Dear Guys,
Thanks for your help. I've had a good day today (after having some Halloween remains--but I've counted them in and I'm okay).
This is something I can do. Thanks so much for your support.;)

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, I thought about you and your struggle while I was on my walk today. Lauren gave you some great advice, especially the advice to focus on the positive things that you're doing.

I went through a similar situation last year, too. My goal was simply to maintain because I didn't care whether I lost weight or not. I did manage to maintain for almost a whole year. When this year hit the super high stress levels, I started to gain, but very slowly. More slowly than at any other time in my life. I had learned so much about what works for me, but I couldn't seem to make forward progress or even to stay in the same place for a long while.

Well, as you know, I worked through a lot of issues using my journal. A lot of them were weight-related issues, but a lot weren't. I've been on a campaign to figure out who I am, now that I'm not mainly MOM anymore. It's a common journey for middle-aged women. Anyway, part of that process has been to figure out and deal with the things that were keeping me from losing weight.

The point is that, as you can see, Lauren and I faced similar situations, but the solutions were vastly different because the reasons we were in the same situation were vastly different. You need to figure out what is behind YOUR stall. Not an easy task and it may take a while, but you can do it.

I was noticing our signature lines and how helpful they are. Mousie's quote from Yoda is one of my favorites when I'm fooling myself with "trying" instead of "doing". And my quote from Henry Ford is appropriate when I'm stuck in "I can't" mode. "I can't" mode usually is followed by "trying" and back to Yoda I go for inspiration. Of course, Lauren's quote is the backbone of our journey--eternal vigilance is the only thing that will keep us from becoming balloons--swelling up and then letting the air out, metaphorically speaking. I love the new quote she gave us today. People do tend to live up or down to what's expected of them and that's particularly true when the expectations are their own.

If I were to sum up what I think is the most important thing you could do, it would be to figure out what's going on. I did the planning, the determined efforts, etc., but until I figured out why I was sabotaging myself, why I didn't care, what I gained by staying fat, etc. I couldn't stop the downward spiral. Once I figured that out, the whole process became easy.

One last comment--I think you might reconsider your Christmas goal. You'd have to lose a bit more than 15 pounds each month to reach that goal. The fact that you probably won't hit it may be causing some of your discontent. You feel like you've failed because you didn't make a goal you really wanted. But, sometimes setting weight/time goals does backfire.

Good luck. I hope some of this ramble helps.

Lauren, it's great that you have such a specific plan for the future. You have a good plan. And great advice. I'm saving that post for future reference and your quote for my file of quotes. I have one from a newsletter I get every day. It's not weight related, but really worth thinking about.

We are all born originals - why is it so many of us die copies? -Edward Young, poet (1683-1765)

Happy turtlin'! :cool:

Lin
272/241/135 or so

Judy--

The best advice I can give you is "listen to Lin"! She has helped me several times before, when I felt like my WW-World was spinning out of control. It sounds to me like you've got something happening in your brain that is making you "impulse eat", and it would do you well to try to figure out what that something is. Possibly you're feeling a bit angry or deprived at the thought of having to watch what your eat through the holiday season? That's just a shot in the dark, understand, but you've mentioned *Halloween* foods an *party* foods and the fact that this is the start of your holiday season, so you may be feeling irritated that all this lovely food is around and you "can't" have any. Just a thought.

Two additional things. One, something Lin wrote to me last year, when I was struggling: give yourself permission to just maintain for a little while. Maintaining is a skill too, and that may be what you can offer yourself right now. Sometimes losing just takes too much energy! Two, something I figured out at a friend's Thanksgiving three years ago: feel free to have the foods you can't get any other time of year (in reasonable amounts, of course). There was a vegetarian roulade made by a friend of mine that I have never seen her make again, and man I'm glad I had it that time! But there were cheese&crackers there too, and I can have cheese and crackers any time I want them. There's a kind of brittle toffee my sister used to make only at Christmas--until I got the recipe and started making it throughout the year, when I wanted it. Figure out if these foods are a once-in-a-lifetime thing, or if you can have them again later. You're not depriving yourself, you're making healthy choices and giving yourself what you want more than food--a slim, healthy body!

