Congratulations Erica on your loss. You are only 9 pounds away from goal. I hope you have a great vacation. Enjoy the sun and fun.
Futurepixie you are going to find your collarbones in no time. I enjoy running too.
I only run 5k per day, but I am okay with that. Chicken chili sounds yummy.
Have a great night.
Take Care
Ann
Linda: don't let it get you down, believe me I went through that same emotion after I came back from my trip only to find out all my hard work was down the drain and that I had gainedn 4 pounds. I was very much reminded that I have hypothyroidism and it became obvious to me that I can't let myself get to off track or else I am up. You are such an inspiration and always have interesting things to say. I hate to hear that you are down in the dumps. You can do this.
Erica: congrats
futurepixie: I am glad you found a lower sodium frozen dinner. I probably would have gotten tired of eating the same thing for several nights in a row and probably would have caved in. How was that Amy's organic? At least you are learning that's what's important.
Ann, thanks for your kind words of reassurance, it truly helps when we all band together for one of us who has a few bad days.
Erica, you have a safe and wonderful trip! I look forward to hearing all about it when you return.
Pixie, I think you are right. Maybe this week I shall try really hard to stay away from that ______ scale. It's haunting me and not helping me at all in my efforts. I really must put my best efforts and concentration into getting this right!
Haylo, thanks to you as well.
By the way, I do wonder if I am on a plateau. Last week, I stayed the same and this week a .4 gain. It's certainly not coming off easily, is it?
Time to mix it up a bit. It's so hard to sail along in life with a plan to do this and then have "life" get in the way. Something I have to think about.
Pixie, I feel for you with the frozen dinners. I hardly ever eat those anymore as I feel they never seem to leave me feeling full afterwards. It's a pain to cook for only one person, I know.
One thing I might think about is buying meats, for example, and cutting them into individual serving sizes. For example, if you like to eat steak, why not buy one that would normally feed 3 or 4 people and cut it into 4 pieces and freeze each of them individually. Then, if you come home from work hungry, you can pop a piece on your grille or in a skillet and even bake a potato in about 5 minutes in the microwave. Frozen veggies that come in bags are good, as you can just microwave the size portion you want. I'd feel more full with a meal like that any day and not feel so "alone" as a frozen dinner makes me feel. Hope that makes sense.
If I made pasta, I could make a larger batch and then microwave some for lunch or another dinner later in the week. I love pasta with canned diced tomatoes over top - 1 cup of WW pasta is only 3 points and the diced tomatoes are zero points - not bad at all and filling. Salads can be made and used over two or three days before they get "wilty" as well.
I can think up a few more things when time permits.
Linda-I've been trying to think of something wise to tell you, but I can't come up with anything other than what has already been mentioned. I really get why you don't want to go back to flex...20 points is nothing! But maybe doing it for a week or two would give your body the change it seems to need. Maybe changing up your exercise would help, too?
Barb-Your Vegas trip sounds exciting! Dh made the comment the other day that he would like to go back. We aren't big gamblers (I'm quite partial to the nickel slots...LOL!) I think he and I just need a get-away vacation.
Pixie-Linda is right about the dinners (IMHO.) I have really gotten away from using them (besides the salt thing) because they just aren't filling enough for me. If you like the convience of having it virtually done when you get home, why not consider making up meals over the weekend and freezing them? You could dice up several pieces of chicken, cook it, then freeze it in serving size packs...then one night have it over salad (which BTW, if you put a paper towel in the container with the lettuce, it will last A LOT longer!!)...or chicken tacos...or heat it with salsa, a little taco seasoning, and some cheddar cheese and have it with brown rice. You could get some of the extra lean ground turkey or beef and do the same thing...brown it up or make some burgers and freeze in individual servings. It does take some extra prep work, but I would think it would be so much satisfying than the dinners, and YOU control what goes into them.
Ann-I agree...I wish we all lived closer, too! Ginny and I only live about an hour or so away from each other; eventually she and I will meet up!
Erica-Congrats on your loss! I hope you have a fabulous time in FL! Bring back some warm weather!
Ann, ONLY 5K per day? That is a good little run IMO. I don't really think that it matters how far you go. Long as you enjoy it and sweat a little, you are doing something good for yourself. I am still doing the Couch to 5K program, so that means that I am still working up to where you already are! Can't wait though- between my yoga and running programs, I feel like I have found the ultimate stress buster end to my day. There is nothing like laying on the couch after a run, some yoga, and a shower in that order. My favorite!
haylo, the Amy's meal was ok. Could have used a little salt, LOL! I really just grabbed it at the store because i was bored with chicken chili and it was getting late. Although as far as frozen dinners go, I feel like it was a good choice. I really really like the Amy's no cheese pizza! I think that here soon i will treat myself to one- but not the whole thing at once, lol.
