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 several 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've been reflecting on what the turtle philosophy means as we start our second hundred posts. The turtle philosophy was a difficult one for people to accept. People want the weight off--NOW!! But reality is that it took time to put it on and it will take time to take it off. People want it to be easy to take off the weight. But reality is that it's not easy. You can have a program that's easy to follow, but following it steadily--that's hard. People don't want to exercise much, if at all. But reality is that our bodies were designed to move. So, we're setting realistic goals that take the weight off at a healthy pace. We're setting goals that will keep us moving steadily toward the healthy weight we want to be. And we're just plain moving. We're setting realistic exercise goals that will move our bodies the way they were meant to be moved.
We've also noticed that our turtle philosophy has affected the rest of our lives. I've started writing fiction again. I realize that I can finish a novel, or two, or ten. All I have to do is to set realistic daily goals, work steadily toward achieving them, and they will build up into finished books. Turtle Power at work in my everyday life.
Anyone who wants to join us in steadily moving toward all of our goals is welcome. I've met some wonderful people on this thread. I hope to meet many more. I know the battle with our weight is a difficult one. Having such supportive people come and post regularly keeps it from getting overwhelming. I hope to see many more people join us as we move forward on our journey.
Hey, Choosewell, when we get to posting signups on FM for NaNo, take advantage. You'll get a pip to put in your signature. Adding pips gets addicting.
I love your timeline! You crack me up!
Judy, your renewed dedication to following the program is awesome!! Keep it going.
Lauren, I've been thinking about your awful plateau and wondering how it's going. Are you managing OK? Can we help? Let us know, when you get a chance to post. 'K?
I'm doing great with WW. I lost 2 pounds this week. It's still PMS, but I'm not seeing the water gain, yet. It's weird, but it's that perimenopause thing. I'm a bit later than usual this month with everything.
My husband and I both came down with that cold my son just got over. It's the pits. My throat is so sore, I'm appreciating the keyboard! If I had to talk to you all, you'd not hear from me for a few days. I may not walk for a couple of days. I have no energy. I know it will get better and I can take naps when I need them.
Here's me, checking in on the weekend, and saying that no, it's not going well. Not foodwise, anyway. I have been much more active this week (got a minimum of 2 activity points each day, some days I earned more like 5 or 6), so that's good. The eating has not been good. I'm sure I've used up my flex points and then some, and I'm finding I see that as an invitation to just "not care" until Wednesday, when my week starts again. This is not intelligent, so tomorrow and Tuesday I plan to aim for my 24 points. Maybe the gain won't be as huge.
But Lin, WTG on those 2 pounds!! Is that great or what? Must be all those words you're writing. And thanks for the words of support. They mean a lot. Get well soon.
Judy, Choosewell, WTG on doing so well. You guys are the best.
I had a headache yesterday that took over my whole body; I was also extremely cold. Weird combination. Today I feel better but exhausted. I slept a bunch on the front porch. The weather has been gorgeous.
Lauren, I have faith that you will kick *** when you are ready. In the meantime you can wallow in your wallowing. That's a pretty non ww attitude, but I'm very much into the idea that you know what you need. We're right here for you, in any way you want.
Lin S, I'm not sure I get the pip thing yet; I haven't found a glossary yet. Like, WiP...is that "work in progress" or something else? That's a very complex site over there! It's quite a challenge for me to find my way around. Anyway, I'm enjoying the journey. I love the goal setting; that fits right in with my personality.
I'm taking a clue from Judy and re-evaluating my freezer for meal and points. One of the things I don't like about ww is the obsession with food. It seems like we need to move to other things...the things that non-obese people think about. Do they start their days thinking about food? I'd like food to be fuel, with an occasional sensual experience. Well, actually what I'd like is an occasional sensual experience, period. There's a window into my soul...
We worked for four hours in the yard today, dragging more tree limbs to the street. The person who had this place before us said she liked to cultivate "the natural look"...that translates to no maintenance. We had deadwood cut out and now are moving the brush to the street for the triweekly city pickup. It is a real effort, but it's worth it...my thighs are showing the extra work and we have pride of ownership in our home. And I'm tired!
You little turtles, keep turtlin' along...xo choosewell.
Lauren, you hang in there. You've been through bad times with food before and come out of it with solutions. Dig out your journal and beat this blip into submission. I know that you are determined. That determination will win out in the end. Meantime, here's another
Choosewell, yes, FM is a huge site and can be confusing. Pop into the newcomer's board and post, girl. Your questions will be magically answered. Usually by the newbie --Me. But, yes--WIP is work in progress. If you go to the bottom of any page and click on the "art for the boards and signature files" link, you'll find all of the art, including the pips, along with instructions in how to use them.
