Thin4Life - Jan. 22/07
 

Good morning. Just getting thread started. More later.

Susan

Hi everyone. Good weekend?

I weighed in on Saturday morning and stayed for part of the meeting. The good news is that my home scales are only off by 0.1 of a pound. The bad news is that the "last hurrah" meal on Friday nite (chicken fingers and potato wedges) showed up quite nicely on the scale. Ahem. Have I learned nothing??

Anyway, for the purposes of our challenge I will weigh myself (with confidence) on Wednesdays and keep you posted on my "official" progress at WW.

I like the little changes that they've made to the program. Personal daily points make sense to me. So far, I've been able to remain within my personal allotment but I know there'll be days when I'll be dipping into the flex pts.

I had an awesome 10km run on my treadmill yesterday morning. I set it up in my (cold) garage and by the end of the 72 minutes I had ditched my shirt and was in a jogging bra only ... with pants, of course :)

I've been carrying my tracker aound with me, recording diligently. I feel like a good little doobee this morning...

How are y'all?

Susan

Good morning!

The snow missed us here by the lakeshore, although Friday night was pretty slippery on the ride home. The snowbelt got the brunt of the snow (14" in some places) and we just got a dusting.

I worked on some decluttering in the small room and found my locks for my suitcase that I had been looking for. Amazing what you find sometimes!

Susan: I like the change to the personal points--the group that really affects are the men--they get more points which helps to "slow' down their rate of loss. I lost a point with the conversion and it took a little getting used to. I also like the fact that with the milks it states that if you can't get them in that you can take a calcium supplement. I can generally get 1 milk in but struggle with 2. Good for you for getting on the treadmill!

My trip to Chicago is a go (I was really hoping it was going to be cancelled) so I'll be off on Friday. I'm trying to work on getting more variety in with my eating and so far it seems to be helping with keeping me satisfied.

Susan, Thanks for getting the thread up today. You ARE a good little doobee. I'm glad you're doing well on the new program. I read the materials, but I think I will stick with what I've been doing on the old Flex Plan.

Melissa, I'm glad that Calcium now counts as one of the "milks." I like to drink milk, but did not like the amount of points they carried. Sure as close on that snow! Stay safe.

Well, we'll have an interesting Super Bowl coming up, at least I hope so. I think both teams have an offense, so we'll see.

My car wouldn't start this morning, so that made for a great start to a Monday morning. The mechanic thinks it was the battery and the cables need to be replaced as the old one was leaking badly.

This weekend, I certainly did my activity points: golfed, walked, and worked in the yard. Unfortunately, on Saturday night DH and I were invited to dinner and I overate and drank!! Doh!

Tonight is WI. I'm not expecting much because of my great time Saturday night.

Oh, Susan I'm glad you had pants on, too. : )

Hi girls and happy Monday! :wave:

I like the milk change - I didn't like spending points on milk when I already take a supplement. Now, the only milk I drink is in my coffee. My yummy, yummy soy milk. :)

Lisa, sorry about your car troubles. I'm sure your active weekend balanced out your celebrating on Saturday. I celebrated a bit too much on Saturday, too, and paid for it all day on Sunday. :o

Susan, SO cool that you can run that far. I'm envious. I got into running a couple of years ago and loved it. Unfortunately, I can't do it anymore because I have tendonitis in my heel. It's hard when your heart and soul really want to do something but your poor old body won't cooperate! :(

Melissa, Chicago's one of my favorite cities. Will you have time to do anything fun while you're there?

Went to WI on Saturday morning. Man, it was packed! Standing room only. I hope it's not that crowded next week. I'm gonna hit lifetime and I'll have to go up in front of everyone to share pearls of wisdom. Very nervous about that - I'm a sit in the back row kinda girl and public speaking is not my thing. Luckily, there's someone else hitting lifetime the same week as me so we'll have each other to lean on. :)

Karynlee, what a great photo. You look wonderful. Congrats on reaching goal again. I tried running, too, and the benefits were great. My body just didn't like it. I had hamstring and knee problems.

Car is all fixed. Unexpected expense, but I don't have any car payments so it's worth it. Went to WI last night, down .5. Whooppee! Well, it wasn't a gain. I'll keep working on it. I've got to get rid of this excess weight. It's uncomfortable and my clothes don't fit as nicely as they did. Going to Pilates tonight and will use the reformer machines. They can be tough, but they help one to keep the proper form.

Melissa, I forget why you go to Chicago so often. Is it for work? I like Chicago, but not this time of year.

Good morning. It's still cool here but supposed to warm up toward the weekend.

