Hi everyone.

Sorry I was MIA the end of last week. I stayed at my Mom's house Thursday night so I could take her to the doctor on Friday. Thursday I was only in the office 1/2 a day and never got a chance to get in.

Aimers - Don't be too down about the maintain last week - it's far better than a gain.

MisLiz - Congrats on a fabulous loss.

Judy - Sounds like you're doing great, despite the run-in with the Healthy Choice Ice cream. How was dinner on Saturday?

Liza - Hope you're enjoying your weekend away!

Holly - I hope this week goes better for you. Getting to the gym twice is a great first step!

I registered a maintain this week, which is perfectly fine with me as TOM will be starting any minute.

Here's looking forward to a great OP week!

Carla
250/255/138

Hi everyone :-) I don't have a weight yet (meeting is tonight), but I'm not expecting a loss. My girlfriend and I had a talk last night about how we both seem to be "going through the motions" of WW, but not actually embracing the program (EX: following the program only until we are tempted by a goodie, faced with a challenge, or just too tired to deal with it.) The result for both of us has been gaining and losing those same darn 5 lbs, and not making any real changes in our lifestyles.

I'm still placing my emphasis on establishing a routine exercise program, but I am also going to put extra effort this week into planning meals/snacks. I think I also need to be mindful of my excuses for not staying OP. As I listed some of my reasons for going over pts. to my girlfriend (which I was thinking were legitimate), I realized how lame they were! Long story short: I realized that I'm not really following WW because I *always* end up chucking the program when faced with a challenge (heck I chuck the program when I'm faced with just getting hungry at home when my pts. are all gone!). Ok - I'm no quitter, and I really, really want to lose weight, so try, try again... :-) Have a great week guys!

Cece - Good job hanging in there with a maintain :-D.

Holly

Carla - congratulations on the maintain especially in the face of TOM. The dinner on Sat went well - I was OP just fine until I got home and then I went over my max points a bit. Oh well, no one is perfect!

Holy - good for you for re-committing. I've been hovering around the same weight (up then down) too and decided to really "do" the program. Since thgen, even though I slip sometimes, I try to keep my "winnning outcome" in mind. Last night, it helped me to ignore the snacking monster!

I'm happy to report that I lost a pound last week - of course, I had hoped to lose the 1.6 I gained the week before but at least I'm going in the right direction. My goal this week is to lost the extra 0.6 plus a little more! I slipped up a bit Sat & Sun evenings but with a ton of exercise yesterday and controlling my evening snacking, I'm only 1 point in the deficit. I'll get rid of that today.

I'm swamped at work so that's it for now,
Judy
163.6/160.4/135

Hi all.

Holly - Good for you for thinking things through and redefining your approach to WW. We all make those excuses to ourselves from time to time. Recognizing it is half the battle.

Judy - Congrats on losing that pound. I'm sure you'll have that deficit erased in no time!

Things are crazy at work for me as well, so that's it for now. Have a great day.

Carla

Good Morning! To my complete surprise, I didn't have a gain this week! I lost .2, and as minimal as that is, I'll take it!! I did talk to my leader about my lack of motivation, and the fact that I don't really seem to be on the program at all. She was very supportive, and the lecture was about motivation. She stressed using the technique where you visualize your success, and then connect that with an object such as a ring. When you are struggling, you touch the oject to remind you of the visualization.

I purchased the new 12 week food journal notebook to try and break the cycle and mindset of "I'll start over." It will be easier to look back and review where things went well or didn't. I was shocked last week when I kept a couple of "actual" days (even after I was over pts.) Looking at an evening of snacking on paper was pretty shocking!

Today I plan to spend some time writing up menus. I had a thought to put meals on index cards as a meal planning tool. The pts of each meal would be prominent, and you would just need to shuffle the bfast, lunch, dinner and snack cards around to meal plan for the day. When I successfully lost on Jenny Craig yrs ago, one of the biggest keys to success were preprinted menus. I posted it on the fridge, and crossed off the food as I ate it. There wasn't an opportunity to be starving and grab anything -- the food for the day was listed (including snacks) on the menu plan.

Gotta run to work -- have a great day!
(PS - I was rushing, so I know my spelling is horrible!)
197/140ish/194.6

Carla - sorry to hear that things are crazy at work. I hope you can fight off any stress-related munching.