You know, choosewell, I agree with you about WW obsession with food. But they didn't start that. Every weight loss program, including the ones that people come up with on their own, revolves around food. We act as though if we can just do the food right, everything else will fall into place. I'm thinking that exercise should be above food in our minds, but people would rather play with food than move their booties.
But, you have to know something about me. I'm a hobby chef. I am obsessed with food. But in a different way from WW. I'm obsessed with getting the most flavor, the most enjoyment, out of what I eat. It's why I rarely eat frozen meals and never eat "diet" foods, and so on. I'd rather eat less of the regular stuff. For me, it's more satisfying.
So, turtles, lurkers, interested bystanders--ARE YOU MOVING?
Choosewell, "wallow" is indeed the right word for this occasion. My attitude stinks about a number of things, and I'm really fighting throwing myself pity parties. Sometimes I'm obviously not fighting hard enough!
Weight is up even farther today. Regular weigh-in is tomorrow. I need to be an adult and move on. Would anyone like some ovaries? I think they bear some responsibility for the mood I've been in.
Lin, thanks for the pep talk there. It's good to have someone in my life who knows my long and sordid history with this stuff! What a valuable friend you are. I'm not yet coming up with any solutions I can live with at this point, but I'll keep working on it.
OK then.
I agree with both of you; I don't like the food obsession thing, either. But. I've also come to the place where I MOSTLY accept that I will never think like a naturally thin person. I will always have to be very aware of what I eat, and plan ahead accordingly. Whenever I stop doing either of these things, things get ugly. My brain just floats right over to denial, and off I go.
Speaking of sensuous food experiences, this weekend DH and I are going to our favorite restaurant with a couple of friends. It's very expensive; we only go once a year or so. One of DH's patients gave him a $100 gift certificate last spring! So we're finally going to use it this weekend. My plan is to stay at my 24 points each day until Saturday so I can eat whatever I want. (Lin, you would adore this place. http://www.emilysrestaurant.com. Take a look at their Slow Food Manifesto.)
Sorry, Lauren, I must turn you down on your generous offer. I already have my own and their problems are quite enough for me to deal with.
I agree with you about not thinking like a naturally thin person. Not happening here, either. It's a pain, but that's the way it is for some people. I'm doing really well so far. I'm just doing the "worry about what's happening today" thing. When we take our next trip to San Jose, I'll have to plan ahead a bit to make sure I have the flex points to cover the restaurant eating.
Thanks for the link. That was a great article. I agree completely. My family complains about the food commercials that either imply or outright state that popping their casserole in the oven constitutes "cooking". What gets me is they always shoot these commercials in kitchens to die for! Sheesh!
Do you think that you just need to give yourself a little time to get a handle on using the flex point system with how your body works? It seems to me that you had a system going of a workout and how many points worked for you on a regular basis, with banking for visitors, vacations, etc. that was working great. Then we all kind of got off track, but if you have those older journals, maybe looking at what you were doing then and figuring out how to do that with the flex point system of counting would be helpful. You've probably already thought of this, but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it.
One last thing, you said your attitude about several things stinks. I hope you pulled out your journal and explored that. It's the best way I can think of to fix an attitude problem. Once I've whined about the same thing over and over, I start to laugh at myself for being so silly. That usually leads to fixing the problem, or at least making progress toward fixing the problem.
Good luck! Another
So, I must have lost about the same amount of weight as the water I retained. It's TOM and 2 pounds went away overnight. That's the water. Anyway, I'm down 9 pounds since I began flex points, about a month ago. That's amazing. I haven't lost weight this easily since 123 Success came out.
I'm still feeling lousy. Having a cold, PMS/TOM, and the unseasonably hot weather is no fun. I've been struggling to get my target points because I have such a small appetite. I wish I could have this appetite when I'm not sick, but then I'd starve to death. I've been eating mostly pretty low-point soup and a few crackers. Some fruit and juice and soft-boiled eggs. A piece of toast with the eggs. That's about it. I hope I don't end up going nuts when my appetite gets back to normal. That's happened before and it's a royal pain.
I've been curled up reading novels instead of writing my own for a couple of days. Foggy brain, can't think. I've been sleeping a lot, too. But, I can see signs that it's slowly getting better. Maybe I'll get some work done today, tomorrow for sure. NaNo looms and I'm not quite ready.
I also haven't been walking. I have no energy. If the difference in how I'm feeling between today and tomorrow is as much as between yesterday and today, I should be ready to start again with a short walk tomorrow and build up to the hour or so I've been doing. If that convoluted sentence makes sense.
Hi Turtles,
Lin, weigh to go on the two pounds down. You are really doing this! I am so happy for you. Get well soon so you can get out there and continue your activities. I love that you are so into food and really enjoy top quality taste treats. (whoops==I wanted to put the chef smilie here, but couldn't backtrack.)
