Penny I agree with you scheduling meetings around the weather isn't so easy. I try to fit in as much as possible on the good days. I have 24 people to ensure I see for the month. Then extra meetings which come up or are scheduled. Sometimes I am lucky enough to fit some at the same site. You becareful with the snowy roads. I am suppose to get more over the weekend here right now only a few inches but very cold only going to 35 which is warmer than yesterday. So this weekend I plan on staying close to home and work on my sweater. Good knitting time. I also had the craving for choc. and settled for some boxed candy DH got for the holidays. I ate 250 cals worth but I did add it in then had a few glazed walnuts too. Kind of healthy but not. Oh well at least I didn't mess up my whole day. More control this week. Scale day is friday. Marie you are so helpful with Bear thanks for asking . We have him on kind of a schedule. At this age we don't leave a whole bowl of water as he'd have to go every few min. Oh no! But we give it to him on and off throughout the day. We were just saying this morning we should feed him earlier too. Right now we give him his last food around 6 sometimes he doesn't eat it til later. We are going to move it up to 5 if its not gone by 6 we will take it away for the night. How does that sound is it cruel? Last night he whined and barked when it was bed time for 5 good min. then settled in til 2:30 but he does both businesses when he goes out. Then around 6 he's up. But I go to work so its okay. Every night we get pushing it a little bit more maybe soon it will be til 6 one can only hope. Any thoughts are appreciated. Linda a friend tried to have dinner for breakfast lunch as lunch and breakfast for dinner. For her no changes but she generally gives up before results come around people want instant changes. I would like that too but its not reality. Wedding are a lot of work but I hope to enjoy this one to the fullest. I am preparing to help with some of the cost for her. But they are doing a lot on their own. She is pretty good with utilizing coupons watching for sales and purchasing things in advance so its not all at once. My SIL is buying their cake as they helped her a lot with things. I will help with somethings as I can she always is grateful and says mom you've done enough. We have several wedding and baby showers too this year its a crazy one. Its like all the of them decided to do things at the same time From now til August. Whooo! It will be okay just have to juggle a bit. Penny any good ideas I try to share and enjoy everyone elses to. Its so good to have friends to share with and learn from wow we are all lucky to be here I think. Linda and we are all glad you have joined us for this journey of weight loss and healthier living. The more the better more ideas more insight etc.... Have a super day I have to go solve some problems this a.m. which came up in the afternoon yesterday a sticky part of my job. I sometimes have to use my skills with counseling to help out and hope I am on the right track. So off to do my best and pray its the right way to go! Breakfast Pumpernickel toast w/ little butter and 1/2 grapefruit, snack at 10 yogurt lite and lunch around 300 cals. dinner plans chicken, veggies and rice. Plans of the day and some treadmill this evening.

Did someone mention stress? And stress-munchies? This week hasn't been a great one for me. I've been going to bed later than I should, hence not getting up very early, which cuts into my workout time. I'll have to workout when I get home tonight--meaning I can't let myself linger too long at work....this cycle is bad news for weight loss, especially in the winter, when I'm naturally wanting to eat and sleep more and move less. At work, folks are edgy and beginning to worry about how we'll deal with being understaffed. It will be easy for me to work late and weekends for the next several months--again, a pattern that will pack on pounds! So I hope that my commitment to losing, not gaining, will also be impetus to pace myself and practice self-care while leadign our staff through these transistions

Okay enough on this...Linda, my plan is to have a plain (no fruit) protein shake for b'fast, but when it's chilly out--and we're suddenly back down to seasonal temperatures in DC--I'm much more interested in something hot. How about an egg and some steamed veggies, like frozen Chinese veggies (mostly snowpeas and carrots)? Or quiche or an omlette?

Marie, I hope you're getting a little rest--you've been really busy lately. Women at Curves last night were laughing about American Idol. I get more of a kick from reading about it than from watching the program

Carol, good luck with the problem solving. If you have extra time, I can send a couple of mine your way....

Penny, we're have similar struggles. I have just calmed down from being livid that, due other people's actions, I have to reschedule a long-planned meeting and apologize to folks I recruited to play a role. When I get home late after days like this, I want to munch, munch, munch after dinner on carbs. Which I did last night, even though it was only spelt bread and fruit. I'll look for the book you recommended, thanks.

