Hi, Turtles,

Welcome, Mary! I hope we can give you the support you need. :)

Judy, I think we all can relate to your post about wasting perfectly good emotions worrying about something that ended up not happening, and eating because of the worry. People do strange things and this is one of them. It's something most people deal with, but the responses to the worry vary. I try to remember to pull out my journal and write about the worry instead of eating, but I'm not always successful.

Good luck with your birthday goal, Lauren. We'll really be celebrating here in the turtle club for that one. ;)

You know, I tried writing it down the day before, but with my guys, half the time whatever I wrote down would be gone. :lol: Usually, though, I just wasn't in the mood to eat what I wrote down, so I'd substitute something else that was about the same number of points.

You have a great plan, Bandit and so do you, Swan. Keep going!

I didn't do as well as I'd hoped. I had a one day attack of the blues yesterday. No real reason I could figure out, but I'm feeling much more normal today. I suspect that TOM symptoms just took longer to abate this month. It felt like those symptoms and disappeared abruptly. I think I'll be OK and I'm getting back OP with baby steps.

I hope everyone is moving! :cb:

Hi, turtles.

Swan, check your private messages. Great to see you back with us. Hip hop class with a former Lion King cast member! Wow! Sounds like a blast. I love to dance, and one of my goals is to get fit enough to do more interesting dance than what I'm currently capable of.

Bandit, Niagara Falls sounds fun.

Lin, I'm sorry you had a down day and glad it seems to be over. Sometimes I just have those, too. I think most of us do.

I've been really struggling with anxiety lately. I get like this; I get anxious and then I start neurosing about a particular thing. Lately it's been my blood pressure (again). I seem to have developed a genuine phobia now of taking my blood pressure or having it taken. I stupidly thought I'd try to desensitize myself by taking it a few times again recently, and the opposite happened. I got EXTREMELY tense, and of course my BP readings hit the roof. (160 over 85.) Pulse went up into aerobics zone (112, 109, etc.). So I still have no idea if I truly have high blood pressure that needs to be treated, or if I just have high blood pressure when I have it taken! Is this ridiculous or what??? I've been neurosing about whether to see a doctor (something else that makes me extremely tense and neurotic) or just put all this behind me and focus on losing weight and getting exercise. Which would no doubt be the best treatment anyway.

Just to show you how truly stupid this is, I hardly slept last night. I know a lot of this is because I'm not overeating right now, so I'm much more prone to anxiety. :( Sorry to go on like this; it's just really been on my mind. Now you all know how truly neurotic I am.

On the bright side, yesterday I was actually quite low in my points due to high stress (the one and only emotional state that vastly reduces my appetite). And today I exercised for an hour with my tapes; the sweat flew. I ironically find exercise to be the most relaxing thing when I'm very tense, exercise and prayer. I feel like going for a long walk when I get home from work tonight, too. Never mind if it's only 20 degrees outside.

Sorry to be a downer here. I know I'll move on past this. It helps to write about it, actually. And hey, at least I'm on program!

-- Lauren

Hi Turtles,
Hey Lin and Lauren, I am so glad that you expressed down feelings. I really feel that once we do this and get support we'll be even stronger. I'm running to the shower but I'll post once I get back.
I'm sure that recognizing anxiety and phobias and downward emotions is the first step in tackling them. Here's :grouphug: until I can write.
Love and :goodvibes:
Judy

Hi Turtles,
Man, I'm getting senile. I meant to post that I was taking a shower and heading to my official WI. Anyway--that's what I did. Congrats to me because I lost 2.4#. Now I am .2# away from 20# lost and from there I need to lose 3# more and that will be the lowest point of last year. I know I can do this.

Lauren,
Congrats :bravo: on your 5# down. That's great and you're back on track which is even greater. I think you may lose even a few more pounds quickly, but your approach to do this step by step is so smart. 100# mark by your birthday will be fabulous. This time I want to keep on losing as you do! Weigh to go!

Bandit2,
I love Niagara Falls--both sides--and know you'll have a great time with your buddies.
I admire your dedication to exercise. Weigh to go! :high:

n 2 a swan,
Wow! You are so impressive with your exercise. And how wonderful it is that someone reached out to help you. You must have an open and welcoming personality
for that to happen. :dancer:

Lin,
I've been reading your posts for a long time now and blues come and go to all of us. I am so happy for you that you are staying OP and taking your baby steps. You know this is the way to go. Also, this past year has been really successful for you as far as your getting on top of your healthy lifestyle. You've done great and that deserves a :bravo:

Lauren,
Fears are never ridiculous. They just are--and they're tough to get under control. As far as your BP, have you tried all the relaxation techniques like deep breaths, biofeedback pinches, warm baths, visualization, etc.? BP is a big problem for my dh too because he certainly has white coat syndrome. Would it help at all if you thought, "what could be the worst to happen? I have high BP and can take BP medication to lower it." I really feel for you. :grouphug:
You know you hit the nail on the head: Food comforts us and lifts anxiery temporarily.
Then acknowledging that we overate adds to our stress and creates its own anxiety.
Vicious cycle. Ugh. Try taking deep breaths and saying it's okay to worry about this.

I've gotta run. I love you all.
:goodvibes: Judy
234/214.2/thinner

Judy - congrats on the 2.4# loss - that is great! I stayed OP so far this week & got in my exercise. It is pretty cold here, -22 this morning. We have quite abit of snow as well. Wish it didn't snow on the road, then I wouldn't mind it but I don't like driving when it is bad.

Got lots to do at work today, so I better get going. Have a great OP day & talk to you guys soon.

Hi, Turtles,

Time for a new thread. See you there.