Welcome to all & any of you that are in for the long haul. We're making our weigh to goal one millimeter at a time.

I used the question mark, folks, 'cause that's kind of the way I feel about this week. President Bush & Congress may think they have the answers, but all I have is questions, most of which start with, "Why?".

My husband has been out of town all week. As one friend put it, "this just seems like a time for chocolate." I agreed and had some. I'm not totally off the wagon, but it's slowed down again.

Monday, I'm having a sonogram. I wouldn't worry about it at all if it had taken a week or so to schedule, but I just had my annual physical Friday. I'm a bit disconcerted at how fast they put me on the schedule & worried a bit that the doctor is more concerned than she's letting on. Silly me. I forgot to ask them about it before I left.

Gizzi , I agree this has been a week for chocolate . Do you know what they're looking for on the sonogram ? You might just have an efficiant doctor & the hospital may have had a sudden cancellation . I hope everything is okay .

Oh Dora .....where are you ?

Where have Michele & Lauren & all the rest of you been ?

Nothing new to say . Kathy

Fibroids & gall bladder. My DH thinks the hospital & dr. is being extra efficient too. He's home so I'm feeling a little bit more on an even keel. I still want Monday over with though.

Good luck with the sonogram, Gizzi. Do you have gall bladder symptoms? That seems to happen to so many people who lose weight. I've got all the right attributes myself, so I'm just waiting for it to hit.

I ended up way undereating last Tuesday -- my usual response to strong distress. Yesterday, though, I attended an all-day seminar (on helping the dying) at a monastary, and one of the monks there is an outstanding cook! Lunch was wonderful. Then we went to Middle Eastern restaurant with friends that evening. Good thing I had about 29 points banked.

I'm laundering our American flag. I had just taken it down and put up a nice fall flag when all this happened. I think I'll put it back up.

I have a lot of "why?" questions too, Gizzi, but I don't think they're answerable in this lifetime. The main questions I have now are "What do we do now?" I just hope it doesn't involve killing a lot of innocent Afghanis, who are already incredibly oppressed by the Taliban.

I'm beginning my 10-day bloat period now, so I doubt I'll see any weight loss for a while. Which is fine; I know it'll show up eventually.

Onward and downward,

Lauren

Actually, my understanding is that any overweight person is at risk for gall bladder problems & the best way to prevent them is to lose. My doctor suspected problems about a year & a half ago, but the sonogram then showed up negative. I've had stomach problems for years, so it may just be that. The fibroids aren't really a surprise either considering that's why my mother had a hysterectomy many years ago. We'll see...

I hope all your medical tests go well. I had my gall bladder removed about a year ago. Dieting can trigger attacks. Go figure. The surgery is not horrible and I was back around in about 3 days. There does not seem to be a medication alternitive, just surgery. For more info you can check out
www.vh.org
It is the medical library at the University of Iowa, (my husband is the webmaster) it has pretty good info and what ever ails you.
Hope all is well but I have first hand info if you need it.

Well, I suppose the good news is that they didn't find anything worse than what they suspected to begin with, i.e. I have both fibroids & gallstones, but that's all.

Hey all ,

Gizzi , I'm glad your tests didn't show anything lifethreatening . I had an ultrasound two years or so ago , which didn't show anything . I really started having persistant symptoms about a year & half ago . When they did another ultrasound it showed alot of tiny stones . I was so sick everytime I ate meat especially . I had my gall bladder removed almost a year ago & felt better almost instantly . You don't realize how sick you are until it's over . I was pretty uncomfortable for a few days , but recovered quickly . That laproscopic surgery is wonderful . I also had fibroids , which were removed when I had a hysterectomy five years ago . Now that wasn't pleasant at all . I had to have the old fashioned bikini cut , instead of the new fangled procedure . Good luck . What did they suggest ? As far as the gall bladder , there's no sence in being sick .

The last week was terrible , both point wise & stress wise . I haven't been having that many migranes lately . The last week i've made up for it . I've had one every day in the last week . I know it's from worrying . Even though I know the cause I can't seem to stop it . Today I started anew on the plan . I need to stick to it . I even had a dream that I gained so much weight that I couldn't fit into my clothes . That's a nightmare . I'm not going to weigh-in because i've been so horrible . This is the first time i've stayed home for that reason . Don't worry i'm not quitting . I'm too stubborn for that .

Kathy

Kathleen, are you getting any exercise? That can help a lot with stress. Don't let the terrorist bast**rds keep you from living your life to the full. Fight back by taking care of yourself!

Gizzi, sorry about the gallstones and fibroids. Glad it wasn't anything worse.

I was up .8 this week, which means I actually lost a little weight since I switched over to my fall clothes this week. I used to wear these linen shorts that weighed practically nothing; today I wore my blue jeans, which weigh 2 pounds! (Yes, I weighed them. ) So that's OK. I ended up with only one banked point for the whole week, though, and I don't lose well when I do that. Here's to a better week coming up -- which will be tough, due to several parties. Eep. And after that is vacation!

Ah, well. That's how life goes. I plan to wear my size 18 pants to as many of these events as possible, and even on vacation, just to help keep me in line. I can breathe when I wear them, but just!

Hope everyone else is doing OK. Dora, how are you? I'm still praying for DH's job situation.

--Lauren

Howdy all ,

Lauren , I do get quite a bit of exercise , but unfortunately because of my foot problem I had to quit walking at night . I do think it's slowly getting better . I have my annual check-up tomorrow , so i'm going to mention it to him , but i'm sure he'll tell me what I know . I'm on the look-out for a used stair stepper at work (they have a thrift store) .

