dd = dear daughter
ds = dear son
dh = dear hubby

as for the 'diet' - well, it has been a bad weekend. My family all seems to be on the edge of sickness. Unfortunately, we tend to 'feed' our colds around here - HA!!

But I'm back on track now - I don't know about the weight - no scales - and that's okay. I'm more interested in losing dress sizes and feeling healthier. I pray I can have a much better report this Friday!

Welcome Laura, Kathy & Louella! Glad you're here!

Kathy- I'm with you on the weighing around the TOM! I'm there right now too, and surprisingly enough I've stayed constant. (I'm almost hoping that means I've lost more than was previously showing.... but not gonna sweat it either way.) I wonder if making sure I'm regularly drinking water and not eating much sodium rich junk is making that difference? Time will tell. I'm actually tracking my weight multiple times a week because I want to understand water weight fluctuations and how that relates to my cycle, etc. As if I don't have anything better to do.... LOL

Laura- If'n you don't mind hangin' out w/us old folks, we surely don't mind hangin' out w/you! LOL How tall are you? Just curious about your final weight goal.

Sherri- you might hop in here, being the resident young'n besides Laura, and say hey to her.

Louella- being at home is awesome. Not sure about lowering the stress level, maybe it will just change the kind of stress. So glad you'll be able to be w/your littles all day!

My brag for today is that my dh came to the Y and we worked out together. Did a 30 min piece on the erg, and then leg weights (hey Missy- it's Monday, I had to pick something easy today!!!! :) missed ya, though ). I think once we get a little more in the swing of things that doing this together will work well. He's never been very active, so it's a strange thing to see him doing this- I'm thrilled!

My sag is that my tummy is upset tonight. Don't know what the deal is, but I'd rather not feel like this. Yuck.

Julie, I am 5'6"... No of course I don't mind hanging w/ older people! Haha! Current weight: 163... Goal weight to reach by Christmas: 120. I hope I make it!

Guess what! I stepped on the scale this morning and I had lost two pounds since yesterday! YAY! And also, yesterday I only ate 950 calories! I didn't even realize it until I added all my calories together at 11 o'clock at night.... TTYL!
*laura*

I'd be thrilled to lose 50 pounds by Christmas. I'm older than the rest of you so my metabolism isn't what it used to be, but I'm up for trying. I'm 56 and I don't have all the little ones around to keep me running, but I do get to see my grandkids all 5 of them on a regular basis. They are a handful, but I love seeing them!
I've been working out at the club 3-4 times a week and I do a lot of gardening. I'm trying to do a low carb diet at the present time. Has anyone had any luck with this plan? I think if we hold each other accountable, we will think twice about cheating. What a wonderful Christmas gift to give to our self, fifty pounds of fat gone!! Just think of all the new clothes and what a wonderful way to start the New Year. I'm excited, I just hope I can hang in there.
Janicej

Originally Posted by ae_chick92:
Julie, I am 5'6"... No of course I don't mind hanging w/ older people! Haha! Current weight: 163... Goal weight to reach by Christmas: 120. I hope I make it!

Laura, I'm wondering where you came up with the 120 goal weight. I really think that is too low for your height. Most of the charts I'm seeing show someone your age and height at least 127. Having been a teen not too long ago :lol: :lol: (Hey, I'm only 31!), I know there's lots of pressure to look/be smaller than is healthy. Please be gracious to yourself and pick a goal weight that is reasonable. I'm 5'9", and in high school when I was running cross country and very fit, my lowest ever weight was 139. I hope you'll think about adjusting that goal upwards a bit. And if you do happen to get really fit and lose more, let it be from your fitness level and not from starving yourself, okay? (More on that in a minute!)

Julie

Originally Posted by ae_chick92:
Guess what! I stepped on the scale this morning and I had lost two pounds since yesterday! YAY! And also, yesterday I only ate 950 calories! I didn't even realize it until I added all my calories together at 11 o'clock at night.... TTYL!
*laura*

You really, really, really need to be making sure you are eating more than that, Laura! Starving yourself will do you no good whatsoever- it actually puts your body in starvation mode and you'll use every single calorie much more efficiently, thus making it harder to lose weight.

