God Bless America!

We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

Monday........Motivation Monday
Tuesday.......Tuesday Tips
Wednesday.....Wednesday Weigh ins
Thursday......Thankful Thursday
Friday........Friday Facials, Fingernails and Fun
Saturday.......Sit-up Saturdays - any physical activity
Sunday.........Soup and Salad Sunday - recipes

These are not required topics ...just ideas to share. We have found them very helpful. We also share heartaches and fears...joys and celebrations.

We chat at 8:30 PM EST, 7:30 PM CST on Wednesday and Sunday.

Please feel free to jump right in with us.
And be sure to check if there is a second page. We don't want anyone to miss any posts.
We want to invite everyone to join us in our journey.
We share laughter and tears.
We share what works for us and what doesn't.
We recently started a Topic of the Day.

WELCOME!!!

Hi Ladies-
Home from work, stopping in to check on everyone and noticed we needed a new thread. I've got a few minutes before I get comfy on the couch for some tv. I am having the worst craving right now for an apple fritter!!! I am trying to distract myself. It's not often that I want something bad enough to get in my car and go get it. But it's one of those cravings. No, no, no. Bad Barb!

Connie - Hey sweetie! So good to see you popping in. Glad to hear it was a beautiful day in your area as well! Thanks for the good vibes, my headache disappeared sometime this afternoon.

2Cute - Good Job going to the fitness center today!!! Do you think you'll join!!! Hey, I'm up for a walk on the boardwalk --- or a push by the Rickshaw guys. Can I join you and Kat?

Kat - Isn't it such a great feeling to find old jeans that you can now zip??? I love it! Good Job!!! You are doing great with the exercise and food! Way to go!!


J-ann & Tina --- Hope to hear good weigh-in results from both of you tonight!!!

I'm outta here for now! Catch ya later!
Barb

First of all.... I have to scold Sandy. "PEEKING IN" is not a post. Shame on you.

JK You KNOW I love to razz you girl!

Soooo, how did WI go, you ask? Well, since you've asked so nicely, I'll tell you.

I lost 3.2 lbs! It just amazes me how I can eat more (almost ate all of my Flex) and lose more than I did the week before when I didn't eat near as much. Hmmm, maybe there's a thought? Maybe I didn't eat enough.

Anyhoo..... I REALLY wanted to ride that train back into Twoterville this week, but I guess I'll have to hold off on that trip till next week!

P.S. I went to a different meeting tonight and this leader was AWESOME. Her name is Joy and she is a schoolteacher. I didn't understand if she is still teaching or if she is retired, but she looks to be in her middle to late 50's. She is very cute. I really liked her style of teaching and she is very thorough. We had activities that we did and she is going to type up all of our ideas (breakfast, lunch, snack, sandwiches and beverages) into a little booklet and give them back to us next week. I definitely give her a thumbs up and may not be looking for another leader. I also met two ladies there tonight who are really nice and it's always good to have a friend to sit with two. All in all...not too bad!

See you chicks tomorrow!

Hello my fellow chickies!

I just wanted to stop by and say howdy....I have been pretty busy and don't have time tonight to respond to individual posts.

Not much new here, mornings are pretty cold....*shivers* So far I have just had little fire in the wood stove and it has kept the chilblains awway..I hate to start the furnace up just yet....

What are some favorite soup recipes from you all? Seems like it is that time of the year already.

I was in the Super Wal mart here for a bit today and they were setting out their Christmas stuff already. Amazing!!

I have been pretty good about staying OP and am looking forward to my Friday, or maybe my Sat. weigh in this week. My friend said she may have to weigh in Sat. so if we go together it will have to be Sat. I like to keep it on Fridays tho.....

Anyway...I am out of here are being sent to all.....

Hey everyone

Syn, please tell me you are a fellow soup lover! I would eat soup every lunch and dinner all winter long if the family would go for it. Usually I end up making huge pots and eating it myself for days anyway. My favorite last year was a french onion I made in the crock pot. Day one is good. Day two is fabulous! I'll search out the recipe to share. We are just getting into soup season here a little bit. DH made a veggie soup the other night that was kind of just there. I gave it a makeover the second night with more veggies and a heaping spoon of peanut butter. Yes, sounds odd, but I learned that one a long time ago. Adds a wonderful flavor. Also works well if you have scorched the bottom. The peanut butter covers over the scorched taste completely.
Ooh, I'm having happy soup thoughts. Garlic basil tomato soup. thick veggie soups, split pea, turkey and mushroom with wild rice... just make it up as you go is my soup motto!

