Happy Birthday Ariana and hang in there, you have done great.

Judy - I feel like you. Think I have overdosed on carbs & candy and really feel crappy. Feel like I need to detox for a few days. Also been having social dinners with the election up here & actually have a dinner tomorrow night. Fun - but with Halloween as well. Not good.

Well, we all know what we have to do to lose weight & feel good.
So, lets get our "turtle butts" back on gear & really stay OP.

We can, We can, We can DO IT!!!

Judy: Thank you. I appreciate the empathy -- I just get so frustrated sometimes. At least it's not just me. I looked into electronic WW point trackers, and I don't think I want to spend the $ right now. No, strike that -- the compulsive spender, the one who spends to relieve stress, that part of me wants to buy that, and more. But that got me into debt, so, no, not going to do it. I think the speed tracker is a good idea, but that's tricky with the wendy plan. Not sure I could do core. But I did bust out my point tracker today, and write my point allowances per day on every day, and kept it simple (i.e. I know that my fixed regimen (cereal, 2 fruit, 1c milk, 2 dark chocolate hershey kisses = 8 points) means that I only have to keep track of stuff outside of my regimen, (lunch, dinner, snacks), so I wrote the available points down on each day (i.e. today is 18/26 -- I get 18 points for lunch, dinner and snacks.) That means I only have to keep track of lunch, dinner and snacks, which is slightly less tedious. I just wrote down my lunch, right now.

I did buy some gum yesterday, great minds think alike. I appreciate the support.

Re Your life -- 130 -- are you 5'3" too? That is my target weight as well. I can't remember the height ranges for that weight. Oh, if only we could get there without the work. I understand how you feel. It could because of the carbs -- or is something in general troubling you?

Bandit -- thank you, sweetie. Sorry you aren't feeling well.

Work is making me nuts, nuts, nuts, which is only making my stress go up and my desire to eat cr*p go up too...but I will NOT, and I am going to the gym today, and if that's not possible, I will take an hour and quilt tonight, and go to the gym tomorrow instead.

Also, I am going to Colorado next week. Not sure how much internet access I'll have; I won't be back until Friday afternoon.

Well, I haven't had much of a lunch break, but I need to get back to it, since I'm leaving next week.

Happy Friday
 

Morning all... well you all know by now that I just love Fridays but today is just about the most welcome Friday I have seen in a very long time... I have been poked, proded, smashed, drilled and filled this week to the point that I can not take anymore... I have been dealing with on going dental problem and have been to the dentist three times in 9 days, I had my yearly checkup and mamogram this week, and that is all just the tip of the iceburg and since I have been in pain from the dental issue I am just plain worn out and fed up... I just want to go home and hide from the world for a while. Between the blood work and everything I am bruised, battered and basically feel like I have been run over with a truck. Ok, I'm done complaining now.

Looking forward to the weekend but not W/I... the scale is not moving at all so that is not good but I am just going to go and get W/I and face the music... what ever it is.

Ariana: So sorry to hear that you are struggling... I really do feel for you and I am very sure that you will figure it out and be back on track in no time. I know that stress in our lives is a huge health factor for us and sometimes we don't realize how much damage it can do to our bodies. That is what the doctor told me about some of the things I have been going thru lately... like my hair thinning and stuff like that... she told me it could be stress and that I should calm down and take a break... I just looked at her and thought... "easy for you to say!". Anyway, I sure hope it gets better soon for you!

Judy: How are you doing? I know that you have your moments but you are very strong and I just know you will be moving towards your goal soon.

Bandit: I agree! We need to get moving again... I am trying and will just have to try harder... I find it way to easy to make excuses for myself and my bad habits.

Chris: How are you doing? How is everything going with your dad and your job?