Lauren, I'm so impressed by your lists! You've really given this a lot of thought, and I think they're marvelous goals. I'm also impressed that you have non-weight goals. So many times people get caught up in their weight and lose sight of the health benefits.

Lin, as always, you're my guru. ;)

I'm doing well, my bead string has 10 beads on it so far and I haven't missed a day. :) I'm down another pound, too! Yay me, and I hope my doctor will be impressed. I see her again in a month, to monitor my blood pressure, and I hope now that DH is working, I'm losing, and I'm exercising, I can stop taking the diuretic she put me on. On which she put me. Whatever.

Hi, Turtles,

Mousie, it's so great to hear from you. I'm glad that some of my ramblings has helped you in your journey.

It's so cool to hear about your bead string getting longer and longer. I love seeing my sticker pages get empty as I paste them on the top of my journal pages.

And super congatulations on that pound! It's so cool!.

Judy, I had one other thought I want to share with you. Don't let yourself get discouraged because you may be seeing the rest of us losing and you currently are struggling. Sometimes when that happens, people stop posting because they feel guilty about not doing it or because they feel ashamed that they aren't doing as well, or other similar feelings.

We've all gone through our ups and downs and the main reason we're all losing those tiny bits right now is because we kept posting and kept doing different things until we discovered what works for us. So, please hang in there with us. We will help you, as best we can, through your struggles.

Even if you decide you don't want to lose weight right now. We've done that, too. I wondered for a while whether I wanted to lose it at all, but I kept coming while I worked that out. And I decided that I wanted to work through some stuff, then tackle the weight loss again. Which is what I did.

Hang in there, Judy. We know that you will be successful as you continue your journey. Just pick one little baby step that you want to do. Drink your water. Keep your journal. Whatever.

Talk with you all later. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin
272/241/135 or so

Lauren,
Glad you're closing in on your 70 pound weight loss. What a terrific accomplishment. 199# by Christmas sounds great!

Lin,
It's terrific that you've got WW working on a daily basis. You're in a good place now so that you *do* WW without having to obsess over it or worry about it. It's the frame of mind we're all aiming for.

I didn't go to my Wed. WW mtg. I knew I'd be up after maintaining the week before following the 3# weight loss the week before that! So, I went to the Sat. morning mtg. instead.
The girl at the scale ( a trainee) was jumping up and down at my success of 1 1/2# loss, but I know it's just a difference of p.m. to a.m. WI. It looked good, and it also looks like I got myself back ontrack and am losing the weight that threw me off earlier in the week. So----downward and forward! I'll WI again this Wed. and get myself back on that p.m. WI time. I have knocked off the fast weight I put on, but honestly right now I'm maintaining which is not what I want to do. I'm going to take these next three days and work hard on getting in more protein for myself. I lose better that way. I also may graph again because I am often OP and won't lose. When I was younger I would lose a lot once a month and then not lose any more throughout the month. That may still be happening to me, so I need to be patient.
Successes--many this week! I put Halloween stuff outside the door for my dh to find a spot where he'd like to have it. When my daughter and her hubby came in Friday we did a lot of running around as usual. This time I said I wanted to eat dinner first. When they get busy, they forget to eat but I don't. So, I made a good dinner OP. Also stayed OP on Sat. with them when they decided to stay overnight. These are constant food challenges that I face. Tough to do the right thing when it's more fun to head out to a diner or restaurant or fast food place. When I'm on track, I choose all sorts of OP things when eating out, but lately I"ve had too many challenges. So yes, LIn, I am keeping lots of things I like to eat in the house. I never eat things I don't like because that can boomerang.
Anyway--this is too long--sorry to be so self-indulgent right now, but I want this weight loss very bad and writing helps me achieve it.
Good luck to everyone! Have a good weekend and keep on keepin' on!!!!
Judy
234/211/199#by Christmas!;) :cool:

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, you crack me up! Worrying about your post being too long! If I worried about that, I'd be in real trouble, as would Lauren and a lot of the other turtles we've met over the years. We know and appreciate that often we need to write long in order to allow ourselves the support we need. So, don't worry about it. Write what you need to write.

