Welcome to the group. We come here for extra support in our weight loss efforts. We laugh, we share, we cry, we hug. Pull up a chair and join in. We only bite if you're chocolate!!

Hi ladies,

Thought I'd start a new thread since we're getting a little long.

I have had three very good OP days. I got out the scale and have been weighing to make sure I'm not getting too big portion sizes. I have been eating around 28 points and then have 3 exercise points I'm banking. I haven't been starved so that's good. I'm trying to review my journal more to watch the balance of what I'm eating and getting in more milk and fruits/veggies. I did a few minutes of Tae Bo along with my walk last night. I drug out my tape after about 6 months. Hope this kicks up the metabolism. Plus it felt great on my upper body muscles and made me aware of how I've been neglecting them with just the walking.

Speaking of walking, I've been wearing my pedometer for the last two days. Boy is that a sad tale. Of course now the craze is is to get in 10,000 steps a day. Even with my dog walk, I get around 3000. Unless the pedometer is cr*p, I've got to get moving more during the day.

Sherry - Good to hear about your grandson. Hope this heals up quickly and makes him feel better. Poor little guy; no fun to feel bad all the time. I got DH to do just 5 minutes on the airdyne yesterday and when he went to the store for his birthday dinner, he thought about portion sizes and didn't overbuy for a change. Woohoo, can teach an old dog a trick or two.

Merridy - Welcome to the group. I believe we've all been in the "got to lose before..." place. Can be good motivation but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't happen as you plan. Every bit helps. Good for you for the chair dancing video. And before you know it, you will be up walking your dog.

I should be paying bills and figuring out the checkbook. Best get that done before work. Have a great OP day ladies!

Terri, Thanks for starting the new thread.
I love your welcome!

I'm trying to get caught up here. I'm on vacation this week and doing day trips and working around the house. Had a great WI yesterday. Down 5 lbs. I am especially psyched now. 2 more lbs and the first fifty will be gone!! I've finally settled into a loss pattern. Lose a lot one week, then two to four weeks of no or little losses then WHAM, a nice big drop again. I really want to lose those two lbs. this week tho. I'll have to aquajog a little harder this week and watch my balancing of points (re: carbs:fats:veggies: milks) really carefully and try to get most of my points from low fat food. I'll have to eat like a pig to do it!

After reading about everyone's semi-cooperative husbands I think I'm glad I'm single. At least in this instance <G>. Of course, I share a house with friends and one is a gourmet cook. It's taken a few months but she's finally coming around to the fact that there are some foods I will not touch, either they are triggers for me or have so many points that 2 mouthfuls would shoot my points for the day.

Indian summer is here. We had two hard frosts at the beginning of the week. Now it's very pleasant outside and the house is covered with swarms of ladybugs. I'm taking that as a good luck sign.

MERRIDAY: Welcome to the group. I too have to lose very close to 200 lbs. Everyone here is in it for the long haul. No dieting, just a FOREVER, lifestyle change. I've started to "aquajog" at the Y. It's totally non impact and it's helped my knees and hips alot. Everyone works at their own pace in deep water with a flotation aid that keeps your back straight up and down while jogging. It's something for you to think about as you journey down the weight-loss road.

SHERRY: Glad your grandson is recovering. Too bad aboutyour backseat tho, YEECH!

MELISSA: BIG CONGRAT'S on breaking 250. Hope I can do the same in January or February. Don't you feel a lot better as the lbs. drop off?

Ok I can't read my scribbles so that's it for personal notes <G>. After the laundry is done I'm off to put in a track for "Sarah Pointer". We're in a test in Canada in about 10 days. It'similar to the ones we do here in the States. An unknown person leaves a specified starting point, walks a meandering path of about 1/4 mile through fields and hedgerows and drops a gloveto indicate the end. Somewhere between 1/2 and 2 hrs. late I take the dog to the start point, put on her harness and 40' lead, point to the ground and tell her to track. If we are lucky, she follows the footsteps and finds the glove.

