Supporting Each Other on Our Weight Loss Journey
 

This is a great thread for those who want support, helpful hints, friendship and a great bunch of people to communicate with. This thread has existed for a long time and I keep re-starting it whenever the old one gets too long. Feel free to stop in and chat, we are not a "closed" group and welcome newcomers. Some of us have been together for well over a year, some only a few days, but we care about each other. We offer tips, we share, we pick each other up of the floor when we've had rough times and we applaud when someone does well.
So, please do stop on by and share a bit, support is what it's all about! We can really do this together!

Hope I didn't encroach on Linda...I just finally decided to restart the thread because I had been trying for a few hours to post with no luck.

Well, so...I had a really crappy wi. To refresh, I have been completely on plan, and have been exercising...and yeah, down .2. WHAT?! I think I actually said to my leader, who was weighing me, "Excuse me?!" I really think that the scale was off. ARGH! I'm just so annoyed...I really almost thought I was going to cry right there on the scale. She even reweighed me and it was still the same. Next week I'm going to wi on the other scale...last week I was down 1.6 on that one. Sheesh. If it's right, the only thing I can think of is that I didn't eat very many of my fp. I was even weighing out food with my digital scale, trying to not eat junky-snack type foods...trying to stick more to whole foods.

It really is hard not to be like, "Oh screw it...I'm having some cake!" after you've worked your tush off...man, I was 100% sure I was going to have a nice loss.

Hello all,
Paige thanks for starting the new thread. I too was having trouble posting but I thought it was my computer. Congratulations for staying on plan and exercising.
I totally understand that feeling when you were on plan and thought for sure you had done well and the scale not showing it. That is why sometimes I measure. I am still losing inches.
Erica, I hope your dd sleeps through the night. You need a good night sleep.
I find it more difficult when ds wakes in the night and I don't get a good night sleep, I am more likely to overeat.
Linda, I hope your day went well.
Haylo, I have overused my pedometer, it wouldn't stop. The alarm kept going off. Luckily DH figured out the battery was dying...yeah, so now I can use it again.
Hello everyone else, I hope your day was great.
I want to eat ice cream so I think I should go to bed.
I hope you all have a great night.
Take Care
Ann

Hello All,

Ok, I"m having issues posting so this will be short.

Thank"s for the warm welcome. Unfortunately today has been on of those bad emotional eating kind of nights. I did pretty well yesterday (day 1 of my WW week) but today I was pretty Hot, Tired, and Annoyed when I got home so I didn"t feel like cooking. So we ordered in pizza, between the pizza and wine I feel better but my tracker is not happy. Oh well these things happen. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

To all those who posted about their scale woes, this week"s eating is not always a direct connection to this week"s loss. When I did really well years ago on WW I discovered that my weight loss was directly related to my cycle. I would stay on plan 3 weeks a month and stay the same, then pig out the week before TOM and actually lose 3-4 lbs. The key for me became not gaining the other 3 weeks, because it was easy to be discouraged. Sometimes the gain or lack of loss can be due to what you ate in the last 24 hrs, was it beef (that stays with me for a longer time), was it salty, did I drink too much....the issues are endless.

Anyway, I"ll get off my soapbox now.

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow.

-Tech

Thanks, Paige, for re-posting the thread. Just want to say that if any of you ever feel the need to do that, don't think you are stepping on my toes, it's not my personal property and if it is getting too long for you to post/download, then it's time to begin fresh.
Ann, my day at the lake wasn't exactly what I would call fun. But, our hot water heater is working again and I am thankful we only had to replace a heating element vs. the entire tank - a huge cost savings I would think. Though, I have yet to get the bill.
I did work on my quilting for a bit and get a few things done at the place, like filling my hummingbird feeders and such. The hummingbirds are my "buddies" up there and I love to watch them.
Tracy, stop beating yourself up all the time. You are doing the same thing I was doing for awhile. I still do it, but I don't let it bother me. I weigh myself every day, sometimes two or three times a day. Yet, the only scale I truly can use as my guide is the WW one. Weighing in one day a week, the same time and place and with the exact same clothing (right down to the underwear) is what you must use as your guide. People's weight "flip flops", just like those silly political candidates!
Erica, sorry you are a bit sleep deprived. My own daughter (who still is a night owl) never slept through the night from the time she was an infant until well after she was two, maybe even close to three. I lived her first few years like a zombie. My son, the oldest, never napped from the moment she was born (he was 2 then) so I couldn't just sleep when she napped, as I had to keep a close eye on him. It was really a hard time. When I am overtired, I need more food just like you.
I was glad to stay in control during my quilt group. My quilting is a very social thing and I am usually at meetings at least one day a week. I love it, but there is ALWAYS food. I used to eat something at meetings, but now I seldom do. I don't go there to eat, I go there for my quilting and the company as well. Having healthy snacks with me is helping a bit.
Paige, I'm really proud of you today. I just read what you said to Tracy and I remember awhile ago when I said almost exactly the same thing to you. Ah, my dear, you are now what I might refer to as a "veteran" WW professional! Maybe you too will be a leader one day! You were right on target with your thoughts and advice. I couldn't add a thing.
Paige, I agree with the school events and food thing. It still happens even in high schools. There was a music awards night a few weeks ago with a huge catered spread of gorgeous pastries. It was after suppertime at night and I wondered who "needed" all that food at the hour? Food is everywhere. I went into the bank not long ago and they had "customer appreciation day" and there was coffee, doughnuts, snacks on a big table in the bank lobby. If they appreciate us all that much, who not take the money they spent on all this food and use it to stop going up on the fees they charge. Hmmm.....
Hi Haylo, sorry you were pressed for time and didn't have much to say.
I'm feeling good today, I didn't overeat yesterday but did end up using a few flex points. I will try really hard to be right on program today as we are going to my in laws tomorrow and they are taking us out to dinner. I'm going to suggest we all take a walk on the beach together, as they live near the ocean. Their house also has an indoor pool (can you imagine?) as when they built the house, it was built into the foundation. It's what is called a lap pool, long and narrow. It's heated to 84 degrees. I'm bringing my bathing suit and will hope to get in a swim as well.
Again, Paige, thanks for starting the new thread, anyone really should do it if they feel it's getting too long and I have not. It's OUR thread, not mine.
Paige, I so agree with you on the weigh in. It feels so discouraging to do all that work and have only .2. But, don't give in to that cake and keep going!
Tech, good words of wisdom on weight loss.
I was saying the other day, we have no clue when the scale actually reflects what we are doing. So, if I am totally good all week long and do everything right, will it reflect this week or will it reflect 10 days, 15 days from now? Just keep trying and don't give up, that's all!
Well, gotta go!

