pjlla, 
you are such an inspiration to us all! I wish that you could see yourself as the
great successful personthat we see you.
Thanks for your kind words. I really need them right now.
P It is so good to see you here. You poor thing.
I got all choked up reading about how upset you were after you stepped on the scale. I wish I had some words of wisdom, but will you accept empathy instead?
Please remember that the scale is not the only measure of success. Especially when you have lost so much and are so close to what you think your ultimate goal is, your body just ISNT going to give up the pounds that easily. You have to acknowledge how much healthier you are just by being conscientious about this effort. That does count for something, Pamela. It counts for a whole lot. And even small gains for a few weeks will not take away all you have accomplished. There are a lot of platitudes that we all hear along this journey, but they seem so trite sometimes when we are the person on the receiving end. All I can say is that we all understand. Just keep showing up.
Ill repeat what I read last week on the weight watchers board we all see the number we deserve on the scale, sometimes just not right away. Just keep keepin on, P. And keep posting here. You have a LOT to contribute. You are a success story. Share it. Renew your familiarity with it. Pat yourself on the back for being here and for coming this far. We LOVE to hear about it. It isnt always about where we are and where we are going. Many of us need to know where you have been and how you got here.
Thanks for those IMPORTANT reminders.
Pamela:
You are an amazing inspiration to me and I'm sure so many others here. Cam's response is beautifully written. I hope you find it helpful.
One idea for you. Have you tried using "SETPOINTS?" It's supposed to be for restaurants, but I use it at home too and find using them highly successful.
Thanks! Not sure what SETPOINTS is? Care to elaborate? Would I find it with Google? Is it a WW thing?
You've done really well-- this is nothing. There's probably some water retention involved and I question your scale....
I know the feeling though--
it's scary to see the scale creep up-- even just a little because 'they' are always saying anyone who loses weight will gain it back. But we are different in the fact that A: we have support. B. We didn't lose the weight on some rididculous diet--we lost it by changing our habits. There
are people who keep it off and we will be a part of those statistics. I always find it helps to wear a pair of pants that are a little tight when I've gained a little as a constant reminder lol. And more exercise-- helps with your stress level too.
SO SCARY! You are so right about that.
Pamela -
Have you considered setting a goal "range"? I mean, even if you ate and exercised PERFECTLY for your entire adult life, the fluctuations would still be there. Hormones, fat%, muscle mass... while the number on the scale may INDICATE success, it does not DEFINE success. You have already succeeded and, even if you do need to shake it up a bit, you're still doing GREAT!
You know what?? A goal "RANGE" might be the perfect thing for me. I'm a bit of a control freak and perfectionist (if you haven't already figured that out about me...
) and try to stay at one number on the scale is probably going to make me NUTS!! I know that for years WW recommended a two pound range (not more than 2 pounds above or below your goal weight), but honestly, I can change two pounds in a DAY!! Maybe it would be better for me to have a 4 pound range.... more realistic. Great idea!
Pam, I'm sorry you are having such a rough week. I don't have advice but I am hoping that your body is just storing up to shock you with a huge loss on your next weigh in!
Here's wishing that you're right!!
[
Pamela-You are such an inspiration to me. You have done so well, and I'm sure that number is so frustrating to you, but try to remember how far you have come, and remember that it is just a number, and how you feel and look is so much more important. Hang in there.
I try to keep repeating that it IS just a number.... my clothes still fit just fine, so I haven't really gained any inches or mass. But honestly, I've had a few scary moments of body distortion.... for example, I glanced in the mirror in the restroom at school the other day and decided that my face looked HUGE! WTH??? And today... while running errands in my yoga pants (in an effort to be SURE I got in my workout) I looked down and decided I looked like I suddenly had HUGE THUNDER THIGHS!! (That's what we called them in high school.) How silly of me.... but I'm glad at least I am realizing that it is DISTORTION and not reality. Thanks for the hug.
UGH! I just can't win!!!! Now I've come down with a bladder infection! Luckily they will call in a prescription for me so I don't have to go in! Waiting to hear it's been called in! I've been in the bathroom every 2 minutes! It's so frustrating! I'm drinking cranberry juice that has lots of calories and I'm not happy about that! I had to leave the book fair early as I kept having to run to the bathroom!
