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.
Hi, everyone. Sorry for the silence there. We've got a lot going on. DH's mother is with us for a while. We're trying to get her decent medical care for her back, which is slowly crippling her; we just found out she can't get Medicare (she has lived in Canada too long, though she's a US citizen), so she can't move here. This is a big disappointment. So now we're not sure what our next steps are.
Anyway. I had a rotten weekend in terms of eating, probably just dealing with stress on a number of levels. I'm back on the wagon; had a good day yesterday. I weighed in yesterday at 203; today I'm at 202. I'm determined to get back into onederland and stay there.
I'm at work and have to run; will check in again soon and will respond more personally to folks then. But a quick bravo to Judy for keeping off those 5 pounds; that's really unusual. I'm glad you're up and about again.
YAY! Sara Jane, you're doing so great. Only 10 more pounds to go.
(Shameless plug ) I'm a moderator on a wonderful writing site. It's all free and when you decide that it's time to do some writing and want some support in that endeavor, check out fmwriters.com .
Bandit, it's so cool to see you sticking with Curves. Great job!
I'm glad you're feeling better, Judy. Good luck with your march to onederland.
No, we're not moving until the first weekend in June. I'm not looking forward to it, but we'll manage. One thing I'm hoping is that after we move and have a local address, we might have more nibbles with the job search.
I've decided that today's the day. I'm going to start with dinner, as I always do, and count my points. I've realized that I cannot live without the structure of WW without gaining weight. Maybe it's because I'm getting older. My weight was stable for years, but now it's not. Or it could be the stress I'm under these days. I don't know what's behind it. But I have to deal with the way things are, not the way I wish they were.
Hi Turtles,
Lin,
good for you for counting points. Boy, do I understand that maintaining and then not maintaining anymore. I'm glad you're doing the right thing for yourself.
Lauren,
The medical situation with your dh's mom sounds very complicated. I hope there's a way to solve this and in the meantime I'm sending you : to help you handle the stress.
Everyone do well and keep moving.
Love,
Judy
234/211/thinner
Well I survived the wedding & at w/i on Mon night I stayed the same. So I was pretty happy with that - the extra exercise must have helped. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and it was non-stop food for 5 hours. Tonight we leave for Montreal for 4 nights since dd is in dance competition & we got tickets for Shania Twain for Thurs night so that should be fun. I am taking my running shoes & am aiming for some long walks and excercise at the hotel. Eating will be somewhat of a challenge since bf is such a junk-food guy. But I will take some point friendly snacks for the room & just have to make good choices at the restaurants. As I have told you guys before, we have alot of social functions & do quite abit of travelling as well & I just have to keep in control the best I can.
Anway, enough about me. Hope everyone is doing well & drinking ALL their water & getting in some excercise. If not - get to it! You will feel better afterwards :-)
Have a great weekend & I will be back Monday - have a great one. Bye for now.
Bandit, congrats on maintaining through all that socializing. Hope you have lots of fun this weekend.
Judy, thanks for the vibes. We've scheduled her for an MRI this Friday, and yes, we're paying cash for it. She gave us some money back when she sold her house, and we've kept it in an account for her. Thank God we did that, because she needs it now. Interestingly, when you pay cash for an MRI, it's MUCH cheaper than when your insurance pays for it. ($600 for an open MRI, which is maybe a third of what it usually costs.) There's a six-month waiting list to get an MRI in Canada, which is why we're doing this now. The next step will be to try to find a surgeon in Canada who can see her.
Lin, how did it go yesterday? I hear you about what happens when we jettison the structure that WW offers. It's a sad fact, but I'll just keep on gaining, too. My fat pants were getting tight, and I also refuse to buy bigger ones. Fortunately, after just two days of eating right, my fat pants are fitting loosely again. I love that rush of water loss one gets when one eats smart again. Kudos to you for not waiting to start eating right again.
It's a gorgeous day here, sunny, mid-60s, everything is popping with color and fragrance. I love spring. I wouldn't mind having days like this all year round!
And I've got two OP days under my belt, so to speak. It's a good feeling.
Lauren,
Good for you for helping your mil get the medical attention that she needs. For you to put together two days OP is fabulous. This will get you to onederland 1-2-3! It is an amazing thing, but when I've been in stress, keeping OP was the one thing I could control, and I found there were times when I could do it. I'm so proud of you for giving this your best shot. We all know where we want to be~~thinner and healthier~~and it's up to us to figure out a way. to you for your wonderful efforts.
Bandit,
You've had a remarkably good effort at work here and it is paying off. To get to a Monday WI after such an extragent wedding and to hold your own is fabulous!
Exercise is really working for you. You must be so happy. I also love what I hear from you about planning ahead so you won't be taken by surprise by junk-food loving dbf. This is the way to do it. I'll use you as a role model this weekend which is Mother's Day here and can definitely be a day to throw me off.
Lin,
thanks for the site for writers. And congrats again on counting your points starting with dinner. Very smart move to take care of yourself while you and your family are in this transition period.
I got to WI and was a little bit higher than I expected, but I still knocked off almost 5 pounds. Those last very fast 4 pounds are gone. I am OP and counting Flexpoints in when I need to. Onederland is a possibility; to make it a probability I've got to really do this. I've hovered around this weight a lot this year and it's time to tackle it and move downward and onward.
My mom just got home from an overnight stay in the hospital. She's fine, but she needs me to stay with her for a few days. She doesn't have a computer, so I'll be offline. If you all get busy talking and need a new thread, please go ahead and start one. I'll be back soon. Meanwhile, keep moving!
Lin, hope your mom is OK. We'll look forward to seeing you again when you return.