Rmember to write down everything you put in your mouth so you'll know when to stop!

ttyl

Well I am back from my trip to Cornwall - I like the idea of atlas's coming out to find out where I was!!! It was wonderful. How can I describe Cornwall? There is a quote which goes something like 'Cornwall is not like any other place. There is simply no use in trying to compare it'. Imagine.......countryside of a mostly empty rugged hill top kind, but also a lot of green pastureland. It is only about 20 or 30 miles from north coast to south, and there are not many roads. It has been inhabited since neolithic times and almost every other field has a standing stone or circle of stones placed there at least 4000 years ago by people for who knows what purpose - they tend to be lined up with the sunrises and moonrises at important times of year like the equinoxes. And they are still there, in fields, surrounded by grazing cattle. Wonderful. Lots of the old goddess/earth worship pagan sites were used by the christian church as it came in in 600-700 CE, so you will find 'St Bridgets Well' or St Anns Well - but of course Bridget and Ann were names of pagan goddesses. Oh I love it there! And round every bend in the road the sea sparkles as it is all so near the coast. The coastline is wild and rugged with cliffs and the odd sandy cove. The sea crashes on the rocks, and gleams in the sun. The sun sets over Lands End, and I dont think it has ever looked any different from how it is now......



So now here I am refreshed and renewed. How wonderful. And that cough/cold I had for about three weeks has shifted too. I am back to normal. Well, what passes for normal chez moi anyway...!!

I have read everyone's posts for the week and feel the need to chip in on the comments about weight watchers not giving enough support. I have also suffered from this and when I last lost weight (few years ago) I plateau'd and stopped going after a dismissive and uncaring attitude from the leader.

You know what I think? Weight Watchers is not a counselling organisation. And I have only just now understood that. Maybe it should be - but it is not. And the trouble arises when we want it to be (because we want people to be nice to us about our weight loss and to be nurturing and caring). But WW is a commercial organisation who sell a weight loss programme - their product does not include counselling or emotional support. Simply it does not. This may sound harsh, or it may sound simplistic and trite. But for me, understanding this - realising this and understanding it - is what is keeping me on the programme this time. I know I need emotional support and I know I wont get it there - so I get it HERE! and from my therapist - yes, I have gone out and got myself a therapist to support that side of my needs on this journey. I have so much old pain about being fat (dont we all?) from being taunted in the playground, to being never quite good enough for my mother, to watching all my friends get boyfriends before me.....and so it goes on. Ouch. Pain pain pain. And losing weight is not the whole answer to healing all that - so I am in therapy to heal it. And I am at WW to get a good practical plan to lose weight and to monitor myself. I think I get disappointed when (and only when) I start expecting something more from WW than it is capable of giving.

I have gone on a rant about this! It is one of my hobby horse subjects. I think that I really need people around me to care about me and my issues around being fat, losing, not losing etc etc etc. And I think it is easy to hope (and even assume) that WW will care. They wont. Some individual leaders may do (of course) but that is not what ww is about. So now I feel I can really do it this time, because I have ww for the structure and the monitoring, and the plan, and I have you guys and my therapist for sharing the joys and struggles ('specially the struggles).

Phew. I feel strongly about it.

Ok. Off to therapy with me!
Love to all and I will check back tomorrow
Lilac
PS Yes I am training to be a psychotherapist! That is the college work I do.

Made my 10% goal at today's weigh-in with room to spare!! Down 29# now. Yippee for me! Still have a *koff* and *achoo* thing going.

It felt strange to realize that with today's weigh-in I'm in a different point range. Tonight my soon-to-be 11 year old has a slumber party to celebrate her birthday and we're having pizza! Even though my range is only bumped down by 2 pts its throwing me for budgeting tonight. I know it'll be okay -- but its strange anyway, ya know?

Terri -- Bravo to you on getting back on track -- sometimes all we really need to do is pay more attention to what we're doin', eh? Hope its a great week for you!!

J-ann -- WOW! Five pounds is Dyn-o-mite!

Lilac -- Missed you while you were gone. Glad it was a lovely trip! I agree that WW isn't a counseling organization -- however, I do think they present themselves as on to some degree. I know when I read the website, chat with leaders, etc -- the feeling you get is that meetings are there to support you in your journey. Sadly the reality seems to sometimes be different - and particularly for those of us with more weight to lose. BUT my experiences in WW now and in the past, combined with my online experiences, are what led me specifically to look for weight-loss support in an online forum. This seems to give me what I need -- so this is where I come.

I'm gonna go lie down now. This cold is making me very tired.