It looks like I'll have to just order food with DD2 and take her to the store tomorrow. We will play games on her DSi this afternoon! She was so excited to get it this morning! I almost had to take it away from her so she would get ready for school.
Gotta run again!
Hopefully the infection will disappear quickly... that can CERTAINLY make you feel very icky. If you are trying to increase your cranberry without drinking so much juice, I believe you can buy cranberry juice, unsweetened, in some sort of concentrated form at the health food store.
Lindsay I hope DH is feeling better today. Oh, and happy day! When you said you found honeycrisp apples I decided to look for them and found some in our store last night. They were ridiculously expensive at $2.28/pound but so worth it. Now I can use all the other apples Ive been hoarding to make some butternut squash/apple/onion soup because I have delicious honeycrisps to eat as snacks. Thank you for reminding me.
At least doing it the way I am doing it is relatively easy. I'm not living on salads and carrots. I'm eating normal foods in smaller portions. And if that means that the losses are slower, I have to be okay with that. Probably the biggest change is that we aren't eating out as much (like Rose) and that means that I have more control over most of my meals. There have been times where we ate out several times during a week just because I didn't feel like cooking. Right now, Howard has been trying to lose weight (especially with the Marine Corps Marathon being this Sunday), so he is more amenable to eating at home, too. I just want us to continue to be this disciplined so that we can go into the holiday season with a healthy lifestyle as the norm and not something that we are striving for in the middle of the chaos of the holidays.
First of all... for New Englanders looking for the Honey Crisp apples, Market Basket had them today for $1.49/lb. Not sure when that sale ends.
You are SO RIGHT about making SUSTAINABLE changes in our exercise and eating habits. You cannot (and probably will not want to) live forever on salad and carrots. If you want to lose weight and MAINTAIN that loss, you MUST find a sensible, reasonable way to eat "normally". WTG!
Having a great day today and hope you are too. Yoga class was great, the postures are getting easier as I slim down and get stronger. A friend brought me a can of Pam spray that she was able to get because she has military access. We don't have Pam in the German grocery stores. It was a rare treat. But I actually already have a can of it so I gave it to my friend who was very excited. She is a big baker. I'm not. My yoga friend is going to bring me some chocolate chips next week, we don't have them in the German grocery stores either. Perhaps I should not have asked for those !!!
Today, I noticed he had 20 Euros in his wallet and I asked him where it came from. He said that a boy borrowed 2 Euros from him a few weeks ago and he charged him interest
I'm going to have to think about that, not sure what to say. I wonder how on earth he got this kid to fork over 20 Euros !!??Shawn
Funny you should mention no chocolate chips in Germany. My first roomate after college had been a German major. And when she sent gifts to her host family in Germany, she always sent a few bags of chocolate chips so that they could make toll house cookies! That definitely clinches it for me.... I will NEVER move to Germany... who could live without chocolate chip cookies??
As far as DS goes...... props to him for his enterpreneurial tendencies!
Just a quick hello to let you guys know I'm still here. I've been reading each day, but like Rose, just haven't had the focus or energy to craft a reply. I've just had a lot of little things frustrating me lately, I hope I'll have less to worry about soon and can get back to posting and replying regularly.
I'm just getting over a head cold that was driving me nuts for almost 2 weeks. My nose was Rudolph red and so sore from having to blow it every five seconds! I've only ran twice in the last two weeks because I just felt like crap, which is really making me nervous because my 10k is this Sunday. I feel very unprepared.
I need new shoes and/or inserts - the side of my left foot has been hurting after my runs and when I wear my running shoes during the day (I wear them to work on running days so I don't have to carry stinky shoes around with me all day). I'm worried about getting a new pair so close before the race, but I'm also worried about my foot hurting after the race and setting my trainer workouts back
. I guess I'll just wait until after the race and let the trainer know if it hurts too bad - maybe another upper body day or two until it feels better. Upper body days kill me though, I'm sore for days afterwards.