derrydaughter, frozen dinners make me rejoice in the fact that once you throw the fork in the dishwasher and the wrapping in the trash, the kitchen is clean again, LOL! but other than that, i find them more mindless than lonely. I just don't liek that I pay no attention to what goes in my body when I eat them. And I am not a huge starch person, and that is what they are mainly full of- three bits of chicken and a few broccoli particles and the rest are noodles. yuck! I am gonna reinvest in those single serving casserole dishes, and start thinking of things to make and eat little servings of. i also have a dear friend who is sort of doing WW and the two of us talked about cooking dinner for the other one night a week so that we end up with good dinners at least two nights- she's single too and we are already inseperable so that would be easy.
all the rest, have wonderful vacations, and wonderful days, and I thank you all for being who you are!
Hello Everyone - Taking a few minutes here from work to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Somehow someway I AGAIN let life get in the way of my goals. Somehow I've got to make the two of the jive up again.
My computer issues at home seem to have finally resolved. Who da thunk that switching to Vista would cause such havoc in my regular routine.
I think I dropped off the face of the earth somewhere just after the boys lost their Regional competition game. I believe my last post was the 13th! You guys have carried on well and I hope to grab a few minutes to catch up.
I'm deleting my tickers for the time being. I need to pretend that I'm starting from scratch. I'll be weighing in tomorrow after a 2 week hiatus. I am my own WORST enemy but I'm not beating myself up. I'm going forward. The weather has changed. No snow today or ice storm which they got just to the south of us but just steady glorious rain. WHOO HOO. I have been walking a bit and cleaning the yard. My back and arms felt that activity too.
Have a great Hump Day everyone and I'll be back in a bit to do some more catching up
Paige had some nice chicken ideas for single servings. I just want to add that I took leftover chicken and shredded it and added BBQ sauce to it and served it, heated, on hamburger buns (low fat wheat ones that are one point each) last week for one meal. It was really quite good. I have done this with leftover pork or browned hamburger, what you really taste is the BBQ sauce flavor, it's warm and nice with a roll - sort of a Sloppy Joe kind of idea. That could also be frozen in zip-lock bags and microwaved individually.
One thing that comes to mind, as well, is my Thanksgiving Dinner "TV Dinners". You could use the same concept on any larger meal that is for more than just one person. When we have Thanksgiving dinners, I buy those larger plastic plates that have the little divided compartments in them (they handle the food nicer and microwave well). I put meat, gravy, (it's really not all that high in points if you have it now and then)veggies and potato, and even cranberry sauce all over the platters. I double wrap them to protect from freezer burn and then put them all together in a plastic grocery store bag (for added freezer burn protection) in my freezer. You can just pop out your own homemade TV Dinner and there is a very hearty and decent, but quick, meal. You could make up your favorite meals that are healthy and freeze dinners for yourself once a week or so. If you did this even once a week, ate a portion that evening and then froze something like 5 or 6 TV Dinners, you would ultimately get into a system where you would have one or two meals a week of your home cooking, but micro ready and good for you. If you have a crock-pot, using that to make up soups, stews and all sorts of things like that could work this way. If you freeze things well packaged and labeled, you could do very well. It would take some time and an investment, sort of, to establish things like this, but it would give you a much better alternative to Lean Cuisine or WW Smart Ones. The meats and foods in that all seem to be almost "substandard". I have had a few meals that I have just plain thrown away as they weren't point-worthy!
Laura! So good to hear from you. Re-starting is a good thing. I kind of did that this morning. I have myself a mental clean slate and am trying really hard to be more on program, smarter and stop goofing off. I think I was doing rather well and my head got swelled or something. I was convinced that I was invincible, but I wasn't.
Soon, a walk through the kitchen meant having a few grapes, then it was maybe a grape and a pretzel (non-core!) and I wasn't writing things down. I was telling myself that I was really "on program", but when I think about it - maybe I really wasn't. No harm in grapes, but if you are including a pretzel here and something else there, it can all add up. When you add take out food once during a week and then eating out, who are we kidding?
Time to pull in the reigns and behave once again!
Well, back to my massive housekeeping effort. I don't do major "spring cleaning" like some people do, but somehow the start of spring gives me more ambition to work on getting my house more orderly and less cluttered.
Yippee for Spring!
Linda & Laura- Wiping the slate clean was what I did a few weeks ago when I got that new scale. I was doing the same thing on core as you, Linda...I would "think" I was being good, but when I look back and think about it, a little non core food here, a little there...it added up and I WASN'T really on program. When I got my new scale and realized how inaccurate my old one was, decided to totally start fresh and regroup. So far it is working! Maybe that IS what you both are needing...a fresh new start.