Just one more thing.
I slipped on my journaling here as I got just too busy. I'll try again today!
Points allowed: 20

Breakfast:

oatmeal = 2
calorie countdown milk = 1
milk/coffee creamer throughout the day= 1
1/2 grapefruit = 1

Points remaining for the day= 15

No plans for dinner/lunch yet. I have to grocery shop today as it's a long awaited payday. I shall purchase something to cook, maybe fresh fish?
Have a healthy day!

Hi all!

So I've been packing all morning as we are going to be leaving in a few hours for our camping trip! I'm quite excited.

Still miffed about yesterday...my scale here still says I'm down about 3lbs. I don't get it?

Anyway...I need to finish getting stuff around. If I don't post again before we leave, I'll be back Sunday night!

Good Afternoon all,
It's so hot here today. I went up to my friend's farm again today, and planted more tomatoes for her. Yesterday I was there most the day weeding a Lavendar bed, the fragrance was awesome! So that has been my secret weapon for getting back on track. I find that when I'm at her place, I'm not in my own house getting bored and procrastinating, constantly wandering into my pantry looking for something. Plus my friend is super healthy, and I walk into her kitchen at lunch time, she has big bowls of oranges and green apples. Now why aren't those things that appealing at my house? TOM is looming around the corner (at least I hope it is), so I have to be very careful of my cravings and mood levels that affect my eating habits. Hope everyone is gearing up for a great weekend!

Hey guys.
I think this web site is having difficulty. I'm not getting thread notification e-mails and it's very difficult to download and get here for me. Bummer.
Paige, have a great time. Also, each scale is very different. We are told that the WW ones are "callibrated". Right Erica? So, are they always checked each and every day for accuracy?
I have been weighed in at WW, not eaten or drank anything or used the ladies room and have weighed myself immediately before leaving the house (in a 7 minute ride, I can't possibly find a way to gain weight, right?) and my weight has been off from my home scale by about 2 pounds on more than one occasion. I finally figured I just had to go with their scale. Their scale always weighs me about 1 - 2 pounds heavier.
I'm done OK today, but feeling a bit sad. My son is really down in the dumps and I think he might lose his new job. He was so "charged up", oh well.

Good Morning Everyone!! Well another week has gone by and I did not have a chance to get here.
I did want to mention as well, Linda that the scales are calibrated often.
Scales at home, dr office, grocery store always weigh different. As WW's our success in our weight loss journey is calculated at that scale in getting us to our WW Goal. I have a WW digital scale at home, but ONLY use it as a TEST scale, never to compare it to the scale I officially weigh in on. This TEST scale is there to "see" that I am hopefully going in the right direction. I'll get on it,maybe once during the week, preferably Wednesday morning.
Comparing each scale can make us crazy, well it would me, because I am ALL about the NUMBER on the SCALE.
Speaking of which, I will be going to my meeting today. Today is 3 FULL weeks on Core and I am looking forward to how the numbers will look!! I feel good, and feel it in my clothes, and I have been strickly ON program, not wavering and enjoying every day of it. It really isn't as hard as I thought it would be, as I am such a Flex person. This has been a really good 3 weeks eating wise. We have not had ANY processed food for three weeks. Can't you believe that!!
I sure cant' :D But it's true, and NO 100 calories snack packs of any kind.
My inbetweens have been STRICKLY from the New Core Snack List.
I even had a glass of milk a few times flavored with Strawberry or Vanilla extract...very good I might add!! I also did really well on the WPA, it's Saturday morning and I still have 19 left this week!!That's because most of what I eat, even my sandwiches are all core expect my 1 pt Whole Wheat roll, and I had NO bread this week!!
I will come back later with the results of my weigh in today.
I truely hope everyone is doing well...This is a fast moving board, and it seems I never catch up.

Good morning all
L.J. what an awesome success being able to be on Core for 3 weeks straight and truly being on core. Yeah you. good luck today.
Linda, I hope you enjoy your weekend and are able to make wise choices. I know when we are visiting others sometimes that is not easy.
Paige have a wonderful time camping. Your DDs will have so much fun and hopefully it will be relaxing.
Erica, way to go helping your friend and in return you are helping you. It is a win win situation. You are getting exercise and enjoying healthy eating. I too find healthy food looks so much better at one friends that at my house.
I don't know why that is. I guess it is that way with children too, they will eat something at someone elses place that they will not eat at home. I hope today goes well.
Tech, I am the same way, there are so many issues. This journey is complicated with so many variables in the equation...It is a fun journey though learning so much about myself and what works for me.
Tracy I hope you are having a great weekend.
Hi Haylo, How are you doing?
Hello to everyone else and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Paige I wanted to tell you the other day I did really well and then I wanted icecream but once I read your post and you had faith in me that I would do well I went to bed because I thought wow if Paige has faith in me I can do it.
Thank you.
Today is a good day so far. I just got of course so anything could happen. I am busy all day so I have planned all meals. When I plan I am usually okay.
Take Care All
Ann

LJ, here is a CORE idea for you... take skim milk, frozen bananas or frozen strawberries and add a few ice cubes and Splenda (if you desire) and put them in the blender. Yummy!!!! You could also add vanilla or chocolate sf/ff pudding mix and then refrigerate or freeze it? I thought of this when I was on CORE and didn't try it yet, but freezing the fruit is good, I think for this. Bananas freeze well, in particular.
Congrats on sticking it out for all this time without 100 calorie packs! I'll bet your food bill was not as expensive without all that stuff included, though fresh/whole foods can be pricey as well.
Tech, I'm glad you are sticking with us! Nice to have you around.
Ann, I hope I am able to make wise choices as well this weekend. My MIL is one of those people who makes "lunch" for everyone and you get it as she chooses to make it, period. If there are sandwiches, she does them for everyone, no questions asked. My husband was never given a choice all through his growing up years about what was served. She'd say something like "we're having turkey sandwiches". You would be given one with her choice of condiments (mayo on BOTH slices of bread - ouch!) and tough luck if you didn't like it, you eat what is served to you, period. In our house, we each select what we want and how it is made. At lunches on weekends, we each select and make our own lunches. But, "when in Rome"....
But, I shall leave this morning with two days left on my tracker and 14 Flex points left. The only meal I have at their house tomorrow is breakfast and I have lunch and supper tonight. As we are going out to dinner, I can order what I want at wherever we go, so I am in some sort of control at that stage. We shall see what happens.
Take care and I'll be back tomorrow!

