That would scare me too Briza - Especially the hours you're going to the gym. Any chance you can leave in a buddy system or watch for someone else to leave at the same time> I would call the gym and ask about it. I don't think they would think anything was wrong with trying to keep yourself safe but yet still frequenting their gym. Best of luck. Please don't put yourself at risk ever - even if the boyfriend says it's "okay".

Laura, it's really nice that your community has that many resources, either free or inexpensive. We really don't have much around here. In NH, we don't have sales or income tax. Our state motto is "Live free or die" and I am glad that we don't have to pay extra for certain services, but I miss certain things like having a town pool or things like that.
I do live about a 25 minute ride from the ocean, so I could go there to swim, I suppose, but the ocean is not my thing usually. I need to find a friend with a pool!
I was quite pleased with the gym, for day 1 anyway. My daughter and I spent about 40 minutes on cardio machines. We have an appointment at 5 pm on Monday to meet with the personal trainer to review what she/he wants us to do and they suggested we work the cardio machines until then. That's ok with me. I might be in pain tomorrow as I used my legs so differently.
I was on this cross country ski thing and then an exercise bike as well. I got tired but got my heartrate up to the recommended number and was able to sustain it. My numbers showed that I earned 65 calories on the bike and I don't know about the other machine I was on as I kept having a bit of trouble with the machine "pausing", guess I am not fast enough. I counted on my journal that I earned a point.
Paige, thanks for the link to the article. It was interesting and it sounds exactly like the place we have here. Their no. 1 rule is "no grunting". I wonder if I actually grunt while exercising? I have not noticed. I think that is humorous, though. :p
It was a pleasure to see The Times Herald Record, by the way, as I used to get that paper when I lived in the area.
Good point on weigh in days and the high point days. I don't really follow the Wendie plan exactly, but let's face it, my high point days are almost always on the weekends. I love my leader on Tuesday afternoons, though. Eventually, though, if I were to lose enough weight - it would show no matter what day I got weighed, right?
I was at the library today and picked up a card there. It's a free download service affiliated with the NH public library system. You can download free software and then download audio books onto CDs - totally free. I was thinking that I might really enjoy listening to audio books while working out. I am a huge Jane Austin fan and quite frankly would listen to Pride and Prejudice over and over if I had it on a recording. So, maybe that is a good thing for me to try? Gosh, maybe I'll get the new Harry Potter book that way?
I do agree that 4:45 is way too early for me to want to exercise, but I hear (now that I have toured several gyms in the last few days) that these places are quite crowded during those hours. We live in southern NH and lots of people around here commute to Boston, so they get up early and get moving early.
Paige, Omaha steaks sounds awesome to me, I love their stuff! I'll bet there is calorie/fat content info on their packaging? I wouldn't be surprised if their burgers were fairly good in terms of fat content.
Briza, how funny that you live in the city and work in the suburbs! For most people, the commute is the opposite - so at least you are traveling opposite the traffic. I was in your great city once and got hopelessly lost and almost didn't make my flight home. It was the first, ever, business trip I had ever taken and I was really scared as I traveled in a few bad areas. But, I got to see the Liberty Bell quite by accident! That was cool!
I would think that you could consider the gym an appointment that you must keep. Do you know anyone else who goes there? Perhaps if you made plans to meet up with someone there it would help you go more regularly?
I'm hoping that I can meet some people I know from the area or make friends at the gym that I can smile at and chat or something. That would make it better for me. Maybe I will find some fellow WW members in my travels?
Briza! Yikes, I just read your "crime story" and I would certainly be worried too. Maybe you should go to the other gym that is on your way home and not in your area then? I think that would be safer.
I might invest in mace and have it in my hand when I am traveling back and fourth and maybe have something, like even an umbrella, that you could be ready to strike out with. Maybe the buddy system is a good idea as well where you go with someone else at this time. What a shame when things turn like that. A woman alone should always be on her guard, no doubt. Does the gym offer self defense classes of any kind? Gosh, I am now really scared for you. But, you know what? This kind of thing could happen anywhere and anytime.
Take care and stay safe!!!!!