Have to run but have a great weekend!
Susan

This is the best bale of Turtles in the world!!!!
I think we need a :grouphug: to help us all. I am so proud of us for posting even when things get tough because that's when we all need it the most.
Quick update: Even though I babysat yesterday I made sure I ate Core foods and brought my lunch with me. I ran out of the house eating grape tomatoes--that's how serious I am. It was a great day and the carb collapse is over. Today I am going to plan a weekly menu of dinners, make sure I have enough fruit and fresh veggies in the house, and keep my positive attitude. Having company on Sunday for dinner, but I am having a pork loin roast and yummy veggies. For dessert I'm offering fruit and an angel food cake. Yummy and completely OP. If I eat the cake, it'll only be 2-3 points and I hope I decide to only eat the fruit. :cheer:

Ariana, :hb: even though I'm a little late. And :bravo: for doing "better" with your "at home in cozy environment" eating. Heaven knows that's tough! And I am sooooo thrilled for you that you were able to do better. Hey, whine away.
I swear it helps! LOL I've been a venter and a whiner my whole life. It seems as though once I say it out loud, it goes away. Hmmmm, I have a feeling I could also write it down and tear it up, but that's a personal style change. Anyway, hey, you're doing great. The stress at work is tough, chewing gum will work, you've had a great weight loss so far, and you're doing terrific. The Wendie Plan works for you when you count points and you're right back on track. :cheer: WEigh to go. Have a good week in your new location next week, and we'll catch up with you the following week. If you can chime in, great!!!!!

Princess,
Okay, I see you on your throne with your crown amiss, little bruises everywhere, and a big white towel wrapped around your jaw and head addressing your dental problems. Listen, it was a crummy week, you did the right thing, and it's over now. Good for you! And I send you kudos for getting yourself to your WW mtg and WI. You are valiant! Here's a :grouphug: for you and :bravo: to you for writing and adding so much to this site. Thanks for the kind words. I am a strong woman and I can get on top of my eating habits. Last fall was perfect, and I can do a lot better than I am doing right now. Ariana--I think my dh is making me a little crazed right now with his worries and his fears about aging. When he voices it, it resonates back to me and I get to worrying too. I am trying mightily to get above and beyond that worry and to put myself on the top of my list. It worked yesterday and I'm going to make it work today. One hour at a time if I need to~~

Bandit, boy, are you busy with social activities. I applaud all you do. We dealt with Halloween, but you had that and all the election dinners, etc. Good for you for doing your best. You are right. We can can can do this!
:goodscale:

Chris, here's a :hug: to help you out. Post whenever you can because I miss you.

Okay guys--gotta run. Take care, put yourself and your healthy eating plan first, and do it!
Love,
Judy
:cool:

Ladies:
Well, yesterday was another very stressful day, but I finally went to my boss and told him I had these six things on my plate, which was most important -- and I'll focus on that, and do them one at a time. My problem is that, being a type-A perfectionist when it comes to work, I want it done perfectly, and I want it done now, especially if it's a high priority -- unfortunately, four of my things to do were high priority, and I was trying to get them all done at once and going crazy. He told me he thought was most important, in what order, and I'm working on that. It's definitely less stressful, which helps.

I managed to make it through yesterday without eating a single piece of candy, for the first time in weeks, which was tough, but I did it -- I had gotten into the habit of having a little piece here, a little piece there from my friend's candy, and it was just destructive. So I got through my first day without doing that, despite the stress, and I am quite proud. I also forgot to tell you guys -- I maintained this week, which is an accomplishment, because every other time I've gone home in the last year, I've gained weight -- every time. So managing to not gain weight is great!

I'm worried about going to Colorado, that it will disrupt my workout regimen, and that I will be tempted to eat all sorts of bad stuff. So, I've been thinking and planning all week. I've figured out that there is a Bally's 7 miles from my hotel, and I've verified that my membership is a national plan, so I can use it in Colorado. I'm going to get a map from the hotel to the nearest grocery store, and when I get in, I'm going to buy some milk, cereal, fruit and chopped veggies, so that I can have some healthy snacks in my room, and I can eat in. The company is paying for my meals, so I'll probably order pizza hut, a staple of my diet back here -- two medium think-crust veggie lover slices = 8 points. So I am going to do my best to not gain weight, and maybe even lose it while I'm on "vacation" (I only have to work four hours Tuesday and 8 hours Thursday -- the rest of the week, from Monday afternoon to Friday afternoon is mine, all mine. ;D)

Princess: ugh! sorry about all of the medical work, prodding and poking. Maybe you should treat yourself to a nice, long bath? Re W/I: You can hack it. I know you can. If it hasn't moved, I have faith that you can figure out why and do something about it. I appreciate the empathy.

