Starting the topic - be right back

Quiet around here today. After weighing in on Saturday and posting about it, I feel a lot more in control. I had a pretty good weekend, food-wise and exercise-wise although yesterday I came down with a cold. I was hoping my school district would declare a snow day today (we had about 14 inches) but no such luck (although a ton of school districts did). Well, I took Nyquil last night and I think something in it either kept me up or I just didn't sleep well because I was so clogged up but I was up almost every hour. When I woke up for work this morning, I felt some congestion in my chest and between that, the idea of standing outside in 10 degree weather for door duty and the fact that I was just too tired to drive, I called in sick. I didn't want to because I'm taking Friday off (we're going to AC) but I have two late class nights tomorrow and Wed and I want to be sure I can get through the week and try not to get sicker.

No exercise for me today - I am planning on doing yoga after class tomorrow and Wed so I can get to bed at a decent time - I'm very close to my goal for the month (20) anyway so I'm not going to worry about it.

I hope everyone is OK - come on, check in!
Judy

Hi All

Judy, I'm glad you're feeling in control again, and hope that yo're feeling better today.

I've been laid up with a GI bug for the last couple of days. I'm not feeling ill today, but have zero energy, so I'm staying home and intend to watch TV in bed all morning.

Exciting news from Jen; she has a job teaching English in Korea for a year, starting in August. She's terribly excited!

Have a good day!

Karen

Hi Everyone,

Sorry you are both ill -- not fun! Just hunker down and get feeling better fast! We had our share over the holidays - Joe developed shingles over
Thanksgiving, and I had low back strain and a urinary tract infection over Christmas! That's enough!

Well, Joe lost 3 lbs. this week and I lost 4 (after my gain of 2.5 last week)! I just wish it would come off faster! I would like to diet for a day and have it all gone -- never to return!

We are off now until the 1st of February, and just "goofing off!" I'm cooking every day so we can have casseroles in the freezer when we start working again for fast dinners. I'm like everybody else, and really have to plan our meals or we fall back on old habits.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Joanne

Hi all.

Judy - I'm glad you survived the blizzard of 2005. We got 9 inches, so not as bad as you. We had split pea soup last week too. It's good weather for it. I hope you're feeling better today. Best to take it easy and nip things in the bud. As for your gain, you'll get it off in no time. Hang tough. You asked about tostadas last week. They're really easy to make. The tostada shells are rather pricey, points-wise. The one's I use are 5 points for 3. But they're really thick, good tostada shells. I can't find the Ortega brand in my store any more - those were 1 point apiece. I just heat them in the oven, heat some fat-free refried beans in the microwave, and top them with tomatoes, onions, taco sauce or salsa, jalapeno slices, fat-free sour cream and fat-free or low fat shredded cheese. It usually costs me 8 - 10 points for three tostadas, but they're very filling and they cure my cravings for mexican food. Did you get your children's lit books read over the weekend? What did you read?

Karen - Sorry to hear that you weren't feeling well. I hope you're all better today. That's great news about Jen! What an adventure! What city in Korea, do you know? I think that I've mentioned that my sister-in-law is from Korea, so if Jen has any questions she wants to ask a native, feel free to pass them along.

Joanne - Congrats to you and Joe on terrific losses! Boy if we could lose it all in one day, or even one month... Great idea to cook and freeze those casseroles. It certainly makes staying OP easier when you're not scrambling to make dinner.

I've been doing ok. John brought pistachios into the house over the weekend..... My sneak peeks weren't so hot, but it was mostly water retention and it looked better on the scale today. I think I may be coming down with something - my head is achy and my throat is starting to hurt. I think I'll go make some tea.

Have a great evening.

Carla

Good Morning,

Carla, I hope thoses sneak peaks held up for you. I love pistachios. I've been guiltlessly chomping on almonds most days - I think their magnesium content helps me with chocolate cravings. I'm hoping your headache and sorethroat haven't come to anything. Seems that everyone's got some kind of cold or flu theses days. Jen will be in or around Seoul. I'll let her know about your SIL - thanks. She has a couple of friends over there too; one is a fellow she met over here while he was doing an exchange program. They stay in touch by email so she can help him with his english. Anyway, she'll be in the public school system and will get her own free apartment. All she has to pay for is her food and 1/2 her medical insurance.

