Good Morning Besh,

I am curious to know what makes you choose WW. I have to do something with myself after being so out of control last week. Nothing fits well and I am getting depressed about it.

My weight goal for this week is to keep a journal of everything I put in my mouth. I am also trying to stick to the SBD woe which is not hard I just get off track! Everyone is going to be gorgeous in their bikinis this summer except me if I don't get going!! LOL Like I could ever look good in a bikini at my age!

Suzanne, I could not wear a bikini at BIRTH!!! LOL!

Besh, good luck with WW! I find it easy to do, but without being able to exercise, I'm at a major stall. Once I get better, I should start to lose again.

Good Day! Hope everyone is fine.

DeeMarie - Thanks for the laugh. I am still laughing at what your DH said to you about the pope. So true.

Didn't fool me Tikanas.... nice try though...and wouldn't it be nice if it were true.

It is starting to thin out traffic wise for me here in SW FL. Snowbirds are packing up and leaving for the spring/summer.

Take care - water water everywhere and tons of it to drink.

Bye - Magickitty

Happy Monday all!

DeeMarie, You saw the EAGLES??!!! I am SOooo envious! I would give my eye teeth... The comment by your DH about the Pope had me in stitches.

Suzanne, I am back to my "good carb" plan too. This prednisone yo yo has done me in. Good to be off of it!

Besh, I'd like to hear about your Weight Watchers decision.

Lynn, I just can't fool ya' can I ;)

QOD: what program is everyone following?

Tikanas: South Beach type "good carb" plan
Besh: Weight Watchers
Suzanne: South Beach....
What else?

Tikanas

Dee: Weight Watchers

OK, here is my story. A couple of weeks ago I told you that I was signing up for a hospital sponsored program called "Heart and Wellness" (from here on known as HW). Because of this I had to have blood work, EKG and then a stress test. Well I held up my end of the deal and went through with all of these tests, which I don't regret because they all came back good and now I know that I am not on the verge of a heart attack, like I always fear, just very out of shape. So anyway, I got a call from my Dr.'s medical assistant saying she didn't have the fax # for HW and could I get it for her. I thought this was weird being a Dr.'s office and a hospital. So anyway at this point I was still psyched about going to HW and wanted my test result sent ASAP, so I called HW and got the number. While on the phone with them, I asked how long it would take before I heard from them. She said once she received my info, they would contact me. This was about 2 weeks ago. Now in the mean time, I am using the fact that I have not heard from them as my excuse to eat and probably have gained another 10# waiting to join! I also did a little more research on the HW plan and talked to some people that I know that have gone through it. I found out the food plan that they put you on is a WW type program and that all they do when you go on your weekly 2 1/2 hour visit is weigh you in, have a lecture, make you do the treadmill and the rower and that is it. There are cardiologists and nutritionists there as well, but it is not as good as it originally seemed to me. Plus I would have to pay an additional $250.00 because they have cooking demo's and that pays for the food, plus they want you to go there at least another 2x a week to use their treadmill. And to top off the rest of this, I still have not heard from them. I have called them again, and they are not ready for me. So I decided that I can go to WW for $13. a week, get group support, cooking demos and a sound diet plan and start immediately. I can also walk around my block (for free) and get my cardio. All of this without stressing myself out to get to HW 3x a week to get my $250. worth. This $250. fee is only good for 12 weeks. After that I have to pay $40. a month to continue to use their treadmill. All of this is in addition to the $5. copay that I have to pay at each visit for my share of the insurance coverage. Doesn't add up does it? Sorry this is long, but it took me all of this to come to realize that I should just go to WW. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Dee, how is your FIL?

Tikanis, I forgot to mention that you got me with that April fools joke. I was so envious when I thought you won the lottery!

Lynn, how is your Dad doing?

Suzanne, the journal is a good idea. It does make you accountable, even if it is just to a piece of paper.

Have a great night.

Love, Besh

Marci - Fitday.com - journaling - sensible eating

Raeanne - Somersizing Day 29 and losing (weight that is)

Hey Besh, looks like you're making some good decisions for yourself. FIL has good days and bad days. Sunday, DH and BIL got a call that he fell and MIL could not get him up; he's very weak. DH saw him yesterday and said they are awaiting ultrasound reports---they suspect the cancer may be in his hips now, but no one is confirming that just yet.

Raeanne, good for you!! 29 days is fabulous; you will look like a model out on that lake this summer.

Lost a large post yesterday and grumbled about it. I'll try again later.