Oh, brother.....I am going to be selfish here and vent. I attend meetings, some of you do, some of you do not. I think I am about ready to leave my meeting to go to another, which fortunately I am able to do as there are lots in my area. Most of the time I meet a "friend" - gotta use that term loosely- our kids have the same teacher so we have more in common than just WW-
but this woman is SO needy...if she does not lose, or loses only .4, or gains- oh, my gosh, the world is coming to an end and she just becomes an attention sponge. If she loses, just the opposite, she practically rubs it in your face. Sometimes I just need to attend a meeting to sit and be still......don't really want to constantly be her personal cheerleader. She is a nice person, basically, just so self focused. Do I sound like a selfish brat??
Forgive me, the past few weeks have been tough....just wondering if anyone has had the same or similar experience.
Thanks!
Ginny
Ginny, so sorry about your "friend" (definitely losing that term loosely as well) and her antics. I do think that she probably NEEDS you, but you don't NEED to be around her if she is sucking all the attention and making everything all about her.
Perhaps you should try a different meeting, or two, and try to settle in to a different schedule that doesn't involve her. Maybe she isn't realizing what she is doing, I won't even say maybe I am sure she doesn't have a clue.
I wonder if you tried to go to just one more meeting but try to arrive late and not sit near her, using the excuse that you didn't want to interrupt or something.
I would just concentrate on my needs, you are paying the weekly meeting fee for this special time and it should be all about YOU and not HER. We can all be self centered at times, I know I can be.
Maybe going to another meeting is the best solution for you, where you can be anonymous.
I actually feel like my own leader is getting tired of me. I think she doesn't think I am trying hard enough and she actually seems surprised if I even lose .2. I have been at this a long time, after all. But, there are some extenuating circumstances surrounding my emotional eating, though I guess that shouldn't be my excuse forever?
I don't know if what I said helps at all.
Linda said: I would just concentrate on my needs, you are paying the weekly meeting fee for this special time and it should be all about YOU
How timely is this post. I know you are talking to Ginny about her "friend" and the meeting but your words hit me where I needed them tonight Linda. I was so dreading weighing in tomorrow as I was feeling like a loser because I lost sight of my goal but your words hit just right. That is exactly what the meetings are about = concentrating on my needs and I'm paying the fee for that. Not to compare myself to others or to beat myself up because I faltered. Thank you again for being here and getting me on back on track.
On another few notes, tonight has been a HUGE roller coaster of emotions and lordy knows I emotion eat. My son is assigned to a submarine. The submarine that is deployed to the Arctic Ocean WITH the Royal Navy Sub who had 2 sailors killed today and one critically injured. I was so excited that he was going to see the North Pole and somehow I over looked the risk and danger of the mission. My heart took a huge dive when I first opened up the internet news tonight and saw the mishap. It took a few seconds before I focused on the ROYAL NAVY part and that it wasn't my son's sub. It was the other sub on the mission.
Then I was off for my final athletic banquet tonight. They said so many nice things about my son but it was all about endings and putting that part of his life and our lives behind us. I'm roller coastering. But I'm not eating. That is a huge plus. I recognize the emotions and let them go unchecked but I AM NOT EATING because of them.
Laura, OMG!! I'm so glad your son is OK at the moment, but what a close call situation. I guess we have to think that our military people are really putting themselves at risk for us, no matter where they are serving.
I think we all have to look long and hard at our "investment". The meeting fee for WW varies, I think, but here in NH we pay $12.00 a week. I fork over (nice phrase, using fork right?) $24.00 a week for my daughter and I at each meeting we attend. That is MORE than it would cost for each of us to go to a movie. I should be taking in as much as I can and, again, not comparing myself to others (good way to put it, Laura). For the price, it should be all about ME and no one should monopolize the meetings. It is up to the leader to control things, though. There was a person in a meeting I used to attend that took over things, week after week and I remember the leader had to speak with her. For her, she felt her personal stories and experiences were more important for the rest of us to "learn" than anyone else. Her stories were repetitious, though she was a very nice woman and had her share of reasons for weight issues. She was a cancer survivor and she sure told us all her woes. It was hard, I'm sure, for the leader to have to chat with her.
If this keeps happening, though, another thought is to chat with the leader, that is if this one woman's issues are not only taking over what you get from the meeting, but also what others there are getting.
So, for today, let's be selfish (but loving to others, as always) and let's say that "It's all about me" for one day. How many of us let others and their needs overshadow OUR needs? You go girls!!!!!
Now, my introduced topic for you all today is I need you to list your most favorite and filling snacks (my daughter is running out of points each day, but needs something after school to keep her going until dinner) for mid-afternoon.
I need ideas for 0, 1 and 2 points mostly, but if there really is something wonderful and filling for three points, let me know.
