Sunaired- glad you had a good birthday. Boo on getting the cold. I am sure those extra points will come off before next weighin. I like to use my extra pts on weighin day (after weigh). Because I know I have a week to be good before weigh in again.

Somuchfattitude- way to go on the running pace. Always feels good to have a break through.

I was able to get back on track Tuesday. I lost -.4 this week, so just a bit but I will take it given the weekend I had. Only 2.4 to go till free with lifetime and 4.4 to goal. Hoping to be there early March.

sunarie- I hope the cold doesn't last long I had one a couple of weeks ago and luckily it was fast, only 3 days or so. My bf and I always seem to infect each other. Last year I think we had 3 colds that lasted a week or so, it was terrible.

The scale finally moved, 1.6 from last week's weigh in, I don't know what changed in the past couple of days but I'll take it. Headed to IU for the weekend with my sister and mom to visit our other sister. Planning on having some delicious pizza and wine.

Have a good weekend everyone! Hope you are off work for President's Day!

Grrr. WI day today and for the first time since I began WW, I gained. Only 0.3kg (0.6lbs) but very annoying as although I was away for work and didn't eat as well as I should have, it wasn't a disaster or anything and I was still under 26 points/1200 calories most days.

Trying not to be too disappointed and just move on. I went wedding dress shopping yesterday and had so much fun and I think I've found the one. With 10kg (22lbs) less on me, I have really regained my usual hourglass figure and so most of the dresses looked pretty great, much to my surprise as I thought it would be a bit of an ego-destroying experience.

I'm expecting my TOM any day so hoping to drop as soon as it rolls around. In the meantime, I'm going to have a very strict week and hope for the best.

Hi all! Thanks for the warm welcome. I subscribed to e-mail alerts so I have been keeping up with your posts this past week. I might not be able to post here often for the time being (lots going on at this time) but I do want you to know that I am reading all of your posts and keeping in touch that way.

Monday is my Weekly WI and it wasn't good. I did not lose and actually regained some of the weight that I lost last week. Since I suspect that it was the restaurant meal on V-Day (sodium is my Kryptonite) I thought I would just wait and see how this week goes before changing my ticker.

I live in Sandy Springs, 5 miles north of Buckhead, so I am quite familiar with Alpharetta/John's Creek. We are practically neighbors. As I sit here I am like everyone else in the Atlanta area, wondering when the winter storm Octavia is going to come through. I hear that we will get snow tomorrow. Stay safe on the roads, remember last year in January? My hubby was caught in the rush hour traffic (although it wasn't moving so you could hardly call it rush) and it took him 7 hours to drive 5 miles because of the icy roads.

My Lenten "self-denial" is foregoing eating out in restaurants. I used to think that I couldn't do it but with the help of some really creative recipes I am beginning to think that it won't be all that bad. Here is a recipe that I made yesterday that I really enjoyed. It is simple. It is 7 points for those who are counting points.

Big Mac Salad

bed of iceberg lettuce
extra lean ground beef cooked with chopped onion ( approx. 1/2 lbs.)
a couple of dill pickles chopped up
1/4 cup shredded cheese
fat free Thousand Island dressing ( 2 TB)

You put it together in the order that I listed the ingredients. It is delicious.

Take care all and have a great week!
Pam

Dixiemom - Glad you got back on track! Hope you get free lifetime soon!

Jelma - Congrats on the 1.6 loss! I know with me sometimes it just takes a little while for the scale to start. Don't change anything, body just sort of does what it does. Hope you had fun with your family!

Flickety - Definitely don't beat yourself up too much about the gain. Just jump right back on plan and that extra weight will come off. In the long run that .6lbs won't even mean anything Yay for wedding dress shopping! Sorta jealous of you and Munchy, but I'll be there eventually! If you're willing to, I'd love to see a picture of the dress you decide upon too.

Pam - Sorry to hear about the slight gain, hopefully it is all just sodium and comes right back off. Eating out is bad for me too. I plan everything in advance, looking at menus and all.. but I suspect there are more calories in what is actually served.. and I end up munching on free stuff (like Red Lobster's biscuits) more than I actually should. Prior to doing WW we were notorious for having stuff delivered here, so pretty much the same as eating out. It was hard to break that habit and start cooking, but once you get into it for a couple weeks it becomes a lot easier. Now we only really eat out when family is visiting, or for a special day. That has been a bit often lately, but holidays and birthdays are all this time of year for the majority of my friends/family.. so it's also to be expected for me. Now that we're past Valentine's day it slows down dramatically until December.