It is so good to hear you say that you're back OP. I know what you mean about things you don't like boomeranging. One of the reasons this program works so well is that we don't have to eat stuff we don't like. I shudder at some of the previous WW programs I've been on and at some of the food I ate in a desparate attempt to conform to society's standards of feminine beauty.

But now I realize that I only have to conform to my standard of how I want to look, to be, to live my life. So, I choose to lose weight more slowly so that I can choose to enjoy the things I love, including some indulgences in favorite foods prepared the non-lowfat way, at least once in a while.

However, today is weigh-in day and I'm really puzzled. I gained a pound. It's probably either muscle from all of that walking I've been doing lately. Or it's water retention because sometimes I start to retain water at this point in my cycle. Or it's who knows what. But it isn't that I haven't been diligent with WW. Unless I need to increase my food intake a little. I haven't been eating my activity points, just staying in my range.

Anyway, I've decided to keep doing what I've been doing for a month and see what happens. If I start losing again, I will assume it was muscle mass. If I continue to gain, and get bloated, I'll see what happens after TOM. If I don't lose it after TOM, I'll add my activity points to my minimum range and make sure to eat them for a while and see if that helps. If not, maybe I'll go down a point range, but I doubt that will help because I'm mostly eating within that range now. This is frustrating! But I'm not going to let it get me down because I know that one small gain may mean absolutely nothing, which is why I'm not changing anything unless it becomes a pattern.

Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin
272/242/135 or so

Lin,
Regarding your weight gain. You make so much sense. Glad you're working on analyzing what may have happened--including the fact that nothing may have happened! Good for you . You make more sense than many leaders. Wouldn't it be neat if you decided to get officially involved with WW?
Judy
234/211/199#by Christmas;)

Mousie,
Thanks so much for writing with such great encouragement. Somehow when I checked in, I missed about 8 posts and I'm not quite sure how that happened. I've read them all now and I have just finished printing them out. Last year before I joined Turtles, when I made my 10% difference, I posted that and got wonderful responses in the general category. I printed them and do look at them for encouragement from time to time. So--turtles, thanks so much. Mousie you hit the nail on the head. There are times when we need to maintain. I feel I am coming out of that time right now and I really want to lose. So, I have to figure out a few more things to keep me ontrack. I had a great day and a great weekend. I am proving each day that I know how to do this and that I can do this.

Lin,
And yes, I did feel funny that you guys are doing so well and I am not. It doesn't feel good and I don't like the emotions this situation brings up--sorta like--okay I can't do it the turtle way, so now what? Well, that's just silly. I am focusing (one of Lauren's words) on persist right now. I fully recognize that I am lucky and have many eating and social opportunities around me. However, that is also a huge challenge that I am working on full time right now. So, I will do this a little better. I won't try, but I will *do* ala Yoda.

Lauren,
Thanks for all your insight too. You really have been where I am now and I want to be where you are now and by doing this day after day, I'll get there. It is unrealistic for me to think that there won't be setbacks. I have to work on getting OP much longer than setbacks to see the weight loss I deserve to get.

So good buddies---thanks for all your input. I've had a great OP time since Thursday. There were many challenges and I saw myself putting myself first and planning to succeed and it has worked so far. Thanks for your good wishes and great advice. Let's keep on keepin' on.

Lauren,
One more thing: I must have the numbers wrong at the bottom of my signature. When I write 234/211/199#by Christmas, I thought I was writing that I started WW at 234#, am now 211#, and hope to be 199# by Christmas. If that's not right, tell me what I should be doing. The way I figure it, I'd have to lose 12# by Christmas to make my goal and I have about 8 weeks to do it in. I know that's unreasonable, but I bet I could lose 6-7 # if I keep OP and ontrack. I like the idea and sound of 199# so much that even if it takes me into the new year, I am determined to get there. I just don't want another whole year without a true loss to go by.

