Hi, Turtle Buddies,

Here it is - my "official" version of the fable:

The Hare and the Tortoise

A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about two years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to learn in order to not only lose the weight, but keep it off and become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Happy turtlin', everyone!

Lin

Hi, Turtles,

Mousie, I think you misread my post. It was actually directed to Judy, and it was based on my misreading of her post. I'm sorry if you were upset. I really didn't say that I thought you were choosing "diet food". Hope that's all cleared up.

I'm so glad you can wear shoes and do your spinning class again. I wish I enjoyed exercise as much as you do. The kinds I like best I can't do at this weight. (sigh). But it's another thing to work toward.

WOW! My ds does know about EverQuest and Sony Online. I'll tell him about your dh. I'm sure he'd be interested. That's cool!

The BBC story that posted my email was promoting the writer of Overcoming Overeating's new book. I love her theory, but I've never known anyone who could actually lose weight by following her recommendations. They seem to be better suited for improving our relationship with food and to help us with finding which emotional issues are causing us problems.

Good luck with your migraine/pill issue. Hope it gets sorted out soon.

Lauren and Mousie--I loved Lord of the Rings! I want it on DVD. (My oldest ds got a DVD player for Christmas and gave it to us as a gift because he already has one on his computer. So now we have one for the TV.) I was telling my older son the big decision is whether to wait until they do the whole three movies or buy them individually, as they come out. Your information, Lauren, about the extra time on the DVD may tip the scales in favor of buying it individually.

My other son, the animator, hasn't seen Lord of the Rings. He had to work yesterday, so we couldn't take him. Besides, he had saved up for some new video editing software and couldn't wait to start redoing the animations he's been working on. If it ends up at the theater that's in walking distance of his house, he will have to go. I, OTOH, have read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings several times, the first when I was somewhere between 12 and 16. So, I've been waiting for a really well-done film version for practically my whole life. I haven't read them recently, so I wasn't bothered by the things that bothered you, Lauren. I want to live with the elves. I'm an elf at heart. My dh wants to live in the Shire and never leave, as most Hobbits do.

I know my ds absolutely doesn't want to see Harry Potter, but he should go for the animation and graphics. Being a kid inside, I loved it. I have all of the Harry Potter books in hardcover. I don't buy hardcover, but I started reading the first one in the bookstore when I was working there and couldn't put it down. I bought it so I'd get myself back to work instead of standing in the children's aisle, reading. I want to be 11 and go to Hogwart's! My dh said he was thinking that Hermione reminds him of me, but he was sure I'd be mad if he said so. Then I leaned over and told him exactly that. She's a lot like I was at that age!

It's so cool to hear about your shopping trips. And I agree, sizing is nuts!

Loved that article you sent us to. No surprise, since I journal about my whole life that way. It's a great way to figure out what's going on in any situation, not just weight loss.

San Francisco's main problem is economics and politics, just like everywhere else. They need to boot out Willie Brown and drag in Rudy Giuliani to do for SF what he did for NY.

Actually, you do need more books. Remember, Stephen King said every writer needs to do two things--Read a lot! Write a lot! (My paraphrase.) Best advice in his book.

Judy, so gald you're still OP. I hope you feel really well soon. Get lots of rest. Drink those extra fluids. That's mother hen, Lin's, advice for the illnesses of winter.

My eating was OK over the weekend. I didn't try very hard to locate the most healthy thing on the menu, but I also didn't go nuts. Ate a lot more points than I usually do because of how restaurant food is prepared. But I'm back OP. It was hard, but that's PMS. So, I feel pretty good about how it went. Got a lot of walking in, even on movie day because I got out of the car and walked around at every opportunity.

I had a great walk today. I had to walk back from dropping off the rental car in the freezing cold without my gloves. Then David went with me to mail Chris' art off to the show (since we got lost and couldn't find the place to deliver it in person). About halfway there it started hailing. Little pieces of ice (OUCH) on the face. Of course, as soon as we got home, the weather cleared up. (sigh)

My dh said he had an interesting day. On the way to work, it snowed. Then on the way home, he had to drive through snow, hail, then clear, cold weather. Unusual weather in the Bay Area, huh? It's certainly interesting when we get weather. Otherwise, it's always clear and sunny, maybe a few puffy clouds, and sometimes it's a little colder or hotter than other times. The weather forecasters usually get bored! So they're in heaven today.

