Carri: Yes, the Skinny Cows ARE expensive, but why not try some of the other brands? They are just as good. I buy Polar brand they come 6 to a box, 3 chocolate and 3 vanilla. Now none of the others comes in the variety of flavors like SKC does, but they are just as good and my daughter says that Sams Club has SK COWS I think 9 of them to a package and they are cheaper that way. I also buy the other ice cream treats like Healthy Choice, Slimfast, and WW has also Popsicle brand has a fat free fudgsicle that is really good. YOU GET A: for points yesterday! Good job. I am not the one obviously to ask about exercise. I mean, I just get up and do it everyday and I am guilt ridden if I don't so I have no encouraging techniques. I did slap up my before Pic and my july one on the fridge so I could keep my hands off the fridge and this helps if I want to get lazy too!

It is raining here, but I'll be darned if I am going to walk. I am just going to go in the rain unless they don't unlock it this morning. I am getting in my suit and heading over there in a minute.

Today is clean the downstairs day so I guess I will be doing that after I come back. Sometimes I wish it would magically clean itself, but this is pretty much what I would do to the fairy that cleaned it.... ! I know this is ridiculous, but I feel like I accomplished something when it is DIRTY! My house is never dirty except maybe the toilets and guess who gets the blame for that????

Hey, I didn't succumb to cinnamon rolls this AM. I made them for dh and threw the extras down the disposal when he left for work! YIPPEEE FOR ME!

Well sweet ones, I better go and do those jumping jacks etc

Faye

Morning Ladies!
Sorry I was MIA yesterday. My computer was down with a nasty virus.....but all better now, and nothing was damaged.

Anyway, Monday was all 4 points, yesterday was not so hot. No water, no exercise (except 4 hours of shopping, but most of it was in the car) and only sorta OP. It's hard for me to judge OP, because Im just trying to be sensible. Eat small meals, low in fat and simple carbs.......yesterday I had a McD's grilled chicken sandwich, only a handful of fries, but then had just a little bit of sushi for dinner. Calorie-wise, I think it probably evened out fine, but then I had 2 small strawberry shortcakes! I'm thinking it was not an OP day.

I seem to be having trouble with social eating. I've had company for the past 2 weeks. First my mom, and now my friends.....I just seem to want to eat all the time. I have very little "bad" food in the house, but I'm overeating the good stuff....way more than I should or than I even want. But when everyone is sitting around playing games at the table, my hand just automatically reaches for the chips (baked, skinny chips at least) or the leftovers from dinner, or the skinny cows.....I just seem to eat more when I have guests. Maybe it's a "hostess" syndrome.....like, I feel if I don't provide food all the time for my guests, that I'm not being hospitable. Hmm, that's something to think about. Gosh, it's amazing how just writing out problems to you gals can give you insights sometimes.

Anyway, I won't make Faye's challenge this week, but I am proud of the fact that at least I'm making (mostly) healthy choinces. I really think I'm getting a handle on the healthy eating aspect of my life makeover. The exercise is a little tougher, but I AM going to workout today.....even though it means leaving my guests alone for a little while.

Oh, Pam, congrats on the shorts!

Later babes,
Julie

Can I ask what "4 points" are?

Hi Girls,

Happy Wednesday!! If it is woeful wednesday you couldnt prove it by me!!! I am doing fantastic this am. Have already done the watp tape this am, 1.5 miles....so points for yesterday....

Reesa--Welcome to our fun group, and we do have loads of fun, these gals are great!!....pts we get 1pt for water, 1pt for exercise and 2pts for staying on program, and Faye, our leader lovingly keeps track of them for us. By the way Faye, I get all 4 pts for yesterday...last night I even did an extra mile of the first walk away the pounds tape, just felt like moving!! and it felt great!!

Today I go back to work after having been off for 2...but it is the day for my evaluation, hope to get a little raise, I usually do. Our Co. has done really well this past year, have brought in quite a few new accts..they give good bonuses, I got $500.00 at the end of May/first of June, and last Christmas, I got $300.00..so I am looking forward to eval today at 1:30p, wish me luck gals.