Love,
Judy
234/211/199#by Christmas:dizzy:

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, it was I who suggested that you might want to rethink your Christmas goal. However, I somehow got the impression that you weight 234 now and needed to lose quite a bit to get there by Christmas. From 211 to 199 is definitely a realistic goal. Go for it!

BTW--you are doing it the turtle way. The turtle way tries to be realistic and practical. It's important to realize that all parts of our lives affect our weight loss efforts and sometimes determination to be OP isn't enough. Sometimes we have to take care of other things in our lives before we can make that total commitment. When I've been faced with those times, for whatever reason, I chose to work at maintaining the weight loss I had attained up to that point, with the intention to commit to losing again when I was able to do so. That's what worked for me.

The other thing about the turtle way is that we all must find out what works for the body we have, within the parameters of the program. Some of us need more exercise than others to successfully lose weight. Some need to eat more of our points and some need to eat less. Some people need small, frequent meals, and some need a more traditional three larger meals each day. And so on. It takes time for people to work that out and during that time the weight loss can slow down or stop. Then it picks up when we find out what our individual bodies need.

I'm suspecting that my small gain is water retention. I'm beginning to have the symptoms that show up when I start PMS water retention. The only thing I know of that helps is to keep on walking and drink an extra quart of water. The extra water may not get rid of all of it, but it helps keep the gain down to a minimum.

I'm continuing to stay OP and today I'm doing some cooking that will help me with that. Making salsa and more soup. I baked bread yesterday, but I have a craving for cinnamon bread so I'm planning to bake some today. I also had an idea for a cornmeal bread with salsa and cheese that I want to try this week. It will go great with my soup and add a bit more protein when I have soup and bread for a meal.

Hope you all are doing well today.

Happy turtlin'! ;)

Lin
272/242/135 or so

Hello, Turtles. Lots of great posts since I checked in last! I love to see that.

Judy, you're doing terrific! And as far as I'm concerned, a true Turtle is anyone who's still here five years from now. :) Still plugging away. I've found that we all fluctuate quite a bit in this group. There have been times when Lin was really taking off the weight while I was floundering, gaining and losing the same two pounds for months. And vice versa. And that's just one example -- none of us are really doing the same pace of weight loss at the same time, or at least rarely. So banish those comparison thoughts. You're still here; that makes you a Turtle.

And way to go on counting those successes!! Do you think it's helping you get back on track?

Lin, it's always a little tough to see those one-pound gains when we don't feel we deserve them. I suspect I'll see one this week, too. In my case, it may truly be that it's time to move down a point level since I'm so close anyway. But in your case, my guess is that it's the increased exercise. I watched a very interesting video called "Mastering Your Metabolism" recently, and they said that when you first start to exercise (if you're really out of shape), this is what to expect:

First couple weeks: hungrier and tired

Next couple weeks: more energy

Next SIX MONTHS: inches go down but WEIGHT DOES NOT

After six months: inches AND weight go down

I found that fascinating since it's exactly what happened to me. I started regularly working out in January and was ravenous and tired for a while. Then I found I had more energy. Then I found my body shape changing, but my weight did not. (I also wasn't working the program consistently.) Finally, I began to see weight loss -- and I also got more focused on working the program and staying OP. But that wasn't until July!

This is a fascinating video. My husband got it when he recently joined a health club in town. It talks about the processes your body goes through and how you can raise your metabolism. Nothing earthshaking, but I really found the above applicable. It explained a lot to me.

So are you taking your measurements once a month or so, too?

I've had a few days this week above my maximum. I also had days below my minimum. Weird. I don't think I'll end the week with as many banked points as I'll need to lose weight, though. I ate out a few times, and that always has a detrimental effect. Amazing how many calories they pack into those restaurant meals! Ah, well. I've gotten in lots of exercise, anyway, and I had a big loss last week.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
279/209.6/199 by Christmas (WW scales, evening)

Hi, Turtles,

I don't usually post twice in one day, but after reading your post, Lauren, I had to thank you for the helpful information.