Holly - Congratulations on losing the .2! Who cares how big it is as long as it is in the right direction! I've been tempted to get that 12 week journal book but I carry around too much as it is and I keep my old journals if I need to go through them. Let me know how it works out. I'm glad your leader was helpful. Mine has been too. What a great idea for the menu cards. I do something very simple each Friday evening. I make up a menu for the week and use it to help me with my shopping list. We usually stick to it and it really helps me to know how many points dinner will be in advance.

I did well yesterday - a half hour of yoga when I got home (I needed it - I was very stressed) erased my deficit. I ate my max points but stopped there. I've really found that thinking about my winning outcome has stopped me from some evening snacking. Tony and I made our reservations to go out to the end of Long Island in July (we decided that you only live once, no matter what our work situations are going to be) so I'm using that too.

Have a great Water Filled Wednesday!
Judy

Hi all.

Holly - Congrats on the loss. A loss is a loss, no matter how small. It gets you that much closer to goal. Sounds like you have a great strategy in place. I use the Thin for Life Day book as my current food journal. It helps to see patterns. Though, like Judy, I carry way to much stuff around with me.

Judy - Glad you were able to work off that stress with yoga. Good for you for not going over max points! I'm glad to hear that you guys went ahead and booked your vacation. You're right - you only live once. It certainly is hard to plan around uncertainty though. I hope you're job situation calms down, or at least becomes clarified, soon.

I did a bit of stress eating yesterday. But, this too shall pass. I'm really working this week on journalling everything, no matter what, and losing the "all or nothing" mentality.

Have a great day everyone.

Carla

Wow - it sure is a quiet week. Carla, I'm sorry to hear about the stress eating but I know you'll lose that "all or nothing" mentality. We found out a couple of days ago that we are no longer going to report to my boss's boss and I just found out that we *might* hear something about who we will report to in the next day or so. That doesn't mean that I'll know my situation but it's a little bit more clarity. Nothing like uncertainty, right? I'm having a little conversation with myself right now about how this is NOT going to affect my eating tonight!

Hi guys :-). I stayed far away from the delicious looking choco bday cake that was served in our office today...yeah! I also found that the best way to get all my water in was to forgo my usual tons of coffee in the AM and drink seltzer water with ice instead. I was surprised to find I checked all my water boxes by early afternoon :-).

2pts left tonight, and I am biding my time for a late night snack. Made a pot of hazelnut coffee and am enjoying that now. (With any luck the caffeine will keep me up long enough to clean the house tonight...I have to head off the health dept. coming in to shut me down ;-) Hmmm - exercise pt. opportunity??! )

I have a strong mental picture of where I want to be, and I am holding on to that to keep me on track.

Cece -- I think it is very important to get past the all or nothing mentality. A lifestyle isn't made up of "fresh starts," but of a good balance. Keep it up (and clue me in if you find the magic answer to that problem! ;-) )

Judy - What's going on with your work? A change in mgmt? Keep up the good self-talk :-)

Holly
197/194.6/140ish

Carla - Congratulations on the maintain, especially with TOM. Hope things settle down at work soon.

Holly - Congratulations on your loss. Way to go avoiding the chocolate cake and getting in the water. I like the idea of putting meals on index cards. Darrell does most of our cooking, but never seems to think past the main dish. Cards would help him know what else to fix too.

Judy - Congratulations on the loss. Hope things clear up at work soon, but you are right...eating will not help. Good job working off that stress with yoga. I did buy the Crunch Joy of Yoga. I've only done it once so far, but did feel more relaxed after I was done.

Well hopefully things are starting to settle down here and I can get back regularly. I haven't been doing too well with the eating. Last week I gained 2 lbs, but I did take them off this week. I've been doing a lot of stress eating this week though, but that stops now.

Talk to you later.
Pat
(178/142/135)

Holly – sounds like you are doing really well. I think that strong mental picture of where you want to be is very important. It’s the real reason why I’ve been able to hold off the snack monster for the last few nights. Way to go on staying away from that birthday cake! My company was bought by another and I’ve been doing all kinds of integration work while everything about our group’s organization and my job is still up in the air.

Pat – way to go for losing last week’s gain! I’m glad you liked the Crunch yoga tape – I’ve been trying to do a yoga tape (or even part of one) twice a week – I think it’s helped with work stress.

Work has been a bear today (what else is new) but I managed to get in a good circuit workout at lunch (even if lunch was at 2:00!) My sneak peeks have been good so far this week and I plan on keeping them that way!

Have a great Think Think Thursday!
Judy

Lynotamer, know what you mean about the JC diet. I did Nutrisystem about 10 years ago, while single and was working out 5 out of 7 days. The ease of picking up a box and eating and not having to think about it, was easy. I lost 2 pounds a week, every week to goal through all 50 pounds.