Good morning everyone,
L.J.-what an unbelievable 3 weeks you've had! I felt myself feeling envious as I was reading your post. When I did CORE like back in Feb., I was able to be strict, but when I tried it a couple of weeks ago, I failed miserably. Yeah for you! I can't wait to hear about your WI today!

Now, about the scales.... I completely agree with L.J., in fact she put it so well about the "test" scale at home. That's exactly what I do. There is no way that you can compare scales from one to the next. The WW scales are tricky I think. I would hope that there aren't any old non-digital scales being used anymore at WW meetings, but I believe those are the ones that were being calibrated on a periodic basis. The scales that are being used at the WW meetings, I think, are very accurate. There are two used at our meetings. And this week, before people came to get weighed in, I weighed myself on both, to make sure that they said the same thing so that there wouldn't be any "scale hoppers". If one week your home scales and your WW meeting scales are the same, well great, but.... you can not continue to think that your home scales are going to be accurate enough for you to judge your success for the week. Sounds silly to some, I know. But.... you are paying $$$ to step on WW scales, so those, hands down, HAVE to be the ones that measure your success each week, no matter what.
Now, the scales that I have to "travel" with to my own WW meeting that I teach, I think, are less accurate because they are cheaper. I plan to talk to my superviser about this, because it has presented some challenging situations as a leader. For one, the scales that I have to use, will not accomodate someone who is heavier than 300lbs. I HATE the scales I have to bring in, and I'm planning on emailing my supervisor this morning about it. This is just my personal opinion of what could be happening with these scales because this has happened to me at home on my WW scales. When someone heavier steps on the cheaper WW scales, it takes a minute or two to rebalance itself back to zero. For example, at home I stepped on the scales once, and then my two yr. old stepped on the scales right after me, it showed her as being 35 pounds, when I know for a fact that she is 25 pounds. It showed her being heavier because I had just stepped on the scales, they maybe hadn't "zeroed" yet. When there is an "anxious line" at the scales at the meetings, people are stepping on the scales one right after the next, I think this is a very real possibility when the cheaper scales are being used. The cheaper ones are the ones you have to tap on first to get the zeroes before you step on them. Sorry, probably way too much info., but maybe it shed some light on the very sensitive topic of the scales.

Well, much cooler here today, so my eating will be different as compared to yesterday when it was 96 degrees out. Weekends are always, always hard for me.... I will do my best.....

Yeah, my scale is *always* lower than the WW one.
Today, my scale says 134 (My LOWEST in years) so I'm hoping my WW one is not much more. My official "goal" is 135 but anything less than 137.1 I don't have to pay for!!!! Wish me luck. I'll let you know.
Yeah, I had a crappy week... but weird, I pretty much "let it go" and just ate... and I lost. Of course, my TOM is almost over, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.
I'm so easily discouraged... I need to stop that. I get depressed so easily, and with no one to talk to it really gets me down.
And then I come on here and since posts directed at me and it makes me smile-- to know someone is thinking of me! THANK YOU!!!! :)
Okay, better go to my wi. Busy day with the kids. I'll check in later.

hello everyone,
Well yesterday I went to WI I usually go on saturday's but being off of work has freed up some time. Anyways I was down .4 once again not a big loss but at least it is something. Then after all of that I had my whole day planned out and I sabatoged it. I went to go eat hamburger's with some friends and these hamburgers are the furtherest from healthy. Then as if I hadn't had enough we went to go get some frozen yogurt. In the evenining I met up with another friend and we had some beers and then went to go eat mexican food. Totally off plan day, but it's funny b/c I feel like I got it out of my system for the weekend and hopefully I can stay on track over the weekend. I do have a wine party to go to tonight so I am going to try to stay low in points during the day.

Newlifestyle: Okay now it's your turn to motivate me with the pedometer. I have been a little bad with mine this past week as far as using it. So my goal this week is to get moving again. I am glad you were able to fix yours. As a matter of fact I am going to challenge myself today to get 10,000 steps. I think I may go walking around at the mall.

LJ: good luck

treigh: glad we could make you smile. I did a little experiment and didn't excercise as much as I normally do these past couple weeks maybe I should say I hardly excercised and I had small losses, strange thing is even though I had small losess I don't feel as good about myself as I do when I excercise. I too don't show a loss on the scale when I excercise as a matter of fact I show gains. So I am thinking it's because maybe when I increase my excercise I am not eating enough. Just my experiment who knows.

Hi everyone. It has been one busy day. So many kids at are place just enjoying the sun. It was fun but exhausting.
Tracy, way to go you are doing awesome. I think we all feel different during TOM, I get so sensitive. Funny. I hope you did have a great day.
Haylo, I just look at my pedometer and I am only at 8,000 steps, because of your post I am going out to get those other 2,000 steps at least. I think you and I should both try to get 10,000 steps each day. Remember it is the summer we did. We can do this.
Erica, weekends are more difficult for me too. I feel much less motivated on weekends, well usually I do, but Haylo has motivated me as this is the summer WE DID. I hope you enjoy your family and life today.
Hi L.J., Linda, Paige, Tech, Laura, Futurpixie, Ginny, Kim, Emma, and anyone else I missed. I am thinking of you all. Have a wonderful weekend.
Take Care
Ann

PS Haylo, remember this is the summer WE DID, incase you missed it in my post.