Gotta go.

Have a great day!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Lin--oh, I didn't misread you, I just thought I should put your mind to rest so you wouldn't worry about my setting myself up to fall. I'm like you, I actually crave veggies more than I crave junk foods. I'm not even tempted by chocolate. I don't like solid chocolate or chocolate ice cream, and American chocolate is horrendous. We go to the British shop occasionally to get DH pasties and biscuits and sweets, and I get a bar or two there. Really nice, milky, smooth stuff. Worth the effort.

Judy, I hope life picks up for you. Or, you pick yourself up from life? Whichever, I hope you get some time to take care of yourself.

Lauren, you're just flying toward goal! I think that's so cool about your dress--I hope you bought it? Please tell me you did. 10 pounds and you'll be even more stunning. That's my favorite color.

Spinning was wonderful and marvelous and excellent today, and Kelly (the instructor) said I was doing excellently well. What can I say? I just feel like I belong there. My body likes that kind of exercise I guess. There's one class a day, and tomorrow night is an instructor I have not yet taken. So I'm going to try tomorrow night too. But MW mornings at 8am, you'll definitely find me in Kelly's class.

Today was hungry, not surprising given my class this morning (for my weight and exertion level, the guesses I have found put me between 800-1000 calories burned). I'm doing exercise points the old way, though--20 minutes = 1 point--so I at my max points + 3 today. Given that I walked in circles around campus today (literally--back and forth between 3 places repeatedly) I'm counting the whole hour as additional exercise. I think I met the "first 20 minutes" hiking around campus.

I'm still excited about rejoining, and I've had a wonderful three days of it. Even 7 banked points! Doctor thursday, then another doctor tuesday. once I have those things taken care of, my "body issues" are settled for a time. Yay!

Have a good night/morning, turtles, I'll check on you soon.

Hi, turtles. I'm down a pound this week on the home scales, which is welcome. I was near the top of my points all week, too.

Lin, your weather sounds crazy -- like Michigan! Ours has been super warm and nice for this time of year -- 57 yesterday, and sunny -- so I've been taking long walks outdoors. It's funny, my feet aren't used to that form of exercise, so the balls of my feet get raw. I walked about an hour yesterday. The rest of the week we're returning to normal -- cold and gray.

So glad you liked LOTR and Harry Potter. I'm going to see LOTR at least one more time while it's still in the theaters. I feel obsessed. I even downloaded LOTR wallpaper for my computer! I can't remember the last time a movie affected me like that. I think I'd like to live half time with the elves and half time with the hobbits. I loved Bag End.

What kind of exercise did you say you liked best, Lin?

Mousie, sounds like you've found your niche with spinning. What exactly is spinning? Is it sitting on a stationary bike with a lot of other people and following slow-down, speed-up directions from a leader? And yes, we did buy the size 12 dress. I figure it should fit next fall.

Judy, hope you're feeling better. Did you take time off work?

I'm looking forward to my WW class tonight. I really appreciate this leader. She's nothing dramatic, but she's so encouraging.

Oh, looks like I'll have some work to do through the end of April. It's curriculum development with some people I used to work with. Not my favorite kind of work, but the money's OK and the people are good. And I figure I can do anything short term. I should get the final call today.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/195.5/189 by April 17

Hi, Turtles,

Well, Mousie, one difference is that I do love chocolate. Especially the really high-quality stuff. I won't make chocolate desserts unless I can afford the good stuff, so I don't do it often.

Glad you're enjoying your exercise so much! And that you're feeling good about WW.

Lauren, congratulations on that 1 pound loss. Looking forward to seeing how it goes on the WW scales. And on the dress! I have some clothes in my closet that I'd like to fit into eventually. But if I reach my goal and my shape is all wrong, into the Goodwill box they go.

Where did you find LOTR wallpaper for your computer? I know where to get Harry Potter stuff, but not LOTR stuff. Paul liked Bag End, too. Especially the round shapes in the door and the ceilings, just the feeling of roundness. That surprised me a lot because I'm usually the one raving about curvy designs. Even after nearly 25 years of marriage, we still manage to surprise each other once in a while.

Exercise: my favorite exercises are ballet, tap, and jazz dance, which I cannot do right now. I also love swimming, which I could do, if they heated the pool this time of year. And walking, but I don't like to walk super fast, so its benefit as exercise is going down. I also like yoga and I'd like to try Pilates, but not the stuff using the equipment. It looks like torture!