I thought it was the time change that had me so super tired. I went to bed at 8 yesterday and just zonked out. Because I do the mini meals, I hadn't noticed that I was hungrier, but looking at my points on the days I walk vs. the few days I've missed, I've been eating a few points more on exercise days, but not out of my range.

I know that taking measurements really can help, but right now that just feels like one more thing to remember and one more thing to write down and keep track of. I'm trying to keep my record-keeping as simple as possible, so I'm using the way my clothes fit and which ones I can wear as a guage for body shape changes. And since I had to wear a belt to keep my pants up yesterday, I do see a change. Now, I want the belt to get back to the hole I used to put the thingy through! :lol:

Anyway, I'm saving that post. It's one of the most valuable ones I've read. Thank your dh for the video info.

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin
272/242/135 or so

Hi, tortoises.

Lin, I hear you about the "one more thing to track" thing. Using your clothes as a gage is good. I'm glad that info helped. It sure helped me! It's a very good video.

I'm down 1.5 pounds on my home weigh-in this morning. That puts me at 70 pounds gone, and it also puts me in the home stretch to my goal of 199! I'm thrilled. My husband is also really noticing my weight loss. He's always made nice comments about it, but now it's starting to really hit him how much smaller I am. Basically, he saw me this thin when we were dating but not once we were married, so he never saw me this thin (or this fit) naked! :) It's kind of weirding him out. To me, it feels like I'm finally heading back into more normal territory. It was the super high weight that felt weird to me. It'll be interesting, though, to see how he feels when I lose another 25 or more pounds. He's never seen me as thin as that.

Well, it's another beautiful sunny day here, so I'd better get outside and walk. I did a good workout this morning, so my walk will be more of a stroll today. :)

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/204/199 by Christmas (home scales, a.m.)

Lauren,
That info. about exercising is invaluable. I remember exercising, knowing I hadn't built muscle yet, and gaining weight.
That was not fun. Thanks for putting the information here so we can hang onto it and use it and print it out.
Wow, it will be so interesting to see how your dh reacts to the new , thinner you. This is a learning experience for all of us.
I love that you've knocked off 70 pounds and are on the home stretch for the magic 199#. Thanks for being vocal about your goal because it helped me set one too.

Lin,
You've been so helpful with your suggestions. Now I have one for you. Sometimes the weight does not come off even as we go down in size. Would you be interested in buying three ribbons? At WW thy suggested not using a measuring tape, but simply having three ribbons for chest, waist and hips. You wrap a ribbon around you and cut it. Date the ribbon. From then on out all you do is use the ribbon to see how much you're losing as far as inches. You could always quickly mark the date on the ribbon with a pen--or just forget that if it seems too much trouble. When you're all finished it will be so much fun to see how many inches you've lost. This seems doable, and accomplishes the same thing as more complicated methods does. In any case it's great to know that your clothes are fitting better and that you're losing.

Me--I had another great day. I was triumphant over the weekend and packed lunches for yesterday and today to make sure I had enough freeby foods with me to keep me satisfied. It looks as though I may have lost 1/2 pound this week which would be terrific. I'm down to 210 at home. Tomorrow is my WW
WI, so wish me luck.
Success and good vibes to you all.
Love,
Judy
234/210/199# by Christmas!:lol:

Hi, Turtles,

Do you suppose that it's a Freudian slip that this cat lover often hits the "o" and "i" keys at almost the same time and my name gets spelled "Lion" (never the other way around)? Just a weird coincidence that I thought might make you all chuckle.

Lauren--congratulations! 70 pounds gone! That's the best news. Way to go!

I love the response of your dh. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to having a wife that's thinner than he's ever seen her. Bet after he gets used to the new you, he decides he really, really likes it.