I'm feeling a little embarrassed now. Yeah, I get kind of passionate about my soups. One of my fondest dreams for the future is to have a little restaurant with healthy, hearty breakfasts and wonderful soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch. No dinners. I'll leave that to the professionals.

Tina, 3.2 is wonderful! Next week you will definitely be out of the 3's. Wahoo!

Barb, I know you were joking, but I hated to see you saying the Bad Barb bit in your post. Cravings are normal and wanting to treat yourself is normal as well. I'm impressed at your strategy though. Distracting yourself until you can tell if it is a passing craving or not is a great idea. I'm not doing so well at distracting myself from the oatmeal cookie dough I know is in the fridge. DH made up a plate of cookies this afternoon, and you know who didn't just walk away? Me! But frankly, I've been wanting an oatmeal raisin cookie for a really long time now. I indulged in most of the plate and am hoping to move on. Maybe if I put the dough in the freezer... Better yet, maybe I should come camp out on the couch with you and leave the dough and impending cookies here at home!

Ok, think I caught everybody on this new thread. I'm a bit too tired to go back through the rest of the last one. Please forgive me and have a good night, everybody!

Andria

Tina: I am so proud of you and your loss. Way to go girl. I have that idea still in my head sometimes too, the less I eat the more I should loose? Nope, does not seem to work that way. Like last night I only had 22 of my points, I did eat a piece of fruit on top of that, but still did not get in my regular points. In the past two weeks I have only used 1 pt of my flex points. It's just a new way of thinking and once we train ourselves it should all work out. You will be in twoterville next week!!!! Love ya.

Syn: Amazes me that they have tons of Christmas stuff out here already. I mean they kind of skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving (small corner area). And really officially the tourist season is not over here yet. October 15th or Columbus day here seems to shut most tourist places down. But, you can tell the weather is a changing. This morning it was a cool 46 degrees when I got up and hubby had the furnace on.

Andria: I love soups too, hubby is okay about them and the kids, well they could care less. I love French Onion, looking forward to seeing that recipe. I also love broccoli and cauliflower soups. I like a creamy or thick soup they seem to stay with you longer? Might be my imagination....

Well, I met this girl from Maine WLC site I post on, well I did not meet her, but we are e mailing back and fourth. She is 37 and has a 12 year old son. Anyway, she only lives in the next town over, which is like 10 minutes away. We are trying to set up a thing to go walking at this wonderful walk site they have in the town on the other side. We shall see. I found the Maine site through the Dr. Phil webpages for the WLC thing. It gives a community board reference, then you can find your state or city and post away. Pretty cool to know there are people so close to me, and that I might just might find an exercise buddy (OMG did Sandy say that?)

Okay chicklets got to get my buns to work, but I will pop in and check on ya all.

Hugs,
Sandy

Hi ladies!

Yesterday was the day from **** at work. It was the day for the big management response to the focus groups (aka whiners) and I had the biggest and most controversial presentation. Talk about not letting them see you sweat. That plus it was financial statement close day and my boss demanded to "approve" what we were doing. However, the very same format that I've been using for the last two quarters, she NOW doesn't understand and it doesn't tell her anything. I had to inhale lunch (chicken caesar salad that I didn't get to finish) and rework our stuff so that she could approve. I was tracking her down at 4:15 to make her give me an answer and the best she could say was that she didn't still understand but IF I felt comfortable to go ahead. Well, sheesh, that's what she pays me for and I know more of our stuff than she does so it was totally ridiculous.

