Hi everyone - I had something hit my digestive system yesterday and it was an awful afternoon and evening. And I had an open house and a wedding shower that I HAD to attend so it was a LONG Day. Whatever it was, it seems to have passed, but I'm chilling a bit today before heading out to two more open houses. I've already planned my day and am going to eat before I go to both of them. Maybe some veggies if it looks like I have to look hospitable and eat something. I have a couple of bottles of water in the freezer to throw into the car in case there isn't any bottled water at either of them. That would be unusual because it seems to be a basic these days at the parties.

Tech, you won't be back for a few days but I'll post that I live south of Lansing about 30 miles off of I-69.

Have a good Saturday everybody

Hi everyone. I know I don't get here often, and I don't post much because I mainly 'talk program' and that's because I am in it 5 days a week....that being said, I wanted to share with all of you, my success after 4 weeks on Core. Yep, still going at it. Not waivering...I was down again today, that's four weeks in a row with a loss...Total loss: 12 lbs!! Unreal!!
I am staying with it, and have now gotten used to "my" way of eating, and am so enjoying it. I am not depriving myself, I am not starving at all, and use my WPA for 'those things' that need counting, but I do not abuse it. I stick to the 'new' snack rules, but that's me, and that's what we tell our members, so I talk the talk and therefore must walk the walk.
I am considering branching out into the field to mix up what I do in the office. I love helping members.
Just wanted to share....have a wonderful day today, and enjoy!!!
Continued success to everyone!!

Went to WI and of course I gained .8 which isn't a bad gain but frustrating considering how much I have been excercising. I am probably going to go out of town this week around wednesday so I am giong to try my best to stay on plan. As far as this weekend today I have done pretty well except the for spinach artichoke dip I had but I only had 3 points for breakfast and will have a light dinner.

LJ: Wow good for you on your loss

rosegarden: I hope you are feeling better

derry and tech: I guess this would be my situation as far as the excercising. Today I had a realization though I went to WI and of course as usual when I excercise I showed a gain and then I realized that I probably need to look at the number of daily points I have. See I am off for the summer so I don't walk around as much as when I do when I am at work so I am going to retake the quiz and see how many points I should be eating and then what ever activity points I earn I should use those. Even though I am working out more or about the same most of the time I am just sitting around here at home watching T.V. So I am going to try this retaking the quiz and see how it comes out.

newlifstyle: my pedometer buddy, what up??????? I hope you are doing well.

Paige: I hate those days when I am just hungry those are tough to get through. Hope you are feeling better.

Okay never mind on the I haven't eaten bad today. I looked up the nutritional information to calcualte my points and my salad was 36 points I didn't have the cheese on my salad but geez you would think I sald with lettuce, chicken, strawberries, cranberries, walnuts, and balsamic vinagrette dressing wouldn't be that much. I guess the dressing they use has a lot of something in it. Oh well today I blown I have to start fresh tomorrow.

Paige, I hope you are feeling better, sounds like you've been overdoing it. So,, did you get the ham dinner or not?
I'm here at the lake and I have used many of my flex points, but I am so glad to be here! It's been a lovely, sunny day and the lake and birds have been beautiful. I went out in the paddle boat and got a bit of exercise and had some wine with our shish ka bob dinner, our meal was completely core!
Lunch was a wheat 60 calorie wrap bread (counted all my extra points) with lite swiss cheese, turkey, tomato and lite mayo. I was impressed at how good it was. In the afternoon I had popcorn with butter spray. We bought fresh cherries and my daughter, husband and I nibbled on a few off and on. I really have relaxed today.
I am concerned as my son is home by himself (19 years old and old enough to be on his own) but he came home from work sick. He's had a fever and a cough, so he's home along. I almost decided to go home to help take care of hiim, but we felt that he needs to be old enough to cope with life on his own, - plus we are heading home tomorrow.
so, life is good and I hope you all are well! Sorry about type-o's as I have no spell check on my laptop1

Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a great weekend. I have been eating on plan and exercising. I have been eating my activity points. It is hard, but I need to do it.
L.J. that is awesome about your loss. great job on your new lifestyle. What sort of exercise do you do?
Hello Haylo......I am doing well. I walked 16408 steps today. My feet hurt.
I am super tired but had a great day.
Linda enjoy your weekend away.
Have a wonderful day everyone.
Take Care
Ann

Hello All
 

I am new here. I have been reading the posts and so glad I found this site. I have tried to do the WW program, South Beach, Atkins, and Sugarbusters in the past. I'm so tired of being overweight. My birthday is June 18 and I decided that's it.....no more excuses. I want to eat healthy and learn to enjoy exercising each day. I'm hoping the motivation I get here will help me reach my goal.

