained, Dr. Maki said one hypothesis relates to the satiety value of the meal plan. Participants may have experienced greater feelings of fullness so they ate less, he said.

SATURDAY: today is Sunny Thoughts Saturday. A day to share stories, jokes, etc to make each other smile.

back later girls. Have T's first soccer game today.

Faye

Hi all

I had another bad day yesterday - I seem to be doing 'one day on, one day off' this week! I'm having a better day today, so far anyway - I've just come back from a 35 min walk and 40 min swim and have cooked a healthy lunch of noodles and veggies.

FAYE - I think that most of the time you are so busy supporting the rest of us, you forget to ask for support or advice yourself. I think it's a good idea for you to set a date and commit to re-starting. I've also been slacking in the food department and am going to really shake things up next week. I really need to get this weight shifting - I only lost 4lb last month, and this month is going much the same way. If I carry on like this I will be nowhere near my goal weight by my wedding. I know you had a goal weight for your vegas trip - so lets get moving!

SUSAN - That article was very interesting, thank you. That 'Low GI' way of eating is all the rage over here at the moment and I'm definately going to try it out. I like it because it doesn't tell you to cut carbs out altogether, which I could never do! I like wholegrain food anyway, although I haven't been buying it recently (apart from bread & breakfast cereal) because it is twice the price of white carbs and money is really tight at the moment. I am intending to switch completely to wholegrain pasta and rice and have told my partner - luckily he'll eat just about anything I put in front of him, so it's not a problem.

Have a lovely weekend

Love Amanda xx

SUNDAY: Today is Silly Poll Sunday and our Poll this week is what would be hardest for you to do without if something happened to you, sight, ability to talk, hearing, a missing limb, what?

Have a great day girls

Faye

MONDAY: Today is Mission Monday and our mission this week is to work on why we are continuing to overeat, ignore our program, etc. If we are not staying with our program, it is either not working, we need a change, or we have issues we are not dealing with and we are eating instead. Let's work this week to smooth out what is going on with us and get back where we need to be.

I will check back in later

Faye

Good morning. 4 points for Saturday, 2 for yesterday.

Amanda, I seem to be like you - one day on and one day off and it's leading nowhere. One of my problems is I let myself get too hungry and then I can't seem to stop eating once I get started...and even though it's healthy stuff, the calories add up fast. Mainly I do this on the weekend - running errands and not having food available. I'm going to start keeping some carrots and an apple in the car when I run errands on the weekend and then I'll have a decent snack.

I am happy to say I did get exercise in both days.

Up in the high 70s this week so those baggy winter clothes have to come off (so some pounds had better follow).

Hello folks,

Well I have given myself a well needed kick up the jacksy and am giving it 100% from now on - well from yesterday actually, I had a really good day and am pleased to claim my 4 points.

I'm trying something new to try to shake things up a bit and give my weight loss a boost - I'm still counting calories, but I'm changing my lunchtime meals. Usually I almost always have a sandwich, or something on toast - but now I am cutting bread out and having protein (egg, feta, cottage cheese, mixed beans) and a big salad. I'll then have a normal tea which will be wholemeal pasta or rice etc. I know it would be better to cut out the carbs from the evening meal, but thatis the meal I share with Nigel and he would not be happy to cut outthe carbs - so skipping them at lunch is a compromise. I've heard good things about just having protein and veg, so I'm hoping it will get my weight shifting! I'll see how it goes anyway, and figure that even if I stick to it for 5 days out of 7, it should make a difference.

Spent yesterday evening making a birthday card for my nephew - I am really pleased with it, it has a big red '2' in the middle, some balloons at the top and a caterpillar made of little pom poms crawling across the bottom. It also has his name across the top - I just hope my sister realises that he can't play with it, because it won't last 2 minutes in a excitable 2 year olds hands!

Have a good OP day ladies,

Love Amanda x

Amanda - sounds like you have a plan. I usually do carbs at breakfast and dinner (my husband won't do without them at dinner). Works for me.

Have 32 oz. of water in so far and walking on my lunch hour so I've got the day planned.