Okay, back to work!

judy

Judy - It sounds like you are under a lot of work stress right now. I hope things get better for you soon. You're doing the right thing by planning your meals and keeping up with the exercise. I've cut down a bit on my breakfast calories (cut out the toast with my eggs) so that I have some calories for the afternoon when I seem to be hungriest (tiredest?) Since I can't take a nap I have to have something to keep me going in the afternoon. I don't watch American Idol but, from what I've seen on the news, it looks like an old show that was on years ago called The Gong Show where this guy with fuzzy hair insulted the usually horrendously bad acts and banged his gong for them to go away when it got too bad. I can't think why people put themselves through such torture for the vague possibility of five minutes of fame!

Carol - I saw a fascinating knitting show on HGTV today and it's amazing what you can do these days with all the fancy fuzzy yarns. I'm tempted to give it a try but I never got the tension right. Maybe with the new yarns it's not so important. I haven't tried toasting pumpernickel - I'll have to give it a try. Pumpernickel is very healthy with all those different grains and rye - very filling too.

Linda - We didn't lose power with this storm, but we lost power for 8 hours with the last one a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, we have a couple of generators so it didn't affect us too much. I know what you mean about having the healthy food but just needing to remember to eat it! If I could just get my actions to agree with my intentions!

Marie - No wonder you were tired out. I don't know how you manage to do so much exercise and work full time as well as babysitting and all your other interests. Sounds like you don't have a lot of 'down time' to take care of you. At least your DS and DIL are getting a good education (which is more than some parents can say these days) and they will be off to a good start when they get their own place.

The snow is rapidly melting away and I hope we don't get any more storms for a while. The weather is crazy all over. There are terrible wind storms and gales in England and it's the warmest winter ever in Switzerland. Plus all the ice storms in Texas, California and the Midwest.

I'm doing ok calorie wise so I hope I haven't gained any when I weigh in tomorrow. I've had a pretty bad bout of IBS the last few days after having some extremely hot Thai food the other day. At least this time I can pinpoint what caused it. I hate to give up spicy food as I love it, but it's not worth the agony! It's a bit of a vicious cycle, because when I get a bad attack I don't sleep then I'm tired all day and wanting to eat for energy. Apparently, lack of sleep also causes high cortisol which makes you gain weight. So one of my main aims is to improve my sleep, which I'm sure would help with quelling my afternoon munchies.

Hope everyone has a good weigh in.

Hi all, tomorrow is Friday and that is good news. Our latest problem employee at work quit today (with a little push and nudge) so we're short staffed again. But it's not my problem and I won't cover that job. I personally liked the guy that quit but I understand what the problems were.

DS1 came home early from school and so tonight I'm not babysitting other than when DGS wants to play with me. I'm happy about that. I'm a little tired.

Penny, I think you joined us after DS and DIL told us they were pregnant. We did the addition to our house so that we could support them while in school so that we wouldn't be supporting them the rest of our lives. So we're doing the time now so that they can support and raise DGS with good jobs. Sometimes in my frustration of having my empty-nest demolished I forget the reason behind it. Besides DS2 will probably live here for the next 3 years since he's starting school. My dream - an empty nest.

Linda, you and I are so alike in the baby/DGChild thing. I like it on my terms. I really think it has to do with never being a baby person. I love kids (or I wouldn't work for a school district earning lots less than I could get in private business) but not to the degree that very maternal women do. If they take too much advantage, I will definitely confront it, but at this point it's almost totally school caused babysitting. I did offer to babysit next weekend so they can go snowboarding. DH will be out of town and DS2 will have Guard weekend so I thought it was a good weekend to volunteer since I can't go skiing or showshoeing with DH or DS2.

Carol, definitely if your bear doesn't eat by 6, take the food away. It's not mean in any way shape or form. He should eat when he's fed. It's the only way to control the routines. And the water probably shouldn't be past 6 either. I've never had the night potty problems you're having so I've never taken the water away, but I've read enough to know that is proper training for puppies.

