Hi All,
Lin, those recipes sound good. You must be so pleased to have stayed the same during these trying times. Here's another hug and lots of prayers.
Lauren and Kathy, I've skinny-dipped too, but only in a secluded pool. You guys are adventurous! Yeah, isn't it funny how we set up an ideal of perfection that is impossible to reach?
I think I first realized this when I took an aerobics class a long, long time ago. My one instructor was lanky with long beautiful limbs. She led us through our exercises and then went to have a huge ice cream cone. Our second instructor was just as fit, but had a short and very stocky and muscular build. I bet you that everyone in that class hoped that exercising would turn us into lanky, long-limbed gals who could eat ice cream indiscriminately. And yet both instructors were fit. Genetics enters into this. I love this site because it is helping me to get closer to the best I can be. I will never be 5'8" tall with long legs, but I sure can be healthier and thinner than I am now and that's a very good thing.
As far as my weight, after my sister left and I put in two good days on WW with 27 points and 24 points ( my range is 24-29) I weighed myself this morning with a happy result. I am down 1-2 pounds depending on how I count it. I am very seriously getting myself ready to try Wendie's plan. I went to the site that I was able to access from www.3fatchicks.com and liked what I read. It is true with me that in the weeks where I ate more with banked points that I had my best weight losses. I feel Wendie's plan will work for me. Certainly overeating and whining hasn't worked.
So--I am off exploring another aspect of losing weight and getting fit. I have shown myself I can maintain; now I need to lose some weight. My biggest challenge will be the low point days, but I am thinking of planning about 6 menus for those days that will keep me full and at the low point total. Wish me well because I am excited about this. I have a long vacation in the summer, so this is the time to try this.
Lauren, good for you for working the program. You'll get the exercise in because you have done so before.
I have today planned out. I have to check to see how many points to eat today.
Kimmers and everybody--good luck, continued success, and let's all do this!
Judy
234/212/thinner
Sounds like we are all doing pretty good. I had an ok day yesterday..actually it was a perfect day untill my husband said lets go eat out...So we did and Iwish i wouldn't have...Oh I only ate half or less of things, but...it would have been better if i would have ate at home, so I could get my vegies in, ...have you tried that quasidias receipe they give you on the 3rd week of WW? My gosh it is the best I have ever had..and only 5 pts...I am going to make one for lunch and make one to take for dinner since this is a swing shift day.
I had left over steak for breakfast today so I will be nice and full til lunch...
Now I need to ask you TRY HARDER..What is this Wendy's thing??I have not heard of this..I would really like to read up on it.
I am still feeling the excitment of going skinny dippen..It was so fun..And it was definetly in a secluded pool...owned by one of our quilt members...Her husband was out of town for the day so no men around.
Daughter & hubby are in SF today getting an interview with the Imigration SERvice so he can get his green card...They are so nervous and excited too. They have only waited 10 months for this day..(and her boss told her to postpone it casue it was not good for the dept for her to leave...Yea right) Of couse this means that they will move back into my house until they leave in Jan. and that will make the eating a challange..I am trying to think bout how I will deal with it...I know I will tellher that any junk food she brings into the house will have to stay in the trailer cuse me and Jim don't need it. We will have to get lots of fruit into the house as Andre is a big fruit eater..Jim told them the rent will for them to help with food since Andre eats so much..(he always eats our left overs from the resturant...everything except the napkins!!!) Well enough of this...don't mean to bore you...
Lin, way to go taking back off those TOM pounds. All too often those TOM pounds don't go away at all because we give ourselves license to cheat at that time of the month. Applause for you for taking the healthy route instead and seeing results.
I am so rooting for you to win the bake-off! Can't wait to hear more as it develops. Talk about creativity in the face of adversity!
Judy, I'll look forward to hearing how you fare on the Wendie plan. It does make a lot of sense. I'd also be interested in seeing your menus for your low-point days. (I have no problem figuring out what to eat for high-point ones!)
Harley, the Wendie Plan was developed by a woman named -- surprise, surprise -- Wendie. She found by widely varying her points from one day to the next, she was able to shake up her system and break through a year-long plateau. So she eats low points one day, high the next, low the next, and so on. She uses up most of her banked points in one monster-point day, going 10 points over her maximum that day. But she's within her point range for the week. You can read more about it at her site: http://pub70.************/blightenup78347 .