Hey guys,

I went back to my meetings as of Tuesday past. I have been doing fairly good since. I haven't quite written anything down yet but I am calculating in my head and so far so good. I am going to start writing down my foods agin though. Having a pretty hectic week. Exams starts on Monday for my son and he's the type that needs my total support when it comes to studying. I can't wait for them to be over so I can have my life back for awhile. I haven't started my exercising yet but I'm hoping to start tonight or in the morning.

Great job on the losses and good luck on everyone else!!

TTYS
Kim

Kim - good luck with your son's exams! I find that I do a lot better when I am writing down everything I'm eating... I have a knack for 'forgetting' a biscuit or three I had with my coffee, or the lovely pieces of chocolate.. LOL

Ann - sounds like a very busy day, but i'm jealous you can enjoy the SUMMER, because it's winter here & rather chilly!

Haylo - when I have a small loss I always remind myself that ANY loss is a GOOD loss!

Treigh - i've just finished my TOM as well - the past 4 or 5 days allllll i have wanted to do is eat, so i'm hoping that now that is over, my eating can go back to normal!

EVERYONE ELSE, hope you're doing well!

Hello ladies,
I hope everyone has a great day.
Linda, how was your time with your in-laws? Were the meals okay? I kept thinking about you.
Paige, I hope you are having so much fun camping.....
Emma, I forgot it is fall/winter where you are. I remember we had cold yucky weather during our winter and you had beautiful weather. Are you able to exercise with Gaby indoors. I remember I used to lie on the floor and do different things lsuch as ifting my DS with my legs and stuff like that. He enjoyed it and I got a bit of exercise in.
Erica, is the sun shining there. I hope so and that you and the girls get out and enjoy this weather. When is the busiest time of year for you? When I was in Florida someone was mentioning a farm in New York that was awesome, they had gone on a school trip there. I think they were from Syracuse. I don't know what made me think of that right now...Oh well. Good luck with your eating today.
Haylo, get up and get moving remember this is the summer WE DID. You can do it. Let us see how many steps we each get today. It will be fun. I was going to be lazy today but thought, I should get out and get moving as this is the summer WE DID......yeah (have I driven you crazy yet? I'm like the energizer bunny,,,,ha ha)
Kim, welcome back. You have such a busy life. What does your son do during the summer? Is he old enough to stay home or does he go to summer camp? Is Duane still away a lot. Have a wonderful day and good luck to your son on exams.
Hello Tracy, L.J.,Tech, Ginny, Laura, Futurepixie and everyone else.
I hope you are all doing well.
I feel motivated today. Now I need to plan all my meals and then I can get out walking.
Take Care
Ann

Good afternoon, just back from my weekend away and heading outside to do some gardening in a few moments, but wanted to check in here.
NONE of my thread notifications are working still for this site. Are any of the rest of you having trouble with this?
Just read messages and it sounds as if all is well. LJ, I love having your perspective from WW headquarters and Erica I love having your perspective as a leader. Having you both is wonderful as you can interpret things.
Emma... I guess I'll always be "all about the food" even when I get to goal and I am trying to maintain. : ) So, you've got my interest and you must share what a lasagna topper is. Even if I never have one, I need to know what it is! Heaven forbid there is a food out there and I don't know about it!
Tracy, I hope weigh in went well. Nibs, good to have you posting back here!
As for me, eating did not go awfully well over the weekend, but we went away and what can you expect? I'm home and back on program again and I did a half hour in my mother in law's pool this morning.
Even if I over-ate, I still feel better today. I have yet to hop on the scale and I want to try not to until Tuesday's weigh in, but I "feel" thinner, particularly in my legs/thigh area. That is a good sign.
I'm awfully tired, though and not sure why. I feel like taking a nap, but I'm going to head outside to do some gardening instead. Maybe some movement and sunshine will do me good?
So, hello to you all and let's keep moving!

Hi all! I just got back from our camping trip a few hours ago. It was a really fun weekend; we all had a really great time!

Eating was ummm...ok? I didn't take my notebook to journal; the only thing that really was not good was the tiny cake I bought at the supermarket yesterday afternoon and dh and I split. But hey, it was our anniversary yesterday, so it was justified...right?! LOL! Other than that and a bunch of roasted marshmallows, I think I did pretty good.

I hate to say it, too, but I think that if I hadn't been so disappointed about my wi on Thursday, I probably would of totally stuck to plan. I understand that the scales will be different, and right from the beginning, there was a 3 lb difference. I was just using my scale at home to make sure I was moving in the right direction...so even though it started out higher at WW, there should of still be a loss (more than .2 anyway.) My scale showed a 3lb loss... I understand that I would still weigh higher at WW, but I was still expecting that loss to be there, ya know?! Especially because I had completely been op...right down to the blt's and exercising. Oh well...I know it is what it is...I am going by WW weight not my at home weight...I guess maybe I was also a little upset at my leaders response to my complete and utter shock. She said to me, "What, you were expecting more than that?!" She had to of seen that I was almost in tears...I just kind of felt like she brushed me off.

Anyway...I've got to run...I'll check in later with you all!

Newlifestyle: Nope you are not driving me crazy yet, of course I am up for the challenge. I better get moving so I can get some steps in I will post my total steps either later tonight or early tomm. morning. The san antonio spurs are in the NBA finals and being the big sports fan that I am I probably won't be getting to many steps in tonight. So I better do something quick. Thanks for the motivation I needed a kick in the rear.


emmy: thanks for the reminder that a loss is a loss. I am going to try really hard this week to stay on plan I have continued to be a little off over the weekend, but I will continue to try.


Oh yeah, I think TOM has been playing a part in my bad behaviors as well. :devil:

I hope everyone has a great day. Oh yeah and I just have to say

GO SPURS GO:carrot:


Sorry if your not a spurs fan but I live in san antonio so I have to cheer on my home team.

HI everyone -

Would love to join the group :^: I am new to this board but not to WW. Have had great success in the past but keep veering off "trying the next new thing" instead of sticking to what I know works for me! I am returning to meetings tomorrow at lunch time and will start tomorrow as well!