I know this won't sound like much but : 1) This is day two of journalling . I haven't done it in months . 2) This is day two of being back on track with my points . After the summer i've had , that's saying something . . I feel confident I can get through tonight , then i'll tackle tomorrow .

Drink , Drink , Drink Pee , Pee , Pee Kathy

Kathleen, two days in a row of being on track is nothing to sneeze at when you've been off for a while. Every day that you meet your goals is a triumph. Way to go.

I snuck a peek at the scale the other day here at home -- and I was down to 210!! Wow! I suspect I'm up a tad now because TOM is due at any moment, but boy, that was inspiring to see. I was hoping to hit that number before we went on vacation (we leave this Wednesday), and I did!

Another inspirational event ... yesterday DH, his mom, and I went through ALL my clothes in the process of changing from summer stuff over to winter stuff. I tried on pretty much every single thing -- and had to get rid of 2/3 of it. It's all way too big now. Some is going to the thrift store, and some is going on e-bay when we get back from vacation! There are some good brands in there and some clothes I'll really miss, but I'm still glad to see the progress.

It was also fun to try on clothes that had been too small but now look good. I'm really on the cusp of getting into "regular" sizes. It surprises me, because when I was 210 before, I was much bigger than this. It has to be the exercise.

Anyway, that's my inspirational tome for today. I hope everyone is doing OK; it sure has been quiet here.

Onward and downward,

Lauren

Hello ... (hello .... helllllooooo ....)

I liked what our leader said tonight (we had a substitute who turned out to be my old leader; I like her a lot, too -- she's the one who has lost 86 pounds and kept it off for a decade). She told us she had been kvetching to one of her groups about some candy she kept eating, and one of her WWers said "Why don't you just leave it alone?" She was offended at the time, and all the way home she kept wondering "How could she speak like that to me?" But then it hit her that that's exactly what she needed to hear. Sometimes you need that kick in the butt that prods you into just doing the right thing, the difficult thing.

I'm down 3.4 this week, which is weird since I just got my period today. But I'm glad, because that means I'm still losing an average of 1.5 pounds per week, and that's right where I want to be. Even if it takes eating at the low end of my range and working out 5 hours a week to do it!

Tomorrow we leave on vacation. I'm concerned about gaining, but I'll just do the best I can. I'm also bringing tight pants. I'm really looking forward to seeing the coast of Maine, a place I've never been. I probably won't be checking in, so if you don't hear from me for a while, that's why.

I hope the next couple of weeks are great for everyone. I hope you're all still out there and still being good to yourselves.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
279/214/199 by Christmas (WW numbers, evening)

Howdy, Howdy, Howdy ALL!!

Happy to be here! Really enjoying the cold front from Canada (thanks Flib, wherever you are!) And so very glad to have walked today and yesterday. Yeah!!

I had forgotten the morning "high" I get from walking. The colder air makes a HUGE difference in my attitude, too.

Glad to see all you lovelies and the score of new ones. Wow! I've been awol so long that I had no idea about the move from the old 3fc site.

Other than weather, everything is pretty much the same here. Hubby still job-free, economy heading further into the toilet, etc. But we still have decent health and family and other options.

My nephew had the audacity to be born on 9/11. Which fits cause my brother was constanly in ER getting something stitched up.

Gotta run the kiddo to school. I'll be back!

hey all , I left for a few days because no-one was posting . The last time i posted i had been doing good . I went 5 days on point & journalling . This week has been terrible . I caught my darling grand daughters cold , of course she recuperated quickly . & I'm an incurable worrywart . Ugh... . Tomorrow is a new day . I gained 1 pound last week & will gain this week too . I just need to go farward & not dwell on previous days .

Lauren , you are doing awesome . I hope you have a wonderful vacation .

Dora , I wish I had your energy , or at least your feet , I really miss being able to walk for exercise . Hopefully soon .

Ta Ta Kathy

Howdy all,

Kathy -if YOU don't post, then our thread would be lonely and no one would post behind you! Sorry to hear of the continuing foot problem and the cold! Yuck! Not looking forward to that part of the coller weather. I heard someone talk of freezing a water bottle and then rolling it under her feet to relieve the p.f. Don't know if it works, just dropping the weight so far did wonders here. Course, the pain makes it hard to exercise, but how is a stair stepper different? You still have to support your total weight while stepping, right. I are confused...

Lauren,dear, enjoy those parties and that trip to Maine. I wanna go...never seen New England in the fall. Yet. It _will_ happen one day. Gonna see the lovely Statue of LIberty before it becomes a target, too.

My DH has a lead on short-term contract work in Washington State. We'll know more tomorrow. He will probably be glad to leave Central Texas for awhile, the ragweed is killing him. I am blessed not to have allergies (that I know of...) Thank you, dear Lord.

Got a walk in this a.m. Almost talked myself out of it, but I'm so glad I rolled out of that bed. It is such an invigorating habit. Only two days last week. I'm looking for 5 this week, and a 3# drop. My pants are way too tight and the big 200 is much too close. Making 175 my new goal. Gotta have a real goal that I can achieve by Christmas. And do it now.

Kathy, I admire your many days of journaling. So far, two days is the longest I've gone for months. In fact, I've already not journaled the first two days. But I have mentally calculated points and made better choices.

Also realized that the "water queen" has been slipping up and consuming sodas instead of H20. Had to re-kick the caffeine habit, which has helped in the getting up early. Why do I have to keep re-learning things about myself? A year ago I had illusions of being that super WW leader. Now, I'm feeling arrogant at just showing up at the meetings. The ole attitude is definitely in need of fine-tuning.

OK, off for some beauty sleep and maybe a few minutes earlier on the old alarm clock.

Sorry for the rambling. Y'all hang in there!