Briza, I can be like a "mother hen" when I worry about people!
Read this self defense tip web site please!!!!
http://www.mhsanctuary.com/ptsd/domestic/danger.htm
In fact, it's a good thing for any of us to read.
Be prepared!

Hello all, wow there are so many posts on here.
Linda thanks for your advice. My goal is to eat my activity points I earn in a day. Linda my leader told me to get in two proteins a day.
Laura, I have a note on my fridge with the healthy 8's so that is a given I get those in every single day. I will start eating those activity points and hope for the best.
Briza, I would be scared also. Keep safe.
Hello to everyone and I hope you all have a great night.
Take Care
Ann

Hi everyone!!
My last couple of days have been good - so I'm quite pleased with myself. Me & my sister might be going to stay with my aunty for a night either tonight or tomorrow night, so it's going to be VERY interesting to see how well I do keeping within my points!

Ann, keep us posted on how eating those activity points works for you. One thing that I am worrying about being on CORE again now is that how can I eat my activity points if I am trying to stay on CORE foods? I guess what I could interpret is to maybe have an extra fruit serving or something non-core, but I think adding non-core foods is dangerous. Maybe a snack that I would ordinarily not have? Right now, as I am new to CORE again, I'm not being sloppy at all, but one never knows about this down the road?
Emma, glad you are having a good few days. Going away to other people's homes can be really hard. I know, as when I go to my MIL's house it is very hard and in that household, you eat what you are served.
If it were my own mom (wish she was alive so I could go to stay with her) or my sister, I'd be brash enough to bring my own food and browse through their cabinets to find what I need. It's funny how different families work.
Here is my planned menu for today:

Breakfast:
Smoothie made with 1 frozen banana, 1/2c plain ff yogurt and 1/2 cup skim milk
sliced apple microwaved with splenda and cinnamon on it and a bit of oatmeal sprinkled over top with butter spray (should be like an apple crisp kind of??)

Lunch:
More of the leftover "sauce" from two nights ago with ricotta and mozzarella. It was really good yesterday. The sauce I made was very chunky with lean hamburger meat, plum tomatoes, peppers, onion, mushroom and zucchini squash. It's kind of like stew and when I put it over top of a 1/4c serving of ricotta and put the ff mozzarella over top, it was really quite good.
Salad will also be with it (but I am kind of sick of salads, so I hope to skip salad for a day or two after this)

Dinner:
Pork Loin, marinated in something that won't add points to it, I hope, cooked on the grille
Rice (brown for me and white for DH)
Green beans or peas

Snacks will be fruit/popcorn if needed

Dessert: Hate to repeat myself but the crust less strawberry pie is still in the refrigerator and I want space in there so it will be dessert again

By the way, I have not had any chocolate whatsoever in three or four days now. I'm surprised I am not climbing the walls, but I am not. They aways say that CORE is more satisfying. That is a good thing, I guess. On FLEX, I was finding excuses to sneak in small chocolate treats after lunch and counting a point when it probably should have been two points? Hmmm....
Have a good Friday! I'll be off to the gym today again.

Hello ladies,
I did use my activity points from my run. I gained 4 points for my run. I also gained ap for walking. I ate an apple with 2 tbsp of peanut butter. It was very yummy.
Today my goal is very simple. Use my activity points from my running.
Have a wonderful day everyone.
Take Care
Ann

Happy Friday everyone!!!

I'm not sure if I'm going to go to the gym today or not. I have been trying to shoot for 3x's a week, and I've already done that this week. My excuse for today is that I don't want to use the gas to go all the way down there because I have to go back to the same town this afternoon for a dentist appt. I am meeting up with an old friend after that, or else I would maybe go work out then. Why is it so difficult to get my butt there? I enjoy it once I'm actually there! I love being around the other people that are exercising... I love feeling the movement of the eliptical...so why am I being so lazy?!

Briza-Yeah, that would scare the bejesus out of me. I'm surprised that your bf isn't more concerned about it. It could easily happen anywhere, but that it is happening right now in your area??? Yikes.

Emma-Have fun while visiting your aunty! One thing that I have learned while being at my parent's house is to use portion control. We were up there a for a holiday weekend a few weeks ago, and the foods were not WW friendly, I just "sampled" and didn't have huge portions. I think I ended up losing 1.6lbs that week, too! Just keep in mind that it is SO much easier to gain than lose! Doing damage control from a weekend of bad choices could take a several weeks, and you don't want that!!!