I'm down a pound this morning, in spite of PMS bloat. I take that more to heart than I will my weigh-in tonight, since I so skewed the results last week in order to see a good weigh-in tonight. That sure was fun, though.
Judy, I think it's too bad that so many companies that hire exercise instructors think they have to have perfect bodies. I think more people would keep at their programs if the instructors had regular, but fit bodies. Good luck with the Wendie Plan.
Kathy, I used to have that situation come up a lot--the spontaneous decision to go out to dinner. What I did was to start counting my day's points at dinner every day. Then if we ended up at a restaurant, I'd have my full day's points available. I could eat sensibly and still have enough points left for the rest of my meals. A lot of people count that way and find it helps them stay within their point range more easily.
My other suggestion is re: your impending family guests. I'd continue to prepare healthy meals and if they want to eat junk, they're on their own. You do them, as well as yourself, a real disservice if you change your way of eating to a less healthy food plan in order to be polite, nice, and a gracious host. My family knows that if they don't want what I cook, they can (and do) fix themselves something else.
Lauren, congrats on the pound! Remember, it's not the specific number that's important, it's the direction. That's what I kept in mind when I had an evening meeting. Plus, some of the stuff people did to try to get the number lower at the scale was so ridiculous, that I laughed to myself, and learned to put that in proper perspecitve. I didn't get to goal, but I sure learned a lot!
Thanks for your good thoughts re: the Bake-Off. I hope I will be eligible for the contest, but a lot depends on what happens with some of the other things going on in my life right now. If I can get some culinary training and a job in a kitchen, I will not be eligible to enter. But I could enter professional cooking contests. I'm going tomorrow to find out if I qualify for any job training like this.
We went to the Department of Social Services today. It really wrung me out emotionally to do that. I learned some interesting stuff. They have, as you might guess, some insane rules. And the form contains the penalty for food stamp fraud. It really makes you wonder about the values in our culture to learn that the fine is up to $250 THOUSAND dollars and up to 20 years in prison. You'd think it was one of the most heinous crimes a body could commit!
This is emotionally difficult, as I said, but the alternative is to give up our place and move in with my mom. (I need to vent. Thanks for listening.) I appreciate the help, but I wish she would help us the way I would help my sons if they needed this type of help. I would move the cat box and extra stuff out of the second bedroom and let my kid move his bed, maybe his TV, a chair or two, and have some privacy. But what she's planning is to let Chris sleep on the small cot in the bedroom (with the cat box right next to the bed). Paul and I will blow up an air mattress each night and sleep on the living room carpet (which still stinks of all of the years of smoking in the house. They've both quit, I think. They keep threatening to start again.) All of our stuff will be in storage. I hope we can bring our computer, but if she won't let us, we'll have to find a public library computer to use for Paul's job search. I don't know where we'll store our e-mail!
The other thing is she's informed us that her boyfriend said that the only way we can move in is if we find full time jobs--any job, no matter what it is. Paul can turn down a job if it doesn't pay more than unemployment, but I'm not allowed to turn down a job because I don't qualify for unemployment. They expect me to find a job as soon as I get back to the valley. Somehow, he seems to think that working in fast food (which is what they suggested I do) will get us out of their house faster.
They're putting conditions on us because they're punishing us for our financial situation, which they think is my fault. (Not Paul's fault because he's perfect. They're both traditional Italians who think men are like gods and women are to blame for everything.) They don't blame me for Paul being laid off. They blame me for not being able to support the family while he looks for work. They think I'm lazy because I didn't do the supermom thing and put my kids in day care while I worked. (My creative kids didn't do well in day care. We tried that a couple of times.) And then I went back to school instead of working when they got older. The thing is that I tried working. I quit and went back to school when I discovered that no one would hire me for a job that would pay the rent, food, and utilities, let alone such luxuries as toilet paper, shampoo and clothes! My boss in one job told me that I could get promoted if I got a degree, but couldn't if I didn't.
Anyway, we'll see what happens. If we can't get enough gov't help to keep our place, we'll have no choice but to move in with her. And I won't be able to enter food contests because she won't let me cook in her kitchen. Besides, she'd consider the ingredients to test recipes a waste of money we should be saving toward moving expenses when we move out. What she can't seem to understand is that we need Paul's income doubled to afford a place there. He's probably going to have to take a pay cut and I can't make up that difference without an education. This leaves me feeling a bit trapped.