Bella, lets make today a good one, what do you say, let's get up and get moving, take care of ourselves today, okay??


Well got to go girls it is after 9:30a and I still haven't had breakfast, had to wait till I cooled down after the work out, now i am cool and I am

later chickies!!

sw 356.0/June 5th/336.5 July 24th/331.4 August 7th
next goal: lose 30 more lbs by 12/31
next goal:lose 50 lbs
final goal: 130ish - I AM DOING THIS GIRLS!!! YOU ARE TOO!!!

Reesa, we are on a bit of a point system here to keep ourselve motivated. Faye posts little avatars to encourage us...but it goes something like this:

1 point for drinking your personal goal for water
1 point for exercise
2 points for staying on your personal eating plan

So it kinda helps to keep us honest! WElcome Reesa, and I hope you enjoy your stay.


Debbie, I hope you are doing ok sweetness. I had a HORRIBLE eating day yesterday...I had 4 snackwells cookies and 2 marshmallow eggs (don't ask lol) and then i felt really bad afterwards.

But ithink my motivation has been that I weighed in at 147 this morning! I doubt it'll be that way tomorrow LOL, but we can hope! I'll keep you posted.

And get this, one of the guys who works at the gym asked me out. And the funny thing is, he always sees me as I roll out of bed and throw my hair in a ponytail, etc. Of course I said no, being that I'm already dealing with 2 men, and man, that is frustrating..but it was a nice compliment from someone who is OBVIOUSLY very fit as a gym employee.

Anyway, I get a 2 for points yesterday...today, I hope to vastly improve upon that!

Ciao ladies!

Welcome to Reesa! Hope you have fun here! We will keep you motivated if we can!

Let's fill Reesa in on each of us, our goals, personal stuff etc! We want her to feel part of the group right away!

Missy: Woohoo, it is always great when a stranger obviously validates the change! Maybe you should heaveho the other two! Lord, I am just kidding! That is all you need! YOU GET A: for points yesterday! Great job! Stay away from them eggs!

Pam: YOU GET A: for points! for your raise! I would just like to be working!

Julie: YOU GET A: for Monday and a for yesterday! You can do this. Get tough and bypass those snacks or count out a serving and that is it!

Sarah: We all know what it is like to kind of go through a slump! Let's start over with a good attitude and not worry about this doctor thing. Concentrate on doing what you do well and the meds will catch up and even out!

Shauna: I don't think I even talked to you and I am sorry. Sometimes I am trying so hard to keep track of stuff I miss people! Let's try and work at getting at least a few days of exercise in this coming week. You will be glad you did. Keep us posted regarding your MRI!

For those of you who have been missing, Sandy, Deon, Tonya, Amanda, Beledigirl, we all miss you terribly! We hope there is nothing wrong!

Now I want to talk about something that was discussed with me in private so I will not reveal the source, but I think it should be brought out into the open. I made a small reference to it a few days ago through a quote, but I want to discuss it. We have a wide variety of ladies here in ages, lifestyles and areas of the country they live in, what they are doing to lose weight and how much weight they have to lose. Some, like me, are morbidly obese and have a long road ahead of them to get where they are going, others, have only a few lbs and their appearance to the world already seems "normal." Some of you ladies could be my daughters, while others are more my age, though I am the oldster here! Anyway, I want EVERYONE OF YOU TO BE COMFORTABLE HERE! There is to be no jealousy because Miss A only has 10 lbs and you have 50 or guilt because of the same reason. Please do not feel less of a person because you have farther to go or will have to work harder than someone else to get to goal and so feel you don't have anything in common with the 10 lbs losers! We are all here to support each other. I treasure the friendship of each one of you and want you to succeed so very badly. I try so very hard to be upbeat and positive with you and together we can do this no matter what the circumstances are for each of us. If you are one of the ladies who feels inadequate, or jealous, or guilty, please lay that aside! We are all in this fight together and together we can WIN!

