TGIF Turtles, day off today!

life4evr- good for you for going back to school, I am a nurse I went to nursing school when I was 34, I now have a great job working for a female lady doctor, in a large clinic, I do her reception and nursing, it is very busy but I love going to work everyday. You go girl!!!

Y today after I drop my son at school, then house cleaning, shopping, my older son will be 25 this weekend so having a bit of a party Sunday.

Feel like I ate like a pig yesterday. Thats what happens when you don't track, I will write it all down today, don't think I was too bad, just feels like it! Must keep mini goal in mind!!!and the bigger picture!

So have a great day/weekend gals!

Terri

Hello everyone and happy Friday to you all!

Another very cold day here but warm weather is on the way they say! Food has been pretty good for the last couple of days and I still need to work on exercising. The goods news for me is that I think that I have been approved for a three month extension, it is not official yet but I am still keeping my fingers crossed.

I am going to try and make it to W/I tomorrow but things have gotten mixed up with going to visit the kids and see the grandbaby... I need to get all of that worked out so that I can fit it all in - or move W/I to another day but with doing both TOPS and WW I am thinking that if I manage to catch one of them then I am doing ok.

Congrats to Loopy and her DH for the job and higher pay rate... I know how wonderful that is! I spent most of 2009 laid off from my long time job at the software company, it is no fun for anyone and put pressure on you that is hard to deal with so a huge congrats for your positive planning and outcome!

Congrats to Life for getting back into school! I only started college when I was like 38 years old and graduated in my 40's so I know it is hard but you are doing great and it will all be worth it in the end!


Terri: I have those days ugh... hate when I feel like that but it looks like you have a plan so the best of luck and great wishes for a fabulous W/I this week!

Judy, Bandit, Cherry, Lizzie: Have a great weekend guys!

Hi all! Today I am feeling pretty happy. I just realized that I've completed three whole weeks on WW without missing a day. Last night I was a hungry soul; we had a frozen pizza, and the only one that fit within my points range (because DH has 66 points per day, and I have 33) was EXTREMELY thin. Probably the thinnest crust pizza that I've ever seen. Delicious but not filling. We'll probably go back to our regional store brand (Essensia by Albertson's/Acme) when it's back in stock. It costs only one more point per half-pizza (15 vs. 14) but it seems more filling.

Anyway, I went to bed hungry despite all my usual evening tricks to fill the belly for bedtime: saving my smoothie for dinnertime, eating a huge bowl of cooked cauliflower with dinner, enjoying a cup of frozen orange store-brand juice for 2 points, even my daily Lindt truffle! (P.S. about the orange juice: check the cheap brands first because you can save a point per cup over the premium brands, which is great for making those late-night frozen snacks. I go to Wawa, a regional convenience store, for their store brand.)

So I was flipping and flopping around in bed for half the night. I tried eating more fruit, drinking more Propel Zero, the whole nine yards. I insisted that I wasn't going to eat even one more point, because I'd succeeded in doing an entire week of being on program without using any weekly allowance or activity points (my newest goal, since I can't make weight-loss goals happen often enough to encourage myself), and I wasn't letting it go so easily.

I got a couple hours sleep, and woke up ready for breakfast at the crack of dawn!!!

I realize that I always have the weekly allowance and activity points to fall back on (though I'm not allowed to exercise yet -- ten more pounds before my doctor will prescribe physical therapy, which I can receive free at work in our very nice exercise room, with unlimited use of the machines as long as I'm willing to get off them when the therapists need them for a resident). I do get aerobic a couple times a week while moving patients or furniture. If I'm feeling a bit breathless, I take a quick heart rate check, and sometimes I impress myself, LOL! It doesn't take much to wear me out, all things considered. Nonetheless, I don't count the activity points, I just note the amount of aerobic movement in my tracker for general purposes.

So I try not to use the allowance just because it would make me feel as if I were overeating; I know that I'd use it to really stuff my face once or twice per week (instead of spreading it out more evenly), and that would have two bad effects: it would stop my weight loss (I can barely lose weight even when I'm eating perfectly according to the program), and it would trigger the urge for more sugar and fat. I am learning that I have to be careful with the "three whites": sugar, flour, and fat. They're trigger-y for me. I don't have to do without them, but the less that I eat of these ingredients, the better I feel.

On a positive note: everybody in my WW group has been buying themselves jewelry and new clothes as rewards for weight loss. I was sad because my weight loss is so slow that it'll be forever till I need new clothes, and I don't wear jewelry except for my pectoral cross. So I finally decided that I was going to buy a couple of inexpensive preaching robes: a black one for the first four weeks on program, and a white one for the next four weeks on program. And I'm going to put aside my knitting for charity, just for a few weeks (I've donated literally hundreds of hats and scarves and mittens to various organizations) and make myself some vestment stoles to go with the robes. That's as close to bling as I can ever imagine buying!!!!