I really feel for Jamie as she "lost it" last week, she was in a play and performances and rehearsals got in the way of her eating habits. She used a no weigh in pass at the meeting. It's hard being a teenager and doing this. In two months it will be a year since she joined WW, that is a very long time for a teen to go without all the great foods one associates with being a teenager.
Ok, now I have a little more time......I am waiting for Dd to finish her Pioneer
Club meeting and there is a computer here, so I am back with some time to say
hello.
Linda-perhaps you are plateauing. (you might want to ask for the WW handout
on it, or I could mail a copy to you). Fresh start is a good idea. I remember
one leader mentioning going back to a week one way of eating/thinking- I know
I tend to get sloppy...sometimes sneaking bites of food and not counting it......not
journalling as well as I can. I think everyone else covered it above. Hope
your restart is a good one. Don't beat yourself up! While you are doing some
modified spring cleaning-make sure you get rid of any foods that cause you trouble.
Paige-how is your back feeling?? This week has been such a merry go round.......lets
see how next week is (hopefully less hectic!). Not that I am hoping you are
still living at the chiropractor, but I would love to share a few moments with
you!
Laura- well, do not feel bad! (I have sort of fallen off the face of the earth
too!). Whatever the WI is, look foward and stay positive. You will lose
next week!!! Are you flex or core? And good to see you back- I have been MIA
too, and it is great to "see you" here again.
Pixie- you have an awesome workout program! The yoga sounds so relaxing - I
guess you enjoy it! How far are you running?
Ann- 5K a day? Wow.....(I am a walker, my knees are not good). Do you use
a treadmill (guess it is still cold and snowy in Canada). How many days a week
do you run?
Haylo- how has your day been?
Well,as I bellyached before, I did get to a meeting. Used the no WI pass, as
I did just need to refocus and be there. And my "friend" just got under my
skin........a similar incident happened 2 weeks ago at a school function. She
is in constant need of attention. Nothing I can do about that, other than accept
it. And it does probably mean that I will be finding another meeting to go to
when I need a breather. I vented above wondering if anyone else had experienced
the same thing as I am. Life has been insane these past few weeks.....I really
hope it begins to slow down soon.
I did get my walk in this am........
Good morning!
I wrote the above last nite.......while waiting for Dd to finish, but for some reason it would not post. I emailed it to myself, and posted it now. (that is why it seems a bit out of date)
Laura-I am so glad your son is ok! Can't imagine how awful you must have felt and feel. I have several coworkers whose sons are in Iraq- and they live moment by moment....hearts on their sleeves for all to see. It is so tough. I will pray for your son and the safety of his sub. Keep holding your groove.....great to hear that with all the stress you are facing you did NOT eat!
Linda(and Laura too!) thanks for putting up with my rant and your encouraging words about my "friend". I think that is just her nature- she is one of those individuals who will constantly manuever her life so that she is the center of attention. She can be sweet.....friendly and funny. But this one side of her is driving me nuts for now. Linda, as far as low point snacks- WW smoothies, doctored up with all kinds of extracts. I like the vanilla with coconut extract......made with ice and a touch of water for one point. Of course there is the 94 ff popcorn. 3 points or less for the whole bag. WW veggie soup? (no points) What about that mexican soup I posted about3 weeks ago. Or some baked tortillas and salsa. I will check my literature later......be back with more. Thanks for your pep talk about being "selfish" today.....the same goes for you too!
Gotta go face a very busy day. Hope yours is good!
Ginny
It's totally OK to vent here. You have to do what is best for your own needs, and you need a meeting that you can stay focused on and not be uptight becuase of someone else. At school functions, you can (again) arrive late (or earlier) and try to sit with others. But, if this person is really interfering with your personal success, than it's time to cut and run.
Here you are "stewing" about about her instead of having full focus on your needs. Did you get anything out of that meeting or did you spend it thinking about her and fuming? If there was nothing that you absorbed as you were so distracted, then it's time to move on. Again, we pay big bucks for this and we are truly working and needing that motivation.
You'll bump into her at school or somewhere else and she will jump all over you asking "Where have you been? I was saving a seat for you at the meeting, etc.". Just make sure you have your answer planned. "Oh gosh, I signed up for a yoga class at the library" or, "My husband needs me to be there to answer the phone when a business calls come in at that day/time and I have to find another meeting day and time that works better".
Maybe you can be totally honest with her and actually FIND an activity, such as a special class or church volunteer thing that fills up your time on that day? I try not to lie to people but I would avoid being truthful with her about the exact reason you can't be there at that meeting. If she asks which meeting you are going to, be non specific and say you are popping in at other days and times when your schedule allows. This way, she won't try to show up at the other meeting you have chosen - wouldn't that be just awful? Imagine moving to get away from a person and then finding that person moves to follow you? Then, it would be quite apparent if you moved to another meeting after that.
Good luck with this!