I'm back! Not that I really left.. but I haven't really been posting this past week with boyfriend off work. Now it's back to the daily grind, so I'll be lurking around the forums as much as I use to, hah. We ended up eating out for Valentines Day. Against my better judgement I got a Stromboli, which was not on plan. Also chocolates. I also didn't exercise any of last week. So that's starting back up today. Overall I weighed in today plus 1lb. I had fun though Cold seems to be on it's way out.

Glad you're feeling better Sunarie! And Dixiemom, good luck in reaching free lifetime again!

I jumped on the scales this morning and I was down 1.1kg (2.4lbs) since two days ago when I weighed in so I think I was probably just holding onto some TOM water weight.

It was the first time since I cannot remember when that I have seen a number with a 7 in front of it. Feeling really proud of myself and it has spurred me on even more!

Sunarie, this is the dress I think I'm going to get. http://www.wendymakin.com/dresses/couture/ellie?page=3

I can't tell if that picture is the champagne colour that I tried on however and I'm also going to wear the detachable lace straps that come with the dress too.

It's more body-conscious than the kind of dress I thought I'd go for but they ended up being the styles that looked best on me as I have quite a curvy body (small waist and shoulders, big butt and boobs).

The other one I tried on that was gorgeous and probably more in line with what I thought I'd get is this http://www.raffaeleciuca.com.au/shop...ottero/carmen/

I think I'm going to go back, try the dress on and just make sure before I get it. It did look great but it's a very simple dress and I just want to make sure it's special enough

Sunarie: I wish I could do artificial sweeteners. But I have IBS and they really bother me, especially Sucralose and Erythritol. Asparatame doesn't bother me though, I will see what is in those flavorings. I did get some liquid lemon flavoring (it's just artificial lemon juice, no sweeteners) and that has helped. I have to confess that I'm still drinking the occasional diet ginger ale. I'm trying to keep it to one a day or less. My tummy issues sometimes just won't quit and the only thing that helps is ginger ale.

I had a very good first week back on Weight Watchers. Then Valentine's Day came... we went out to eat at Applebee's, which I did so-so at. But then Saturday we had pizza, I splurged on a cupcake from a local bakery (I had been looking forward to her Valentine's Day cupcakes...I originally asked for a 12 pack of them and when V-Day came, I only had one...so I think I did well in retrospect). For dinner we had my husband's favorite meal, salmon...which is healthy, but I wanted a pretty large serving, so I it was more points. To compensate, I didn't have any carbs and I had just a side salad. I stayed within my weeklies, so I should be okay. I'm weighing tomorrow morning to see where I'm at so far this week.

ETA: Has anyone tried the Special K Hot Cereals? Are they filling for a good period of time (like 2-3 hours)? I looked up the nutritional info and they are all 5PP for one container. They look good and I really like hot cereal. I'm just not sure if I can make oatmeal and sweeten it a bit and add dried fruit/nuts for the same amount of points or less. And, I like quick because some mornings I just don't feel like cooking...but I know I have to eat. Thoughts?

I hope you all are doing well!

UGH - I never got my swoosh. In fact, the scale was up .6lbs on Saturday. I talked to my WW leader and she told me to switch my settings and use my Activity Points before my weeklies and to eat more. So, I've eaten all my APs and half of my weeklies. This is not going well. The scale is slowly creeping up ounce by ounce. So frustrating. Especially because I weigh and measure everything!!!

Anyone else dealt with this?

_____________

MRSD - great job with the willpower at your sister's and the cupcakes! I've had the Quaker Protein Oatmeal and those are pretty tasty. 6pp and filling.

Jelma - hopefully I'll get my scale swoosh like you did!

Dixie - I can't imagine being so close to lifetime!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!

Pam - we had ice on the trees this morning, but that was about it. My mom and I literally work across the street from each other in opposite buildings. She had a 10am opening and I was here on time (530am). That just cracked me up. How one place deems it safe to drive and the other doesn't. Oh well. And yes, I do remember! I have a coworker that lives off the same exit as me and she took 400 to get home. We left at the same time. She spent 9 hours on 400 and walked the last 3 miles. I took 85/285/backroads and made it home in 2.5hours. CRAZY!