On top of all that, I had DH calling me three times. His #2 son that lives in Ohio called. Well, actually, it was his 24 yo wife (he's 35) called. They are moving from Ohio to Louisiana as a promotion in his job. However, she called to say that they have pratically no money and could we loan them money? The conflict is that this is the son that didn't want anything to do with his dad (divorce when he was very small) about 15 years ago and told his dad that he didn't ever want to see him again. Then last year, he called to say he was in the area and wanted to visit. We met the new wife and small stepson (and baby on the way). We got to go to Ohio in December to see the baby (the only grandson) and had a short visit. So, you see, DH was very weirded out. We agreed that he had to wire money to be there for his son and grandson. Turns out, his son didn't know the wife was calling but he did call twice to tell his dad how much he appreciated the help. There's hope yet. I doubt we'll see the money again but as I told DH, that I will never begrudge his son's anything as they are his babies - the babies I'll never have with him. His brothers are a whole 'nother story!

Sorry for the ramble! I did get out and do something productive at home last night. I did the weedeater work around the house and took the dog on a vigorous 1.5 mile walk.

Now I'll try to get caught up from the last thread:

2Cute - I agree with you on the Dr. Phil show. I think its great that he's trying to help people and get people to dig down into the real causes of overeating. But, it was hard to watch him dealing with the people because he acts like he's God and he's going to solve all their problems. I guess its his facial expressions and body language when the camera would zoom in. I also felt like some of the emotional trauma seemed fake. I'm still going to watch because I want to cheer on the people. Do you have the WATP tapes? I think you can get the one mile on its own. That might be something to help you on your goal towards the one mile - do what you can and sit and do the arm exercises. I believe it was Pam who started like that and it did wonders for her. Keep it up 'cause you're doing great.

Kat - Thanks for reminding me that I want to take the dog over to the trails around the lake and walk/hike. I'll just copy whatever exercise you're doing! Good job at the deli. Did I miss you dipping down into the 240's?

Connie - HI! I loved the fajitas and will keep on hand.

Barb - I am in awe of your commitment of going to the gym. Good job! The trip to NYC - its Thanksgiving weekend. SGD is singing with the choir at Carnegie Hall sometime that weekend. So far, the plans are to see either Sleeping Beauty or Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. She told me and I can't remember which. Then dinner one night at BB Kings which I have no idea if that's a great place or not. We are supposed to be staying at the Plaza Hotel. I'm a chaperone so I don't know if I'll have any free time or not - hope so! I do have to stick with them while they have their free time. I want to do some form of shopping while there - even if its a purse just to say that I did. I'd love to hit the Lane Bryant or some other store with plus sizes just so I can say I bought it in NY. I'll need to find a black dress or something for my trip.

Peek - for your 5 pound loss!

Okay ladies, I've run out of time and didn't get to finish catching up. I'll pick up where I left off tonight.

Have a fabulous day!

Tina - You're doing great so just stick to your guns and you'll be in twoterville soon!

Good morning everyone. Rise and SHINE.

I thought I wrote a post last night... but it is not here.
But... I could have written it off line and forgot to post it. DUH ???

I was so proud of myself... I got out high fat /high carb dinner ... but put it back into freezer and made myself grilled fish and green beans instead. And no snacking last night either.

Here is a site that I saw for soup recipes....hope there is something there you may like.

http://www.southernliving.com/southe...488469,00.html

J-ann... if you look like Angela... then you are beautiful !!! But I would much rather see the real you.

Gotta get this day going. I am actually going to go do an exercise tape this morning. Should have done it before coming here... but better late than never. I used to love swimming the first thing when I woke up. I am going to have to establish that routine with exercise too inside for the winter... at least until I can walk farther.

Barb... OF COURSE you can join Kat and me on our little walk.
And I don't know if I will join that gym or another... but I am going to join one that has a pool.

Okay.. i am out of here. bye bye.

Good Morning Ladies!

I slept sooooo good last night. It was nice and cool in the house. I only woke up once to go potty. I got dressed to go to the gym, but I've decided to wait and go on my lunch break - since I am working at home today I have a little more flexibility.

I gave into my cravings last night. I didn't go out and get the apple fritter I wanted, but I probably should have! I ended up making some p'nut butter cookies and eating left over pizza. I would have been better off just having what I really wanted in moderation. I know that! I don't know what got into me.

Tina - Good job on the loss this week!!!!

Syn - I love soups as well! I don't make a lot from scratch, but would love some great recipes. I bought a sampler soup kit from Harry & Davids. All veggie/bean type. Each packet makes two cups. Good way to sample different flavors.