My name is Patty and I am almost 46 with an almost 6 yr old daughter - also an Emma :D I saw Emma's post here and I also have the same bday as Gaby! I am currently in northern MA/right on the NH border (maybe near Derrydaughter??) though I am a midwestern girl at heart :( I love to see all the successes here :cool:

Look forward to chatting with you all...I was looking for a positive, supportive group with little excuses :carrot: and this seems like a great place!

Take care,

Patty

Patty - welcome! LOL how spooky that your daughter is Emma, and your b/day is the same as Gaby's!!!! I think it's great you're returning to WW. I think it's just natural to want to try the newest, hottest diet/eating plan etc etc, and sometimes we are less inclined to stick with what works for us, when we're promised to lose 100lb in 2 days, and lost 50,000 inches from around our waist (okay so maybe that's an exaggeration!)

Haylo - I know that for me when I've PREVIOUSLY tried to lose weight, I will stick with it for a few days, then I'll have one bad day, so I'll let myself have another bad day, and another bad day - and before you know it I'm back to step one.... with WW if I have one bad day - I remind myself that tomorrow is a new day, with 23 new points to stick to... all we can do IS try our hardest.. But we are all human, and we can't be perfect all the time (and sometimes chocolate is just too irresistable!)

Paige - happy anniversary! I think it's more than justifiable having some cake to celebrate your anniversary!!!!! I think when we have a treat like that once in a while, you appreicate it SOOOOOOO much more than if you were buying 5 cakes a week!

Linda - a lasagne topper. Well it's this fatty naughty evil DELICIOUS invention ;) Basically it's mince with some flavourings in it, and there is like cheese sauce on top of the mince, and it is all coated in breadcrumbs & deep fried and.... ugh just delicious. I used to be so addicted to them, so it has been hard for me to not have one or two each week - we used to get fish & chips/take aways once a week & I would have 2 lasagne toppers... I miss those days to a certain extent, but now that I know how bad they are, it is a lot easier (all the same, sooooo good to have my first one in 4 months!)

Newlifestyle - yea i've started doing some exercise with Gaby. I didn't realise how heavy she is LOL. I'm glad one of us is feeling motivated. I feel so UNmotivated today *sigh*

It's only 10.28am, but I am feeling so unmotivated. I had crunchy peanut butter on toast for breakfast and I want more..... but I'm not going to have more. I should have a yogurt or something. I have no idea what to do for lunch, no idea what to do for dinner.....

Paige, if you get bad "vibes" from that leader that you feel "brushed you off", try to find a different day/time/leader. I must say that there is one leader that I just don't like and I used to go to her meeting, but I felt she was ineffective. I felt she ignore my needs as well, as you may remember what I went through when my dad was dying. Her attention to me and concern could have made a difference in me gaining ALL my weight back, it truly could have.
Haylo, I had to smile at your Spurs thing. I don't even know what they play in terms of which sport!
Patty, welcome and you might be near me! Are you near the coastal area or west of there? I'm near the coast, kind of. We just went for a drive to Hampton Beach NH this afternoon, in fact. What town do you go to meetings in? So, you are a mis-placed Midwesterner? Where are you from originally? How long have you been in the area? I grew up in MA and love New England. One thing you must like around here, at least, is decent seafood. When we lived in NY state, we were about a 5 hour ride from the ocean and, believe me, the seafood was downright "stale" and I hardly ever had anything as it tasted awful to me. If you live close enough to go to the same meeting as me, that would be fun and maybe we might find time to take a walk together!
Emma, the title lasagne topper makes me think of a pasta dish with cheese and tomato sauce and what you describe sounds so off-beat from what I know! I would try it, though, as I do try different things when offered. I have to be brave! I tried sushi recently, but I didn't like it. I felt glad to have been brave enough, at least!
Ann, how are things? What kind of challenges are you facing this week?
As for me, I'm HUNGRY and I want to eat more than I should tonight. I really need to get in control. I will have a big glass of water in a minute and I will have the "allowed" WW ice cream cone a little later. I can't allow myself to eat even if dinner didn't seem to fill me up, and I am not even sure why as the servings were more than adequate.
Yes, Happy Anniversary to Paige! The little cake was well deserved!
My wedding anniversary is coming up, on June 23rd. On that Saturday (wow, it's a weekend for a change!) we are going out to dinner. I must confess that on that one evening there will be no such thing as points, flex anything, allowances of any type and I don't care. It's my special night and if I want 2 or 3 glasses of wine and if I want to get a nice dessert for once, I shall have it and I will enjoy every single mouthful. I will try to be especially good the few days before and I will try to work out a few extra times that week, but I am looking forward to my special day. It will be 23 years for us and I feel entitled. :p

Hi all again...

I had just wanted to put in writing right now that I am putting my bad "experience" with the scale behind me, and tomorrow I'm going to keep plugging away. If I keep doing what I have been doing the last few weeks and still don't have any kind of significant loss, I'll pull my leader aside and show her my journal and see what insight she has. I'm also going to continue to post my menus here. If nothing else, I really think that being completely on track lately has made me more happy. I haven't had any of my guilty feelings...I had been feeling on top of the world until I stepped on the scale on Thursday. Maybe I will put my home scales away for awhile and 100% go by WW. It's funny, too...I really enjoyed planning out my menu every morning. It really made me feel more in control.

Ann-Wow, I'm glad that my little posting to you made a difference in your night! You are in control of your days...look how far you have come!

Linda-Your MIL's way of preparing for everyone is kind of odd! LOL! Yes, 23 years is definately something to celebrate. I would go for it, too, and not worry about the points. Dh and I have been married for 6 years. It is incredible that it has been that long already...time just has gone by so fast, and so much has happened.

Tracy-I'm really glad you have decided to stick around here...I think this thread is going to really benefit you. How old are your kids? Where in NY are you? I have lived in NY my whole life...every once in awhile I want to move to FL, but when it comes down to it, I can't imagine not being a NYer anymore! We live about 1 1/2 hrs (with no traffic!) from the city.

Emma-The lasagne topper sounds interesting. I, like Linda, was expecting it to be something that you would put on top of a lasagna. I love how you type, too...(that sounds really stupid...lol!) Like I can hear you talk in your post. Yes, this cake was a treat...I am almost finished with my pastry degree, so I can whip up a cake pretty easily, but it has been a long time since I've made one for us.