Judy, I'm so sorry about the stress. It wreaks havoc with diets. When food is our comforter, what's supposed to comfort? At least you're exercising and that does reduce stress. Do try some boundaries on overworking (do as I say, not as I do ). Remember that you only live once and working isn't what's important. Doing a good job is but not if it hurts you. Good luck. I know it isn't easy.

Goldilocks is sick. Actually she's had the runs since Monday or Tuesday and I've been feeding her just rice to try to eradicate whatever is wrong. But after I cleaned the yard this afternoon, I called my vet and I'm bringing her to the hospital tomorrow morning. She's not a youngster and I'm not seeing improvement. AND I'm 99.7% sure it's her. I know it isn't Kody as I've seen him go, but I haven't seen Blizzie go. But Goldie is tired and listless and Blizzie is fine. So I'm pretty sure it's her. $$$ tomorrow... But I certainly won't take a chance with her health. So I might have to give up this weekend's ski trip.

I did 6 miles on the exercycle this morning with the ab lounger routine. Food today - right on. So I'm hoping that since I've been very good, tomorrow the evil scale will respect my efforts.
Marie

Judy it has been a crazy work week I agree with you whole heartedly. I worked late tonight but that doesn't give me extra pay instead some time off at the end of friday. We have to adjust our schedules etc. Oh well I guess its okay but extra hrs. and funds would be nice. Your job is stressful as well. I did my counseling on males and sexual activities this morning. I am telling yah from one day to the next yah never know what I may have to solve or handle or do a referral on. Its a lot of variety and I will never be bored. When I went to school for this area of life I had no idea what I was really getting into. Judy I am munching on a gala apple as need a crunch as well. Don't let that job control your wt. you be strong and fight off that urge and have something good but with in your calorie range. You can do it. Judy I am attending a wedding shower at a Thai rest. on 2/3 can't wait I love that food. Knitting is fun and sometimes getting the gauge right just takes holds the yarn a bit tighter or loose. Not a biggy you should try again so many cool things to make. marie make sure you take her to the vet if the condition is not improving. My co worker just had problems with her dog and had blood in the poo etc. and doggie was very ill. She was so scared of losing him etc.. Stayed over at the vets came home yesterday and just really exhausted etc. Something going around the vet said. Their just like us with those things I guess? Well I baked scones for work as its someones birthday. We are doing a brunch and then the kids are staying over that means pizza. So boy I better be kind of careful or exercise more. Friday is scale day I am hoping for a loss we'll see. I think overall I have been pretty good lately. If no loss I am still grateful for having some will power eventually its got to show up. Well thanks for the Bear tips and I am going to use them for sure.

Does everyone weigh on Friday?

I'm tired tonight, our 3 hour group walk was indoors today at the walking track, even did a little jogging. I love that floor there it is cushioned so it is easier to jog on. Not many turned out because we got lots of snow dumped on us. It is still snowing, it can stop any time, I don't want to be snowed in.

I liked my breakfast, it seemed to give me more energy. I need to get in more protein esp. at breakfast to help with the blood sugar. I'm leaving my fruit until lunch when my sugar is lower.

Marie, hope it is not too serious with your dog. I didn't mind babysitting as much when the kids really needed help. We all want our kids to succeed. Now a days they need some help. Everything is so expensive and it is hard to get ahead. My grandson is at a fun age, going to build a snow man with him tomorrow after work/school and do some sledding. He likes to go on walks with me.

Judy, yes it is hard not to over eat after a stressful day. Don't be to hard on yourself. All we can do is keep trying. Thanks for the breakast suggestions.

Carol, winter is nuts this year. We usually don't get much snow but this year it started earlier and we keep getting more. Way to go on fitting your treat into your daily calories.

Penny, I need more sleep too. I have heard that the longer your awake the more you will probably eat in a day. I haven't been able to eat spicy food for years.