Karynlee: It is nerve-wracking, standing at the head of the class. But remember that you worked hard for to achieve this goal, and you deserve the recognition. My WW meeting was packed too; my file had been sent to Toronto (inactive) so I had to fill out a new card, etc. I was not impressed.

Melissa: Yes, why do you go to Chicago? Is it really that cold there, compared with where you live?

Lisa: One of my pet peeves is spending money on my car. They are evil - ruining the environment and the bank account. Unfortunately, they seem to be necessary for many of us. If I didn't live outside of town, I'd get rid of mine and take the bus.

I have another "date" tomorrow after work. I must be getting better at this; no butterflies. We both agreed that online chatting was of no value so I'm meeting him based on his profile and photo - nothing else. We'll see...

Susan

Good morning! It's a chilly 28 here this morning and we've had a dusting of snow. The ski resorts are happy because they've been losing money the last 2 months.

Lisa: I know what you mean about unexpected expenses with your car--at least it was something easily taken care of. A loss is a loss, and like you said it wasn't a gain. Keep plugging along. I think this challenge is actually helping me.

Susan: Have fun on your "date"--it sounds like you're becoming more comfortable with getting out. That's great!

KarynLee: The meeting I worked on Sunday morning was packed--we had 67 members come through the door. The crowds will start to taper off--historically the first and third week of the month are the largest for members joining. I'm working tonight and Thursday evening as well this week.

I go to Chicago because I am recording secretary for a national German heritage organization. We used to meet monthly and then it changed to quarterly. Usually we don't have a meeting in January but rather February and at the last meeting they decided to meet this month. Generally Chicago temps are a lot like the temps here in Erie...whatever they have we usually get a day or two later since we're both situated on the lake. Unfortunately this time I won't be heading downtown but will do a little shopping in the German section by the meeting. I was secretly hoping the meeting was going to be cancelled but no such luck!

I'm not going to be able to walk outside today so we'll be heading down to the Wellness Center to walk the track. I've found we don't walk as far when we're indoors.

Hi Ladies,

We finally got a little bit of snow last night, probably just short of an inch. It's very cold though, we're getting hit with a blast of cold Canadian air...brrrrr.
Not too much going on. Still journalling and exercising regularly. I'm not sure how tomorrow's weigh in will be since TOM arrived today.

Melissa, yes the ski resorts here will be happy also. Not a good year for skiing. Wow 67 is a lot of people. I'm used to the small group we have at weigh watchers at work. Usually between 20-25. I've also been walking on our indoor track which has been quite busy lately with the temps so low.

Susan good luck with your date tomorrow. Sounds like you had a nice run on your treadmill the other night. I don't know if I could brave going into my garage this time of year to run. Just too cold for me.

Karynlee I really like the picture of you and your son, very nice! You'll be fine next week at WW. You look terrific and the other members will be very anxious to hear about how you got there.

Lisa No my body doesn't like running either. Too many aches and pains.... I'll stick with walking. I'm the same way with the car expense, I don't have a car payment so it's a little easier when you get hit with the unexpected repairs. I've got to bring my car in for new tires soon.

Well ladies, I should grab some lunch and get back to work. Hope you're all having a great Tuesday.

Susan, Another date? That's great. One of these days a guy will click with you. Thanks again for starting the challenge, it's keeping me on the straight and narrow.

Melissa, That must be a big organization to meet in Chicago. What is the official name of it? Cold where you are.

Karynlee, You'll do fine. Just think that none of those attendees can do better than you can and it's YOUR story! You know it the best. It's so important to share your successes with the other members.

Pam, Brrr, cold your way, too. I gripe about my car, but as I said earlier "it's paid for."

I'm so happy. WI today--down 2 pounds! It's hard work though. I've passed up brownies and cookies at work every day for the past week!

Took a pilates class with the machines last night. Boy that was tough. I know I'll be sore tomorrow, but I worked those abs good.

How's everyone else?

Congrats Lisa on another great week! Good job on resisting those brownies.

Pam: Good on ya for keeping on the straight and narrow. Even if you don't record a loss today because of TOM, it will show up eventually. I used to lose an average of 2 lbs the week after TOM ...before THE CHANGE.

Melissa: Interesting that you're involved in a national heritage assn. What sort of work does the assn do?

Hi Karynlee

I am 148 this morning, that's down 1.5 lbs from last week and .5 from my weight when we started. Not bad seeing that I was 150.5 at home on Saturday morning.

apparently the tracker records only 1-lb increments. I'll have to be content with that, I guess.