Anyway...how did it get to be 9pm already? I am exhausted! Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend!

derry: The sport is basketball they are in the finals for the NBA.

emma: lasagna topper sounds interesting!!

paige: happy annivesary I would have celebrated with cake as well.

Hello there. Well, here we go again. Another week has gone by and it's Monday. I misbehaved over the weekend and I am wondering if, yet again, I shall step on the scale tomorrow and have nothing to report for a loss or just a small pittance of a loss.
We all go through good and bad times on our weight loss journey and we all have times where we feel like "chucking it all" and I guess this morning is kind of one of those "rock bottom" moments for me. As I poured my skim milk into my coffee this morning, I had a heavy sigh. I'm so tired of this endless cycle where I am not losing, "cheating" over the weekends and then feeling remorse on Mondays. I am sick of myself, to be honest. I can't stay in control. I journalled everything I ate on Saturday/Sunday late yesterday afternoon and I am over by something like 6 flex points for the week. Not a good thing at all.
You guys will say all the wonderful and "appropriate" things and I will vow to do it better and keep trying, and I guess I will. But, I have to figure out some way to put a stop to this behavior. Here I was yesterday, talking about my wedding anniversary and having what I want for one night, and I will probably still do that. But, I just feel so unproductive and worn to a frazzle over it all. If I want to lose weight, shall I go out on that one evening and maybe risk putting on 3 pounds that I have so dearly worked to lose. Is that a smart choice? I feel like eating is such a fun part of life and I am weary of this battle today. Am I losing this war?
Next week, if will be a year since I rejoined WW. I wish I had at least achieved my 10% goal by now, I was within .6 of that 10% a few weeks ago and then gained back more weight. It's so tiring for me.
I question myself. Do I want this bad enough? If I wanted it that bad, would I still be eating all the things I know are not right? Why do I go in to meetings, weigh in and hardly ever lose anything and then continue doing this, week after week. I pay them $12.00 a week and I sit there in meetings and say I will do it right, and then I go off and each weekend, I blow it again. Weekends are my downfall. I wish I had more of my husband's support and that he would try to eat healtheir as having him home each weekend is really kind of what ruins things for me. He doesn't need to lose weight, so I get dragged off into tempting situations. He eats all the "bad" things in front of me and I get resentful. Why can't I HAVE those things and never gain an ounce. I'm not him, but I have to go all these places with him as his wife. I lose control, time and time again.
How much have I spent, with my $12.00 a week that has gained me practically nothing.
I am glad I have you guys and have my daughter, who is doing so very well with WW, to keep me going. But, today I feel as if it's "fruitless" to even try. It's like a am paddling up a river, the wrong way, sometimes and I can't make headway. I do this to myself. No one makes the decisions about what goes into my mouth but me.
Sorry to sound so blah this morning, but I am truly at this point of impasse. :?:
Hugs to all of you,:hug:
Linda

Good Morning all.
Linda as I read your post I can truly feel your pain. The reason I feel your pain is that I don't believe it is about weight watchers. I know there was a time in my life that I would eat pretty healthy, exercise and not lose weight. I then realized it was because I was sad. I just felt like I was alone. My husband would go away for work and I was lonely. I had no one to walk with so I did it on my own. It might be nice if Patty lived close to you and you had a ww buddy. Also if money is tight it is hard to justify paying for meetings when you are not feeling successful. Remember you are successful, you have helped me so much in the time I have been here. If it wasn't for you I would have given up and said, "Oh screw it", but then I heard something you had said in a post and I thought, yes I can do this, slow and steady win the race. You have so much support to give to everyone else, how about giving that same support to Linda (yes you). You are so worth it and yes you do deserve it. I think sometimes we do so much for everyone else we forget about ourselves. Here is a Hug, I don't know how to do the picture of one sorry. You take care of you.

Good morning ladies.
Welcome back Paige, happy anniversary. It is great you had a wonderful weekend. Did the girls enjoy it?
Hello Erica. One of your posts you mentioned my legs should be getting muscular I think. Well my calves look really good but my thighs are still jiggly, I don't know what you do for that. I hope you have a great day on plan and enjoy your meeting. You are making a difference it people's lives...yeah you.
Hi Emma, now you have us wanting those lasangne toppers....I hope you have a nice day and the weather is good to you. Enjoy your day.
Hi Kim, have a wonderful week.
Welcome Patty, I hope you stay in post with us. There is so much to learn here and I am sure you have things for us to learn. Have a great day.
Hi Tracy, have a great day and enjoy the nice weather.
Hi Tech,,,,have a wonderful day.
Hi Linda, you asked what I face this week, it is poor planning that gets me any time. As long as I plan I am good to go.
Hi L.J. I hope your week isn't too busy, good luck with Core.
Hi Laura, I miss your posts I hope you are well.
Hi Ginny, where are you, I miss you too.
Hi Future pixie, I hope you are out enjoying life.
Hello HAYLO Go Spurs Go, Go Haylo Go, get out there stepping chickie...I walked 13,179 steps....the challenge is on. See how far we can step today.
Have a great day.
Hello to anyone I forgot, Have a wonderful day.
Take Care
Ann