BJ: My teens took me out on a late night girls night to a restaurant and movie. They asked me to stop dieting and added that I'd been dieting since they were born, yo-yoing in weight, and have been unhappy with the end results the whole time. They asked me to exercise with them and eat what I like: healthy or unhealthy - in smaller amounts, and stop weighing myself all the time. Enjoy life without obsessing about food, they said...just until the end of summer. What can I say? I agreed I'd try it. What an example I've been setting for them: setting myself up again and again for failure and disappointment. A perpetually dieting mother---arg. Finally, as teenagers, they noticed and asked me to try it their way. So, that's the "diet" I'm on now. I feel free and energized. I'll see where it takes me......!

BTW, we went to see "The Up Side of Anger" -- worth the price of the ticket. Easy to watch and several very funny moments that anyone who IS a daughter or HAS a daughter can relate to!

PS: I remember my mom smoked to keep her weight down. Did anyone else's mom do this? My mom looked great on the outside, but I wonder what her LUNGS looked like! She finally quit when my sister and I said we'd bring our 1 year-old kids to Christmas with her if she kicked the habit. She did and has never looked back; it's been 16 years. Of course, she's gained about 50 or 60 pounds since then, but she's healthy, active, and smoke-free.

BJ - My mom smoked, but not as a diet. I just got my first job when she quit and when I was certain she kicked the habit, I bought her a very expensive dress that she wanted, but wouldn't dare buy for herself. She still talks about that. I love how your girls approached you - they are very smart young ladies - you should be very proud of them.

Speaking of smoking - my oldest DD smokes or I should say smoked. She quit the same day I started SS this time around - it is nice to be able to keep each other honest and accountable. I am going to buy her something nice if she continues - and I am certain she will - because she is one of the strongest willed people I have ever met.

Dee - I met to send you hugs about DFIL - how sad - I hope something can be done to keep him comfortable.

Wow, Besh! You have made some good decisions concerning your diet and health. Economically, too.

I use fitday.com too

My Mom smoked to keep her weight down too. She developed a brain tumor which originated from cancerous tissue in the lungs. I am glad that your Mom is healthy! I like the way your kids think! : ) They want a healthy, happy Mom, too!

Raeanne, 29 days! I am proud of you.

Tikanas

I smoked to keep my weight down until 20 years ago this June 2. I then gained 40 pounds and added an additional 30 or so when my mom got sick (stomach cancer) 3 years later. I "ate for her", if you get my drift. Still struggling with it.

My sister still smokes to keep her weight down....she saw what it did to me and doesn't want to gain the weight. I must say that I felt better immediately when I stopped. My sister has 2 girls, 17 and 15 who beg her everyday to stop; but she's just not ready to quit. I'm always frightened for her.

DeeMarie, sending prayers and good thoughts to you re your FIL. What a difficult time for your family!

My DD smokes and I just hate it!

Still hoping that the lurkers and MIAS will check in and say what diet/food plan they are on.

QOD: In addition to your eating plans, what other tricks are you all using? I use the Good Carb cookbook that i got for Christmas from DeeMarie, fitday.com to record my food and just bought a pedometer.

Have a wonderful day,everyone!

Tikanas

QOD: I now start a shopping list that's located next to my WW folder on the kitchen counter each week. It's a wonderful planning tool to pick up the low-point stuff I can use to take to the office or snack on when I'm home. I always have those little snack zip-lock bags on hand, and I measure out cereal, carrot sticks, celery, whatever I'm bringing along with me....portion control is my big problem, so when I take time to do this, I lose the weight!!

I just try to get some exercise in each day right now.

I especially concentrate on weight lifting, since it increases muscle mass and keeps my metabolism working at a higher rate all day. Building the bone mass ain't shabby either.

We have a weight bench set up and free weights in our garage, so I dusted them off after my teens talked to me and am getting back into the swing of things.

It kills me to see the strength I've lost because I've been lazy about it for a while!

Hi!

I also keep a "Chopin Lizt" under a magnet on the fridge with a list of this week's proposed dinners. I keep a well stocked pantry, buy and freeze meat, fish, chicken on sale so that we always have something and I'm not running to the store and impulse buying a lot.

Now that I'm back at Curves, I can tell how much harm being sedentary has done to me. I want to start walking to Curves next week. (It isn't far) and maybe add an evening walk into my routine in a couple of weeks.

Now 1 1/2 weeks off the prednisone(for the LAST time!!) and I am sleeping better and feeling better too. My endurance is increasing as well. Little, tiny, baby steps.....

Tikanas

Maddie~Loved the story of your weekend. I'm glad that you did something good for yourself.