Judy -- I agree! I think that posting even when times are tough helps us all -- I'm finding that out personally. :D Sounds like you have a good, solid strategy for the week. Thank you for the support -- I am pretty proud of eating well when I'm at home too. :D I'm glad you understand the need to whine...sometimes we do just need to get it out of our systems!

I'm leaving for Colorado monday -- I'll try and post when I'm there. If that's not possible, have a wonderful week, ladies! I'll be back late Friday afternoon, so I'll check in again the following Monday.

Hey all, the fun in my life never ceases. My dad didn't talk to me until yesterday. :D But of course in the mean time we had another scare. Kelly had to go in for a "procedure" on Wed. They were checking him for cancer now in his esophagus and stomach. He had x-rays done last week and they had found some suspicious spots. I was scared to death and spent the past week bawling my eyes out and worried about losing my husband to the big C. Well we did the endoscopy and they did a biopsy. The doc thinks its just polyps in the opening of his stomach. He said not to worry too much. But the meds he's on for his acid reflux aren't working that well so they do want him to have stomach surgery to close up the opening to his stomach considerably to keep the acid from refluxing up into his esophagus and doing more damage. First he has to do a test on monday. He gets to eat radioactive eggs and then they will xray and see how long it takes his stomach to digest. Slow digestion makes more acid go up out of the stomach I guess. Anyhow, he has a ton of ulcers in his esophagus so surgery will be good.

I'm more relaxed now. Not so stressed and I think I am ready to work on me for awhile. :D I think I have had my fair share of excitement for the year. Someone else can take over for me....PLEASE!!!!

Oh. I had my parent/teacher conference for my middle daughter yesterday. The little monkey needs glasses. I did it!!! I passed the bad eye sight on to another family member. I think she won't mind. It will probably blow her mind away to see how sharp things can actually look.

Hi Turtles,
I'm chiming in today so that i stay strong in my resolve to keep on keepin' on with Core when I have my company tonight. I read a tiny bit in my inspirational book about eating when hungry and working on the emotionality of what I call "fake hunger"==which to me is I'm stressed, what's to eat?

Two days of great food choices makes me feel wonderful. Now I'm working on day number three.

Chrily,
Okay, first the good stuff. You and your dd are lucky to have a teacher who spotted her vision difficulties. Thank goodness we have glasses to help. Having glasses should result in a lot of positive changes for your daughter.
So :bravo: for the teacher who was doing a "heads up".

As far as your dh's condition, I'm sending prayers and a :grouphug: that his doctors will help him heal. I'm also sending a :love: to you so that this cycle of excitement has an exit strategy. That's my crazy way of saying, "enough"
excitement. You've had more than your share. I'm hoping things go much better very soon!

Everybody, have a good Sunday. The weather here is crisp and sunny and that's the way I like it. I looked at my calendar and realized why this time of the year is always crunch time. We always have a big Halloween party. This year my dh got sick right after the party, so I cleaned up everything which took me most of Monday. Tuesday was Halloween and I was in a carb stupor from candy. I will not do that again! Wednesday I got back on track in my head about eating. Thursday I watched the baby after getting some Christmas shopping done. Friday I really cleaned the house. Saturday I worked on papers and continued Christmas shopping by going online for a couple of items. Today I am going shopping for the Thanksgiving items that are non-perishable and also for the perishables for tonight's get together.
Lots to do and paperwork to keep up with. Thanksgiving is only 2 1/2weeks away and my ds and his family will be here for about 5 days. I love it, but it is tiring for me and I need to be prepared.