However, I'm going to have to make a change in my exercise routine because of time issues. The lack of time to get other things that are also important done is telling me that I must change the time of day when I exercise. I have to do it either in the early morning or after dinner. But since I don't like walking in the dark alone, I'm going to do videos in the morning. I'll still do some walking on the weekends and when I have errands to run.

Congratulations on finding a job, even if it is temporary. Hope you meet someone there who puts you onto a permanent job that you'd like to do.

I'm still OP. Doing fine. I thought about going off because I got into that weird mood I get in once in a while. But I realized it was mostly a PMS issue. Everything feels overwhelming during PMS because I'm extra tired and lack energy. I don't want to make the extra effort to think about what and how much and exercise and all that. But since I know what the problem is, I know that it will go away in a week or so and I can manage to keep going throught that. Then it will be fine.

I also have to do some shopping and cooking. I've been wanting some things I haven't eaten in a while. I need to fit them in so I don't get nuts. They're not the lowest point foods around, but if I make them myself, I can cut the points to a manageable level.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Lin, check out http://www.crankycritic.com/papers/ for all kinds of movie wallpapers.

--Lauren

Hi;, We are cooking! I was determined to reply today to the posts of our #50, only to find 5 new replies in #51! Wow! We are all coming together and writing like crazy and staying OP which is a very good thing.

Mousie,
I said, "Oh no" aloud when I read about your experience at the medical center's scale. That couldn't have been fun, but I am so glad you are back at WW. It's agreeing with you and seems to suit your personality. I loved that you said you were better now. You do seem to be in a very good place and it's so much fun to hear your excitement about the spinning classes.

Lin,
No offense taken. There's no need to say you're sorry--I had a feeling you had mistaken what I meant and that's why I came back as clearly as I could. Cyberspace is wacko sometimes, and I often assume people know what I mean even though I haven't said what I mean. Besides, you know you have offered unending support through all these posts and I appreciate your starting this club. It's gotten me through many tough times.
Good luck coming to conclusions for advanced schooling for your sons. They sound so talented and I know you want them to be in the best places.

Lauren,
Okay, well, a size 12 dress is just fabulous! I'm so glad your dh had you try it on. That's just great. Hooray! And also it's great that you have good people with you on your job. Good luck tomorrow about hearing final commitments, etc. By the way, the WW 123Success slow cooking cookbook has many recipes that cook for only 3-5 hours and my dd and I were surprised at that.
Since she's gone for many 15 hour days, we are having trouble figuring out just how to make these recipes useful. She's working fulltime and going to graduate school and wants to knock off some pounds before they become permanent. So, you might want to look at the book carefully before you buy it. I still think there were plenty of interesting recipes, but thought I'd forewarn you about the shorter cooking times.

All,
Things are going well. I'm pretty tired, but dh stepped out to get some low cal ice cream, and I thought I'd catch up with you all.
Didn't take any time off from work, but I was beat today. Still pushing it and trying to be kind to myself at home. You all take care and keep on keepin' on.
Judy
234/206/199March 1

Good evening turtles!

I laid down for a quick nap this afternoon, and woke up three hours later! That was unintentional. Not devastating, but unintentional anyway. My naps are generally not because I'm physically tired, they're to help me cope with mental fatigue. So, I guess with being more out of the house and having the mental issues of starting classes, it's to be understood. That was a lot of studying time though. I comfort myself with the thought that if I had tried to study during that time nothing would have sunk in, anyway, so nothing was lost. *shrug*

Ah well. So I got up, made a Sheperd's Pie with veggie crumbles for dinner tonight, and here I am. I'm going to try another Spinning class (a different instructor) in about 2 hours. It's very wet and cold right now outside. Rain and any temperature below 60 F in Southern CA is just insulting.

WHOA! I just looked outside and it's HAILING! WHOA! Now that IS insulting! Thank goodness the gym is 0.9 miles away, or I'd just call it quits for the night. No worries about driving in it, you understand, worries about the *other* drivers. I lived in Minnesota for one winter, so I can drive on snow, ice, hail, whathaveyou, but SoCal drivers are...aggressive and inexperienced in that way.