Thanks, Ann. By the way, if you click on "go advanced" when you make a response (see below where you type in a message?) you get a group of little things on the right called "smiles", you can click on where it says "more" below the little smiley things and you will have a window open up with TONS of these little "guys". Just type along, like I am and then click on the one that seems to fit how you feel. For me, it's this little guy: :(
I do think you are right, Ann, about some of what I am feeling. You are probably right that it is not all about weight watchers. It's about a great deal of things that contribute to the whole picture. One the the great and positive things I have in my life is all of you, though, and I am glad about that.
The success and positive reinforcement I thought would have happened by now has not come, sadly. I really felt that by a year from when I joined that I would be at goal, or nearer to goal. Instead I am hovering. There are times when I just don't think I could possibly put any more effort into all of this and sustain my "normal" life and there are other times that I beat myself up about not putting my "all" into it. I must keep trying, but again I'm tired of it, sick of it.
It truly would be nice to have someone be my WW "buddy". Though, I have my own daughter right here in the house who technically is that buddy, but she has her own life and is at the 16 year old age when she should be with her friends. I'm very proud of her, by the way. Watching her succeed has been wonderful. She is up to 22 pounds off, but here I sit losing and gaining the same one or two pounds over and over and over. I really am feeling defeated.
Is this the time that some members "throw in the towel" and give up? Then, they "allow" themselves to gain it all back, only to return 6 months or a year later and vow to "do it this time". I don't want to go back there, but this is just SO discouraging. This is a very good "test", maybe, for someone like Erica, who may have a member exactly like me. Is there that special something that could inspire me, get me on track losing and continuing that loss? There are members who have fallen off the wagon, have some gains and then stop coming. They are out there and they are discouraged. They have probably felt exactly as I am feeling today. If you skip one week, if you use that no weight in pass a few times and sit there listening at meetings, but then go off program during the week, you are starting a large downward trend. The positive self talking part of you becomes a negative self talking thing and you talk yourself right out of continuing upon the journey you set out on.
Perhaps (I refuse to get on the scale this week until weigh in) when I get on that scale tomorrow and weigh in, I will be surprised and find a loss. But, I feel so defeated that I wonder if whatever loss I happen to have (if I had one at all vs. a gain) will then end up being gained back again the next week.
Where, oh where is that magic formula? How come some people lose their weight so easily? I could almost understand how some, in desperation, turn to liposuction, stomach stapling, drastic measures that could hurt themselves. But, I am not that kind of person.
A woman around my age joined WW about January, I think, she has already way surpassed me. She has great losses week after week, has reached her 10% and is well on her way to goal. Don't get me wrong, I am glad for her, but I look at this woman who comes to the same meeting I go to all the time. She started well after me, she has about the same body type as I do and she appears to have had about the same amount of weight to lose. Yet, I "hover" and she will reach her goal long before I ever can grasp that elusive 10% even. I look at myself in the mirror and I am wondering what it is that this person has that I don't have?
I didn't give up this morning, Ann. I dragged out that new journal to start today. With a heavy sigh, I journalled my breakfast (cheerios, calorie countdown milk, and a half banana) and I will exercise this morning. But, I feel so bummed out and I find myself wondering if I will stay at this weight forever?
(sigh) The old saying I have said to you all, again and again, comes to mind this morning, but I say is quietly and with sadness, "never give up, never surrender". This is just so hard..... This is one place I can be totally honest and that is a nice thing. I want to eat ice cream. I want to have onion rings, I want to have wine, I want to stop weighing and measuring. I'm tired of it, I'm tired of trying so hard with no results. But, I am more tired of the part of me that "cheats" in restaurants and knowingly avoids the program when it suits me to do so.
Next week, my daughter and I agreed to go on CORE together as she will be out of school for summer. Maybe that will help me a bit? But, again, the foods and freedom I am craving are not those wonderful/healthy CORE foods, they are the "bad" and "sinister" cravings that I know all too well will contribute to that hateful scale moving upward. Here is my joke of the day.... envision a new team called "The Weight Watcher Police", they know that I am here and on the brink... they come to my house, they treat me like some kind of cult member gone astray and they duct tape my mouth shut so I can't eat and only take the tape off at mealtimes. The stand over me and MAKE me exercise and they won't let me eat a thing without their express permission. I think I need them! ;)
I shouldn't complain. The average person I see in the grocery store and in Walmart (why are all the really HUGE people in there shopping? Or, is that just a representation of the "norm"?) is much larger than I am and has bulging fat on their body. I can't imagine being that big and never really looked that huge, but I feel that the fat person inside me might try to win over and I might lose this war. It's sad and it's scary.

Morning Everyone...well it looks like the weekend got away from me.
I am in the process of trying to read everything, and will repond later..getting ready for a DR appt.
Anyway---the result from my w/i Saturday - DOWN another 2.5 lbs, unbelieveable......completing 3 full weeks on Core. Going to continue till the end of the month. I'm thinking I will not go back to counting points except the 35 WPA.
This past three weeks has been the best ride I've had in a long time.
I am *actually* lovin' core, this time....weird,huh???
Don't know if I could go back to counting every little point. I DO however journal everyday. I like to look back and see what I had at any given point.
I am following core the way it is written, with the new snack rules too.
Linda I wanted to tell you that SF/FF pudding is not on the list of snacks any longer. When eaten (not with a meal) you have to count the points for it.
The same goes for other core foods that are not on the NEW snack list, that we want to eat other than at a meal.
You don't have to count them IF they are part of your meal, like the SF/FF pudding as dessert at the end of your meal @ home. Just like anyone would have a dessert at the end of their meal at a restaurant.

I'll be back later....to catch up and write.

Have a good day and I'll touch base when I get in.

Linda-I know exactly how you feel. I think my body is the same way...I always feel the same way about people in meetings, too...how come they seem to lose so easily. I have even felt that on here sometimes, too. In the past months when I have been struggling just to keep my head above water there were times when it seemed like every week everyone reported some kind of loss. I have always, my entire life, struggled with my weight...it is hard not to say screw it all, but I don't because I KNOW where I will end up. I WOULD be one of those HUGE people. You know that realistically we wouldn't be able to do that to ourselves, though...we just care too much! Sometimes I do wonder if maybe this is just where my body is meant to be, but I know that can't be the truth...how could my body "want" to be at over 200lbs? Then why is it such a complete and utter struggle? Shouldn't it be easier for a person at my weight to lose the lbs? Apparently not! LOL! The only bit of insight that I have for you is that you need to find some way to enjoy this journey that we are on. I overheard my leader say to someone the other day how much losing weight stinks and it's not fun...I think we need to make it fun, or else when we are at a part of the journey that is not successful, it will be too easy to get discouraged and quit. Also, I think that when we don't enjoy the process, the end result isn't quite as good.

I really wished that you and I lived closer together! I could see us doing some cooking together, ya know? Have you made any new meals lately? Or found any new foods? Maybe changing up your menu would help add some excitement?

I also think that you should really have a talk with your dh about how things are when he is home. If the weekends are when you are really having the majority of your trouble, and it clearly is stressing you out, you need to address it.