Linda-I am just so proud of you for joining the gym. Again, I wish we lived closer so we could be exercise buddies! Have fun meeting with the trainer. I wish that training sessions at the Y were free; I have been wanting to spring for one, but they are a little bit too much right now. I really would like to learn some new exercises that involve weights that will strengthen my lower back muscles. The chiropractor had told me that doing that is the only way my back problems are going to start to go away.

My menu so far for today...

Breakfast-Garden veggie egg beaters on ww lite toast w/deli ham and laughing cow cheese-4

Lunch-Progresso split pea soup-5
100 cal pack cupcakes-2
11/29

I'm not sure yet what's for dinner!

Have a super day everyone!!!

Paige, maybe if you are on a contract with this particular gym, you might look into finding one closer to home when it's over with? Or, if not contract exists, start looking closer to home. Hey, what about going to the gym AFTER you meet your friend over that way? Are you restricted as far as time is concerned?
I must remind you (who am I to be nagging you - I just joined a gym yesterday, right?) that exercise can take place anywhere and anytime - not just at a gym! So, you have feet right? ;)
I'm not lazy yet and plan on going to the gym in a little while. I was proud of my daughter who left here with her gym bag to go to school today. It's finals and she has a half day so she plans on going to the gym on her way home. She looked "professional" on her way out, with purpose!
Paige, that was good advice on portion control for Emma. Plus, you can do "floor exercises" and go for walks when you are away from home. I usually try to do things like that. Also, when the family is sitting around and everyone wants to know what we can do, I suggest things like going to antique shops or museums so we can walk around and look at stuff. It's intriguing and also you learn or sometimes get deals!
Paige, do you like the garden veggie egg beaters? I tried it an it tastes "funny" to me. I wish I could like it, I also tried their southwestern variety and didn't like that either. I buy the egg whites that come in the carton usually. I buy frozen bags of chopped onion and chopped peppers in the grocery store and keep them in my freezer, it's a great short cut and encourages me to have veggies more often - much less work. At any rate, I put a tsp of olive oil in a saute pan and cook the onion and pepper in there and then I add the egg white in there. I can get FF feta cheese in the market and I add that as well and it's pretty "decent". Maybe I'll have that tomorrow?
Ann, you mentioned peanut butter and I was so taken with that.... I hardly ever have peanut butter as it's high in points and I consider it a luxury item. Maybe if I start earning enough flex points through exercise, I might break down and have some now and then. Wow, what a thought! :)
Take care, off I go to figure out my banking stuff and head to the gym!
Happy Friday!

Linda-There are a few reasons we go to the Y all the way down in Middletown. My number one reason is that that is the only gym in the area that has a babysitting room. That was a major thing for me when we joined, because I knew if I had to wait for dh to get home before I could go, I wouldn't. Plus I know I would end up feeling guilty for leaving so frequently as soon as dh got home. The other main reason we chose to join there was because it was cheaper for us to have a family membership (only $67/month for all of us) than for dh to join there (it's right by where he works, so it's easier for him to go there before he goes to work) and for me to join somewhere else.

I think part of why it is so hard to get motivated to go is because it is difficult to get dds and myself around and ready and out the door by a certain time. I have to time it right to get to the gym so I have enough time to get in a good work out because I have to leave by a certain time so I can get back up to dd's school (45 min from the gym.) Sometimes it feels like a waste of time to drive down there to only work out for 45 minutes, ya know? Dd is done with school next Friday, so at least then maybe it won't be so bad.

Yes, I love the garden veggie egg beaters. I don't think they taste funny at all, and when they are paired up with the LC cheese...yum!

Hello all,

Well my team won. The San Antoino Spurs are the NBA champions!!!!!!! So anyways I guess I am still in celebration mode along with the city of San Antonio b/c I had 2 tacos for breakfast and a chicken wrap for lunch and as healthy as the chicken wrap sounds I am sure it wasn't b/c it had a lot of extras in it. I also went in to my doctor and had an ultrasound on my gallbladder and apendix so we will see how the result turns out. Well I am off to go excercise I think I have definatly eaten enough points the be able to burn some calories without showing my typical gain from excercise. Tomorrow is WI and I will be very interested to see how it turns out I have been eating well all week with the exception of today and excersing and this is when I usally show a gain on the scale.