Lauren, to answer your question about Spinning: yes, your thoughts are correct. The important difference to note is that the bikes themselves are different. They're not the bikes that have the displays on them, with the courses and the time and the speed and all of that. not the ones on a typical gym floor. A Spinning bike seems like a "bare bones" bike: a heavy steel frame, a skinny seat, handlebars, and a front flywheel that has a tension strap around it. You turn the tension level and it gets tighter/harder and looser/easier. They have to be sturdy because sometimes you stand and pedal. The instructor plays music and calls out what you're doing...long uphill, turn your tension up and stand to pedal; jumps, middle tension standing up for 8 (or 10, or 4, or 6, or whatever number) beats, sit for the same, up again, down again, etc; tiers, which can be seated or standing, with levels of increasing tension; and then base cadence, which is low tension high speed seated (that's where you go to recover). It's super amounts of fun, and I love it intensely, and my tailbone is killing me! But that's okay, maybe we'll have a long time out of the saddle tonight.

I'm very very glad you got your pretty dress, you must post a picture when it fits! And congratulations on your job, short term or no. It must help a little with worries.

Judy, low cal ice cream...mmm... You know what was on the radio today? We've had rainy days for the last week and someone called in to say there were two full rainbows out over the ocean, so the radio played Kermit the Frog singing "The Rainbow Connection" (it was on a rock station). I sang along and it made my day. Somehow it made me thing of you, somehow--can't take time off, just not having a good couple of days, but...there are rainbows.

Lin, some of the best chocolate I ever had was in Brugge, Belgium, for DH's birthday. There's chocolate shops everywhere, just about every other shop, and the chocolate is like nothing you have ever had. Even the good stuff here pales in comparison. So fresh, so creamy (even the dark)--ah, exquisite. But, the catch (you knew there was one): you can only eat about 3-4 pieces, max. Otherwise it'll make you sick--too rich. But oh, for those few pieces you're in heaven!

Last night I dreamt I was eating a big slab of ham. Um, think I needed protein. So I had a couple of veggie sausage patties for breakfast this morning and I'm fine. Otherwise, chugging along.

See you soon turtles!

Hi, turtles. Last night's WW meeting was good, as always. She used tax terminology to talk about journaling. It was catchy and good. The whole meeting was about the importance of journaling, how it's the "magic pill" that helps us lose the weight. I agree, of course. Our leader is having a challenge -- if we journal every single day between now and April 15, we can have our names entered into a drawing for a four-week pre-pay. That's a pretty good prize!

I lost another half pound on the WW scales, which put me at 70 pounds down according to them. (I lost almost 10 pounds before joining WW.) So I got another star, and recognition in front of the class. It was pretty funny and a little sad.

Pam (WW leader): "Lauren, you're doing great! Tell them how much you've lost!"

Me: "70 pounds."

Class: "Ooooohhh!" (Much applause.)

Pam: "How long has it taken you, Lauren?"

Me: "Three and a half years."

Class: [SILENCE]

After the class, nobody met my eye or talked to me. That's unusual; when I hit the 60-pound mark, Pam did the same recognition thing but didn't ask me how long it had taken. After the class, a few people asked me questions. Not this time. (And almost everyone in this class is new since the last time I stood up.)

It just brought home to me how few people want to take the turtle approach. Nobody wants to know that it has taken me 3.5 years to do this. It's another reason I so value this little group here.

Mousie, you're dreaming of ham! I love it. The spinning sounds really vigorous -- good for you.

Judy, I'm not deluding myself about that size 12 -- I do think it's a freak. But it made me happy anyway. Thanks for the info about that slow-cooking cookbook. You're right; I need something that cooks for longer than 3-5 hours most of the time.

Lin, there are some video workouts you might enjoy right now. One is "Method: Dance to Fitness." It uses the Method (Pilates-based). Here's the summary:

"Features two separate half-hour workouts. You get two dancer-inspired programs that blend jazz, modern dance, ballet and yoga into a flowing, disciplined routine. You’ll achieve the distinctive grace, flexibility, balance and muscle tone of a classical dancer. Both workouts feature detailed attention to technique, excellent cuing and a very motivating percussion soundtrack. The moves emphasize breathing, muscle control and body alignment. "Body Rhythms" the first segment by Jennifer Kries, has a definite ballet feel. Then "Body Lines" by Lisa Wheeler, speeds it up with continuous fluid movements derived from modern and jazz dance. Finally, the yoga cooldown will gently return your body to a calm, relaxed state. ©1997. (73 min.)."

If you're pressed for time, you can do just one of the dance routines and still get a good workout.