Joanne, those are great losses for you and Joe! I wish all the weight would come off at once too, but of course it leaves as incidiously as it arrives. Enjoy your time off till February. We often double up on things and freeze half; it makes those fright nights so much easier when you know there's something cooked ready to come home to. We used to get take out or order in once or twice a week, but since we got organized like you're doing, we haven't needed too. Saves $ too!

Judy - I hope you and Tony enjoy your jaunt to AC. It'll be nice for you to get away and relax. I'm going to count my exercise sessions when I go upstairs. Haven't lifted a finger for three days as I've been sick.

I'm still home from work - the employee health nurse has banished me until tomorrow. Yesterday I felt quite unwell and moped around in my nightgown all day. I went to bed at 6 and slept till Mike's alarm at 5:15. This morning I'm doing exciting things like laundry and dishes. I'll take the dogs out for a short romp later if I feel up to it. I'm planning on a nap for the afternoon.

I got the scale back from Mike this morning for a weigh-in. Down 8 lbs for the month of January. It's probably a couple more pounds than is realistic because of being unwell, but it took care of all the Christmas gain and then some. I'll get him to put it away again till the end of February. I'm liking this weigh-in monthly with no opportunity for sneak peaks. The good sneak peaks always give me a false sense of security: "I'm doing great, so I can slack off a bit", and the bad ones - they're depressing.

I probably won't get back here tomorrow, as I'll be up to my ears in catch-up with work, so have a great weekend.

Karen

Hi all.

Karen - Congrats on a great loss for the month. I hope you're feeling back at 100% today. Has Jen had Korean food? I love it, especially all the various side dishes. And they're mostly veggie and good for you. Yum.

I'm posting a .8 gain for the week. I'm not too worried as I was retaining water. I'm doing CORE this week as last week wasn't really core as planned. Fortunately the cold/sinus problem/ whatever has been threatening me this week hasn't really hit yet. I'm hoping I can stave it off. Lots of flu, etc. going around here. Have to run now - the grocery store is calling me.

Carla

Karen – sorry about the GI bug. I hope you are feeling better – those are nasty. Fabulous weight loss for the month! Hmmmm, I might just have to hide the darn thing one of these days. Wow, that’s exciting news about Jen and it sounds like it’s a good deal (the apartment, etc) as well as an exciting opportunity.

Joanne – congratulation to you and your husband on those great loses. Great idea about cooking and freezing – we try to cook stuff on the weekends that we can have during the week.

Carla – Sorry about the gain but you know it’s water. I hope you can stave off the cold/sinus/whatever you’ve been fighting. Let’s hope you manage to keep it at bay so I can get on your case next week about the exercising ;-) You know, I looked in the supermarket for tostada shells and didn’t find any – there were taco shells and there were soft tortillas but nothing that said tostadas! It does sound yummy even though it’s a bit pricey point-wise. I did get my children’s lit books read – the Caldicott book was Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and the Newberry was Bud, Not Buddy. I like the first book – it was cute and really liked the second.

It’s been a rough week for me. I went to work on Tuesday, dragged through the day and got through on Tuesday night and was just beat. The cold started going to my chest so I started on a Z-pack. I went in on Wednesday early because I had the tutoring and didn’t want to leave the little kids stranded. I got through the morning but was just feeling rotten, so with the encouragement of a number of teachers and thanks from the Asst Principal for hanging in as long as I did, I went home. I took a little nap, went to evening class and then decided that I was in for the rest of the week. I caught it just as it was going to turn into bronchitis and need the rest. Obviously, I haven’t worked out this week – maybe over the weekend I’ll feel well enough to do a little gentle yoga but I’m not pressing it. Tony and I don’t know what we’re going to do about AC tomorrow. I can’t gamble, it’s just too darn smoky and I can’t deal with that now. We have a small suite, and I can hang out, take naps, watch movies, do my reading for school while Tony plays and Tony and I can have two nice dinners. Also, our friends will be down there and while we are only planning to hook up with them on Saturday for a bit, it would be nice to see them. We’re going to see how I feel in the morning. I’ve been doing OK food-wise – a little snacky the last two nights but then I didn’t have much appetite for dinner.