Linda / Paige... I think what helped me was I had to STOP thinking I was on a diet so to speak...Doing Core, I am now saying this is my way of eating...much easier. Or this is how I eat now...I have my *treats* yes I do, I just count them in my WPA. I too have had my issues with weight loss. I am and was always tired of *being the one* who had to diet....I hear you both loud and clear. Hang in there...
It is a STRUGGLE for ALL of us...every single day, and it's the choices we make. I made some really bad ones....trust me.


Take care and be well......

Derry: your mood today totally mirrored mine. This morning I woke up and I kept thinking why do I continue to sabotoge myself over the weekends and I kept thinking isn't there an easier way to do this. Then I thought to myself what I am going to do is go to the grocery store and buy things for this week so that I can prepare meals and then I am going to go an excercise and get this thing going. It is hard to stay focused as I am sure everyone of us can relate to this, but you have come so far on your journey and I admire your persistance of doing this for such a long time. As a matter of fact when I went this past week to my meeting there were some people who had lost weight and a good amount of weight I think my leader announced someone who had lost about 25 pounds in about 16 weeks, I looked at my WI chart and noticed that I am coming up to 15 weeks and am actually right back to where I started with all my ups and downs so I felt pretty discouraged. Actually this is probably the reason why I allowed myself to get off track. It's not a jealousy thing with this people it's just one of those things that I say how come they can do it and I can't I guess it's more of a winning vs. losing thing I hate coming in last place. Once again the thought of going to Jenny Craig came in to my head and continues to do so, but I keep having to tell myself that I don't want to be eating out of boxes and I want to be able to enjoy myself with family and friends by knowing who to eat. You are such a great inspiration to me and a great motivator so pick your head up and let get this thing going.

Newlifestyle: my steps were low yesterday as I thought I barley got close to 5,000 but today it is one. I have my excercise planned out and no more lazy days for me it's time to move it to lose it (instead of move it or lose it). I will post my steps again today or early tommorrow. Thanks for giving me this challenge.

L.J: congrats on your sucess:carrot: :carrot:

Hey guys...just have to tell you all...

Not to keep dwelling on my scale drama of last week, but I feel better now... I just put on a pair of jeans that I bought about 4 years ago; they were my favorite style and were being discountinued, so I bought them in 2 sizes down from what I normally wear (I must of had a lot of faith in myself that day! LOL!) I have NEVER been able to wear them...not even zip them up. GUESS WHAT?! I HAVE THEM ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are tight on my upper thighs, but other than that, they are pretty good! WOOOHOOOO!!!!

Quick stop by - wave and dash!!!!! I SURVIVED!!!!!!! I seriously doubted it about Friday night/Saturday morning, but I did it. I missed WI last week but have started with a whole new purpose and drive this morning. How quickly those bad food habits come back. Just wanted to wave and say that I'm still around and I'll stop by tonight from home after I have a chance to catch up on what everyone else has been up to.

MY BABY IS GRADUATED!!!!!

LJ, thanks for the interpretation on in between meal snacks with CORE. They changed the rules when I was back on Flex. I would have gotten it, when going back on it again.
Paige, thanks for the support. I do need to have a chat with DH as well, I guess. I hate to burst his bubble as he is only home weekends and it's just so hard. He lives in a hotel during the week and denies himself so much during the week, that he truly needs treats. BUT, I just can't go along that path with him - at least not all the time.
I feel a bit better this afternoon than I did this morning. I got on the scale, which is exactly what I said I wouldn't do. But, it was a bit lower. Who knows what will happen, though, by tomorrow afternoon as my weight fluctuates so much from day to day.
I wish we lived closer too, Paige. We both have some similar problems, in a way. I would also watch your little girls for you so you could go to meetings. It would be my pleasure. Guess it would be a bit difficult considering we are about a five hour ride away.
LJ, I could have written exactly what you said a few months ago when I was on CORE. However, the "honeymoon" phase of it wore thin for me and I was really thrown off and not counting those 35 points. I think the 35 points were actually turning into 45 or 50 points? I don't even know. I got really tired, also, of not eating what everyone else in the house was eating. But, if my daughter does it with me, maybe it will be easier? By the way, I was really positive and happy on CORE for about three months before things went downhill. I then turned to flex about three or four months ago and now I find myself really bummed out again. So, I do need a change.
I want to Walmart this morning and actually glanced (not carefully) at the book section to see if there was some new motivational book on the shelves, nothing.
Haylo, thanks for your encouraging words. It is so hard to sit there in meeting after meeting and hear others gleefully announcing their weight losses. I look around at these people and I keep wondering what it is that makes it so hard for me. I'm just as good a person as they are, right? But, the body I have is the way it is. I have to try. I'm glad you mentioned your issues and I am equally glad that Paige mentioned her own feelings when people here make announcements about their losses. When you are not losing yourself, or losing at the rate you feel everyone else is, it gets harder and harder. I wonder if WW has done studies on their "drop outs" and how they were feeling. I wonder if they need to come back with a new or different approach with the long termers who are struggling.
Paige, what a great NSV to report as well, look how far you've come to be able to wear those jeans today. I'm sure that just having them on for a little while (you'll probably end up uncomfortable and take them off, I know the feeling) will make you feel so accomplished. I'm glad for you.
Laura, glad you made it through the last few weeks. I wondered if we were ever going to here from you again! I also miss Ginny, it's been a very long time since she posted as well as our Hawaiian friend, what was her name?
I keep thinking, today, (you don't know how close I was to giving up today, I really was close) about what it is that keeps us coming back and not giving up. What is it that makes us turn away from our WW plans and go back to all the bad habits. It's so hard, it really is. How very much I admire those who can do this. Have to say this too, how very jealous I am of those who can just do this and so very quickly.
Do not covet they neighbor's weight loss..... hmmm, sorry God! I need to stop thinking about other people's losses and how fast they happen and concentrate on my own stuff. I am better off than I was a year ago, after all.

Slow and steady wins the race... I may not the fastest weight loss person, it could take me two years to get it all off, I guess? But, maybe by the time I truly get where I want to be, the fast weight loss people who "beat" me might be back at the meetings with all their weight back on?????
I still feel bummed out, though.
Thanks, everyone, for being here.