Hi everybody. Got back from Scotland last Friday but my Internet server has been down and I've had some other puter problems but here I am at last.
Lilac I agree with you totally about WW not being a support or counselling service. Years ago it was but not since it got bought up by a huge conglomerate. I've noticed you don't even get to really know your fellow members on a social basis whereas we used to have get-togethers and phone each other frequently. Like you, I turn to my fellow Chicks for emotional support. Congrats to you for getting a therapist to sort out old feelings that may be sabotaging you now. I think I could use that kind of help too. We sure carry around a lot more baggage than our extra pounds, don't we?
BTW, your trip to Cornwall sounds lovely. Forgot to mention in my post about visiting the Isle of Mull that we found some standing stones too. They were on a hillside that was mainly bracken and heather but, behind a fence and a weird gate, we entered a forested area and there was a long avenue of evergreens with a greenish light from the sun shining through the trees, and at the end of the avenue was a clearing with ancient, moss and lichen-covered stones. It gave me gooseflesh because I could almost feel the presence of the ancients.
ANYHOW after all my gluttony in Scotland, the extra exercise really paid off for me. Today I had my first weigh-in and I've lost 1.6 lb. Yippee! I'm sure I have new muscles too. Now to keep up the pace. That's the challenge because I'm a slug by nature.
SLUTBUNNY! Congratulations on your 10% loss. Whoopeeee!! I still have a long way to go to reach that goal.
This is getting too long so I'll check in with you all over the weekend.

New things I learned yesterday:

• I can live on two fewer points a day
• Yes, even if we go out for pizza
• But.. I'm not ready to face Little Caesar's bread sticks yet...

Tee hee! So my husband, in a moment of supreme manly support of me, took the breadsticks from our table and threw them away after I'd had the one for which I'd saved points! I kept look at the bread sticks longingly and reached for them several times when he said, "You're having a real problem with them, eh?" and when I nodded he said, "Then we won't order them again. I'm going to throw them away so you don't regret eating them." Really, it was beautiful.

My younger daughter is 11 and now I want a baby. Okay -- not a really. I think what I want is for someone near me to have a baby so that I can love it and hold it and not have to get up in the middle of the night with it, you see?

LindaBC -- how cool to lose weight even on vacation! Wowsers!!! You must be proud! I try to trick myself into getting exercise when I'm not up for it - I mean, I just love the scenery on our walks but the walking isn't why I go, ya know? On Friday I *gulp* joined a gym. Or rather, our local rec center. I joined so that my daughter could join and participate in our local swim team -- but the treadmills on the second floor face out over the pool so I can walk and watch her swim. So that's going to be my "trick" there for a while -- if I walk, I can watch her swim. (They don't allow parents on the pool deck during practice you see...)

Hope you are all doing well!

Hi everyone

I am not sure how I have been doing programme-wise. In fact.........I cant believe I just typed that. I have been not journalling, vaguely working out points and overeating. I missed my WI last week when I was away, and so did not get a journal to write in - and I have not substitued a notebook or anything. And also I have been going out to dinner a lot and I find it much harder to stay within my points when I eat out. So I have been lax. This morning I went to a meeting and there were mini croissant and muffins there - I had a croissant and a little pastry thing. I reckon 3.5 for the mini croissant and the same for the pastry. All in all I am up to 18 today and I am going out to dinner this evening.... ....it will be ok if I dont have wine and stick to the non-cheesy stuff (we are going to a veggie restaurant - maybe there will be grilled veg on the menu).

Bunny - fantastic about your husband being supportive. That is very loving. And that is so brilliant about your 10%!!! I have 6lbs to go for mine, but am hoping to make it before I go to australia.

Linda - Glad you saw some standing stones on Mull - they really are spine tingly! And it sounds like you are really being dedicated with the exercise. I find that having lost around 20lbs or so I now am able to do more exercise, so I want to do more. We went out to eat last night and I had no problem walking to the restaurant and walking home afterwards, and even suggested we went to one further away, which a couple of months ago I would not have done. In fact a couple of months ago I would just have manipulated the situation to make sure that we chose a restarant in another town that we would have to drive to, so that I would not have to walk anyway.

J-ann - Nearly at your 50!! that is amazing and I bet you are really noticing it. I wonder if I have the sort of pattern you have with a big drop followed by weeks of a tiny bit - I am going to look out for that.

Terri - Sounds as if your motivation is high at the moment! I feel reinspired as I read your post! I am interested in this number of steps a day thing. What is the rationale behind it? And they recommend 10000 a day you say? I bought a thing called a bonus buddy from weight watchers which you strap to your belt and it measures your walking and tells you when you have taken enough steps to get a bonus point. However, being a flakey vague and poetic type ( )I then gave up on it when I realised I had to programme it with my stride length and other stuff, and I went in to a decline and drifted off to do something less mathamatical.