Have a great (and healthy) one!
Judy

JUdy - I hope that you're feeling better and that you and Tony are able to take your trip as planned. I'm glad you were able to catch it before it turned into bronchitis. Hanging around your suite while Tony is in the casino sounds relaxing. At least, it's a change of scenery. Tostada shells can be difficult to find. The only ones in my store aren't a "name" brand. If you really want to give it a try and have a Mexican grocery store nearby, you might be able to find them there. You can also, of course, fry up the soft tortillas (that's all a tostada shell is).

I'm having a good week so far. I made a delicious pork and pineapple stew from a recipe I found in the local paper. My menus are planned out for the remainder of my week and I bought groceries yesterday, so I'm set.

Have a great day and a good weekend.

Carla

Carla - I'm glad to hear that you are having a good week. Is the pork and pineapple stew core? It sounds fascinating - I'll admit, we don't have pork often but I know there is lean pork and a change would be nice. Is it a very involved recipe? Tony is shopping now and will be looking for tostada shells - if he doesn't find them, maybe I will when I go to Trader Joe's on Monday.

Well, I think I do have a touch of bronchitis 'cause the coughing started to hurt yesterday in the places where it does when I have it. Also, I had some swollen glands last night so Tony and I decided not to go to AC. We're disappointed but it's really best. I would have rested in the suite but the trip itself would have been tiring. Quite honestly, when I woke up this morning, I was relieved not to be going anywhere. Tony and I made of a menu and a shopping list for next week - I hope to have a better week than this one. I think I was feeling sorry for myself last night and had way too many pretzels and such. I'm determined to make this a good core day and hope for a loss (however small) tomorrow. I'm going to try to skip weighing myself everyday next week (I already weighed myself this morning and the tight rings showed up on the scale). I think I'm using the scale as Karen described - and while I'm not ready to put it away for a month, I'm ready to try giving it up for a week to see if that helps me stick to program. I'm going to try to do a little back care yoga (20 minutes, very gentle) today because I feel tight and stiff.

Have a great one!
Judy

Hi guys... can I start posting here too?

This was my first week on WW at home... there is still alot of "tweaking" to do... but I lost 2.5 lbs this week...its probably water... but its enough to light a fire under my butt.

The end of the week was tought... friday and saturday nights... Friday we ordered chinese, but I did not go back for seconds... saturday we had hamburgers, but I made smaller patties and had a big salad to go with it. SO even though I was probably over my range for the week, I know I made healthier choices... today starts a new week and I have only used one point (coffee!) Hopefully I can stick to the program better!

Welcome ChristinaMarie! Congratulations on your loss - and on your healthier choices. Once you get used to eating healthily, the program pretty much takes care of itself. Look for a new thread Monday morning. Talk with you soon.

Yes, welcome, ChristinaMarie and congratulations on your loss. That's a great start.

I know I've seen this somewhere before, but where is everyone getting their progress line? What is the site? I think I'd like to use one - anything to add motivation.

Thanks,
Judy

I found it, previewed it and saved it - let's see if it works

Well, my first official week is over tomorrow morning I guess, since I started last Monday morning - but I figured there will be no huge change between now and then so I will post on this thread.

I am very excited to report my loss this week as -4.

I did really well and even though this weekend was tough for me as well with ending up being out during meal times, etc - I know I made way healthier choices than I have been known to do in the past. That is definitely something for everyone to be proud of whenever they are in that type of situation.

Congrats to everyone else that lost this week as well and I hope that we all have a great week ahead.

~P