One week results
 

I went by the docs office today and had dropped 6 lbs over last week. Now, this is dramatic, but I think it is also because I have shed some premenstrual water that I had last week. Still, I am happy about it. The only days that I suffered were the first two during which a chocolate cake was on the table calling me. I destroyed it and the problem went away. Last night I made cola chicken and the kids really liked it, so that was a successful family diet food endeavor. I feel super motivated at this point. The kids are eating chocolate muffins right now (dad bought them), and I'm going to fix myself a cup of SF hot cocoa.

I am having trouble getting all of my points consumed in a day for the last two days, but I am able to consume my largest meal at night (6PM is dinner time here). I have enough points left for the day to have a nice spaghetti dinner with the family. Whole wheat pasta is all we use in this house, and it tastes wonderful. Mueller makes some as does Creamette.

Met hubby today for lunch at Wendy's and had a cup of chili with a side salad. The dressing looked too fattening, so I didn't eat it (got home and found it would have cost 3 points for it). I was so proud of hubby because he said that we'd go to anyplace that gave me the most choices of food on my diet. :D He ordered the spicy chicken, which is "diet" for him as he usually gets the Big Bacon Classic. I've promised him killer S*X when we both get the weight off, so this may have provided a little incentive. :s:

Have a really good week, and I'll be checking the 3FC site every day, several times a day.

Sandy

Sandy - Congrats on the 6 pound loss. You are doing great! Keep up the terrific work.

So good to hear that you are surviving your food plan and making the family happy with their eating treats. Check out some more of the recipes on 3FC for main courses. Many of them are really good - I serve the smothered chicken and perogies (sp?) quite frequently and the family think they are great. I know you can manage to stay within points, but do make sure that you eat all your points everyday. I went through a time when I wasn't eating all my points and my body decided to hold on to everything I fed it. Consequently, I didn't lose weight. I know make sure that I eat at least up to the minimum - occassionally I make a mistake counting and underestimate my points, but that is not very often anymore. :D

Hope this week is as good as last.

Cheers,

Hi
Although I have not been posting I have been staying OP. I didn't get to WW last week and when I did WI tonight I lost 2 lbs. Some days I have a hard time eating all my points and some days its the opposite, I go over my pts. for the day but at the end of the week it seems to be evening out. I tried on a pair of jeans the other day, two sizes smaller than the 'skinny' jeans that I have been wearing from the back of the closet and the jeans fit :D . I didn't buy them because it is getting close to being shorts weather around here and I would rather pick up some jean shorts etc. for the summer. Sorry this is a little on the long side. DM

Skinny Jeans
 

Daisy,

Congrats on the weight loss and the ability to get into the skinny jeans. I would have bought them...you'd have something snazzy to wear out at night.

I'm approaching my weight loss plan as simply as I can. It's taken me 20 years to pack this stuff on. If I want to get it off for good I have to change how I eat, not just what I eat. I've seen too many people go on wild diets, lose a bunch of weight, and then gain it back and then some. WW has a good plan, and we all know that eating like Bachus is not healthy for us. Every now and then it's not too bad, but then it's back on the wagon.

Sweet tooth-
Thank you for your insightful words. You are right, there are times when I not only feel stupid, but I am told that by my adolescent children, "What are you, stupid,?"(or dumb, or whatever word comes to their minds)
Both my children are wonderful in their own right, and I truly enjoy them mostly when we are 1 on 1-that's when I see the most liked aspects of their personalities. However, when they are together, or we are all together, watch out!
I have pretty much vetoed any kind of family vacations, which is really sad because I love to travel and show them things in the world. However, due to strained finances at this time, travel would be a premium. I have explained to my husband that possibly he can do something special with each one of the kids individually, but I am not interested in spending good money on a vacation where I have to put up with the same XXXX
but somewhere else.
My kids are as different as night and day. My son is 15, has ADHD, and also ODD (Oppositional defiance disorder). Makes for an interesting life. My daughter, who will be 13 in July, I believe has a bit of ADD, but also has history of a seizure disorder, so we need to be careful with meds for her. Consequently, we have not gone that
route with her, but I believe we need to re-examine the issues. My son is very athletic, plays soccer and on gymnastics team, fit and trim and attractive, although somewhat immature in many areas. Traditionally, school has not been his strong suit, but this year as a freshman, he is having a great year (B average).
My daughter is not athletic at all, but quite intelligent (makes for interesting conversations among the 4 of us). She is a straight A student, always has been, and has extremely high expectations of herself, but is very disorganized and occasionally does not pay attention to the details which could be helpful to her.
Granting punishments are always a challenge, and my son is just now beginning to understand the value of his consequences. My daughter never really does anything wrong like my son, she just says things frequently without thinking and therefore says some hurtful things. Her main things are her disorganization and procrastination. In many ways, she takes after her father. He frequently complains about her and I usually point up the fact that many of the characteristics we don't like in her are the same ones he and I possess.
Anyway, we have probably have bored the rest of the people on this board with our stories.
Good luck to all of us with weight loss!!
We are always

Skin tone and weight loss
 

I have a question, and maybe someone can give me some insight.

I'm not just a bit overweight, and my skin has "stretched" to cover the new, larger me. I'm in my mid-40's and, needless to say, my skin isn't what it used to be. I'm worried about looking like a flying squirrel once my weight loss starts to heat up. Is surgery going to be my only option? It's not just the flabby arms...I have what I call a "hangover"...the part of my stomach that hangs over from the c-section point and just sort of sits there. Exercise is great for the muscles, but what can I do for my skin?