What am I like I will now instantly go and dig it out and find a tape measure and work out all the nauseatingly complex stuff. I am sure it is not beyond my capabilities - in fact I know it isnt
I will report back.

lilac

Well, I set up the bonus buddy thing. Wow! this thing could change my life! What I had to do was enter the time, my stride lenghth (25 inches) and my weight and put it on my waist band. Basically it now counts my steps, and bleeps at me when I have done enough in one day to count as 'normal' activity (walking around the house, round the shops etc). All steps above that amount will be added up to give me a bonus point - for most people apparently the 'normal' activity amount is 7000 steps and they get a bonus for each 2000 thereafter, although it calculates it on your weight and stride length, so I expect that for heavier people the 'normal' might be lower and so we start getting bonus points earlier.
Tomorrow I will set it when I get up and report in. My guess is that I may not get to the 'normal' bleep as I tend to sit here at my computer most of the time, or out on my step in the garden. But that will be a good learning. For example, I have already established it is 50 steps to the garden shed and back, so if I put the paint pot away, rather than just leaving it in the kitchen, I get 50 steps. So this might help me change my habits a bit.
I will keep you all posted about this.

Hello Everyone!

Checking in I realised it has been a few days. I swear I was just here. Loved everyones notes.
I had an actual tear in my eye when I read Lilacs description of her vacation spot. It felt like I was there. You are definately travel brochure writing material.

I often thought about going to a therapist. But, I do not think there would be anyone out there who would understand. I have not met many overweight therapists. And that is who I think would really understand. Society is so unforgiving regarding the overweight..**** my family is. I think I am too because I do not forgive myself.

Having dinner out tonight with my sister and then going to a play "she won't lie down". It is her birthday. She did say I could pick a restaurant I thought would help me eat on program.

I was inspired by all the weight loss. J-ann almost to a 50 1b loss, Bunny to 29 lbs. Sooo Cooool

I have been feeling like I have such a big mountain to climb to get this off and even the sub-goals look gigantic. I was having a pity party with myself. I sometimes think when sitting at the meetings when they are applauding someone who has reached goal with less than 25 lb weight loss "what the hec are we applauding over?" They went from a size 12 to a 6? Having more than 100 lbs to lose makes you sometimes a little numb to small things.

Anyway I will be more uplifting tomorrow. Have to run to get to dinner on time.

ttfn
Sherry

I'm with you, Sherry. My 10% goal is thirty pounds and I'm just over halfway there after four months. (sigh) I try not to think about even the mini-goals but just hang in there one day and one pound at a time. Just keep chipping away at that old mountain and eventually we'll get it down to manageable size, ok?
By the way, I just want to share with the rest of you a great light cooking magazine I recently discovered. No, it's not Cooking Light. So many of their recipes are way too high in points and I've never been pleased with the ones I've tried. Very bland fare.
The magazine I'm talking about is called Taste of Home's Light & Tasty. Taste of Home publishes several different cooking magazines but this is the best one for WW compatible recipes. They all have nutritional info at the end making them easy to calculate points. In Light & Tasty there is no advertising and all the recipes come from readers. I haven't been disappointed in a recipe yet. Today I made Applesauce Cake and it's really nummy. Just 4 points for a fair sized slice and even less if you substitute half Splenda.
When I get a moment I'll post the recipe.

Happy Sunday!!

I am in a little more up mood today.

Helped my daughter move. We now officially are empty nesters. waaahooo! We are also pretty young to be empty nesters which is great too. I had my childred young (so stupid!) My daughter at 18 and my son at 20. My son lives in Minnesota. I see him maybe a couple times a year and talk to him much more often over the phone. He is single so no grandchildren yet.

Had a wonder time last night with my sister at dinner, and the play was quite good. Ate on program...may have been a little over since I had a chocolate macaroon at the theatre.

I am starting to sluff off on journaling again.this happened to me last time on program(quite a few years ago). And I know this is what makes me lose ground. I need to tape that blasted thing to my forehead. I think I did ok this week (weigh-in Tuesday). But, I think I would have done better with a whole week of Journaling.

LindaBC: ** Hey thanks for the info on the magazine. I have 27 lbs to 10% & have 21.50 lbs to go. I read other Taste of Home magazines. I did not know they had a light one and have not seen them at the super markets. Where are you buying yours? You are right about most cooking light recipes usually I have to modify them. I love to try new recipes and make them light.