Judy, so you kept off your "sick" pounds -- how cool is that??? Always a silver lining, rigiht? Boy, it seems like a lot of people have gotten that bug.
I've now had four days OP and am on day 5. It feels good to stack them up like this, to gradually build up a history of success again.
We're heading to a buffet on Sunday for mother's day (taking DH's mother and a dear friend who is like a mother to us), and that will be difficult. But I'm banking those flex points.
Had a major hailstorm last night and a bunch of tulips got nailed. Much cooler today. I'm really loving spring this year; I think I like it better with every passing year.
My mom is fine. I'm back home. I haven't been counting points, so I'm starting back up tonight with dinner. I haven't done any writing since Thursday. I missed my cat. I'm glad to be back home.
I've been reading back over all of your last few posts. You all are pulling yourselves together and doing just fine. I'm glad that your mother-in-law is getting the tests she needs and hope things go OK with her surgery.
I had a nice Mother's Day, though. My oldest son took me out to breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants. My youngest son and his friend cleaned the house as a Mother's Day gift. I bet you're all envious of that last one.
Anyway, keep counting your points. Keep moving. Post when you can. I'd like to get caught up on how you're all doing these days.
Lin, glad you had such a nice mother's day and that your own mom is fine. Good for you counting those points again.
I just finished my first week of journaling and counting points again; it feels good to have the seven days under my belt. I did indeed eat lots of points at the buffet last night, but I had banked lots of flex points and also ate very lightly all day beforehand. So I feel good about how I handled it. I didn't get seconds of anything, either. Still, it's remarkable how it adds up when you eat out!
I'm down 1.5 pounds this week, though it's probably actually 2.5. I think I'm holding water from yesterday. I'll weigh in again tomorrow and go with my lowest, as usual. Either way, though, I've had a nice loss.
My main client has decided to extend me for a few more months, which is good news. I'll be on reduced hours during June and July, but that's OK. I'll appreciate the extra time. (Unless I get a third client to fill in the gap, which I may.)
Hi Turtles,
Lin, so glad your mom is doing well. Here's a to you sons for such thoughtful Mother's Day gifts! Glad to hear you're back in the swing of things.
Lauren,
Wow! a whole week! That's Good for you. You're looking forward to a nice summer workwise, and that helps in attitudes toward watching our eating plans, etc.
Congrats on the weight loss.
I've been really busy, but I want to make getting online a priority as well as eating right. Over the weekend my dh, dsil, and I put down two self-stick vinyl floors in my dd and dsil's home. I still ache! Man, I wish I were more flexible and this points out how much exercise helps. I had a good day yesterday and am counting points working toward knocking off more weight. Good luck and good vibes to us all!
Hope you are all doing great. Montreal was alot of fun & Shania was really good.
My dd's group got 2 high silvers so that was fine. We did alot of shopping and eating but I got some walks & swims in & tried to behave. Missed w/i on Mon so went last night & was down 1.4# (for a total of 8.4 for this month) So I was happy with that.
Trying to get to curves at least 3x per week. Getting into a regular exercise routine seems to help me keep on track. Also in Montreal at the Casino the age to get in is 18 so we took dd there & she thought that was neat. She was very careful with her money & didn't get carried away (actually she came out about $60 ahead & spent that shopping) But overall it was alot of fun.
Nice job on the weight losses, everyone & keep on counting those points & drinking that water.
Bye for now - crazy busy at work. Still catching up since being away. Bye for now.
Here I am again. I'm not sure what happened, but I got into a little funk. Rather than coming online, I ate. Hmmmm. Do I detect a pattern here? Anyway, today is great and I've got the spark back. Onward and downward.
Bandit2,
You are doing so great. Your weight loss this month is amazing!
Keep up the good work. Curves really seems to help you get everything in line.
Weigh to go!
Good luck to everyone and have a great weekend.
Love,
judy
ps I skipped my WI this week to go with dd to doctor for her monthly check-up. Well, the doc had to cancel because he had emergencies. So much for that. But I could have weighed in any time for the rest of the week, but didn't do that. Just got funky. I 'll WI on Wednesday and hopefully I'll lose a bit. That would be cool.
Love again,
Judy
Hi Turtles,
Quick update. Went to baby shower yesterday. Kept track of my points and journaled when I got home. It was a brunch and I stayed full so I ate dinner at 8 o'clock and made a bowl of oatmeal my dinner.
Sometimes I let many things get in my way of the real goal: trees and forest deal.
By this I mean I know there are healthy foods: spinach, blueberries, LF milk, nuts, olive oil: that aid in overall health. Well, in trying to get those foods in my program and thinking about everything I forget the main thing: getting the weight off in the first place! After that I can tweak my foods to get optimum health, but if I don't get the weight off first I'm defeating myself. Does that make sense? For example, my leader challenged me to not eat standing up. It's a wonderful challenge, but instead of rising to the challenge and trying to *stop* eating while standing up, I noticed how often I did it and bemoaned how I would ever stop. Now in writing that, I feel incredibly stupid, but I think it underscores my approach to eating as an entity I can't control. That in itself is silly because I have successfully taken weight off in the past. I know what I need to do: stay with my target points allowing a few Flexpoints a week, and exercisisng 5 out of 7 days. That'll do the trick--an easy enough thing to do with the right attitude. So, as Lin points out and Henry Ford said, "If you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."
Right now I know I can! Onward and downward.
Love,
Judy
Bandit, congrats to your daughter's team for high silvers. You and she must be very proud!!!!!
And an extra for you for your determination and wonderful weight loss!!!
Turtle Club #128
) I'm a moderator on a wonderful writing site. It's all free and when you decide that it's time to do some writing and want some support in that endeavor, check out fmwriters.com . 
: to help you handle the stress.