Of course, I started eating more food once I met and started socializing with DH, and stopped the 5 days of working out without decreasing the food intake, and am now facing the 50 pounds again.

When I am doing really well, are those weeks I have scheduled the heck out the week. I try to spend at least, 15, (so many!!) minutes every Sunday, planning exactly what we are eating and when and what my night meeting committements will be and any other oddities which will come up.

I plan to have sherbert with 0 point cones, for a 2 point snack, or 0 point jello, or fruit or snack bars, so that every time of day is planned for and I do not give up because of some inane reasoning about being hungry. To be perfectly honest, I have never been hungry a day in my life.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend, I am going to ditch this cold if it is the last thing I do, and try to get DH to take it easy and get rid of his cold.

Judy good luck with the job integration, must be unnerving.

Highly suggest yoga for anyone interested in getting more comfortable with exercising and for stress relief. It can start out small but the results are immediate in my case at least and after only a week I feel great changes.

Liza 195/189.5/140

Judy - Way to go getting in that lunchtime workout. I'm hoping the yoga helps me with the stress. I think stress is a major factor in my weight. I've been reading a book about how stress causes your body to hold on to the fat, especially in your abdominal area, and that's where I gain weight.

Liza - Hope you and your hubby get rid of the colds. Glad to hear you've had good results with the yoga. I told Darrell we need to get a VCR for the bedroom so I can do it without having to take over the living room.

I had a good day foodwise and did the yoga tape. My challenge this w/e is going to SIL for Darrell's great grandpa and nephew's birthdays. She usually has good choices for the meal, but makes several desserts.

Talk to you later.
Pat

Good Morning Group!

Judy - No wonder you are stressed at work :-Z -- I hope everything works out in your favor. The yoga sounds interesting. I've always bypassed that sort of workout because I barely get in a cardio, but maybe I should try it. My sister just got into it this year, and is very pleased with the results.

Liza - There is definately a perk in having your menus and food all prearranged! I was also very busy working at that time, and going to the gym at night, so it fit my schedule perfectly. However, it was one of those things I don't think I could ever do again (asside from the fact that I couldn't afford it now anyway!). I much prefer doing it myself with "real" food and WW, I just wish I could find that dedication and motivation I had back then. Good idea on having several low pt. snacks ready to go.

Pepper - Good luck with the party at SIL. Those types of parties are very hard for me. Plan, plan, plan! The last party, I made a dish and brought some things that fit my plan . Maybe you should even bring a WW dessert for yourself.

I've been totally OP since Wed!! Here comes my biggest challenge: if I can make it through a weekend OP, I just know I can do this for the long haul. Already it looks like I"ll be at my SIL overnight tonight and hanging out for part of tomorrow, and that extra lack of control that comes with not being at home will be a challenge. DH will also be home this weekend. However, I made a big bowl of fresh salsa for snacking, and I'll take some of Liza's ideas for desserts, and I WILL DO THIS!!!

I really see my biggest hurdle with WW as integrating favorite foods, restaurant meals, etc... into the program. It was helpful to read through the food lists and get familiar with higher pt foods and restaurant choices.

Happy Friday! Holly

Holly, hope you get a chance to check in before you go to your SIL. When I am off to my MIL, like tomorrow, I pack snacks in the snack sizezip locks or my bazillion rubbermaid/tupperware containers. Each container/baggie represents 2 points or I mark it differently. I know before I put it into my mouth what I am eating. Of course, I look sort of less rude as I can say the snacks are for the 2 year old, but they know I am trying to lose weight. My stand bys are raisins, or any dried fruit, cranberries, apricots, or apple slices; I also use pretzels and goldfish (fighting off the 2 year old for those), peanuts and Stone wheat thins. The more I plan, the better I do, and if I go over at least I am not going over as much as if I did not have a plan. That is probably where I am now with the program, not going over so much.

The other plug for yoga is that it does make any other workout easier for me. I use it for the warm up and cooldown under the best conditions.

Pat have a good time at the party, I am impressed with a great grandfather's birthday. Very nice.

Well, I decided to stay home today, it is snowing and I have the chills already, no point in dragging myself outside to just turn around at work. They do not want me there anywhere, especially when I can do about 60% of my job from the home computer and phone. Less germs that way.

Have a great weekend, I am really getting pumped for the day. (If I could only breath). Soup planned for lunch, and snacks are fruit cocktail, love that stuff, for me it is really satisfying.

Liza 195/189.5/140