Sandy

Sandy - I know exactly what you mean. I have lost over 60 pounds now and to make matters worse, I did not exercise through the weight loss period. I started exercising about 1 1/2 months ago. Fortunately, where I work, we can sign up for personal fitness trainers and have a fitness centre (complete with all the latest equipment) at work. I decided to sign up with a fitness tranier this year with the intention that I would work on toning up.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, the skin on my arms bagged, at the front of my chest was wrinkly, across my back, under my neck, the backs of my thighs, my calves, etc. I looked like some of the elephants you see at the zoo. So, I have concentrated exclusively on toning up, at a rate that I will still burn calories and lose weight. I am beginning to see signs of firmness now and not so much wrinkle. I am also hoping that, over time, it will improve even further.

Go to the eDiets website and sign up for their newletter. They often send articles on exercises that can be done to tone that don't required the equipment that gyms have. If they have an archve, dig back into some of the older articles, 'cause I know there have been several put out over the last 2 - 3 months.

Great Question!!

I had been wondering the same thing about the skin. I have lost 20 so far and have at least 75 to go (depends if I follow what WW for my height and age or go to a dr. and get a number that is probably more for me). I am going to go to ediets.com like Sweet tooth mentioned. I have never been there but have thought about it. DM

Believe it or not, I used to be a body builder in a past life... I know the exercises that "used" to work on different areas of the body, but that was a long time ago (20+ years) and I didn't carry stretch marks from bearing large children. Free weights are, IMHO, one of the best things a person can invest in. When used with good posture and proper breathing they can provide a great workout. Working with free weights can also provide a good cardio workout if you use lighter weights, increase the reps, and keep up the pace. I'll get my hubby a set for father's day and let you know how "I" like them.....

Sandy

I just went to ediets.com I didn't realize that it was something I had to pay to use. I just don't think I have the extra money right now. The WW fees are taking enough out of my pocket. DM

Daisy,

I'm following the WW plan but am not going to any program. I can't afford the $12 a week right now, either. I found so much stuff on the internet that was essentially free. Sorry Weight Watchers, but if you want to attract folks you're going to have to lower your weekly rates.

DM - I know that the eDiets program is a pay to use program, but you should be able to sign up for their newsletter free of charge. I don't pay, but they send me the newletter all the time. If you can't find the info on the site, send me a pm with your email address and I will forward the exercise newsletters that I saved. Take care.

reneck - I am like you. Must be my Scottish background. I have been following the WW plan, weighing in on a specified day each week, logging and charting my own weight and using this list as my motivation. For me, there are 2 reasons. The first is that I don't want to spend the money. The second is that I don't want to commit the time to go to a meeting...I find that I can come here whenever I want, so it is more flexible than attending scheduled meetings. You are right, though, there is so much information on the net that I don't want to spend that kind of money to do something that I should do for myself, anyway. Call me cheap...

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Take care.

Yes, I'm still alive
 

Hi ladies....sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth. I'm still doing WW but it's been a journey. I'm in week 13 and down 18.6, but for the last four or five weeks I've really been yo-yoing.....I've come down from a size 22W to a 18, and excited when I go shopping now, but it still hasn't been enough to make me put the extra points down. And I haven't been journaling like I should either. Weighed in last night, so today is a brand new day. And I'm trying to take myself back to the early weeks, back when I was following things to a T, and the pounds were magically melting away. I have incorperated exercise, and I know that muscle weighs more than fat, my measurements are still going down, I just have this failure pushing down on my shoulders, and need to vow to myself that this will be a good week, and that I will be back on track. No more lazy journaling, no more sneaking points here and there, because there is no "sneaking" about it, the scale doesn't lie. I have six lbs to go until my 10%, and I'm giving myself one month to do it. Which is way to generous, I think, but oh well....should be more like two weeks, as much as I've been slackin. If y'all have any "stick to it" tips, bring em on. I'm looking for that something to give me some new spark.
Talk to ya soon,
Michelle

Michelle - Smart lady! You need to recognize what you are doing and go for it. One thing that I did when I first started WW and this continued for probably 8 months, was to carry my daytimer everywhere. I took it to work everyday, with me when I went for a drive, into restaurants, or travelling...just everywhere. I also committed to writing and calculating all my points BEFORE I ate anything. I often have my journals filled out the previous day, so that I had a better chance of sticking to the plan. Get back with the journalling, even if you have to write down the points on the days you are waaaayyy over (kind of a wake-up call), it helps keep you focused. I know you can take that extra 6 pounds off by the end of the Month...you go for it.

The way I look at it, even if I were to gain a lb or two, I'm still at a net loss. I guess the Scot in me also contributes to my equating everything in life with money.... I look at my points like I would my daily budget. I have just so much to spend... so do I want to buy one blouse at Lord & Taylor, or 6 blouses at Walmart. That chocolate muffin on the table looks great, and I've even taken a bite, chewed it up for the flavor and then spat it into the garbage. Then I fix a cup of FF hot cocoa. I don't know why, but the hot liquids give me a feeling of comfort and fullness more than cold ones.

I'm enjoying the recipe pages, though I've only made the Cola Chicken. I'm not really a patient cook, so when I see more than five ingredients and more than two steps I'll walk away. I guess that's the Irish in me, always on the run.

I did want to make an observation, though. I've noticed that when I drink the Fruit 2 o that I get "the runs". Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone have any research on Splenda that they'd like to share?

Sandy