Anyways I hope everyone has a good day!!!1

Paige, now that I read your reasons for being in that one Y, it all makes sense.
Do you know another mom who has kids the same age as your kids? I'd be wanting to trade off babysitting with another mom to give you each full time. Maybe you can find someone? That way you won't have to drag them to the place with you and it might be more fun? Keep trying though! You'll figure it all out. Isn't it a shame that so many places don't have child care? Of the five gyms I looked at this week, only one had childcare. But, it was very nice and very clean. It was only available after 3 pm each day, though.
Haylo, congrats on "your" team winning! I hope your tests come out OK. Let us know.
I went to the gym and now I am just plain tired. I'm not used to the types of machines. I don't know the names of two of them, but they might be Gazelle? They are kind of like cross country, with arm movement, but you almost bicycle at the same time. It was exhausting and I sure didn't stay on them long, I was on two different ones for about 5 minutes, each. Then, I was on an exer-bike for about 20 minutes, earning over 60 calories on it. I checked my WW points booster and the combination of those three machines might have put me into the 2 point range, but I only gave myself a point - would rather not exaggerate the points I earn and add more points than I truly get. How hard it is to determine the difference between "moderate" and "light" exercise.

Hello Everyone,

Didn't post yesterday because I had to go into work early and when I got home after stopping at the gym and grocery store, we didn't have everything for dinner so we decided to go out. Didn't get home until late and my brain was mush. Not much better right now but when I stopped earlier and read the posts by the time I finished I knew if I didn't get dinner in the marinade it'd be midnight before we ate. Anyway I'm starting to babble not a good thing, I thing an early night may be in order.

I haven't done horribly the last couple days, I haven't done great but not too bad. And I did go to the gym yesterday and rode my bike to work today, then had to go out of my way to pick up something DH was supposed to get on the way home, added a little more ride time to my trip home.

I just wanted to tell this story about the AP and why I had asked Ann if she was eating all of hers. When WW first started this program I was attending a meeting where a girl was all upset, she had joined a gym and was going 5 days a week and really working out and she had maintained or gained for the previous 5 or 6 weeks. The leader asked her about the AP she said she hadn't been using them in hopes of loosing faster, the leader challenged her to eat all her points plus the AP for a week and see what happened. She actually lost something like 5 lbs that next week. That story has always stuck with me and if I earn more than 1 or 2 AP, I try to make sure I use them.

Linda - :carrot: on joining the gym, enjoy yourself. As far as AP on core you can use them for whatever you want. I used to bribe myself with treats if I exercised (I know wrong frame of mind) and if I didn't I couldn't have usually wine.

Haylo - good luck at WI tomorrow, and with those test results.

Paige - what did you decide on for dinner? did you make it to the gym? I feel the same way, I feel better after I go and sometimes while there, but man getting myself there is sometimes a chore, and I only have me to worry about and it's only about 15 min away.

Emma - enjoy your visit.

Laura - Isn't it fun when you don't gain what you expect after a break. Good luck getting back on track. Where do you live? Just curious.

Briza - Definitely couldn't make it to the gym if I had to go at that hour, that's why I take my clothes and go after work, if I came home I wouldn't go back out. Pretty scary situation, I wouldn't take any chances either. Hope he's caught soon.

Well, gotta go. I'm off for the next 3 days, although we're taking the in-laws out tomorrow for Father's Day and my mom's having everyone over Sunday. Then DH leaves for a job out of town for the next week and a half, it'll just be me and the dogs, oh yea and the cat.

Have a great night everyone.