Sun - glad you had a wonderful "staycation" with the bf and enjoyed yourself! That's what life is about. 1lb isn't bad at all!!!

Flick - that dress is STUNNING!!! Can we see a pic of you wearing it?! Gorgeous, girl!

Somuchfattitude - I haven't heard of using the activity points first but it sounds like it is worth a try. I think switching it up with high and low days can sometimes break a plateau.

Sunarie - Stromboli, yum!

Pam - that salad sounds delicious!

I, too, am back to the grind this week. The weekend was not great, pizza, fast food and wine, lots of wine lol. I think I kept the portions in check so hopefully I didn't gain a ton. I didn't weigh in today like I usually do during the week. Not because I don't want to know just because it is so freaking cold I didn't want to take my snow boots off. Currently 15 degrees and it snowed about 6 inches yesterday. The high tomorrow is 14 and Thursday 7 I really need to get back to tracking everything. I just get so bored with it. Anyone doing the simply filling technique? I'm starting to think that might be a better option for me.

I made my own oatmeal this morning. Old fashioned oats (1/2 C, 4PP), small granny smith apple (0PP), 2 Tbsp brown sugar (2PP), 2 Tbsp craisins (2PP). It was pretty good, we'll see how long it keeps me full. Next time I'm peeling the apple and possibly cutting back on sugar and craisins and adding some almonds. It was a good change of pace from eggs!

I WI this am and I am down another 1.6. Official WI is Friday morning, I hope it keeps going down.

I don't really post in this thread, still new and getting used to the forum (Hi everyone!), but... I broke through to the next set of 10's! Scale read 239.6 today. It's not official since I usually weigh on Fridays, but I'm finally out of my plateau it seems. I bounced back and forth between 241 and 243 for about a week, so the break through feels really nice.

SoMuchFattitude, have you tried point cycling? It helped me break through my last plateau.

I tend to eat the exact same amount of points every day and usually use 8-10 extra points on a weekly cheat day.

I was starting to lose extra slowly (and some weeks not at all) so I did two weeks of point cycling and it kicked me into a 1.6kg (3.5lbs) loss the week before last.

I've stopped doing it again and have gone back to usual way of eating but it did seem to work.

Other suggestion: how's your water intake with all the exercise you've been doing? I tend to pay for it on WI day if I've had a week where I haven't drunk ennough.

As for the dress, thanks! They don't let you take a pic in the shop but when I get it I'll put one up

I'm just checking in - I have had a rough week or so and had a really bad panic attack regarding my weight and all of the stress I'm feeling with the wedding and time running out. Eating is the same, as always.

I've made an appointment to see a therapist soon, and hopefully I can break through this funk. I can't believe it, I haven't had a panic attack in over 6 years.

Munchy - I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you feel better soon. You do look lovely in the dress.

Welcome BlackBoxed!

Well looks like my weekend of pizza and wine didn't do any damage to my weight, I'm down .5 from Friday. Back in the groove though still not tracking. I'm really going to make an attempt to track everything starting Monday and for the rest of the week try to stay on Simply Filling.

I made chicken pot pie last night, I don't think it was too point heavy except for the crescent rolls on top, the filling was mirepoix & chicken, 1 T butter and flour with chicken stock and milk. I get kinda obsessed with cooking but it is nice to be back doing what I enjoy instead of trying to figure out what take out food to get!

Here's a question for you all:
What do you eat when you're not feeling well? I woke up with what I'm hoping is just a bad cold, I couldn't stand sitting up so I went to lay down to watch Netflix and I ended up falling asleep until 11:30am. I went to the doctor (for something different) and I'm feeling a little better, but the smell/thought of food makes my stomach turn. (I have bananas ripening in the kitchen and every time I walk through there I feel like throwing up because of that scent.) All I've had today is hot tea with lemon and alka seltzer tabs. I'm planning on having some chicken noodle soup and possibly a sandwich for dinner. But I still won't have eaten even close to my daily points. Is that okay as long as it's not a daily trend? I have gatorade in the house, should I get my points from that?