Linda try some cottage cheese its high in protien and might help. I just started to do fridays on scale day. But I gained today and I am not so happy. Thinking back to what my intakes have been for the week seem to be pretty good. But there always is a but I bought a bag of cheddar popcorn at work a real not me thing to do must of been stress related for sure. Even though I didn't eat only what I counted into my day still it is higher in salt etc.. Not that healthy for sure I knew it tasted to good! Oh well today I pay the piper! Anyways I also have been using Smart Ones for Lunch the ww foods. They are higher in sodium than if I was making something myself. I think I might do the scale again on Sunday. At any rate not such a happy camper. Though Bear slept til 5 this morning not so bad finally closer to my get up time. Linda we usually get lots of snow and we have had a super winter with warmer temps and only a bit of snow compared to normal. It is snowing this a.m. and I am glad I extended my work day yesterday. As today that means getting out earlier and not driving around quite as much. I will stop at a site and see some clients on my way home this afternoon so it will have me leaving the city a bit earlier too. Talking of grandkids I offered to have all 4 tonight it will be fun. I have to take one to a birthday party as mom is working and Dad will be flying home from out of town on work. We don't mind and live with in 5 min. of the girls. The salt truck just went by thats a good thing before I leave. We are in for some snow possibly 12 inches by morning on saturday. I used to get to Kingston Cananda with my girl friends and Toronto once in awhile I love the market there. Are you located near either of those places? It only took us around 1.5 hrs. to Kingston about 4 to Toronto. Going with the girls places is so much fun most men are funny about site seeing and traveling. Though I have to say Maries hubby seems to be quite out going good for you Marie!!! Hope your going out on your ski's this weekend. Well off to work we are having a brunch today. I will try to becareful. Then I promised the kids pizza too. So I will need to use the treadmill tonight. Saturday I will have a wow becareful day! Got to get my numbers back. At least that naugty scale lets me know I guess but sometimes I'D like to drop it in the toilet.

Morning all, I came in 45 minute early to work today so that when I left for taking Goldie to the hospital and picking her up, I wouldn't feel guilty. So then here I am surfing. Bad me. This is my slow time of the school year. My to do list has nothing on it so I guess I could work on some projects...

So Goldie is at the vets for the day (hopefully that's all). She's still sick so I was good to call yesterday. Sometimes it's hard to say when something will just pass but so far it hasn't and she's been sick since the start of the week. Getting her out in the morning without the huskies was quite the entertainment. DS2 was up getting ready for work and he blocked the doorway when Kody came flying through to follow Goldie.

I hope I get to ski this weekend but the vet's bill will determine that.

The evil scale wasn't as evil as it can be. I lost .2 pounds. Someday I hope for a whoosh but they seem harder to come by the closer I get towards a healthy weight. And Linda, I weigh on Tuesday's (my most hated day of the week so really could the scale make it worse) and Friday's (my fave day of the week and could the scale really ruin it???). It's all psychological with me. I wish I didn't let the scale determine my day but those two days can't be altered by what it says.

Carol, enjoy the snow. I know if I had 4 grandkids (I'd be nuts first) I'd get them out in that snow to use up the energy. And I'm sorry the evil scale was mean to you. Know what I did this week, I found the calculation for BMI (it is weight divided by height in inches squared multiplied by 703). When I started last Apr 25th, I was 34.21% and now I'm at 27.59%. I thought that was so cool. My goal weight would have me at about 21.5% That would be so awesome don't you think???

Linda great job on the jogging yesterday. I did 3 miles jogging this morning. We are quite the movers aren't we??? I'd love to have the cushioned track. I do the WATP jog 1 mile 3 times. I actually jogged outside last weekend with my doggies for a bit but I figure I look sort of foolish still.

Last night DS2 watched the AI auditions with me and we laughed so hard. Where do some people get the idea that they can sing??? I've been told I had a nice singing voice but truly I know I don't. How can they not know. It was too funny. Thank the heavens for DVR so that I didn't have to listen to the entire auditions. After a couple notes I usually fast forward to the mean comments. Oh such is entertainment.

After work I'm having my hair professionally cut. I have not done so in a year and a half. DH just trims the buttom straight across but it's been since October since he did that and I need more than the 1/4" he's willing to part with. The ends need a real trimming. Now I have to time it with the vet for when they close. such a busy day.
Marie

Thanks for all the good thoughts regarding stress! I won't have much choice but to work flat out for several months, as I'll be one of the two executive directors for much of the year, and I still need to hire another program staff person. Even so, I have to set boundaries and priorities, and acknowledge that everything won't get done. I "overcarbed" again last night, and this morning I slept like a pig, as my mother's stepmother would say, and once again had to rush right into the office. I wonder ifTOM is partly to blame, maybe this will improve in another day or so. I am heading to Curves momentarily, so all is not lost...just not my best effort .