You all have a good day today! (I did the "rain dance" in the pool today but loved every minute of the 60!)

Faye

Hi all, I'm back again, just wanted to echo Faye's sentiments on the "missing" people. I'm sorry I can't remember all your names, but I do love seeing this forum lively...AND AT THE TOP OF THE LIST THANK-YOU-VERY-MUCH. It's a blessing to read lots of posts on a boring day at work.

As for woes today, I've got the same old ones...job, boys, etc. So why complain, eh? LOL

I did want to make a quick note though. I read Faye's post and I'm kinda glad she spoke about it because I have some feelings on the "issue." When I first started posting here, I saw that alot of people had a ways to go on their goal weight and was rather hesitant to post for that very reason. I didn't want to offend anyone by *****ing about 20lbs. when some were struggling to lose, 50 or even 100. I felt rather insensitive by posting my feelings. But I will tell you, after lurking for a while, and starting to post, I started to feel very welcome. Faye is like my online mom and alot of other girls here have become great to chat with. In fact I'm really glad I got to know Debbie, as we are similar body types and she supports me and I (try) support her and I've come a long way. Hey, I'm dieting...or should I say following an eating plan. The D word is SO nasty! I've gone to the gym 5-6 days a week for...5 weeks now after NEVER doing any exercise at all. I drink water like a fiend, make healthy lunches, the whole nine yards. I feel good in that I've lost weight, but I am still terribly tired, weak, etc...so I still think there is a thyroid issue for me, but it's just a burnout going from doc to doc and paying for it.

But I digress...
What I wanted to say, is if it has become an problem for me posting here, please let me know and I'll gladly bow out. It was my LAST intention to ever make anyone feel bad. Like I said above, I was honestly just liking to post here because everyone was so friendly, and everyone still IS friendly. So please don't think I think badly of anyone, it's not that at all, but this forum has been a help to me, and I don't want to hinder anyone by complaining about 20lbs.

I could justify it forever, but those 20lbs feel like 1000 to me. I know that's partly a self-esteem issue...and believe me, I'm working on overcoming that...but I just want everyone to know that I don't look down on anyone...aka, I'm not running around thinking I'm hot skinny girl or anything.

So please...if you are upset by me posting, please let me know. Or if you don't want to let me know, tell Faye to tell me too. That is totally OK.

Sorry for creating the drama, but that has weighed on my mind for some time now. PHEW! Much better.

OK girlies, I'll check in later...TTFN

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK FOR LUNCH!

Whoa girl! Missy, NO ONE is going to BOW OUT! I did not start this thread for just obese women nor for those who had just a tiny to lose. If I had chosen either one, I wouldn't encourage newbies to come and look at the site all the time! No one is more important than someone else and EVERYONE is as important as anyone else. I want this site to be somewhere you WANT to come and am not going to hold a gun to your head to get you to post. That would be ridiculous and my favorite word counterproductive. You must WANT to join in. If you feel uncomfortable, you are free to try and find somewhere you would be more comfortable and there are no hard feelings from any of us! BUT and here is what I am repeating, don't go just because there are some people here that have less to lose than you and you feel inadequate or something. Do it because you feel you do not have anything in common with the other ladies and need the support of others lwho do. Personally, I have no problem with someone like Missy only needing to lose 20 lbs or so. I will be the first to cheer her on when she reaches goal. After all, that is what everyone on ALL the threads should be doing! Being positive, making it fun and encouraging someone else to do the very best they can. By doing that, you yourself have taken a step forward towards a better life for yourself! So, with that said, let's really work at our individual programs, try hard to exercise and drink our water and look within ourselves to solve those mysteries that keep us from fulfilling our dreams to be fit and FABULOUS!