DeeMarie~So sorry to hear about your DFIL. He will be in my thoughts & prayers. I, too, have prayed for the Pope. LOL

Marci~I am thoroughly enjoying the books that I'm reading right now. They aren't ones that I would normally read, but they are ones that we all should read so that we have a sense of what goes on around the rest of the world. (I for one didn't have a clue.)

BJ~Your DDs are terribly intelligent. Instead of falling into your pattern, they talked to you about changing yours. I remember promising my DFather that I wouldn't get fat like my Mom but who knew that I would go through the hardships of 2 failed marriages & being a single mom, etc?

Tikanis~My DS#2 used to smoke & he was the one that talked Dave out of smoking as well as his DSM (stepmom). He was extremely strong willed too. I think that it has been almost 2 years now since he quit & I'm thankful every day for that. He is only 22 & it was a nasty habit for him to get started in. (I'm not knocking anyone here if you do smoke, just didn't want to see my DS smoking. No one in our family does.)

Raeanne~Congrats on the 29 days! We should all send you a gift for being the most consistent!

Besh~That was a strange deal & I think that you certainly made the correct decision.

Lynn~Things are thinning down around here too. I like that part of it but not the part that it is going to start getting very hot now.

NH Suzanne~Stay in there. Good things will happen, just don't get discouraged. I know that it is hard.

Hi to all that I have missed. Amy, Gretchen, Jen, KY Susie, & whoever else I missed we miss you when you don't post.

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

QOD: what are your plans for the weekend? Tonight, my sister, BIL and nieces stay over after they attend the Yankees' Game. Tomorrow, I serve them brunch, then I go to a bridal shower in the afternoon (88 guests-huge restaurant affair), followed by a dinner party in the evening over a friend's home. On Sunday, I'm going into the city with 4 of my (old!) high school friends for brunch and to see Steel Magnolias on Broadway. I think I may need to take Monday off and sleep in!!

Make it a great one, and be good to yourselves!

Good Morning All,

TGIF for me too! This has been a hellacious week. Alot going on at work including trouble with our sales manager. She may be on her way out the door or at the very least demoted to sales person with the rest of us! Somehow I can't see her going down without a fight but trouble is brewing and it's not comfortable right now. She is a vindictive person and I want to stay clear of her. I would really like to see her not be manger because she has NO management skills. More on this later.

I have been either walking my horse or riding my horse all week and not getting in from that until 7:30. It sound early enough but it's late for me since I am up at 4am! I haven't got alot of time to do anything before I am ready for bed. I have to start planning to eat before I go out with the horses.

DeeMarie, you do need to take Monday off after your busy weekend ahead! Wow, I am not social enough to do all that in a two day period.

We have started work on the June issue this week and I am off to a slow start. It's so hard to get focused on the next issue. All of our minds are focused on outside and wanting to ride our horses!

QOD: Tonight I am hosting a hags with nags party. We are celebrating one nags birthday which is really in August but since we are all so scattered in August we decided to make up a birthday for her. She has no idea that we are celebrating her birthday!! It should be fun to surprise her as she has had a bad week losing her bid on some property :-( She was hoping to build her first home on it! Oh well I know another opportunity is right around the corner. As for the party she will have fun. We even have a karaoke machine tonight!

Hope everyone has a great day. I really don't want to be at work today!

Suzanne, karaoke is fun! I have a machine and play with it all the time. Of course, no one else wants to hear me, but I don't care. LOL!

I was up at 5am this morning to watch the Pope's Mass. All that Latin came back to me from my youth; amazing!

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. & decided to watch the Pope's Mass. I'm not Catholic but he did such good work around the world. I'm sure that I missed some of it but I saw most of it. LOL

QOD~Our friends that have been gone for 2 weeks are coming home tonight & if they aren't too tired, I would love to go to MacDill AFB to the Thunderbird's Airfest. (Dave was born at MacDill & left when he was 6 weeks old & hasn't ever been back.) It doesn't cost anything & I really want him to have the opportunity to go. Plus we like the air shows. We had them in TX as well.

Hi to all! Patti :)

TGIF!!

Trying to get done with work related stuff early in the day and get out into the garden.

Suzanne, your party sounds fun! I hope that things settle down at work for you. Avoid nasty people at all costs.

DeeMarie, You REALLY are busy this wekend! You'll need all of Monday to recover. You have my permission to take Monday off ( ha ha! ).

Patti, long time no chat!! Hi to Dave. I hope that you enjoy the air show. We used to goto one out here all the time with my Dad.