Okay, now that I have bored you completely, let me wish you :goodvibes: and :tread: and :goodscale: for a great day.
Love,
Judy :cool:

Got the biopsy results. Not good but not bad either. His esophageal cells are changing, indicating he has the potentional to develop cancer. No cancer yet, but they are going to keep a close eye on it. The damage that is done is irreversible so I guess we just go with it. Also though, his biopsy showed some weird cells that are usually present in the esophagus when a person has food allergies. He has mentioned having his mouth itch during the day so I think he should go to an allergy doc and see what's up. Odd stuff.

I'm doing good today. No snacking but I'm cranky. I'm TOM and hubby is on my nerves in a big way cracking little jokes and saying stuff that is just grating on my nerves because he just keeps pushing and pushing. He knows it bugs me, I've told him before. Plus he wanted to get stuff done around here and my daughter and I are working our butts off and he's not.

I think I need a vacation from life. :)

Gonna get back to the junk work....YUCK!

chris

Hi Turtles,
I got through yesterday. I have accounted for the few foods that were off-Core. I also ate more than I needed, but since it was a company dinner, that's okay. The funny thing is that I am not all that hungry this morning, so I'll postpone my first meal. I think this will work for me. Thought you'd like to know I was pretty successful on my social occasion.
Judy :cool:
Good luck to all of us. Hope your weekends were great.

OK - just typed a long post & got kicked out. What is up with that? I find that very frustrtaing.

Princess - hope you mouth is feelling better & your w/i wasn't as bad as expected.

Chris - hoping good things for your dh

Judy - congrats on staying OP, good for you.

As for me up here - the weather has been great. Eating - not so great.
Still busy with election dinners & door-knocking. Will all be over next Mon, so looking foward to that. Then we are off to Vegas on the 18th for 1 week, so really looking forward to that.

Keep up the good work, stay motivated and thanks for being here.

Talk later.

Hi turtles,
Bandit, I echo your "Thanks for being here." I have come to rely on this group for pep talks and how you all share your experiences. Let's keep on keepin' on. We can do this.
Judy

Morning all... Just a quick check in to see how everyone is doing. The dental issue is ongoing still... I was back yesterday and he thinks that it is TMJ but I am not so sure... what I am sure of is that I am just plain tired of being in pain and having to take pills to get thru the day.

W/I did not go well on Saturday... up a pound and I am not really sure why... I just need to regroup and de-stress and I am sure that I will figure it out.

I don't have time for individual replies this morning but I hope that all is well with everyone!
Susan

Hi Turtles,
Princess, I hear your :stress: about pain and I'm sending you :goodvibes: to
help you out. Feel well and get this behind you!

Today I went to WI and stayed exactly the same as two weeks ago. It's a little frustrating, but then I have to remember that when I go off, I go *off* and that's never a good thing. I have to trust that if I keep on this good path and don't procrastinate that I will continue to lose weight. What I have to do is give myself a :cheer: for the almost 5# I've lost, keep a good attitude :bubbles:, and keep on keepin' on.

I was :stress: at my WI, talked to my leader for a tiny bit, and felt that I needed to get my anxiety about the holidays under control. So, I came home, got out my lists, etc. and organized them very well. Then I went Christmas shopping because Macy's is having good sales and right now the stock is excellent. So, I did a really good thing for my state of mind today and feel much better.

You all take care, chime in when you can. I'm sending a :grouphug: to all of us because you can't get too many hugs!
Love,
Judy
234.6/217.4/thinner into onederland :cool:

Hi turtles:

Day 3 of being OP even with the social things. So, feeling good about that
and physically feel better as well.

Be glad when election next Monday is over but then something else will be the challenge. Just part of life, I guess and have to deal with things
"One day at a time" and one OP day at a time & keep going even though we all have bad days.

Have a good ww - water drinking - exercising - fun evening! :-)

Bandit, I can't believe you wrote that even with all the social occasions you can do this one step at a time, one day at a time. That's what I'm doing now and I'm also working on forgetting about perfectionism because it'll kick me in the you know where every time!
Good luck everybody!
Judy