Choosewell,
What a great attitude you have about your yard. I hear you loud and clear. A rather dull and tedious and backbreaking job can become a conduit to good health and shapely thighs. Way to spin it! Besides, there is no feeling like getting a tough job done and really being proud of yourself. The yardwork has a lot of possibilities. Your yard and you will *both* look better. (I was looking for a tree type smilie, but couldn't backtrack. I'll get better at this.)
Lauren,
Okay, I'm chiming in too. Female ovaries and all the stuff that goes with it can undermine our efforts. I'm thrilled that you are exercising. That's so important. As far as feeling in the dumps, maybe you can take a minute to reflect on what you have accomplished. Your weight loss is phenomenol. With the food, take baby steps. When your week started you had used Flexpoints and the Indian buffet didn't help at all. But that's what happened. I have an idea. Do you want to aim for 26 points instead of the 24? Maybe if you exercised each day, and then eased into this with 26 points your body might cooperate.
The ovary thing has to be over soon. That should only last for a couple of days mid-cycle. I am thinking that you've got too much stress going on here with the program and stress makes it tougher for us to lose. Another thought: didn't you think you were doing poorly at the end of summer only to check back and see that you had actually lost weight each week that you were back at WW and WI's? That's what I remember. So, baby steps and here we go baby! You can do this. I love your plan for this week coming up. Aim for 24 (or 26 ) points. Go to the restaurant and eat whatever appeals to you without guilt. Come right back the next day and eat your target points to the next WI. Lots of people have had success doing just that. Good luck!
As for me: I'm doing fine. I was worried that I would be up this week because of a couple of tough days. However, I'm back on track again. I know this will happen again and again. I am simply trying to lengthen the time between when these offtrack episodes happen.
I am going to state the obvious about food obsession--at least for me. Food takes a huge part of thinking in my life. What I'm aiming to do is be prepared so that I can go onto other things. So far that's working out pretty well. I am heading to the market more often to get ingredients in, but I think that's where I am right now. Being prepared means I won't stop in any place for foods that aren't going to work for me. In my fridge right now I have a lovely mix of salad in a gallon size ziploc bag.
I took a few minutes to chunk chop spinach and romaine and a million other things like fresh basil, red peppers, red onions, cukes, etc. I also have low sodium V-8 and a myriad of foods that are low points and still tasty. In my freezer I have made up soups and chilis, pork chops and lamb chops. I also know that for me a dish of oatmeal and raisins is sometimes all I want for dinner. That said, I know I have to keep problem foods out of the house and having a wide variety of foods I like and can count in has made a huge difference. Also having the time to take care of myself means that take-out has decreased remarkably. I know I am lucky to have earned this time in retirement, but I also know that at my age it's the time to finally get this done. This group's talk about exercise and activity has prodded me into moving and I know that this is what is activating my weight loss. Good luck to us all.
LOve,
Judy
Lin,
Somehow I missed the top half of your post. The one where you said you've lost *nine*, count 'em, nine pounds since you started Flexpoints. Talk about a program and a person being well mated.
That is extraordinary. I am so happy for you. Holy mackeral (3points for 4oz.) stand up and take a bow.
Love,
Judy
Down .4 at weigh in tonite. Thank goodness for the turtle mentality. I was prepared for a gain...and had already given myself the "2 pounds forward, .8 pounds back" talk and that that would show as a loss next week, so this was a nice surprise. Lauren, I was thinking of you...did you weigh in today?
Lin, 9 pounds in a month is fantastic! I'm imagining what it is like to lose 9 pounds. Looser jeans? T-shirts not so snug in the chest? That's very encouraging.
This week I had a bout of eating after dinner. I seemed to have extra points every day, especially with increased activity...so that prob means I'm not eating enough during the day. Anyway, after two nights of having a "second" dinner, I put a stop to it. Just closed the kitchen after dinner. This is typically not my poor eating habit...it was as if I gave up something else so I thought I'd try this on for (increasing) size. Like they say, the first step to healing is admitting I have a problem.
Edamame, anyone? (those are our most edamame-esque smilies). Judy, do you have any in your carefully stocked freezer?
Very funny Choosewell. It probably will not surprise you to know that I actually had edamame in my freezer sometime last spring.
However, they just hung out for a while and then I decided there would probably never be a time when I would actually *want* to eat them, so I threw them out.
Hey, by the way, great news about losing at your WI. This Flexpoints plan seems to be working. I want to lose weight so badly that I've been shaving points off my target. I think that's a pretty bad idea, so I will try and reform in this upcoming week. Tomorrow I WI and I'll report. I may be up a bit. The scale isn't showing very promising numbers.