And although we may lose quite a bit at the beginning of a diet because our body is balancing out water levels, we shouldn't lose much more than 2 lbs. per week and be safe. Personally, I want to be losing fat pounds, not water or muscle/bone mass pounds. The more muscle, the higher your metabolism, the more fat you can be burning.

We want to hear the you're eating at least 1200 cal. per day, Laura. No one should be eating so little, and especially not someone your age. You need to feed your brain and body so you can be smart and healthy, not just skinny.

Okay, I'll get off my mommy lecture now! :soap: (See what you get when you hang out with us old folks! ;)

Just wanting the best for you, dear girl! :grouphug: And starvin' ain't it!

Originally Posted by janicej:
I'd be thrilled to lose 50 pounds by Christmas. I'm older than the rest of you so my metabolism isn't what it used to be, but I'm up for trying. I'm 56 and I don't have all the little ones around to keep me running, but I do get to see my grandkids all 5 of them on a regular basis. They are a handful, but I love seeing them!
Janicej

Hey Janice! Glad to have a resident Titus woman here! All of us need some older ladies to help us stay sane! We're glad you're here to fill that spot. You sound like you're about my mom's age, and she's struggling with that metabolism thing too (I have no such excuse!).

Whoops, gotta run- my littles are helping themselves to peanut butter crackers! And I smell a fragrant diaper on the youngest one!

Originally Posted by julieofarc:
You really, really, really need to be making sure you are eating more than that, Laura! Starving yourself will do you no good whatsoever- it actually puts your body in starvation mode and you'll use every single calorie much more efficiently, thus making it harder to lose weight.

And although we may lose quite a bit at the beginning of a diet because our body is balancing out water levels, we shouldn't lose much more than 2 lbs. per week and be safe. Personally, I want to be losing fat pounds, not water or muscle/bone mass pounds. The more muscle, the higher your metabolism, the more fat you can be burning.

We want to hear the you're eating at least 1200 cal. per day, Laura. No one should be eating so little, and especially not someone your age. You need to feed your brain and body so you can be smart and healthy, not just skinny.

Okay, I'll get off my mommy lecture now! :soap: (See what you get when you hang out with us old folks! ;)

Just wanting the best for you, dear girl! :grouphug: And starvin' ain't it!

H/O I totally worded it wrong... I went to this website: http://inch-aweigh.com/dcn.php and it said to eat 1500 calories a day... that is what I have been doing, I just ACCIDENTALLY ate too little yesterday... I didn't feel good yesterday also. I wasn't trying to starve myself or anything, I promise!! I would never resort to starving myself, no matter HOW much weight I gained.

Whew! Thanks, Laura! I was beginning to wonder.... :) Glad you've got your head on straight, and thanks for taking my commentary in stride! Hugs to ya!

Haha. Thanks for the concern.

Hi everyone. Is there room for one more? ;) I am 25 and my daughter is 2. I just joined Weight Watchers 3 weeks ago, but am thinking of following the program at home. This forum is much more helpful than the meetings, that's for sure. :D I would love to lose 50 lb.s by Christmas, so count me in. My biggest weakness: eating the last few bites of food my daughter refuses to eat of her food, any suggestions? :^:


Sofi

Hey guys, it sounds like everyone is on the right track...That's GREAT!!! I just wanted to say a quick hello. My brag for the weekend is that I didn't gain back any of the weight that I had lost during the week. My sag is that I didn't work out but two days. Oh well, I will do better this week. I have to say that knowing that I am being held accountable for my progress has helped me tremendously. I'm not only eating better, but I'm actually liking what I'm eating. I also drink about 120 ounces of water a day, but that is not much different than what I have done in the past. Well, I had better run for now.
P.S.-WWnewbieNY- every time you sit down to feed your daughter, drink a glass of water and you will feel so full that you won't want to eat her food!! :)

WHOA 120 ounces????? I wish I could do that!!!! WOWWWWWW! Congrats on not gaining back weight!