Back from London, it was a blast even though the time was so short. I have to admit, though, that it's nice to see the sun again :) . We had overcast skies and drizzle the whole time, which is typical there for this time of year. Spent much time in the pub. Fortunately you can buy 1/2 pints there so I was able to come back with a whopping 0.5 lb loss :cool: . Had some great Indian food too, which is one of my favorite things. I also brought back some great cheese from Neal's Yard Dairy. They get artisinal cheeses from over England and Ireland and cure them on site so they are at their best flavor. Can't wait to dig into some of that - and so much cheaper than in the States.

Now there's a house to clean and I have to get those Christmas cards out and still buy a few more gifts.

Amy - hey, just wipe yourself off and start over again. A past leader always told us "fake it until you make it". Just keep going back to the behavior you know is right and eventually you'll stay there longer than at the bad behavior and good things will happen. You are learning some changes and it can take a bit for things to really stick. Just try to get in a few more APs and water the day after a slip (or the day of if you can).

Jen - good gosh woman, did you trip over something in the mall? That must have been weird. Seems like we are all busy for the holidays now, guess the 26th will be a sigh of relief.

Now I have to get my butt in gear and get outside to do my morning walk. My legs really feel bloated after all that time on the plane.

BIGGER OUCH

Sounds like we all need a Rah-Rah session. We’ve all got to remember that more than one appetizer, or cookie, or drink, or candy will set us back on our journey to good health. We need to stick together to get through the season and do our best to avoid the munchie :devil: .

I stayed home all weekend. We had friends in though, and I got Way To Close to the snacks!!! Didn’t even go shopping. Anyone want to guess how far behind I am????? It’s NOT good. Can we move Christmas out a few weeks? I’ve now got to go shopping either right after work tomorrow, or even worse, after I get out of the pool tomorrow night. And I’ve got to bite the bullet and go to a Mall. I HATE MALLS! I HATE SHOPPING! I won’t go to the BIG Mall, I’m not that desperate yet, just the medium sized one that’s normally 10 minutes from home. This time of year it’ll take a least ½ hr. to get there. I’d have shopped more on line but I don’t want to put any more $’s on the credit card. I’ve already done enough damage there.

Gotta get back to work,

Hi ladies,

Just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all the wonderful words of comfort. It has been a difficult few days but the outpouring of caring and support from family, friends and the community has been so comforting. I will be keeping up on you; just not posting much until after the holidays. My weight is definitely up and each day I'll work more towards being focused.

Thank you all; you ladies are truly wonderful!

Take care!

TERRI: Welcome back.I've had you on my mind since last week. Take each day as it comes and keep your family close to your heart. Soon you'll be able to get back to your regular routine and your food routine will improve. hugs ((((((Terri)))))

CYNTHIA: OMG I just scanned the posts this AM and totally missed your quick trip to the UK! WOW What a great way to spend the weekend!!! AND come home with a loss. I am envious. :s:

JEN: Holiday depression. Yep.... been there - done that. I'm a bit better at being able to remind myself how lucky I am to be surrounded with wonderful family and friends now than I used to be. But, once in a while, I still get weepy, or feel sorry for myself. This is funny but I often think I have different depressions. The "poor me" kind lets me eat. The "stress induced" kind just puts me to sleep (at the oddest times too). I once fell asleep in the middle of an argument. Talk about fight or flight!!! I flew right off to dreamland. :shrug:

AMANDA: As Terri says "One day at a time ... One meal at a time". Pat yourself on the back for the good times and just file away the "Bad" times and get yourself back on track. None of us got here without having more "fat days" than "healthy days". We just have to keep trying.

I didn't get to my meeting tonight. The driveway is a mess of slush over ice and once I got the car to the top, after work, I knew I wasn't going out and have to try to get up this hill again tonight. The above freezing temps did a job on it. It's supposed to get really cold tonight so the slush should freeze up and be more driveable.

Off to take a nice warm shower.

Hiya, gals!

Today is an off-and-running day. Big buying trips, lots o' time on the road. I'll be good though, I promise!

Terri, I'm glad to see you back. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do right now, and it should be the focus of your energies.