Gosh, you all look so slim today...must be those outfits.
I admit it, Judy, I also like lima beans, so edamame isn't much of a stretch for me. The texture entertains me. Not like decent chocolate, of course, but still.
Who was that, talking about quality rather than quantity? Lin, I think...I'm with you. It's generally easy for me to stay away from most "junk" calories, because I'd rather go ahead and have the good stuff. Lin, I think you would like the thingie they gave out for week 4, it was a double index card foldie thing of cooking ingredients with healthy exchanges, and common baking ingredients with point values. You do at home, right? Maybe it will come in your kit; if not that's what scanners and laminators are for.
Off to ask irritating questions. Have a fabulous day! choosie.
Oh! Judy, last night the leader reminded us just never to go below 20 points, and not to do that regularly. You might ask your leader if that's how she understands it, too.
Choosewell, Thanks for the reminder. Yes, our leader also made it clear to hit the target points and not to go under 20. Also not to go under points very often. This week has been weird and I find I have been hitting 20-21 points often. So, onward and downward and I'll just add a few more fruits here and there or maybe larger portions of protein in the week coming up. Thanks for the tip.
Have a great day!
Judy
Wow! This place has been busy. Thanks for the congrats on my weight loss. I wrote a bit of a complaint about my At Home Kit not being here. Just as I posted, I got a shipping confirmation email. They're shipping UPS, so it should be here some time this week. They must be getting a lot of orders because it's been 8 days since I ordered it and their site says it's supposed to ship within 48 hours.
One thing I like about the At Home Kit is that you get all of the information at once. You don't have to wait weeks for the bit that would help you the most, as can happen when you get the program spread out over the first 6 or 12 or whatever it is weeks you attend meetings. That was a really big help for me with Winning Points. I needed the week 5 & 6 or whatever. It was great to have that info right away.
Congrats on the weight loss, Choosewell. That's great! You know, if you're hungry and have the points, you probably ought to eat that extra amount. You don't have to do it as a "second dinner" but maybe a slightly larger afternoon snack? Maybe I'm just one of the weird people, but if I'm hungry, but don't eat because I don't want to spend the points I have, I don't lose weight. I had more trouble with the restricted, eat the same every day, older WW programs. I'd hit plateaus and they wouldn't budge. But since they've put in the flexibility, I've noticed that I naturally eat more some days and less on other days. Flex points makes it even easier for me to adjust for that.
Judy, girl, shaving points off of your target may work--for a little while. But eventually it will catch up with you. That's why we're turtles. We cultivate patience with allowing our bodies to lose at their desired speed, without starving them. Remember? So, eat at least your target. Don't be afraid to eat activity points. Have fun with your flex points. One other suggestion--make sure you're getting enough fat in your diet. Often when people eat too low, they cut down to too little fat. That will cause health problems over the long haul. So be careful about that.
I read a post on Dotti's where a woman told a story of two people she knows. One ate one level above where WW said she should and her maintenance is 35-45 points. The other ate exactly at the bottom and her maintanence is 20-22 points. She asked-which would we rather be? I think that's partly why I'm reluctant to eat consistently low. I want to be able to eat a reasonable amount of food during the much longer maintenance phase, even if it means taking a bit longer to get to goal.
I actually was .5 below my target yesterday. But I made up for it at dinner. I'm feeling better and I'm going for a walk later today, but I suspect that activity points won't completely cover the quiche, especially since we're having the rest of it for dinner tonight. A good use of flex points, in my opinion.
Also, one thing I'm learning is to pair a high-point food with low-point sides. I had quiche, salad, and a plum. If I have a high-point dessert, I eat a lower-point meal. It's when I forget that and put too many high-point foods together in a day or a meal on a regular basis that I run into trouble. An occasional day of higher-point foods, like when we go to San Jose and eat two restaurant meals or when we have a special birthday dinner or whatever isn't a problem because it's only one day out of a bunch of days when I eat my regular plan.
Things are getting back to normal. I'm finally back to writing my morning pages. Today I'm looking forward to working on the prewriting for NaNo. I'm really excited about how this is coming together. I'm working a little more sporadically on my other two projects, though, so I can focus on the NaNo book. But the 50K won't be a complete novel. This one will be longer than that, I'm sure. It's a pretty complicated fantasy. I want to get my mystery ready to start the actual writing after the holidays. So, things are getting back on track for me. And this cold is going away. YAY!!
Turtle Club #105
And thanks for the words of support. They mean a lot. Get well soon.
--Me. 
But, yes--WIP is work in progress. If you go to the bottom of any page and click on the "art for the boards and signature files" link, you'll find all of the art, including the pips, along with instructions in how to use them.