My trainer gave me a new eating plan - 2000 calories a day, front loading carbs, 250g of carbs + 150g of protein + 44g of fat per day, eating every three hours. It is surprisingly very difficult to eat 2000 calories of GOOD food every day, especially since I've been eating between 1300 and 1700 calories a day for well over a year now. The tracking/journaling is very time consuming and I feel like all I think about all day now is food - when do I have to eat next, don't forget to write down the nutrient stuff before you get rid of the package, writing down everything from the time I wake up until I go to sleep at night - it's pretty draining. Not to mention I'm so full all day that I haven't been drinking as much water as I need, which means 1 more thing keep track of and stuff into my body. He told me that I may see a slight gain the first week or two but to bear with him because he really thinks this is why I'm stalled (not enough calories for my activity level and nowhere near enough carbs). Well, I was actually down about 2 pounds this week, so maybe he's on to something
. I forgot to send my weigh in to Shannon though, so I didn't even get to count it!
The guy who used to clean my old house is coming by on Saturday afternoon (if DS doesn't have a playoff game - which I won't know until probably Friday night, really, can't these baseball men plan anything in advance
) to tell me how much he's going to charge me to clean the new house. This is causing me stress for a couple of reasons, I'm concerned about how much he's going to charge me firstly since it's so close to Christmas and secondly I really need to clean some things (like the toilets and the stove top - if you ever need a new stove, don't buy a black one, it's a pain to keep looking clean) and finish the two loads of laundry that are currently sitting in my upstairs hallway because I didn't get to finish the laundry this weekend before he comes.
And of course Christmas is coming which means the annual worry over spending has already started. The only credit card I have is a small limit card from
Best Buy (and only because my brother works there) so I have to carefully plan out when to buy which gifts between now and Christmas. Luckily, lay away seems to be making a come back!
Bree
Glad to hear that the new eating plan is working for you!! I'd love to hear more about it.... I have to admit I don't know exactly what you mean by "front loading" your carbs.
Good luck with the Christmas shopping. I just bought a bunch of stocking stuffers today with coupons that were about to expire.... cosmetics and fancy shampoo and stuff for DD. I try to be really practical with the stocking stuff.... too much junk in the house already. I try hard to put in "consumables" (stuff you use up). Hit some great sale/coupon combos at Target today, so I was pleased with my purchases. Since DH gets paid once a month, when Christmas comes it is a BIG chunk of the November and/or December paycheck if I haven't planned ahead at least a little bit! I've got two larger items purchased already and a few stocking stuffers.
Years ago when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed in my life, I had a lady come clean just the bathrooms and floors every other week. It was an anniversary gift from DH for a few months. It was UNBELIEVABLE how much better I felt when she was done! Plus it inspired me to get busy cleaning elsewhere. I would do the kids rooms and general picking up and dusting and such while she did my bathrooms and washed the kitchen floor and vacuumed everywhere. When she was gone in two hours, my entire house was clean!! I say, if you can swing the $, go for it!!
Dani -- These cupcakes are SOOOO cute!! Have you seen them?
I am hoping that they'll be so cute that I won't be even slightly tempted to eat one.
EDITED TO ADD: The cupcake design and those photos are from the DisneyFamily.com website. I am aspiring to making mine look that great.
Dang... those things are super cute!! I wouldn't want anyone to eat them!!
Just found out that I can go to my high school's 80s reunion Thanksgiving weekend. I had an event scheduled but it just got canceled. Now I have another incentive to get skinny!!!!
TTFN
Talk about a HUGE incentive! Truly.... I'll bet if you took a poll, more people try to lose weight for either a reunion or a wedding than for any other reason!!
Beat. Family night at funeral home for friend tonight. Wife doing great, kids... well.... I know how they feel. Coaches, team kids, I cried over that before I ever had time to start the grief of a friend. Kinda hoped Ak would change her mind after she saw them, she said "I am positive I am making the right decision!" So there you have it. It was 1.5 hrs. away, on the way saw a car upside down nosedived into median, pretty sure at least 1 fatality. SCARY. Kids very disturbed. Tornado warnings all the way home. Driving through the middle of all the spottings. Emotionally, mentally, physically drained.
love to all. Congrats to those excelling, in the boat with those struggling, let's paddle together.
Hugs for you and prayers for your friend and her family.
OMG--Honestly this week has just blown chunks--and last week was pretty annoying too. DS has an appointment Friday at the health center for very elevated blood pressure. Mike's relatives are stopping by on their way to Florida on Friday (his parents are both dead, so this is an uncle and two cousins)--long story there, needless to say we aren't real close.
Mike thought tonight that he could have a beer after work before running, so I ran by myself tonight. I don't know why he thought it was a good idea to have a beer before running? And 5 minutes ago my mother called.