QOD: This afternoon I am out to the garden. Tonight I am seeing a movie with a friend. Back to the garden tomorrow to erect trellises and plant. Possibly going out to dinner Saturday night with friends. Sunday is church in the morning with the rest of the day up for grabs! I am going to try a self study session to upgrade my computer skills including use of this new digital camera.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Tikanas

Hey! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday: Went to a garden party at the local nursery. Dress up affair with wine, appetizers and desserts while strolling along, looking at the new spring plants. They had a cool smooth jazz band. I met up with a gal pal there and it was fun!

Saturday: Having a luau bday party for my 9 yr old. Starts at noon with hot dogs, SUN chips, and Capri SUN drinks, along with bday cake and Hawaiia music! Then we're playing Aloha sack races, pin the coconut on the tree, the wrapping paper game, limbo. After that, I have a video of "How to do the Hula". We're having everyone dress Hawaiian and greeting them at the door with leis and then taking their picture. While the party is going, my DD is going to print the pics and put them in little Hawaiian shirt frames and place them in the goodie bags, slong with Aloha mints, bracelets, and blow up beach balls. I have little Hula bears and other fun stuff for prizes. It'll be a fun day!

At 3 o'clock, I'm going to veg out and crash!!!!!

Sunday: Picking up my kids' cousin for the week (spring break) and we're heading for the Oregoin coast for a week. Life's a beach! After picking her up, we're going to visit my friend with the twins. The teens will watch the twins while I and my girlfriend clean house and help her get ready for a garage sale she's having next weekend.

Sunday night, one of DH's friends rented a place and is giving a slide show. He's a photographer who travels the world and his shots are really awesome. It should be a GREAT show!

Monday, first thing in the morning, I'm off to the coast! DH is putting together a new laptop for me, so I'm going to try to check in a couple times by wireless connection while I'm gone.

Make this weekend a good one!

PS: I forgot to mention, LAUNDRY!!!!! In between everything, there's the ever-present laundry. Raeanne???? Are we still doing laundry together on weekends?

Here is a link that might be useful: Seth's pictures!

BJ - I'm with you for some laundry tomorrow. Sounds like you have quite a week ahead of you. I love to hear about your kids birthday parties, you do such fun things.

DeeMarie - I agree with Tikanis, take Monday off - sounds like you won't have any choice.

I posted a link below, so you can see just how quickly time goes by. Just type in your date of birth. WOW

Here is a link that might be useful: See how quickly time flies

and wearing a pair of slacks that wouldn't button a month ago...

I've noticed over the years that we all seem to change our diet strategies from time to time. I guess we get bored doing the same thing all the time.

WildChicken - I've thought or that, too, that some people (like me) are on a perpertual diet. But there's a reason for it. People who can eat "normally" and don't have a weight problem don't have to get into dieting in one form or another. I think it's the weight challenge that causes the altered attitude toward food, rather than the other way around, although sometimes they can feed into each other and turn into a cycle. I think the controlled portions can make a lot of difference. For example, 1 or 2 cups of popcorn with 1T butter add up differently than 4-6 cups with 4T butter. I think overall your efforts have been quite successful. You don't know where you might be if you weren't always trying to stay on top of it.

I'm still doing a kind of combination of weight watchers, low carb, and herbalife. I'm not sure how it will all turn out. I went through about a year when I was cheating about once a week, but it didn't work out for me, so I've quit cheating again - ever. I suppose I could get away with one cupcake a year or something, but what's the point? It would just make me want more. I do much better without the sugar. Sometimes I make candy bars out of baking chocolate, cream cheese, butter, nuts, and sweetener. They don't make me crave more, like regular ones do.

I'm still trying to keep up with all my projects.
Have a good eating day everyone.

Amy

I forgot that we were having a picnic today. Dave won't be the VP of the resident's association around here after Tuesday & I'm shouting for joy! Yippee!

Amy~I have a book that says basically the same things that we have been hearing for years now about low carb. That we need to stay away from sugar, breads, potatoes, etc. The one thing that I found interesting was that if you add virgin coconut oil to your daily diet that it will help reset your metabolism. Not only that but they claim that it helps with CFS & FM. It is supposed to be organic & I've found that it is approximately $11 or $12 for 16 oz. I haven't tried it yet. But I was interested to see what it had to say. If I could get off my medications then it would certainly be worth the money!

Hope everyone else is out there enjoying their weekend!

Raeanne & BJ~Don't overdo it. Doh, look who I'm talking to! LOL

Hi to all! Patti :)

Maddie - after watching Charles and Camilla's wedding - I couldn't help but think of you with all those HATS. You would've been in your glory!