Susan

Hi everyone! :wave:

Awesome, Lisa! Congrats on the 2 lbs and resisting the beckoning of those brownies! :cp: I've only seen the pilates machines on TV. Nothing like that available in this small town. We really don't even have any pure pilates classes at our gym - just something called Yogalates.

Susan, good date? Hope you had fun!

Have a good trip to Chicago, Melissa. Maybe it's one of my favorite cities because I've only been there in the summertime. I loved the feel of it and the museums and other attractions were incredible. Oh, and the restaurants! Probably not good for weight management, but YUM!

Pam, good luck with your weigh-in today! No matter what the number is, though, it sounds like you're doing wonderfully with your eating and exercise! :cp:

Thanks for the compliments on the pic, guys. I really love that one. It's of my youngest and it totally captures what a happy little boy he is.

Thanks also for the support regarding my nervousness about getting up in front at my next WW meeting. I'm embarrassed for being such a chicken, but I'm determined to do my best to convey how I feel about WW. Geez, getting butterflies just thinkin' about it. I'm excited, though - the ladies there are so warm and supportive (like you guys!), so I'm sure they'll make me feel comfortable once I'm up there.

WW has helped me maintain toward the bottom of my weight range so I've been realizing lately that most of my jeans have become too big. I love WW for that!! :D Decided to go to Ross (discount clothing store) and pick up a few new pairs of jeans one size down. Very fun - one of those special payoffs that make all the point counting and working out worth it.

I went to a step class on Monday and man, are my calves KILLING me! Haven't done it in a while so my body is just rebelling a little. Hoping to make that class a regular thing on Mondays. It's so fun!

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! :wave:

Susan, congrats on the 1.5 lbs! :cp:

Susan, Good job! Let's all keep losing. Did you go on that date yet?

Karynlee, Yogalates probably has some Pilates elements. It's so important to strengthen your core. You will do fine at your WW meeting. We're all in this together. Yes, Chicago has some great restaurants.

Re: buying new clothes. I started with WW because I did not want to spend money on a new wardrobe as I had gotten so fat then. Well...I go to WW and guess what? I had to buy all new clothes! I went from a size 16 to 8-10. You're right, Karynlee, it's so much fun. I like Ross especially because for some reason, some of their clothes on the sale rack are so long and that's right up my alley--I'm 6 feet tall.

Pam, Let us know how you did at WI. I used to dread WI at TOM--I was usually up 3-5 pounds. Now that I'm perimenopausal, I don't even think about TOM and that's great, although I do have hot flashes.

Cold and snowy here...like Pam we're getting hit with the clipper from Canada. They're calling for lake effect storms tomorrow with the lakeshore getting hit this time :(

Pam: I never know what to expect during TOM anymore...sometimes I'm up and others I'm down. No rhyme or reason either. The only thing we can do is continue to journal, exercise, and eat right.

Lisa: Congrats on your loss!! Passing up the brownies, etc. really makes a difference and especially when you get results!

Susan: Woohoo! You're doing great!

KarynLee: You'll be fine on Saturday. I went walking indoors yesterday and last night my calves were complaining--I'd much rather walk outdoors but with the snow/ice it's just not an option right now :(

The organization that I belong to has quite a few chapters with a membership of over 3,000. There are chapters all over and at the meeting we have a board made up of regional presidents, delegates, and elected board members. The board members (5) are elected at the National Convention and the regional representatives are elected by the regions. The official name of the organization is: Deutsch-Amerikaner National Kongress (German American National Congress) or "D.A.N.K." The goal is to preserve the German heritage and to teach the German language to children and adults.

I'll post more after my meeting today.

Hi ladies,

Once again my weight stayed the same, but with TOM occurring I'm pretty happy to maintain since I usually am up 2lbs during this time. I'm hoping for a nice loss next week!

I already went for a nice walk on the indoor track and plan on doing it again later this afternoon. Will be leaving work a little early today, time for my annual mammo.

Melissa it's going to get brutally cold tomorrow and Friday with temps in the single digits but no snow in the forecast until Sunday. I hope you don't get too much snow. I hope you enjoy your time in Chicago, that's an interesting organization. Do you speak German?

karynlee what a great feeling to buy a smaller size jeans you must have been thrilled! I'm not familiar with Ross, I don't think their in my area. I'm going clothes shopping tonight with my son. He starts his new job on Feb 1st and I told him I would buy him some "professional" clothes.

Susan A 1.5lb loss...you go girl :carrot: That's great!

Lisa 2lbs is terrific, you're really doing very well and will be at your next 5lb goal in no time!

Even though my weight has been at a standstill I'm really loving this challenge!