-Tech

Tech, a very similar situation happened at my meeting. A woman joined WW and a gym at the same time and was really working out along with not counting all of her activity points and just eating her basic points. She was staying the same, even as a new member (and usually they lose a decent amount in the first week). But, the same kind of chat happened and this woman was told to eat more and to try working out every other day vs. every day or at least cut out the bulking/toning/weight type of exercises on the day or two before weigh in. Working out, especially with weights expands and heats muscles, they retain fluid when they are expanded and it would affect a weigh in, I would think? It's a careful "science" that we are all learning in terms of controlling our weight. At any rate, this woman had a 2 pound loss after following these recommendations.
I dared (as I had worked out and have been so good all week) to have ONE chocolate Dove sugar free raspberry candy in the afternoon, it was very good and I only had the one. They are 35 calories each and technically not even a point, but I counted a flex point for it. I worked hard on my mental imaging that ONE of these was good enough for me and all I "needed". I didn't find myself running to the cabinet to get more of these things. I might bring the remaining chocolate (mine, not DH's which I can control myself to not eat and even keep in a different place from my own stash) to a quilt meeting this week - out of house, out of mind?
Tech, have fun on your "off for three days" to wherever you are going.
As for me, I am heading to the lake this morning and will be there overnight and coming home tomorrow. I hope to get in some activity at the lake, like using our paddleboat, rowing and I might have to walk around with the weed wacker. I plan on stopping at the store on the way in to our cottage and purchasing everything I need to make a CORE dinner there tonight (on the grille) and picking up some salad fixings and fresh fruit. I'm going to bring the oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow and that will be fine made with skim milk and fresh fruit alongside. I have Internet access up there, so you will probably hear from me. I leave a laptop there.
Tomorrow, I know what activity I will be having and it is a very good thing! My new kitchen counter was delivered during the week and I have to take everything our of my lower cabinets and all the drawers out tomorrow so the guy can come on Monday and install. I can't wait! Since we moved here over three years ago, I have been living with this horrible chipped/stained counter and now it's going. Also, the BEST part about it is that the counter is free, yup free! DH takes Amtrak to NYC each week and we get frequent rider points that accumulate, and they add up quickly as he goes every week. I hate having him on the road, but considering that he got enough points to earn us a free kitchen floor in the fall and now a free kitchen counter, I am at least consoled.
It will be nice to take everything out of those cabinets/drawers and have to rearrange them as I will end up completely cleaning them after the new counter is installed, activity and a reward!
So, talk with you all later. I have yet to develop a menu for the day, but I have promised myself to be completely CORE and healthy today. I still have 32 flex points to use this week, but I am saving them for eating out tomorrow night as my kitchen will be taken apart and I won't really be cooking much in there. I hope having a high point meal two nights before weigh in won't blow any success I have had this week. According to my own scale, I'm down about two pounds - but you never know. Plus, I'll be working out with the personal trainer on Monday at 5 pm and that could really affect things too? I just finished talking about how muscles hold fluid after workouts and I'll be doing it the night before I weigh in and the day after a high point dinner. BUT, I have to live and I can't keep worrying about that scale so much. I know I am making some progress, my own scale tells me so when I weigh in here in the mornings.

Hi all...just want to check in quickly!

I had a rough day yesterday. It was one of those days where you just feel HUNGRY all day (like the stomach rumbly kind of hungry.) I know I went over in points, but I tried to choose foods that were ok (not that that justifies it.) I don't know what my deal was yesterday...my body was just incredibly TIRED. I layed on the couch after my dentist appt last night and just felt like I couldn't move. This morning I feel really sore. I didn't end up going to the gym yesterday, so it's not soreness from exercising. I need to chug the water today and see if that helps.

Anyway...my menu for today...

Breakfast-PB& sugar free J on ww lite toast-3

Lunch-deli ham on ww lite bread w/tomatoes-3
100 cal pack cupcakes-2

Snack-popcorn-3

Dinner-ww Spaghetti with homemade sauce-10
ice cream-3

Total-24/29

I'm debating on the spaghetti...it's what I really want to have, but there is a ham dinner at church tonight for Father's Day; we haven't gone to a dinner in quite a while, so I feel pretty guilty. However, I just don't want to spend the points on it, and I don't want to have the salt from baked ham. Deli ham is bad enough, but at least I only have 1 slice (1 oz) of that...I know the baked ham would be more. Plus I think it's also $10/person...I don't have an extra $20 right now! LOL!

Anyway...got to run, I'll probably be back on later, though. Have a great morning all!