I found it at http://www.collagevideo.com/ and have done it once. It's surprisingly demanding, but it's low-impact. I've had good luck getting videos from Collage Video.

Onward and downward,

Lauren
274/195.5/189 by April 17

Hi, Turtles,

Judy, glad to hear things are going well. Take care of yourself. Hope you feel back to normal soon.

Mousie, the best types of chocolate I've had here were imported from someplace else. One great brand, Callebaut, was from Canada, but the chocolate maker is from a family who started their original company in Belgium. There is a company here in Northern California that is giving the Europeans a run for their money. I'm not sure if it's Schraffenberger or Scharffenberger. Good stuff! The one that restaurant pastry chefs love is Valhrona. Really dark and rich for baking. However, Ghirardelli in San Francisco makes really good chocolate, if you don't want to spring for the super expensive imports. I also like plain old Hershey's. Their chocolate has a unique flavor that no one else has. But I don't like Nestles or Guittard. They use imitation vanilla and one of them uses imitation rum or some other fake alcoholic beverage flavoring. YUCK!

It's funny that you should dream about ham. I have a freezer full left from the one I got for less than half it's original cost. It was really good, but since you're a vegetarian, I doubt you'd agree. :LOL:

Lauren, we'd all have given you a standing ovation for your perseverance, had we been at your meeting. Congratulations on reaching that 70# landmark.

Lauren and Judy--Re: the crock pot recipe problem. If $40.00 (approximately) is within your budget, Rival makes one that you can program to cook for the time in the recipe, then it will automatically turn the temperature to a warm setting to keep the food hot until you're ready to eat it. Anyway, I saw it at that price at Costco. They also have one that's a little nicer that I saw at Target, but it also costs a little bit more.

Lauren, thanks for the suggestion for the Method video. I have one of their tapes (an older one that's not based on Pilates), but can't do it quite yet. I'm working up to it. I really like the collage.com video site and I wish I could buy more tapes from them. I also think it would be great if they'd start putting some of these on DVD.

Right now, ladies, I'm struggling with food. I think it's a combination of not getting most of my supplements in over the weekend and PMS. I forgot to take them with me. I'm usually OK if I only miss one, but I missed two days worth and the PMS muchies are worse than they have been in recent months. Not as bad as some of my past months (shudder), but I'm not doing well. So, until TOM is gone, I'm writing down everything, so I have no skipped dates in my journal. Measuring my portions. And doing the best I can, even if it's more points than I ought to be eating. This is one of those times when I feel like Wylie Coyote hanging off a cliff by his fingernails, only to have the cliff edge break off, plummeting him into the river at the bottom of the canyon. BEEP! BEEP!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Mousie,
Thanks for the Rainbow Connection. I love that song and an extra rainbow here and there makes me smile.

Lauren,
Glad your WW lecturer had a good lecture. But gosh, why did she ask you how long it had taken you to accomplish the wonderful 70# weight loss? That's always one of the first things someone in the group asks the person who's celebrating a weight loss and it's so immaterial. Hope you can hear our cheers and whoopees and hoorays over cyberspace. Fabulous achievement. I'm working on getting there too.

Lin,
Sorry you're having a food struggle right now. It's hard to get back OP when you've had a big change in foods over the weekend. Getting back seems so tough and you're also TOM-ing
which complicates things. I'm sending good hanging in there vibes so you can change your image from Wylie Coyote to Turtle Lin. Journaling is a huge help. Eating a few more points won't mean a thing in the long run. Good luck!

Must be something in the air because I have eaten more than I wanted to the last two days. At my WW WI I was up .2#. No problem, but not the loss I keep working for. I expect to be down next WI because I am on track today. Have a few worries I'm juggling, and ate for emotional reasons. It's been a lifelong pattern and I'm chipping away at handling my worries and emotions more healthily, but I do slip now and then.

Everybody take care and keep on chiming in. Lots of luck to us all.
Judy
234/206/199#soon

Good evening turtles! Note before turning in, I'm tired.

I DID manage to try the two evening Spinning classes this week, and I love them too. I love the morning ones better, partly because they're taught by Kelly (who just ROCKS) and partly because I'm much, much stronger in the mornings. But the evening ones are cool too. My elbow was bothering me tonight so I spent most of the class "up" (sitting up on the saddle, instead of leaning forward to the handlbars), but it was okay. After all, it was Spinning! That's 4 classes this week. Fun fun fun fun fun!