Is someone out there in the universe mad at me this week? I didn't answer, not sure why she decided tonight was a good night to call when I haven't spoken with her in YEARS!!!!!
Surprisingly enough for probably the first time in my life instead of wanting to pig out from stress, I have no appetite. I actually lowered my maintain 2 pounds today. So I guess that's good.
Ok, if I don't post again for a while, it's because I don't want to share a bunch of downer negative stuff.
I find that the worst stress actually does cause me to lose my appetite.... but the daily kind of stress makes me want to eat!! So obviously you are going through some really tough stuff.
Then I went home and baked 90 cupcakes. I confess I licked the spatula at the end.
That's all???
I would have had my entire head in the mixing bowl! I love cake batter and cookie dough!
So I woke up this morning feeling like a truck had hit me overnight. I couldn't understand it, since I all I did yesterday was walk. My husband suggested it could be a delay from Tuesday's walking at the zoo. We had a perfect 75 degree day in a nearly deserted zoo. It was fantastic.
I then stepped on the scale - to find out my weight went back down! Almost three pounds since yesterday, it really must have been water weight. If it stays at this number, I might end up with a two pound loss for the week! But since I felt so aweful, I decided to take a do almost nothing day today. Spend time catching up with my tv shows and this thread. (I do feel better after going back to sleep for a bit earlier). I have like 6 Mediums, 3 Hawaii Five-0's and a couple Nikita's. I was a big fan of the original series on USA a few years ago, so I thought I would give the new one a chance. I am leaning towards no. Which is why I've been avoiding watching it. I should just go back and rewatch the original series instead.
My good news of the week, my husband's aunt emailed me with a free 3 month membership she got with her membership to a local gym, so I will be able to take advantage of that during the winter. If I want to go longer, it'll just be $26 per month after that! So I will go in and start that tomorrow. I was wondering if the bikes there would be ok for my knee. I will give it a try and see how it goes.
Pictures coming very soon!
Free for 3 months!? That is terrific! Make sure that the trainer there shows you how to use all of the equipment properly.
Well friends.... I feel like I've sort of caught up on here for now. Not sure what tomorrow will bring on the scale, but I'm trying to "gird my loins" for possible bad news. Not that I've done badly this week, but I suppose it is that mental game of... "prepare for the worst and hope for the best". I'm hoping for the best for all of you too. I know we all try SO HARD to be consistently good with our healthier eating, portion control, exercise.... all while lovingly (and sometimes financially) supporting our families and all that goes with that. Things get crazy, people get sick.... everybody needs our attention and energy and it is so hard to give something back to OURSELVES. But remember, the time you spend here chatting with us (us= likeminded people who want to live healthier more active lives), that is time for YOURSELF and your health.... both mental health and physical health!
Love to all of you who took the time to craft a response to my freak out earlier this week. I didn't mean to unload like that, but obviously I needed to. The show of support truly brought me to tears.... good tears. I cannot express how grateful I am............P
ahhh Men!!!!
)
I can't even remember what else I'm supposed to know. There's a whole test on teaching reading. I know I have study cards already made up from when I took a similar test in CT, but I have no idea where they are. 
I guess I know what tomorrow's plan will include. 
Her website and Connie's sprints are my inspiration for tomorrow's plan.
Sooo many cute things. And many inexpensive things although they do add up fast. I got home about 3:00 and have time to exercise before S&B at 7:00 but I don't want to take another shower today
I should have planned better and knocked it out this morning. Hopefully I will not show a gain tomorrow morning. Weight loss has slowed down for now. Lost one pound last week and none this week. I just have to wait it out and it will kick back in again when the body is ready. Just keep exercising, eating healthy and drinking lots of water and staying mentally focused.
I'll weigh in on Saturday morning. 
Thats sad but true!!!!
A lot of interesting, thought provoking questions! 
Hi Cupcaker! Hope you get your mojo back soon! 
It was great talking to you the other night. Can't wait until we can gab for hours and hours running the Princess! 
It was nice of your DH to treat you last night. Sometimes you just have to go with the treat. 
I need a tall, cool drink just looking at it! 
I find it's getting harder and harder to go out to eat. You did great! 
We did just go to a restaurant where almost every meal comes with a side salad and then the entree sides are a potato or a veggie and the butter automatically comes on the side! 