J-ann, I do the paralyzing depression. I'm worried/stressed over things, and then I overthink them and don't know what to do next. And actually, that's more stress than depression. My big problem is as the sun dips lower and lower, my spirits gets lower too. I couldn't live in Sweden or Alaska or something where its dark for months - I'd just up and die.

Cynthia, actually when I broke the bone I was just walking. I weighed in at all of 170 pounds or so - and was walking, walking, walking, ouch, walking, ouch, walking, ouch, limping, owwww, limping, at the car, then home. The next day when the foot was deeply swollen I went into the doctor who told me I'd probably had a stress fracture for sometime and something about how I hit the floor with my foot that one time caused it to get worse and then "snap". Its been a running joke in my family ever since as I'm well known for my kluzyness.

Happy day to you all, Jen

Hello to the 100+ group!
I've just joined 3FC and am really excited about all the people, support, and resources available through this site. This is incredible... and to think - it's free! Wow.

So, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm 25 years old, and have struggled with weight issues since I was about 16 years old. I was 20 when I joined WW, in my second year of university. I was very successful in losing the weight, and almost got to my goal weight, but had gall bladder complications. So, I stopped trying to lose and began maintaining, which I did for a whole year. Until I had a depressive episode, quit exercising again, and gained back all the weight and more! Well, I'm now battling to lose the weight all over again!

So, I feel as motivated as I did last time, if not more... so I'm positive that I will be successful! I know that it takes a LOT of work and dedication. And I'm ready. The photos I saw of myself on the weekend were the turning point for me. And so I'm here, beginning this journey again. This time I have an additional motivator - I'm getting married in May! I know that I can't possibly lose all the weight (100 lbs) by May, but I can be on my way to feeling much better about myself!

Howdy all!

I know Y'all don't remember me. It's been some time ago that I had worked off nearly 70 pounds thru WW and 3FC posts.

Then, when my hubby lost his job, I lost control and put every bit back on.:o

Today, I am somewhat motivated to regain the feeling of control and physical strength and well being and (gosh darn it!) normal clothes, so am going back to "what worked before" and this is one of them.

Haven't re-joined WW yet, waiting for that big discount coupon in the paper. :D So, I don;t have an actual weigh-in number to start from.

This seems like a nice group of ladies and I wish you all the very best.

Dora, who cannot remember how to change her signature

WELCOME DORA & LOKO

I'm so glad to see new faces in the group. Please stop in often. We all enjoy making new friends and encouraging each other in our weight loss journey. If we stcik together WE CAN DO THIS!!!

DORA: Quick note - It's easy to change your sig. Scroll up to the top of this post list, select "User CP" (Control Panel), then Select "Edit Profile". Then scroll down to the Sig. box. Make your changes ans remember to SAVE them when you're done.

Back to work now!

Welcome Dora! Your story sounds a bit similar to mine... I lost the weight a few years ago with the help of ww and online support buddies. Then I gained it all back (and more). But, now I'm here, back to doing what I know worked before! I know that we CAN do this again! We've proven that we can do it already! It's just a matter of wanting it and staying dedicated!

Thank you to j-ann for the warm welcome! I'm really looking forward to being part of this group!

Terri - it's great that you have such a large support system. We are thinking of you during this hard time. Take care.

j-ann - it was nice in the UK, even though short. DH and I plan to go again in March or April for a bit longer stay. We've earned so many plane miles and have tons of hotel points as well, so we've decided that for 2003 we are going to travel on just those. Should be fun.

Jen - I'm there with you on the stress. It seems like everything is coming to a head at once and there's just not enough time for it all. I figure though, that nothing I have to do is truly vital, so whatever gets done gets done. I can only take it one thing at a time.

LoKo - welcome and congrats on the upcoming wedding. Ugh, I hate photos but they can sure be good motivators!

Dora - welcome back. I don't even want to think about all the weight I've lost and regained. There have been three major losses - one for 55 lbs, another for 63 lbs., and a third for 42 lbs. Each time I went off program and gained almost all of it back. Plus there have been lots of mini-losses in between. I had to think long and hard about what would make this time different, and what caused the failure in the past. I've recognized some things about myself and know I will make it to goal this time. We'll both make it to goal and stay there this time.