A good thing is that we'll be able to go back to our church and have some of our old life that we missed since moving here again. But, if the only way to do that is to live with my mother, I'd rather stay here.
This has rambled along long enough. Thanks for listening, ladies. You kept me from eating everything in sight. I'm not following WW very well, but I'm doing much better than I ever have in bad situations before. I'm not eating a ton of junk, only a little. And I'm not gaining weight. Thanks for being here.
Lin, I do hope you'll be able to keep your apartment, or at the very least be able to move out quickly from your mother's. At least you won't be out on the street, which is good news. We'll keep praying.
On a lighter note, I got the major giggles at my WW meeting last night when I weighed in -- and lost 5.8 pounds!! I felt a little guilty when the weigher told me what a great job I'd done, but it passed quickly.
The meeting was good -- about vegetables. I got some interesting-sounding recipes, which is helpful since I REALLY need some ideas on cooking veggies. (Lin, any thoughts?)
DH's job is becoming a political nightmare, and last night I was unable to sleep more than three hours. He's not at all political, so I've been helping him write memos. Last night we worked on one for three hours. I feel pretty wiped out today. I sure wish I had a different personality and didn't worry so much. It's unlikely that he'll get fired, but there is someone who has the power to make his life extremely horrible -- and is doing so. Why can people be so vindictive?
After using my walk video forever (the one that says I've walked two miles in 27 minutes), I decided this morning to try walking outside and see what I could do. I walked just over 2 miles (2.1, to be exact) in about 35 minutes. So the walk video is probably a little off, since I pushed myself pretty hard this morning. I'm still happy with that pace, though, and would like to see if I can get it down to 30 minutes or less. It was a beautiful morning and a good stress reliever to really get out and walk hard. I may do it again tonight!
I had a three-point dinner last night. For lunch, I had three big pieces of pizza and a Ben and Jerry's ice cream bar! That sure hosed me for the day, but it was awfully good. (And free -- my boss paid for it.)
Lin,
Vent all you want. You're entitled, you deserve it, and we support you. I am sorry you are going through such tough times, and I pray that things improve soon.
Lauren,
I want to know what your 3 point meal was, please. I am in the process of writing down realistic menus for the Wendie plan in low points. Thanks for explaining this plan to Kathy because I don't know enough about it yet. It looks like it might work for me based on my experiences in the past. I spent several months on WW with even points and lost very little. Hopefully this will help.
Kathy,
Yes, please remember your daughter and her dh are coming to stay with you, so you have a big say in what happens in your home. I know you'll be kind, but don't let them accidently set you up with food. You've been doing so well and I love the excitement you have about your success. Think this through and let us know what you plan to do about their junk food, etc.
Everybody--Kimmers, Veep, Annie--Hi! Hope all goes well with you.
My computer keeps on freezing, so this is short.
Judy
234/thinner
Hi,
We reformatted our computer and I'm hoping to get this message in:
My menus for 24 pts. are:
1muffin
1[1/4c. Egg beaters
[ 1LF cheese
1fruit
0veggie
0soup
3tuna w/LF mayo mustard
1Lite bread
0veggies
0Diet Coke
0veggie soup
1fruit
3baked potato
2Brummel & Brown spread
6 chicken or pork chop
0 veggies
2 milk/flour B&B spread sauce
0veggies
3 snacks (popcorn, or brownie, or
baked chips)
Day 2 24 points
2 oatmeal
1 1/2c. milk
1 fruit
0 veggies
1 1cup chili
2 1/2 cup rice
0 veggies
0 Diet Coke
3 milk treat w/fruit
2 fat
3 potato
6 meat/fish
0 veggies
3 snacks
DAy 3
3 egg on toast
1 B&B spread
1 fruit
0 Diet Coke
1 LF tortilla
2 LF refried beans
0 salsa
1 LF cheese
2 Baked Lays chips
1 fruit
2 1/4 c. ricotta cheese
6 2 cups pasta
0 sauce
0 veggies
1 cheese (parmesan)
3 snacks
Day 4
2 cereal
2 1 cup skim milk
1 fruit
0 Diet Coke
6 Blimpie 6" turkey hero
2 Lays Baked Chips
1 fruit
3 sweet potato
1 B&B spread
2 2 Garden Burgers
1 Bun
0 onion/tomato/ketchup
0 veggies
3 snacks
Sorry this has taken up so much room, but when I thought these through I thought they might just do the trick, especially if I drink a lot of water. I posted them because these menus might spark someone else to come up with meals they like and will fill them in.