Andria - Thank you for the kind words! Looks like we both ended up having a problem with cookies last night. Wish we could camp out on the couch together and help each other stay away from the tempations!

Sandy - That's great that you found someone that lives near you. It would be great if you could meet. I had so much fun meeting Michelle! I hope to see her and Kat next month --- are we still on ladies????

Terri - I hope work is better for you today. Sounded like yesterday was just a crazy day. Your trip to NYC sounds great!!!

2cute - Good job on dinner last night!!!

Alrighty chicks I've gotta get off this computer and get some work done! Talk to you later!
Barb

Mornin!

Hey Tina, CONGRATS's

Twooterville? I like that. Maybe we'll both be at the Twooterville station by next week. We can only try.

BARB: Aren't cravings a bummer? I'm having one now so I decided to come here rather than head for the candy stash we have in the office. I'm trying to be really careful today cause I'm meeting some friends at a great Thai restaurant for dinner.

2CUTE: You were strong last night. Here's some as a reward.

TERRI: Woman, you made me tired just reading your post. We're stressing at work this week too. A big buy out offer is pending and a lot of folks are leaving. I could, but I really enjoy coming to work so they're going to be stuck with me for a couple more years at least.

SANDY: "Exercise"... yup you said it. Now you (and me too!) just have to get our tootsies in motion and do it! (some how I find the doing to be the hard part.)

Hi Andra, Hi Syn, Hi Mary, and Hi to everyone I've missed. You all have a great day. My hungry is over now so I've gotta get some work done.

Good Afternoon Chicklets,

I lost another 1.6lbs...that brings my total to 40 lbs gone forever

Sandy, Tina, and all the rest of you losing gals, gals FANTASTIC JOB!

Talk with you girlies later

Oh, how I love the FALL! It's about 60 degrees and sunny. Great walking/biking weather...I did neither today. However, I did get myself over to the gym for a step class. It was touch and go there for a bit...I was sitting at the computer this morning, trying to convince myself that I was too tired to do anything. About 9:45 I thought, well it's now or never if I'm gonna make the 10:00 class and off I scooted before I could talk myself out of it! I'm glad I went.

Terri...Oh...the Plaza?! I am SO envious! You are going to love it! Make sure you take a carriage ride through Cental Park. Have you ever been to NYC? So exciting! You must have tickets for Beauty and the Beast, which I hear is wonderful! Check out Bloomingdales, which isn't too far from Carnegie Hall...get yourself something from there...just so you can get the shopping bag! Heck, I'll just hop on the train and go shopping with you! Will you be there on Thanksgiving Day for the parade? That's a lot of fun too. Can you tell I NY?
BTW...I did dip down into the 240s, jumped back up to 251 (TOM) but today I'm at 249 again. WI isn't til Sunday ... I know it will be a good one!

Barb...I'm still planning on our Peddler's Village Day! I can't wait! By the way... Where the heck is Michelle lately??????

J-ann...good job, avoiding the candy stash!

PAM! 40 lbs!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

2cute...aka The Little Mermaid! Definitely get one with a pool! The aqua classes are wonderful! No stress on our poor chubby little knees!

Sandy...how cool to have a WLC buddy 10 minutes from you! I wish we were all 10 minutes away from each other! I'm coming to Maine next summer...I'll come walk with you! (aren't I just the thread whore, trying to hook up with everyone?)

Andria...MMM, soup! I made a wonderful Split Pea with Ham soup the other day... It's funny that you mentioned oatmeal raisin cookies...I have been CRAVING them too! I have a new recipe to try...will share if it's any good.

Syn...I'll post the soup recipe later, when I dig it up...and any others that I can think of. I have a great chili recipe too...different, kind of soup-y! Very good...low points too!

Tina! Hey hey hey!! 3.6 lbs is great! You're workin' it, girl! I'm glad you found a leader that you like...it really makes a difference. Keep up the good work, darlin'!

Okay, lassies...that's everyone so far...Come on out and post, the rest of you chickies...we are on a total losing streak, this week! Come join the fun!

Gotta get moving...dh thinks I'm sleeping...(still haven't slept since getting off from work this morning... )

Have a great day gang...

whoops...somehow I double posted there...it was wordy enough without having to read it TWICE!