Hope everyone (including Goldie) has a good weekend. I generally count my weekend weight on my ticker.

Curves closes early on Fridays, and I am determined to do something today,so gotta rush off--judy

Marie - I hope Goldie is ok. It must be very worrying for you - just like when one of your kids is sick. I hope the vet doesn't sock it to you too badly. Congrats on the loss - the scale owes you a big whoosh soon! You must have a glacially slow metabolism with all the exercise you do while sticking to your eating plan so well. Life (and weight loss) just isn't fair.

Carol - I wish they'd use salt on the roads here for the one or two days a year we really need it! People could wash their cars off afterwards if they were worried about rust. It's always a mini-disaster when we get any amount of snow or ice. Maybe your gain is from the salty popcorn. I know that one really salty meal makes my fingers swell up! I hope the scale is kind to you next week so you don't have to flush it!

Linda - Fridays are my "official" weigh in that I report here. I weigh myself every morning (and, I'm sorry to admit, every evening). A bit compulsive, but it seems to help me to keep under control before things get out of hand and I'm looking at a 10 lb. gain! Good idea to eat protein for breakfast. I try to have some protein with every snack and meal. It stays with you so you don't get hungry as quickly.

Judy - I hope you have a relaxing weekend.

I'm pleased that I've lost another pound, so I'm down to 188 . I still need to lose 3 lbs. to get back to my pre-holiday weight. I've been trying to avoid cane sugar and artificial sweetners and I wanted to tell you about Agave nectar (a natural sweetner) that has a relatively low glycemic index so it doesn't affect your insulin as much. It tastes great - a cross between honey and maple syrup. It's just a little thicker than maple syrup but not as thick as honey. It's very sweet (about 1-1/2 times sweeter than sugar), so you don't need to use much. It's made from the juice of a cactus plant and is completely natural. I paid $3.39 for an 11.5 oz bottle at Wild Oats. Here is a link with some info in case you're interested: http://www.madhavahoney.com/agave.htm

Have a great weekend everybody!

Exercise was 1 1/4 hours walking and 43 min weights. My hip and back are a bit sore today. I have had problems with them for a while now and usually I go for massages but they don't seem to be helping. So going to try and friends chiropracter on Tuesday. Not the bone crunching kind but more of a pressure point thing my friend said. I want my full mobility range and this is holding me back. Some days I can harldy move.

Fridays my work is done at noon so built 2 snowmen with dgs and did some sledding.

Food was good till tonight. Had dinner out with family and made a good choice. Went shopping with one daughter afterwards while dh took my dgs home to ride on the snow blower, fun for both of them. After shopping my daughter suggested we go back to the restaurant for desert. Would you believe that my daughter and I went back to the resturant afterwards and had dessert. I wasn't even hungry but I wanted it, and ate it, mad at myself. I'm crazy for wrecking a other wise good day.

I weigh on Wednesdays, my scale stayed the same. I'm determined I'm going to lose something by next Wed.

Carol, Thanks for the cottage cheese suggestion, I will buy some next time I go to the store. Salt can make that scale disagreeable. Have fun with your granddaughters tonight. Is it terrible for me to say I enjoy girls more than boys? I have 2 daughters and I really enjoy spending time with them. My grandson is a new experience for me. He is teaching me all bout boy's stuff. When he tells me about a new toy or game I always have to ask what he is talking about. I agree about going places with men. Mine says he wants to go somewhere then he rushes through seeing things and wants to go. My daughters and I want to really look and see sights thoroughly. I live further west, I live in B.C.

Penny, Congratulations on losing 1 lb. I weigh every morning and sometimes at night.

Judy, Good for you making time for Curves. Thinking about all you have to do adds to the stress. Organize and delegate as much as you can. Hopefully you can hire a good worker that would relieve some stress. Promise me you will relax some this weekend. You need it lady. How about a nice long bath, or how about going for a massage. Watch something funny on tv. Read a good book.