Today I was up at 4am to work on Physics (it's okay, I went to bed at 8 last night) and do a quick review for another class. So, with my day being that much longer, I ate all my points today AND all my exercise points. But that's cool, my week's total is still right on the money and I have no worries about tomorrow.

Next step in the Doctor/Pill saga: went to the campus health clinic today. Talked to a doctor there. He said it does NOT sound like the headaches I'm having are migraines--the don't throb the way migraines do--but certain pill types can exacerbate tension headaches. So he just switched me back to Demulen. I've got a Pap with my regular doctor on Tuesday.

He also weighed me, on the same scale as last week. WELL. Today, I was down TEN POUNDS! That seems a little excessive! I'm not believing it, but it was quite interesting to see.

Keep your turtle chin up, Lin. You know what to do and you know how to do it, and darn it, you're GOOD at it.

Lauren, to me how long it took you doesn't matter at all. If you hadn't been working on it, think where you'd be now, after 3 years! You're doing marvelously, never let anyone take that away.

Judy, good attitude. Emotional eating is hard to deal with, but you're doing great.

Goodnight, turtles!

Hi, Turtles,

Thank you so much for your supportive words.

The update: TOM arrived and within a couple of hours I had a horrible headache, which medication and a nap didn't help. OTOH, my appetite went back to normal during that time. So, lesson learned--take the supplements, every day. Even if I have to buy one of those pill carriers to take them with me when I'm away from home.

I've had some meals that were within my usual point range and a bunch that were more. But I continued to write it all down and follow the rest of the program as usual. So, despite the over point days, I feel good about how my life as a WWer is going.

Hey, Judy, .2# is 3.2 ounces! That sounds like a normal fluctuation, not a fat gain. I'm sure you'll see the results of your efforts next week. Just keep going. You're doing great!

Mousie, it's great that you're enjoying your spinning classes so much. Sounds like your doctor needs to have his scale calibrated. Or the person who weighed you last week messed up.

It's so good to read all of your posts. We're all doing what we need to do most to make this a permanent way of life. I know that as time passes, we will all see our goals. I don't know when. I doubt it will be at the same time, but it will happen.

Have a great weekend.!

Happy turtlin'!

Lin
272/233/225/135 or so

Hi everybody. Thought I'd post before the site goes down while transferring over to a new server. Had an interesting tiny experience. Thought I had overeaten tonight. I got out the points slider and realized what a bargain noodles are. I buy the no-yolks type. 1 3/4 cups equal 4points. Now that's pretty terrific because I went ahead and had another cup to total out to about 6 points instead of the ten I had thought it would be. (That was my main dish tonight. Hubby's having to eat no spice stuff right now and I'm keeping him company for empathy.) I had noodles and a tiny bit of parmesan cheese and some lite ricotta and it was really good. Turns out to be a better point bargain than pasta and I really like noodles. So--my whole point here is to make sure I journal carefully to keep my head straight--especially with foods I don't know off the top of my head.
Have a great weekend. Thanks for the supportive words.

Mousie,
Enjoy those spinning classes. And how weird that the scale is so inaccurate. However, that incorrect weight is what got you going to WW, etc. so it turned out to eventually be a good thing. And now you see you are down ten pounds which must be much closer to what you really are. Hooray!

Lin,
I think those little weekly pill holders are really handy. I take 2 meds a day plus a multivitamin and Caltrate. Once a week I fill it up and then don't have to think about anything for the rest of the week. Very handy. And you're right--it's especially great for traveling. Thanks for the reminder of how little .2# is. All that type of talk really helps! Glad you're back and doing fine.
You're right that we'll all reach our goals--and it may very well not be at the same time, but to me that's just fine. It can drive me crazy to see some gals at WW losing well and quickly, but they're doing the right thing and their bodies have good metabolisms. I'm just glad that I finally found a system that works for me so I can lose without feeling deprived.

Lauren,
Hope you like your job. And continued success on this program.
You're doing great!

Everybody have a wonderful weekend.
Judy
234/206/199 March 1

Yay Turtles!

I went to my second meeting this morning, and I lost 6.4 pounds this week! YAY! Of course, probably most of it was water, but yay me anyway. I feel like I'm going this time. This was a needed boost!

I have no time, DH and I are leaving this morning to go up into the mountains, but I just had to let you all know!