Signing off for now.

ttfn

Sherry

Rainy Monday here in England - or at least on the London/Surrey borders where I am. My poor little cat went out for a pee and came back looking as if she had fallen in the bath! She is sitting here drying off on my desk while I am typing this. She says 'hi' to everyone, and that she finds eating less mice helps.

Well, thank you Madge for your contribution. We will all try that tip, wont we ladies?


I went to visit my mum yesterday, and had Sunday lunch. Enough points for about six weeks.....roast pork (with crackling....) roast potatos, parsnips, runner beans and gravy, followed by cherry pie and 'oh darling i bought this half fat cream because you said you were on another diet'.



But I love her. And her cooking is totally the best. I counted all the points up and I went 6 over for the day, so that is not bad (needless to say I did not have any supper....didn't need it). Today I am going to try and find time to make some pointless soup ( ) although I have a lot to do.

The bonus buddy thing is great fun. I walked 955 steps yesterday. On a scale of 'active' down to 'sedentary' that is practically 'statue' . No wonder I have got so heavy! I refuse to treat it as a judgement thing tho - it is just useful info. Today is a working day so maybe there will be more. This week I am going to try to not do too much extra than I normally would, so I can find the true extent of the problem - that should give me a reason to try and sort it out.

Sherry - I know what you mean about finding a counsellor or therapist who is big. I think there are a couple of sides to it. On the one hand, there are some counsellors who are big, but hate themselves (and therefore you) for it, and on the other hand there are thin counsellors who really are completely able to hear and accept fully your pain and help to heal it all. I got my therapist after going for an initial assessment at a counselling centre and I made really clear it was an issue for me, and it was an aspect of things which made me nervous. At least a counsellor is paid not to judge you, and part of their job is to make sure that they constantly look through whatever the outside 'shell' is to the person within. Who else does that? Have you read Susie Orbach's book 'Fat is a Feminist Issue'? She is a therapist, and has interesting views on how we are encouraged to be hard on ourselves for being fat. Its not a feminist ranting book - just good solid reassessment of our worth.

Linda That magazine sounds great. I am also always looking for ways to get old recipes lightened. I look forward to the sponge recipe if you have time to post it.

Love to all
lilac

Hello ladies!

I can't believe its Monday morning again so soon. Another busy weekend and another weekend not OP.

Friday night I went down to mom & dad's and mom, knowing that I'm doing WW, had fresh baked blackberry and pumpkin pies. Could I have said no thanks, well of course but I didn't. Saturday, dad was pushing the sticky bun for breakfast. And brought home two pieces of each kind of pie home.

I do have to say that I did do something that I'm proud of this weekend. The whole reason for being down at mom & dad's was for a trail ride to raise money for St. Jude's children's hospital. We loaded up the horses and headed over to the nearby lake to join the local saddle club for a "ride in the woods". It took three hours to get to the turn-around point and lunch. Three hours of down steep hills, trotting, crossing creeks, back up the steep hills and through the trees. A very strenous ride for me and the horse. So what I'm proud of is that I stayed on Ginger in spite of several downhill slopes where I prayed we didn't fall. I also promised Ginger that I would lose forty pounds before she had to haul my butt up another steep hill like those. The experience made me forget how much I weigh and helped me to feel good about my physical self. And people complemented me on my horse and no one noticed that I'm not a skinny person. My physical self was definitely sore yesterday!!

I've read your posts and too tired this morning to remember so I'll print it out and reply later.

In particular, I have been pondering the discussion about WW not being supportive and what I get out of attending and such. My expectations and reality. But after my promise to my horse and therefore to myself, I am going to hang in there with the meetings.

Time to get ready for work. Its the start of a new week and new motivation. Have a great OP day ladies!

Good AFternoon everyone!

Cleaned up the house a little and now it is time for a break. I use to think I could post in a few minutes and get back to things. But, that is not true. It seems to take me some time to think, ect....

I think we are all going crazy in the U.S. MY husband was holding our mail up to the light yesturday. Now tell me, I never knew you could see anthrax through an envelope with light???? He usually is quite bright. Lacking in the common sense department sometimes though.

About the WW meeting. I know why I keep going back. It makes me accountable to someone/something. I have a hard time when there is no accountability. It works for me in every area of my life. Maybe some approval from others on accomplishment? Going with my mom helps fuel the competition factor.
OH YA.... AND THE DREAM OF BEING ABLE TO CROSS MY LEGS AGAIN!!!!!

BUNNY: Where are you?

LILAC: I will order that book on line from the library as soon as I am finished here.

TTFN

Sherry


p.s. Thank God for the 3g of fiber breads.