Hi ladies..
... typical my first time to get on here in the weekend & Gaby suddenly wakes up... so this will be quick. I've had a bad day today & need some serious motivation to get back on track. I'm going to my WI tomorrow night & am terrified of how much I'm going to have put on, but I figure I only have *me* to blame, so at least if I go and find out, I can put a plan in action. I hope everyone had a better weekend than me! Better go & get Gaby up, then I have to cook dinner, put her to bed & do some housework before my folks get back tomorrow night!!

Welcome LindaD :welcome2: and good luck in your weight loss journey. The group here is very supportive of each other, and very caring. I don't get here often, mostly early Saturday or Sun morning.
WW is a very good choice, and very doable, with everyday foods. Nothing fancy to have to buy.
You get a lot of supportive and suggestions here. Read as often as you can.
Someone is always here.
Have a great day today!!

Hi again everyone...thought I'd stop by for a bit....to chit chat, something I rarely get a chance to do .... hope you don't mind....
Hi Ann, Thanks!
As for exercise I walk on my treadmill and I have the WW walk tapes.
Walking outside here is way too hot, at least for me :D
I have had no luck with my pedometer. Seems it moves on it's on accord..like when I sit or stand up. I am getting false readings so I don't wear mine.
You did fantastic with your steps - WTG!!!
Linda, enjoy your weekend, it sounds so lovely where you are. I'd love to be able to have some R&R by a Lake on the weekend. To me, your weekend sounds wonderful
Haylo, I can't imagine a salad with 36 pts? I know walnuts can be high in pts per serving, so maybe that's where most came from.
And you are right, today is a new day...
Paige have you tried Bryers Slow Churn NO sugar added Vanilla Ice Cream. It's 1 pt for 1/2 cup and so very good and creamy. Add some 2pt extras and you've got a mini sundae for those 3 pts. Something different, right!! I've done 1/2 banana, then sliced in half with ice cream on top, and 1pt worth of choc syrup...mini banana split:D
TechAlum - I remember you from the Core board...are you doing core as well. Nice to 'see' you here. Hope you enjoyed your weekend plans
GabbysMum - hope weigh in went ok for you. Remember it's only a scale!!
It has NO idea who's on it. Stay strong in your conviction to do well.
Hang in there.
Hello to everyone else.....hope you all enjoy your weekend!!

Goooood morning all!

I didn't end up getting the ham dinner last night, for the reasons that I had stated. I ended up making my yummy homemade spaghetti sauce and having it with ww spaghetti, topped with a serving of moz cheese. It was pretty yummy.

Not much on the agenda right for today. Dh is sleeping in right now, and then I'm going to make him some breakfast. I'm looking for a pancake recipe. You'd think I would be able to make pancakes...we usually just get the box mix because I don't usually eat them, and the box stuff is satisfactory for dh and the kids. However, me, the almost pastry chef, cannot make them without burning them! LOL! Soooo I'm going to go into the recipes on here and look for a WW friendly version.

I have a feeling that it's going to be a boring day. Dh started working on one of our cars yesterday (the one I drive,) replacing the "blah, blah, blah" so I'm hoping he'll be able to get it done today, but that means we're not going to be able to go and do anything as a family today (don't I sound ungrateful?!) I also had "bordom hunger" yesterday, so I'm a little nervous about that today. We'll see how it plays out....

Anyway...chat later!