I hope you're all doing well. Today I am going to another WW meeting to WI because we were out of town on my regular day.
Wish me luck!
Judy
234/thinner
Thanks so much, Judy. Great suggestions; I'll save these.
My three-point dinner was:
-- One of those little pop-top cans of white tuna packed in water, mixed with gourmet hot mustard and chopped pickle (or celery) -- 2 points
-- Salad with veggies, nonfat dressing -- no points
-- Peach or other piece of fruit -- 1 point
I find those little pop-top cans of tuna to be lifesavers. My other option is 2-4 pieces of healthy choice lunchmeat, which I just roll up and eat plain. Not glamorous, but it works.
TOM finally arrived; I can feel my self de-ticking already. Thank heavens!
I haven't been able to get online for a couple of days. It's always great to catch up!.
Lauren--way to go on the 5.8 pounds. I know you're giggling because a lot of it was water going bye-bye, but it's got to feel great and keep you going mentally.
Re: cooking veggies--my best suggestion for this time of year is to grill them. If you're grilling whole veggies like corn on the cob, potatoes, etc., just clean them, wrap them in foil, and grill over direct heat. Corn can be cooked in its husk. Get the husk wet so it doesn't burn and then gril it. We like to put a little bit of butter or olive oil inside the husk/foil for corn and it comes out yummy. Be sure to turn it frequently so it cooks evenly.
If you're grilling sliced veggies, get a rack with smaller holes or make one with heavy duty aluminum foil. Just take a skewer and poke holes in the foil. Don't cover the whole grill. Brush the veggies with olive oil, flavored oils, salt, pepper, and any herbs/spices you might want to flavor them with. (You can use olive oil spray, too. )
An old Boy Scout trick that's absolutely wonderful is to hollow out an onion, stuff it with whatever you want to cook, wrap it in foil, and grill the onion like you would grill whole veggies. You can make breakfast by breaking an egg in the onion. You can stuff it with ground meat and spices. You can do the same thing with bell peppers, tomatoes, and similar veggies. Just be sure to adjust the cooking time for the type of veggie. (Tomatoes cook faster than onions, for example.)
Lauren, which walk video do you use? Do you just walk around the room? March in place? How do you do a walking video inside? I feel a little dumb asking, but I can't seem to wrap my usually vivid imagination around this concept.
I hope things get better for your dh. If they don't, is there any possibility of him finding a different (better) job?
Judy, did reformatting your computer fix the freezing up and other problems you've been experiencing? I've been considering reformatting mine, but doing it without losing all of the stuff we have is an awesome task which I dread! It will take days to back up stuff, then reformat and reload everything.
But if it will fix all the stuff, maybe it will be worth it.
Things are somewhat better. My brother came through his first surgery OK. They couldn't get it all, though, so he has to have radiation therapy to try to get rid of the rest. The main thing they were worried about was whether he'd still have full mobility on his right side, and he's fine in that area. So, I don't know if they're going to wait on the remaining surgery until after the radiation or do it then do the radiation. One good thing that's come out of his illness is that my mother and her sisters made up with each other.
Paul got a voice mail from someone who wanted to interview him, but we haven't heard back after leaving a phone message. We're going to spend 3 hours this afternoon at an orientation for our gov't assistance, so Paul left anther message and we hope to hear from him Monday. It would mean moving to Santa Rosa, a town north of San Francisco, but if it means being independent again, we'll take it.
After this weekend, when things settle down as much as they're going to right now, I'm planning to start keeping track of food, calcium, water,activity, etc. again. I'm not planning to start counting points again, yet, but I want to make sure I eat the proper balance--all the fruits/veggies, calcium, whole grains, etc. Paul and I have talked about starting to walk together regularly because we tend to just stay at home and we're feeling a bit sluggish. That's about all I can do right now. But it's better than doing nothing.
I'm revamping my recipe for the Bake-Off because I can't figure out how to keep the company's crust from shrinking. I tried the pie weight trick, but it didn't work. So, I'm using a different product and making a different dessert, but with the same filling. (Unless it doesn't work, in which case I'll start from scratch!)
Lin,
Reformatting has worked somewhat. It is freezing up much less.