I haven't thought about my dh's reaction. He's always been so supportive. He and the kids listen to me and give me the kind of support I ask for. It's really cool. But I was only about ten pounds overweight when I met him, so he's seen me pretty thin. He doesn't care whether I'm fat or thin, just that I'm happy with the way I am. It puts the whole burden squarely where it belongs, right on me.

Judy, I absolutely love your suggestion about the ribbons. I will hie myself down to the local craft store and buy some. I'll have to break down and take those measurements so I can figure out how much I need. I'm NOT going to tell the clerk what I want them for! :lol: Thank you so much!

And congratulations on that great day. I love to hear you say "another" great day. I'm so glad you're racking up the successes. Good luck with your weigh-in.

I feel a lot better about the gain. I'm sure it's a combination of the walking and a bit of water retention. My clothes are fitting looser, even after our poor quality dryer gets done shrinking them. :lol: And I hope I get past that tired stage soon. I get back from my walk ravenous because it's lunch time and so tired that I end up taking a ten to thirty minute nap about 3 pm or go to bed really early. :rolleyes:

I'm OP today, still. Even though I splurged and made real fried chicken for dinner. I combined it with low point mashed potatoes and 0 point salad with salsa. My dh went to the store and came back with Godive ice cream. I'm using some banked points to have some. It's worth it and my dinner ended up being only 8 points. I also did my walk today.

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow!

Happy turtlin'! :D

Lin
272/242/135 or so

Hi, tortoises.

Judy, way to go on yet another good day! Building up a pattern of success feels so good, doesn't it? You're doing so great.

Lin, you had fried chicken and mashed potatoes for just 8 points?? Wow! For me, a grilled chicken breast and baked potato with LF margarine comes in at that number. I'd love to know how you managed it.

When I started exercising last winter, it took me more like a couple of months to stop feeling tired and hungry (rather than a couple of weeks, like the video said). I suspect that was because I was particularly out of shape. It sounds like you're in much better shape than I was, so hopefully this period will pass more quickly for you. Way to go for sticking with it! Basically, what the video said was that when you start exercising, you have to build up your blood vessels in order to carry the oxygen to your muscles; until you've built those up, you'll feel more tired. Also, there was something about glycogen storage and insulin that contributed to the feelings of hunger -- I'll have to watch it again.

Last night I tried on my wedding dress with DH just to see how it fit. Turns out it fits fine but is just slightly tighter than it was when I got married. So DH *has* seen me this thin, it's just been a while! (And it wasn't for very long, either.) He told me again how happy he is that I've done this. He's always found me attractive (miraculously) and has always loved me and never commented negatively on my weight. But he's just so happy for my health that I've lost the weight and especially that I'm exercising regularly. He's a sugar lumpkins. :)

Last night my WW leader told us a story about focus. A guy buys a bird feeder and puts it up, and before long a squirrel figures out how to get into it and eat the seed. The guy chases the squirrel away a few times, then decides to return the bird feeder. He goes into the store with the feeder and tells the clerk he wants a squirrel-proof feeder.

"Sorry, but there are no squirrel-proof feeders," says the clerk.

"What? You're telling me we can put a man on the moon, but we can't make a squirrel-proof feeder? How is that?" says the guy, irate.

"Well, look at it this way. How much time did you spend trying to keep the squirrel out of the feeder?"

"I dunno, maybe five minutes here and there."

"OK. Now how much time do you think the squirrel spent trying to get *into* the feeder?"

Moral of the story: In our weight-loss efforts, our success will mirror the amount of focus we put into it. So think "squirrel" this week. :)

She also talked about setting goals now for this holiday season. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to maintain? Do you want to do "damage control" -- just gain a set amount of weight rather than the average (which is 7-10 pounds, amazingly)? Set your goal, then look at what you'll need to do to accomplish it. She gave us a list of suggestions, which I'll type in later as this has already gone on long enough!

Oh, I was down 1# at WW weigh-in. I think because I'm so close to that 199 goal on my home scales, I'm going to keep posting that number here in the turtles group. :)

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/204/199 by Christmas