Laura, I hope you are feeling ok and made it through those open houses!
LJ, it was so nice to hear from you. Wow, 12 pounds!!!!! That is amazing. How far are you from goal now? You must be so happy with this great way of eating. I hope to be able to say something like that in the near future, it would be so nice.
Haylo, are you a teacher? It's the only job I can think of that has summers off. I would love that. Gosh, sitting around and watching tv all summer, though. Can you take a yoga class, volunteer, or something? I'd go nots. right now I lead two quilt groups, one that makes a quilt for the family of every soldier we have lost in The War On Terror and another that makes quilted sleeping bags for the homeless and quilts for kids with cancer. With all of that, and volunteering for other things, like the Strawberry Festival at my church next weekend, I sure do keep busy. But, I like to be busy and I go nuts sitting around, unless I have some needlework in my hands. If you lived near me, I would encourage you to join one of my groups - I'd teach you and put you to work!
Even public libraries love volunteers, you could just read to children. Sometimes a school librarian also needs volunteers to read with kids who are struggling, I used to do that. I got VERY attached to the young girl I used to read with. She was struggling so, but reading with me helped her.
I'm not tryinig to push you to do anything, but it sounds like you need activity and that you would benifit from keeping busier.
Haylo, how shocking that the salad was a whopping 36 points. Salads can be deceptive, for sure, as they put all sorts of really cool ingredients on them. I stick with grilled chicken salads, greek salads or garden salads at dining establishments. Then, I ask for oil and vinegar, at least I get in my healthy oils and I control how much goes on.
LindaD welcome! We are pleased to have you join us. If you stick around, we'll have to refer to you as LindaD and me as LindaNH (I'm from New Hampshire) as it will be very confusing to have two of us.
I, too, have tried a few of those programs you mentioned and a few others that you have not mentioned. I, personally, have come to the conclusion that WW is best suited for me. Their approach is teaching me how I have to handle my life after I lose all the weight. With any of those programs, if I stuck with it, I am sure to lose weigh but this is for life, for me. I don't want to do this again, I want this weight off and I want to maintain this loss for the rest of my life. I want to be the petite person, not short and "dumpy
and groaning when I get out of a chair. I hate that I let myself get this way and wonder what it was that made me look in the mirror during that time period and accept it?
I like what LJ said about this group, someone IS always here. You can post in the middle of the night and pour out your heart, if you need to, and within a few hours, someone will have responded and spoken kind words and will have shared a similar experience. We're created a team, and I think this team is unbeatable!
Emma, your weigh in might not be that bad. Taking care of an infant is hard work, maybe you've had more activity than you think? Plus, as cute as that little darling looks in the photos, I am sure there are fussy times and you are struggling. This too shall pass.
LJ, what is high in points is the dried cranberries as well as the walnuts in that salad. I love those things, but a tablespoon of them is roughly a point. They are very high and very concentrated. I sometimes count a point and mix a tablespoon in with my oatmeal before I cook it - it's really yummy. I am prone to urinary tract infections and cranberries are the best natural cure. I am forever in search of low point things that have natural cranberry in them. I have even boiled fresh cranberries in water to make a "tea" of sorts and added my own sweetener in order to not get the calories from the cranberries themselves.
It's another lovely morning on the lake today. We are truly blessed to have this place to escape to. I have been listening to the call of loons while I've been typing this. There is a gentle breeze and the sun shines across tiny ripples on the water. Ah, I could live here all year if possible. I sure wish my husband could find a decent paying job up there, but it's such a seasonal area, sadly. One day, we plan to retire up this way. I hope we have long lives and health as we age so we can enjoy it for a long time.
Happy Sunday to all!
Again, I am on my laptop with tiny keys and no spell check, forgive any spelling or type-o's. I am truly the world's worst speller, and am always thankful for spell-check when I have it.

Paige, I founda buttermilk pancake recipe .

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups low fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted.

Combine the flour, bakingsoda, and salt. Stir
in another bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined
stir in buttermilk and butter, then stir into the flour mixture until well combined. In a clean bowl beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or wire whisk to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the flour mixture.

Coat notstick griddle or skillet with non stick spray and heat over medium heat. Spoon 1/4 cup of batter for each of 18 pancakes onto the griddle and spread into a 3 1/2 inch circle. Cook until tops are covered with bubbles, 3-4 minutes, Turn pancakes and cook until the edges are lightly golden about 2-3 minutes longer.

per serving (3 pancakes) 4 points.

This is a ww recipe.

Hello Ladies, happy Sunday. I hope everyone has a great day.
Paige, I don't think you sound ungrateful. I understand how nice it is to do family things and when DH is at work all week and you only have weekends for family time. It is disappointing when you can't spend it with family time.
I hope your day works out well.
Linda, the lake sounds so peaceful. Maybe once your kids are done school you can retire to the lake. I had a friend who sold her house and bought a cabin and lived off the proceeds of her house. It is funny how people have more disposable income once the children are self sufficient.
Enjoy your day. I hope you son is feeling better.
L.J. that is awesome that you are doing so well on core. Do you need to really disciplined to do core. It intrigues me. What does your typical eating look like in a day? Is your pedometer a ww's pedometer? My D/H drove a distance that I walked so we could make sure the km were accurate for my pedometer.
Hi Linda D, welcome and good luck on your journey. I hope your birthday is wonderful. Maybe for a birthday present you can treat yourself to a nice walk.
Hello Emma, you are probably sleeping, I hope you day goes well and weigh in is good. I bet you missed your parents. have a great day with Gaby.
Haylo my walking buddy, as this is the summer we did we should walk today. I want to walk at least 10,000 steps, but may be hard pressed to get a big walk in. It is a busy day for me and I am running late....oops.
Hello Erica, I miss you and your insightful posts that show me you are truly human. I hope whatever you are going through passes quickly and you are back to you. You deserve it. You are a one of those people who makes a difference in others lives. I know you have made a difference in my journey and my attitude about weight loss and realizing it is a way of life for me. I thank you for that because I don't beat myself up when I live life. Thanks for that.
Hi Laura, I hope that you are feeling better and have a great day.
Hello Kim, Ginny, Future pixie, Patty, Tracy, Tech, Briza, Metro, and anyone else who is reading our post, please come join us. Sorry if I missed anyone.

I really am thankful for all the people here and the way they share openly and have helped to make a difference in my life. I do appreciate all of you.
Take Care
Ann