Marie At least the scale went down a bit. The cushioned track is new around here. I hurt my knees from jogging and did a lot of damage and it took my knees almost a year before they didn't hurt any more. I use to jog outside. I'm hoping with this cushioned track to jog again. Im going to try and do is more sensibly this time. Adding short jogs to my walking and stopping if I feel the least bit of pain. Hope nothing serious with Goldie and it doesn't empty your wallet.

Happy weekend to all.

Goldie is not doing good at all (and it did empty my wallet and nothing is conclusive). I saw the many Xrays and lab work and nothing looks really good. I guess she's very old for a Golden (apparently their life expectancy is much shorter than other dogs). So anyway, she's on some massive antibiotics but there's a bit wrong. Hopefully the drugs will help but I definitely got the idea that her age is working against her. DH and I talked last night about what point we'll make a decision of having her put to sleep. It was not a good day. Right now though, she's lying next to my, snoring away... She's been a good friend for almost 12 years. Kody and Blizzie are basically leaving her alone - I believe the sense the seriousness of it. They're both sort of mopey.

On to good news. I re-weighed this morning and another .6 pounds went away. I did that just because on Thursday night I had oven baked fries with dinner and I like SALT on my fries. So I thought what the heck and the evil scale was NICE. So that was good. This is the lowest I've been in about 7 years. Wow.

I did 1 mile walking and 2 miles jogging this morning. Then I did the ab lounger and added a new twist to the exercise. I got my free weights out and did arm work. Okay I should have started that months ago, but I don't like it so I avoided it. My legs look good and my arms look like jelly fish so I'm going to add that in permanently. And heck, build a little muscle there and it will raise my excruciatingly slow metabolism...

Linda, sounds like you had fun in the snow. I hope it's not bad to say you like one gender better than the other. Me, I'm the opposite. I really am thankful I had 2 boys. I'm so tom-boyish that I did much better then if I'd had girls. Plus I was ecstatic that my first grandchild was a boy. But that said, I don't have a clue what having a girl would be like so who knows. I do love almost DIL but what she described what she was like as a teen sounds scary.

Penny way to go on the pound lose. Be so prould of yourself that you got back on track. I swear that's the hardest part of dieting. And holiday time is the greatest motivator to being derailed. So you are doing GREAT!!!!

Judy, sorry about the carbs. Sometimes I read the posts and am thankful I'm just a calorie counter. I don't really care about the make up of the calories (except Linda's protein which I always know I'll feel better with). Other than soy and peanuts, I'm free to eat what I like if I have a decent amount of carbs. But with your gluten problem that would be the pits. Good for you on going to Curves and get that staffer hired soon!

Carol, I hope you had a nice early off from work and a great start to your weekend.

Well, I'll keep you updated on Goldie.
Marie

Marie, I'm sending hugs and positive thought waves in the general direction of Goldie and the rest of your family . Congratulations on hitting this latest milestone--it's a testament to your hard work and focus for nearly a year (I'm thinking back to the spring).

Linda, I know that some people think that yoga is the answer to all of life's ills, but I do know of many people with joint and muscular problems who find it to be very helpful, particularly if they take a "gentle" yoga class. I did a few summers ago and really liked it. I'm keeping my eyes open for another one at a doable time close to my home or my job. It would be hard to add one more thing to my agenda over the next few months, but it would be great to commit to a class in the summer. Don't feel bad about not having a "perfect" day! but you might chat with your daughter about offering herself as a partner in crime!

Penny, I'm glad to hear that your scale is cooperating nicely . Your immediate goal is in sight! Hmmm, agave...isn't that what they make tequila out of? I knew that was healthy stuff!

Well, the best-laid plans...I thought I'd spend several hours at the salon getting my hair done yesterday, but it took even longer, and basically shot the entire day. Today I'd planned to get up, work out, head to the office for a few hours and then go to a friend's to watch football. But I've been moving very slowly and have given up the going to the office part of the plan. I did an hour of cardio and strength training, had brunch (my weird green egg salad, basically a big salad with scrambled Eggbeaters on top) and will try to get some misc things accomplished before heading to my friend's. This is my last full weekend at home until the last weekend in February, which is a little daunting to think about.