SNOW SNOW SNOW. Finally got some more, Breckenridge has had 8 inches over a 24-hour period :D ! So tomorrow I'll be heading for another snowboard lesson. I talked with a friend on the phone tonight and she said the first few days of boarding were the most miserable in her life and I can understand why. But she said once she got it, it was a blast, so at least I have that to look forward to. I guess the best thing about it now is that I'm too sore afterwards to even think of eating. Keep positive thoughts of me tomorrow, preferably of me NOT falling down :dizzy: !

Howdy all,

Thankee kindly for the words of welcome. Many is the time I felt like I was too busy to greet "yet another noob" to the fold. :o

Anyhow, my DH has been working out-of-state for the last year. I've really piled on the pounds feeling sorry for myself. Now, he stands to take an extreme loss on the income side and is himself quite stressed with life. Somehow, it makes me feel a bit more in control. Go figure. And, I've finally realized that maybe it is time for me to find a fulltime job with some benefits.

This week, I have hit the treadmill 3 days and am headed that was again. Although I have not made myself pick up the dreaded journal, I know that when I work the program, the program works for me.

Here's hoping we all realize that the holidays are about PEOPLE and not fudge, party mix, and alcohol.

Have a Perrier on me!:goodvibes:

Welcome LoKo and Dora

I hope everyone had a great week. I have just found out I have hypothyroidism. I am going to my PCP on Monday. Hopefully he will start me on medicine and it will help get this weight off.

Hope yall have a great weekend.

I also just got some new pictures of my "baby" and have to show him off. So, I am going to try and attach his photo.

Amanda

Wow - it's been longer than I'd thought since I was able to drop in last and post. Busy week - we make about 30% of our annual sales during the four weeks before Christmas each year. Its all buying and selling and shipping for us until the new year.

My family arrives on Monday (including my sister and my gramma - both of whom I haven't seen in over 2 years!). We're all excited and prepped for their visit.

I won't be around until they leave - the 29th or so - I'd guess.

Happy holidays!

Mornin Ladies:

Well, the gifts are here and wrapped and I'm only 4 stocking stuffers away from being DONE! Food has been iffy. Why oh why do I let my journalling fall by the wayside. I know if I have to write it down I don't let myself go overv my pts. As soon as I send this I'm off to prepare breakfast and WRITE IT DOWN!

CHILLIN: You go girl. Get thee out on those slopes!!! We've had about 4 ft. since before T'giving but it finally warmed up here last week and we've lost most except on the local slopes. Now, if what's left as ice on our hilly driveway would just melt :crossed: all will be fine.

JEN: Enjoy the family visit.
You'll appreciate this one. Yesterday I sent a payment out for an ebay item and realized, AFTER I got back from the post office, that I mailed a payment to this fellow 2 days before for the correct item then "DUH", I mailed another ebayer's payment to him yesterday for their item.:dizzy: You should have seen me emailing an explanation to him. That'll teach me to by two CD's, by the same artist, that close together. I got "confoosed"


If you don't get here again before Christmas I hope you all have a Happy, OP Holiday.

Good morning folks, feeling pretty good today. I made it through three parties yesterday, one of which I put on myself, and still had a loss of 4 lbs. at WI this morning!! I was very happy that I overcame the temptation to drink along with everyone last night, though it was a bit boring to be one of the few sober people there. It meant hauling the drunk ones around, but it's better than them driving.

I also learned something about using points wisely. I had a brunch yesterday and had about 12 points at that alone. It was rather high item points so not much volume and not much protein. I was hungry about an hour later, and that hasn't happened in a long time. So I guess my new way of eating is really working. I just have to keep my time commitment to making the veggies and proper foods.

Dora - good for you for getting back on that treadmill. Sorry about your husband's misfortune, that really seems to be happening to a lot of people.

Amanda - great pic, he's a cutie.

Jen - happy holidays even though you might not see this. :D .

j-ann - I've got some things I could sell you twice :lol: . Maybe it will help me pay the credit card bills when they get here.

Well, I'm off to help the MIL bake some things today. None of them involve chocolate so that is good.