Life 4ever: I'm a second-career vocation myself (ordained in my mid-forties after working as a legal brief writer and an EMT), and my mom was ordained at 67 after retiring as a CPA. Good for you! The work that you were born to do is just waiting for you to reach it. You'll never be able to imagine how happy it will make you until you're living it day-by-day.

Happy Friday Turtles! Getting back on track bit by bit!

Getting to Zumba on a regular basis and still working with my trainer. I'm going to weigh in tomorrow morning as traveling left me unable to attend my regular meeting.

It is finally a bit warmer here - in the 30's instead of the minus temps!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lizzie

Thanks for the congrats everyone. Believe it or not this is a second career change for me. I have spent the last 6 years off and on trying to get into and out of nursing school. There is a little bit of uncertainity about whether I need to take another placement test or not. But they sent me my paperwork So I don't know.

My eating today was great till the evening came. I ended up waiting too long to eat again and I ate like half of a large pizza. Needless to say I am a little disappointment in myself. But I actually feel physically sick . So the lesson is learned. Hope everyone has a goodnight

Hey ! did anyone see Jennifer Hudson on Oprah? My husband and I have been dying to know how much weight she lost. Her WW leader was there in the audience and she didn't want Jennifer to tell the pounds, she kept saying oh for Jennifer it wasn't about the pounds it was how she feels, Oprah told her to get real it is all about the pounds, Jennifer was like why can't I tell how many? The WW leader who is coincidently Liz the one on the commercials with Jennifer, seemed angry when Jennifer finally said she had lost 80 lbs. Very wierd, of course everyone wanted to know, she is inspiring come on, whats the big secret. I always wondered why she didn't speak, only sang in the commercials, obviously WW wanted her just to look good not speak about her experience.
Any way weird!

Had a good Friday, 30 min eliptical, 20 treadmill, felt great after, little shopping, got my son new work out shoes, shorts, shirt, hope he isn't insulted! He is overweight he knows it! So think he'll be fine, I know he needs new gym shoes because he said so. He is very hard to buy a gift for

Must clean the house today! The dust is crazy! Going to a friends for dinner and xbox Kinects (Sp?) bowling tonight. Having the family over for son's birthday Sunday! So times up for procrastinating about cleaning.

Have a great Saturday, everyone.

Terri

I am here and reading. I don't have time to respond right now, but I wish everyone the best.
Keep well and happy and keep on keepin' on!
Love,
Judy

Hi to all of us, thought I would jump in on this thread if you dont mind I have just gotten back into doing ww almost three weeks again and down 4 lbs so far. I read all the post on this thread --wow what a great group--
Anyway just a comment lol it seems many of us are fond of our pizza on friday nights and I am no exception. But here is my question. I bought a veggie delight pizza from papa murphys with 1/2 cheese and 1/2 the sauce onion, olives, green peppers and ate 1/2 but I can not figure out what the points would be. any ideas?

Hi Turtles,
I'll start by Nancy. You've had a great weight loss so far. Weigh to go!

Aunt Loopy, I am so happy that your dh has been offered a better job at higher pay. This is incredible in our economic times. Yay! I love the counseling you do at the nursing home. It makes me feel good that someone I know can be so kind to elders. You have had a fabulous weight loss----so I'm glad you're figuring out a way to reward staying OP and learning this points plus program. Weigh to go! : Also, thanks for the recipe. It sounds easy and just the thing for me to have on hand since I'm often at a loss for lean proteing.

Life4evr, Good luck with your nursing school papers. I would think it would be a difficult major, but there are jobs all over the country for nurses and it's a wonderful vocation. I'm sending you : that this all works out.

Terri, hey, I hear you. I could use some mini goals. Isn't that odd about Jennifer Hudson and WEight Watchers on Oprah. One of my fellow WW's mentioned to our leader that Hudson has never talked about the amt. of weight that she lost. My leader (who is ordinarily the kindest person on earth) said, "I'ts really nobody's business." Which I found to be the oddest response. There must be something going on here. I never found the celebrity role models all that much anyway-----so I am happy that Hudson lost weight.

Princess, : and yay and for your job. This is all good news.

Lizzie, glad to hear you're on track.

Bandit, did you have a good weekend?

I have been bingeing since Wed. night. Weird----my dh and I are having trouble with staying OP, not losing weight, and we finally gave in and had pizza-----that's what started the whole mess. So, here I am----I haven't stepped on the scale because I don't want to know. Today will be OP. I'm making soup and I'm thinking of puttin gAunt Loopy's chicken in my crockpot.