Faye

OK LOL, I"ll shut up now! I just wanted to throw the offer out there in case I was making someone uncomfortable. I never heard anyone say anything and I don't know if anyone is bugged by me, but I love ALL you guys....no matter the size! I think everyone offers up great support and I've always felt loved, I just didn't want to make someone feel bad just by being here.

But I see that's not an issue...so....much love to everyone!

Missy - honestly I never even think of how much weight any one person has to lose....In my mind Faye and you both have the same amount to lose...I dont think of it in pounds, I think of it in the whole idea of "losing weight" and "being there for eachother, encouragement"... I dont know that anyone in our group would be thinking that about you but I highly doubt it, we got a great group of girls here, especially in the core group that keeps coming back, AND the part time posters...so PLEASE do not worry about that...I love hearing about your two men dilema - since I am an old married woman of 29....if I dont have a life of my own I gotta live through yours....dont leave....ha ha, kidding, only about the life of my own part....sometimes

Carri

carri,
I agree, I think we are all trying to lose weight. It sucks. LOL But we are all so strong that we are sure to get through it...you know what I've wondered? Where does all the weight we lose go? LOL Weird thought. Yeah, if only my life were as exciting as it seems...it's hopefully about to get a step less exciting though, I th ink I'm losing #2! YAYAYAYAY! Now I just gotta do it. Actually I lie, I'm going to tell him I want to "see other people" and that way I can ween myself off him.

Now if I could only ween myself off chocolate....


Mwah!

Is #2 the guy that works with you? Be careful......)

Carri

Missy is our resident Soap Opera as most of us are spoken for kind of permanently! I would not be where she is for anything! I pray to God he takes us both at the same time, because I can tell you right now I ain't a goin' lookin' for a man if something happens to my sweet dh! Ok, gross as it is, I am from the dark ages and there is no way I am having sex with another man! Lordy Lordy that one would definitely keep me out of the running!

You are all a bunch of sweethearts and I have a great deal of fun with all of you.

My dh will be home in about 1/2 hour so I need to get showered and cleaned up before he gets home so I am going to run. (need to see if the Cubbies are winning too! )

Faye

hi ladies,
happy Wednesday everyone. I am so glad to have the points thing explained I was just hoping to figure it out as we went along So, whoever asked...thanks! Yesterday was an all-points day for me! Tonight I have Pilates after work, food is on track today (so far).
My only Wednesday woe is the headache/BP worries. Had my BP checked again today...still too high. Rats I am going in next week for another check, the MRI (assuming the insurance company gives approval before he!! freezes over!) should be sometime next week...Faye, thanks for checking in. The neurologist gave me some medication for the headache which did nothing. Its hard not to pout and feel bad (i.e. eat something not good) in response to the worry and the pain. So there is my Wednesday whine.
I was glad to read the posts re: where we are with our respective weights. I wasn't sure about joining in either as I have lost the majority of my weight already and am now down to the struggle of the last 20 pounds and more importantly, integrating the workouts and eating as a way of life. Which is, of course, the hard part sometimes. I wanted a place to come and give support to those who are struggling (and who does NOT have those days!) and get support on days when I am struggling. My dh is the skinniest thing you ever saw and he eats like a horse. He supports me as he can, but he doesn't really understand the work involved and has a hard time getting excited on my behalf when I manage to meet a goal So, thanks for inviting me in to this warm, friendly, supportive group.
Pam...how did it go at work??
I gotta get back to work. Keep up the good work everyone. We can do this!!
shauna

Carri - unfortunately he IS the one I work with. *sigh* what can we do? I need to get a little testosterone in me and just be a man. LOL let's hope that works out!

Faye - like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of my life. LMAO

Shauna - silly girl, feel free to ask a question! we'll fill ya in! much love to you girl! I need to start thinking that healthy is the way to go, with eating and everything...and this is not the time of year to do it. But then again, what is the time of year, cause it will soon be Christmas! LOL

I'm a little delerious..it's hot out today.

OK i've babbled enough...talk to ya'll tomorrow most likely!