I watched Little Miss Sunshine last night, it was good. And I got a lot of reading done--my backlog of National Geographics and New Yorkers--while under the dryer for hours yesterday, so I was relaxing, in an overheated sort of way!

My weight is still up a bit, so I will show some integrity here and adjust my ticker . I want to stay on program as closely as I can before leaving town on Thursday.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

judy

Linda we must be sharing the snow not so far away from each other really. Friday night was the worse I have driven in this year. Oh so not nice! The kids were great and it was fun. The scale oh I guess it made me mad and I can't say I was great this weekend. But it is monday and I am going to jump back into the loop today. I shouldn't of let it get me down but sometimes it can get the best of us. I plan on getting a bit of gym time in today. Linda wow 3 hrs. now your the one whom must be losing wt. or inches something after all your hard work. Give me some motivation girl.
Marie my heart goes out to you and Goldie not an easy time. I have been there and its tough. So know I am thinking about you during this hard time. Glad to hear about the wt. at least something good huh?
Penny congrats to you too! Every lb. makes a big difference.
Judy sounds like your doing well keep it up. The gluten thing isn't so easy but your doing the best you can to learn as much as possible to work with it. Good for you. I need to get back on track today its monday. I bought my water yesterday to ensure I had it for the week. That will help and I need to pick up a few things at the store today. I made some barley lentil soup yesterday and thats my lunch today and for a few days. I want to change over to a few nights without meat. I did it before and its not a bad thing so I think this week I will give it a whirl.
Bear is now sleeping through the night hurray! He is now 9lbs doubled his size since I got him. Cute he is but also a lot of work. I wouldn't trade him for anything but wow some times he can be quite a handful. He does get tired out after awhile and thats a peaceful time.
Well I am going to do my best to stay on track this week. I am going to pick up some cabbage and make some more soup this week. The cabbage soup is suppose to be so good for us. I will add lots of veggies and tomatoes little hot sauce to jazz it up. Well good luck with the week girls lets continue to move it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marie - I'm sorry to hear that Goldie is sick and I'm sending good thoughts her way. Congrats on the loss! Doing weights is a good idea for firming up your arms and legs. You're getting plenty of cardio, but lifting weights can really help specific areas. My arms were very flabby before I started working out at Curves. They're looking much better now and it's not just because I've lost some weight. I'm starting to see some real definition and even the "wings" are much less noticeable. I can also carry heavier grocery bags where before I had to be careful not to set off my bad shoulder.

Judy - I've been thinking of doing yoga for a while now too. I just need to find someplace close to home or I won't end up going regularly. What puts me off a bit is having to get up and down off the floor because of my arthritis but if it helps my flexibility that would be great. I hope the scale starts to cooperate for you again soon.

Carol - I'm glad Bear is starting to settle down. He sure is growing fast! I must get some cabbage. I like it but seem to "forget" about cooking it. I read a good tip the other day about how to add veggies to left overs to 'stretch' them. I had a little bit of shirmp & noodles I had made left over and it wasn't quite enough for two, so I added half a package of cooked oriental veggies (mostly snow peas) and my DH loved it. He said it was better than the first time around with just the shrimp, noodles and tomatoes. I've also started adding a lot more fresh garlic to meals instead of dried and it gives foods a great flavor. Whatever sauce is in the dish seems to make the veggies more palatable than just plain.

Linda - You're doing great with the exercise but be careful not to overdo it if you have a bad back. I know how frustrating it is when the mind is willing but the body is weak! I get sciatica now and then and have to slow down a bit or it gets worse. I think it's still important to move about when you have a bad back - just not too much to the point where it's very painful. I hope your chiropractor can be of help.

We went to Applebee's the other day with our DS and I was pleasantly surprised with their new menu, which has a lot of WW meals around 350 calories. I had grilled tilapia with mango salsa, rice and black beans for 320 calories and it was delicious (large serving too). They have their menu on their website.

I'm doing ok calorie wise and hope to hold on to my loss and maybe even lose half a pound or so by Friday. I figure every pound I lose before my trip to the UK will make my airplane seat seem wider!