My short term goal:
Break into the 180's. How will I do that?
at least 5x week
stay OP and stay away from peanut butter and nuts (trigger foods for sure)
What are you guys up to?
Judy
234.6/190.8/170's and thinner

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Itryharder the pizza set me off also. Along with a couple of oreo cookies. I weighed today and it was a minor gain like 0.3# I think. Which I am pretty sure is water weight from the pizza. I keep on forgetting how salty pizza sauce is. The plan for this week is trying to track everything I have been slacking. The app on my blackberry is acting crazy so I am having a hard time remembering what I am eating. I may buy a journal so i can write it down and transfer it. Also trying to hit the gym before I go to work, when it is less crowded and after working I am not even trying to work out. I tend to get lazy when i get home. Also I think I need to drink more water.

On another note I took the placement test, that I am 99% sure that I didn't need. I did fine on it, so if I did need it I am covered. Just have to get a CPR card and a physical, and meet with my advisor and I should be set.

Hi all and welcome Nancy!

Count me in as another person who gets triggered by "real" pizza. But for some strange reason, not the frozen stuff (unless it's the kind with a rising crust). Also not triggered by tossing a tablespoon of Ragu onto a WW pita bread, and microwaving it with veggies and a very tiny bit of shredded cheese. In fact, that gets me past the pizza craving most of the time.

Had a very stressful weekend, major upheavals at my church, extra attendees at the services at the nursing home (because they know that I make silk rose corsages every Valentine's Day, our C&E's -- Christmas and Easter attendees! -- also come on V-day every year.) I'm finding it very comforting to know that when I found myself away from home today, I'd had enough experience with staying on program in restaurants to be able to go to Wendys' and spend only 12 points on a humongous lunch. (Junior hamburger veggies and a pack of hot sauce from my glove compartment, small chili, and a salad with fat-free dressing, hold the cheese.) This really is a plan for living, and my life is going to be interesting for the next week, unfortunately.

Somehow I find it comforting that I have control over what I put in my mouth, at least. I'll pack my Companion books in my bag this week, because I'm going to be running like a chicken with my head cut off. And stash some Nutrigrain bars and bananas in there every day, also. Everything is better when you have a banana.

Life4evr, way to go on doing so well on your placement exam. You're right in that you're prepared now if you need it! Keep on keepin' on----pizza or not, you're on the right path!

Aunt Loopy,
Sorry your weekend was so crazed, but it's lovely that you make corsages for the ladies. Hey, aren't you thrilled that you can eat out and not give up? Weight Watchers really is a plan for life. It's encouraging to see how quickly you're putting the concepts into action. Weigh to go! :

Gotta run ----just thought I'd say hi. Today has been a great day. and were both good. Aunt Loopy---I made your chicken stew and had a piece for dinner. I thought it was yummy and comforting. I think I'll use the broth as a soup base tomorrow. I'm making a homemade soup every day because it's helping my dh stay on track with low caloric foods.

Okay----I really do have to run. Everybody have a great Valentine's Day and a good week. We can do this!!!!
Judy
234.6/190.8/170's and thinner

One Turtle falls off the wagon we all joinin !Welcome Nancy to the pizza loving Turtles! What is it with the pizza! I love it, havenot had pizzaria pizza since staring, we have a frozen brand called casa mama, or Dr. Okdker (sp?) They are really good and not so bad points wise, I am willing to spend the points for the pizza!
So my weekend was filled with cake and too much food. afraid to get on the scale! Weigh in is Wed, so will be really good until then.

Aunt Loopy had a goog thing there she said I have control over what I put in my mouth! She is so right it is so simple!!! So lets stop and think before we stuff it in!!!! What's that old saying " nothing tastes as good as thin feels".

Excercise- no formal excercise on the weekend, but my sister (who I don't see often) was here on weekend, she is a personal trainer and is going to meet me at the Y next Sat to show me what I should be doing!!!

So have a happy V. day everyone!

Terri

Morning everyone and happy Monday... very little time to post today but I did not make it to W/I on Saturday... eating this weekend was not good and no exercise happened.. ugh! Back at it today though!

Welcome to the new turtle and best wishes to all for a great on plan week!

Morning, turtles:

Super busy weekend - went to concert, hot yoga, dinner with girlfriends then
single dance, fund raiser Sunday afternoon then dinner afterwards with a new
fellow. So crazy - eating was pretty good overall. Stayed same at Thurs weigh in so have to buckle down this week.

All - sounds like everyone is doing great so lets keep up the good work.

Warming up today, which is nice for a change.