Now my dh is going to go back to where it wasn't freezing up at all, add back a program at a time and see if it freezes. I love modern technology except when it doesn't work. Thank God your brother came through his surgery and that your mom and her sister are talking again. I sure hope your dh's interview works out. I'll keep praying. Hey! Thanks for such wonderful veggie ideas. I love grilled veggies, but they always fall into the grill,etc.
Glad you suggested those grid thingies because that will work for me. And the onion idea is priceless. I love it. You're smart to keep on eating in a healthy way with calcium, etc. You've learned a lot about yourself and are doing great.
Lauren,
You're welcome about the menu plans. I love your 3 point dinner and it's one I haven't really used, so I'll be buying those nice little cans of tuna soon. Thanks.
Everybody,
All goes well here. I weighed in on Friday and had a 1.8 pound loss. That's nice to see. I've been OP and working my way toward gearing up for the Wendie Plan. Let's all keep turtlin'.
Judy
234/thinner
Hi Turtles...Kathy here, I have been away camping, feelling sad casue we didn't bring any junk food...Now isn't that the stupidest thing??? You would think I would be very happy about that..My dh did the camping shopping and I told him no junk food, so he didn't..he even bought us skinny cows...so we were suppose to eat good..except i did buy some low far animal crackers..don't know why, just felt complelled to buy them...so i ate prob more then i should have..didnt count points, but did do alot of walking /running as we took our dogs and they needed exercise so I did it..Took them to the beach and we ran/walked/played in the surf to our ankles and had a whopping good time...Just don't know if I gained or not... I hope not..I have 4 days till weight in..Do you think if I eat the Wendy's way Icould at least lose a lb??? Yes I will!!!
My plan for the week is...Plan some high and low days...use my full day on my anniversary (30 years on the 24th..) GO TOthey gym everyday day i can, drink water...eat lots of vegies, and drop the extra carbs that I am allowed to eat but will not this week...
Lin...Santa Rosa??? that is where I do my mall shopping!!! I live in Ukiah which is an hour away...how very cool...There are some nice areas in Santa Rosa. And they got 2 malls, and then on big shopping area called Montgomery Village which I don't usually go to. They have nice modern apt there too, so I don't think it is a bad move.
What is the name of your receipe??? It must be some kind of dessert??? how yummy!!!
Harley,
Congrats on your upcoming anniversary. That is definitely a good day to use your high end and banked points. Your camping trip sounded like fun with all those activities. Good for you.
Everybody,
Well, I am working the Wendie Plan. Sunday was a planned high point day and we had 3 couples in for a barbecue. Unfortunately yesterday ended up being a nibbling day, so I had to get rid of the leftovers before they ended up in my tummy. Today I have all planned and I hope it will be enough to help me lose weight this week and see a loss on the scale at my Wed. WW WI. This is a short week because I had to WI on Friday last week. So, we'll see. Wish me luck.
Everybody,
Take care and keep on turtlin'.
Judy
234/thinner
Judy, I'll be very interested to hear how things go on the Wendie Plan. I'm saving it until I hit a plateau, because I don't know if I could be that careful in counting points. But I've heard great things about its plateau-busting capabilities.
Kathy, the camping trip sounded fun. It is weird when we give up those crutches, isn't it? Feels like you're walking on jello sometimes.
Lin, what great veggie ideas. Thanks! I'm going to print that out and try some. As for my walking video, I use Leslie Sansone's two-mile walk video. The term "walk" here is used loosely. You march in place, walk forward and backward, do grapevines, etc. You can do the video in a small space, which makes it handy for apartment-dwellers (or people like me with a crowded basement).
I walked almost 3 miles (outside) on Saturday with no problem. Made me feel good.
Today is my WW meeting, but I might have to work late and put it off until tomorrow. This a.m. I was down 1.5 pounds, which is great. 3.5 more, and I'll be where I was before I went on vacation in May. Sheesh! It comes on fast, but taking it back off is another story.
DH took the cats to the vet last night -- and brought home another kitten!!! Talk about impulsive. She's very cute, but I just don't feel I can handle three cats right now. So I'll be taking her back tomorrow. I feel like such a meanie. But all three of our jobs are currently in upheaval (DH has two jobs), and that feels like enough stress right now.
Onward and downward,
Lauren
274/218.5/down -- home weight in the morning
I felt a little guilty when the weigher told me what a great job I'd done, but it passed quickly. 