Melissa, Sorry about the weather. Well, it's winter and it had to come sooner or later. Ich spreche Deutsch. I habe Deutsch acht Jahre auf der Universitaet studiert (could not put in an umlaut). D.A.N.K. sounds like a great organization.

Pam, Well, if you're the same during TOM, you should show a loss next week. Something to look forward to!

Pam: I'd much rather stay the same than gain any day!

I was up .4 at WI today but after a large (for me) loss last week it's not really surprising. I just need to stay focused. Pam, I agree the challenge is really helping me out.

I don't speak German but can understand/read a little bit but not enough to say I know it. There are members on the board who are very fluent and occasionally will revert to German and I'll have to pipe up and ask them to translate...they're good about it. The organization is finding that more and more of us want to preserve the heritage but are 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation and don't speak the language.

Lisa: Loosely translated I think, you took German in college? My son took it in high school but didn't really like it.

Melissa, Sorry about the gain, but that's not much. Yes, believe it or not I studied German in high school and in college (8 years). I graduated with a Bachelors degree in German with minors in French and Italian. Unfortunately, I never did much with it because I didn't want to be a teacher, so no one knew which career for me to pursue. It does help me with my opera arias.

I recently joined a local group called Italian Friends. We get together to speak in Italian. I will be traveling to Italy in March, so I thought I'd join to brush up my Italian. Boy, have I forgotten a lot. It's coming back slowly.

TGIF friends.

My sister and I are playing tourists in our own town this weekend. We've got a hotel room booked downtown and we're going to shop, run, use the pool and hit the bars :D It's supposed to snow here tomorrow, with high winds. Hope it's not a repeat of last Friday when we tried to go out for happy hour and were literally rained out.

Date yesterday not a successful one. He's nice enough, just no spark, and I believe in spark. Onward...

It will likely be a bit of a challenge to stay OP on the weekend but I will make the effort. I am surprised and a little disappointed that the scale hasn't moved as quickly as I'd like. I need to settle down and stop weighing myself every day. It's depressing, and unrealistic.

Melissa: Don't sweat the slight gain. You're making great progress.

Pam: It will come.

Lisa: You're smoking girl.

Karynlee: I forgot to mention that belly breathing does wonders for calming the nerves. It reduces the fight-or-flight reflex. Try it; you might be pleasantly surprised.

Have a great weekend ladies. See you here on Monday.

Susan

Susan, I hope you have a great weekend. That sounds like so much fun. Sorry about the date--you're right--gotta have spark.

Good morning! :coffee:

Lisa, I'm gonna say something I'm sure you've never heard before... my goodness, you're TALL, girl!! :lol: Tall, thin and blond - what a rockin' combo! Sure wish I had you around here to help me with some German. We started choir rehearsals again on Tuesday and we're doing a collection of Brahms waltzes. We're singing them in German since the English translation often sounds like nonsense. German is so hard for me! :dizzy: Your Italian Friends group sounds awesome and so does your trip to Italy. Do you go there regularly?

Susan, your weekend with your sis sounds like SO much fun!! Hope you have a great time and that the weather cooperates for you guys. Thanks for the breathing tip... I will make a point to do that since I tend to forget to breathe when I'm nervous. It would be a little embarrassing if I passed out during my lifetime presentation. :o

Hi Pam and Melissa! Hope you're both doing your best to stay warm. It's finally warming up around here. We had a high of 32 yesterday and it felt like summertime - like I could break out my tank tops and flip flops! ;)

Not much going on - it's been a quiet week. Just trying to keep up with the house and the kids. I'm up in weight a little, but I think it's because I've hit my strength training a bit harder this week. That BETTER be the reason, cuz I've been on my best behavior! ;)

Have a great day, girls! :wave:

Good morning! It's blustery here this morning and the lake effect bands have set up--we had about 5" this morning to clear and the roads were slick. The brunt of the storm is supposed to hit this afternoon and last through tomorrow. The warning from the NWS is through 4 pm tomorrow. I'm wondering if I'm even going to make it out of town. I hope if the flight gets cancelled they do it early so that I don't make a wasted trip to the airport.

I didn't have a great day with eating last night...I was searching for something and I know part of it was due to a little stress. I got a letter from my credit union that my name appeared on the list from the Marshalls/TG Maxx compromise. Grrrr. Anyway, they're issuing me a new card and as soon as it arrives they'll close my current one.

Trying to stay warm here and really fighting the urge to NOT go to the Wellness Center at noon today to walk. I know I'll be okay once I get there.

Susan: Have fun playing tourist with your sister! It sounds like fun. I agree, you need to have a "spark" of some sort to start a relationship.

Lisa: Wow, you did take a lot of German! I'm sure it does help you with your singing and you're right about the translations--they don't sound the same in English as they do in German.

KarynLee: 32 sounds wonderful right now! It's 18 here this morning and with the windchills we're below 0! I would agree that your weight is up a little due to the extra strength training. Your muscles tend to hang onto fluid to "repair" the little tears caused by exercise. You're doing great!

I'm off tomorrow and weather permitting on my way to Chicago. Have a good day ladies!

Melissa, I just got a similar letter from my credit union. It just said, though, that my card had been compromised by a "national retailer." I shop at TJ Maxx... I wonder if that's the store they're talking about. Irritating, huh? :mad: Hope it doesn't turn into anything beyond the inconvenience of having to replace my card.

Karynlee, Yes, I am tall. It's fun now, but not when I was growing up. Where do you live? I forget. Yes, I could help you with your German. Actually I like singing in German. Soon, I'll be in a group singing Haydn's The Creation (a great piece). I've been to Italy twice and I'm really looking forward to this trip.

[B]Melissa,/B] I hope you got your walk in. Maybe your flight will be canceled and you won't have to go to the Windy City. Sometimes you get what you wished for. Five inches at once is a lot of snow.

Well, here it's very rainy and cold (not as cold as your place). It's an ugly day.

Melissa and Karynlee, I had not heard about the credit card fiasco. That's terrible.

I have been reading about green tea helping with weight loss. I've been drinking it all week and I really do think it has helped. It's good for other things, too. Have any of you heard of this?

Good morning!

The weather has cleared so my flight is scheduled. We had terrible weather yesterday and had a major pile up on the interstate. Over 30 cars were involved and there was one fatality. The snow was terrible and there were white outs. We got over 10" of snow here in the city and the outlying areas I'm sure got more. It took emergency workers from 1 p.m. until 3 a.m. this morning to get the interstate cleared.

Karynlee: It's probably Target. I'm hoping, like you, that I'll only have to have my card replaced.

Lisa: There's a link on the ABC news channel about the breach. They said it could affect up to 10 million people.

Well ladies, have a great weekend! I'll touch base on Monday.

Melissa, Even more snow? That's awful. Well, have a good trip to Chicago.

Anyone have plans for the weekend? DH and I are going to see a play tonight, Seven Year Itch. Tomorrow I will be working at the church rummage sale all day. Sunday, my crazy shopping GF wants to go shopping (I really don't need to spend more money.) Have a great OP weekend everyone.

Hi ladies,

Hope you all have a nice weekend. DH and I are going out to dinner tonight with the family to celebrate his 50th birthday. Other than that not too much planned. It's really cold here, temp this morning was 1. :fr:

Lisa enjoy the play and shopping with your friend!

Melissa sorry you got all that snow. Safe travels this weekend.

See you next week!

Happy Saturday, girls! :wave:

Pam, how was hubby's birthday celebration? How does he feel about turning 50? I'm turning 40 this year and it's not bothering me like I thought it might. Turning 30 was a whole 'nother story, though - very tough birthday. My husband never gets caught up in the number... don't know if that's just a guy thing or what.

Lisa, how was the play and your shopping trip? I live in SE Idaho. Where in Florida are you? My big brother is a teacher/scientist at the University of Miami. As far as green tea goes, I drink tons of the stuff. The jury's still out, I think, on whether or not it aids in weight loss, but it's loaded with antioxidants which is a good thing. I like it because it's a nice alternative to diet soda.

Susan and Melissa, hope your weekends away are going well.

Melissa, I hadn't heard about the breach at Target. Thanks for the heads up... I'm reasonably sure now that's how my card was compromised. :(

Well, it's over. I have officially hit Lifetime. As expected, I was terrified to get up in front of everyone (standing room only again this week). Despite my stage fright, though, I was actually able to say what I wanted to say. That almost never happens! I talked about how wonderful WW is for weight loss, but that I was most excited about what an awesome and effective tool it is for maintenance. Once I sat back down and my hands stopped shaking, I thought, "Wow, that was fun." :D

:congrat: Karynlee

I knew you could do it!

Karynlee, woo-hoo you did it!!! We knew you could.:carrot: :bravo:

The play was pretty good. Shopping was fun.

Pam, let us know how hubby did with his birthday. I think Karynlee is right--men just don't get excited about it. In fact, my husband sometimes looks forward to it because his age group changes at his running races and he has less competition.:) (Susan would know what that's about.)