And it goes on.

Not sure what's going on. I think I'm in a funk. Food is OK, except that I succumed to pizza today at lunch. And not just any pizza - Pizza Town donair pizza. Anyway, back on track this afternoon.

Been walking in the evenings with the dog and kids. The weather has been lovely. Tomorrow we will visit my mother-in-law. There's been someone sick since Christmas, so this is the first weekend it's safe to go. The monkeys are over-tired in general and a couple of nights early-to-bed will be good for them.

This week has been a difficult one emotionally. A lot going on and winds of change blowing in I believe. We have a friend that just took quite a large drop in pay and changed his career completely. Pros and Cons to everything, but he's happy with the change. I've been wondering for the past year if my problem is with my chosen career or my chosen job. I've tried to make the best of it but think self-sabotage sometimes happens in all areas of our lives. I moved frequently in my life - moving often for change and improvement. Or maybe it's just a mid-life crisis - or maybe I'm just tired.

Times like this - emotional ones - it's hard to focus on why you're eating. I'm grateful for my diet this week. It's filling and I don't have to think about it. But if you get down, or stressed or happy and turn to food, one of the things I do is use the Anchoring tool from Weight Watchers. Just stop and place your hand on your belly and ask,"Am I hungry for food?" If you're eating for comfort only, you may want to re-evaluate and do something different - like post a blog, take a walk or relax in the tub. Ahhhh...I never get to relax in the tub anymore. The lock is broken and someone always 'needs' me. Gotta get that lock fixed.

I hope everyone is doing well.

The Best Defense

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I walked into the lunch room at work and saw not one, but several boxes and bags of treats. From chocolate and cookies to pretzels and chocolate-covered caramel popcorn. Then what landed at lunch? Food from a cancelled meeting. Sandwiches, soups, sweats and a veggie tray.

I didn't do so well with the chocolate, had a bowl of leek soup, a half sandwich made with real chicken (not the processed stuff) and stuffed myself on the veggie tray. It could have been worse. The treats are still here today. What would you do?

Ahem...what would you do?

Jan 5/08 - Day 1 of a commitment to write it before you bite it.

Coffee with whole milk (1)
Oatmeal with blueberries, 2/3C soy drink and splenda (5)
Water and multivitamin
Coffee with whole milk (1)

Make pulic my commitments:

1. Track all foods eaten for this week
2. Cardio - 30 mins - 5x
3. Strength training - 2x
4. NO chocolate this week

It's 9:40am on Day 1 - So far, so good. I will be tracking in my handy-dandy WW 3-month journal this week and then hand the journal on to one of my members to track in next week. Talk about accountability!

So, what do you think about a rotating journal in meetings? Is this something you would do? We'll be marking the weekly weight-loss of the different members in the book - hopefully starting with me. Also, is it a good idea to start the book with me. My thoughts were: I wouldn't ask you to do it unless I was willing to do it myself. Plus, it provides a good template (I think). Thoughts and feedback on this are greatly appreciated.

The Gain/The Small Loss

It's the week after Thanksgiving. A few things have been bopping around in my head today. Colette is upset because she only lost 0.4 lbs. I do feel badly for her, and she's had stresses I don't want to even think about. I've also been thinking about those who will show up at meeting tonight and will have gained or not lost what they would expect to. The fact that they'll be there is huge - it's always those who don't press the re-start button who need worrying about.

I've been thinking about 'Failure' and how it's such a vital part of overall success. I'm participating in a Goals Challenge right now and 'failure' was todays topic. Failure is an important part of overall success. Think Thomas Edison, who was called stupid by his teachers. Fred Astaire who was rejected because he was balding, couldn't act, and could only dance a little. Lucille Ball who was told she was too shy to act. What gives you the right to think you can't lose weight? The program works if you work the program.

As for small losses or gains - I've had my share. The difference? I view 'failures' as opportunities for growth. I always evaluated my small losses or gains and tried to be as honest with myself as I could. Problems in life? They don't define you. It's what you do to over-come them that matters most.

Small loss? Small gain? This is a little something acquired from Weight Watchers written by one pound of fat. I hope you enjoy.

Hello, do you know me?
If you don’t, you should.
I’m a pound of fat,
And I’m the HAPPIEST
pound of fat that you
would ever want to meet.
Want to know why?
It’s because no one ever wants to lose me;
I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound!
Everyone wants to lose
three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds,

but never only one.
So I just stick around
and happily keep you fat.
Then I add to myself,

ever so slyly, so that you
never seem to notice it.
That is, until I’ve grown to
ten, twenty, thirty or
even more pounds in weight.
Yes, it’s fun being ONLY
ONE POUND OF FAT,

left to do as I please.
So, when you weigh in
keep right on saying,
“Oh, I only lost one Pound.”

(As if that were such a terrible thing.)
For you see, if you do this,

you encourage others to keep me around
because they’ll think I’m not worth losing.
And, I love being around you –
your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips

and every part of you.
Happy Days!!
After all, I’m
ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT!!!

Calling Debbie Out

I think Debbie is getting a little frustrated with the long haul of weight loss. She hasn't even reached maintenance yet and is getting tired of the trudge. Ummm, Debbie - let's put the scale away for a while and focus on what was, is and always will be important. YOU!

And this goes for anyone else reading this post.

What do YOU need to do to live the life you want? Do you need to journal food or watch that comfort zone? That'll never change. Do you need to get out and walk 2-3 times a week? That'll never change. Will reaching that magic number on the scale suddenly make all of life's problems disappear? Sorry - ain't gonna happen.

I don't know exactly what YOU need to do to be happy, but I know you're the only one that can do it. I do know that storyboarding your future, making goals and doing those repetitive tasks that we all hate to do can help get you there. This works for weight or anything else your little heart desires. Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve - W. Clement Stone

Debbie - YOU have lost 70 lbs. THAT is amazing. YOU are amazing.

3 Cheers and a Shout Out to Debbie

Progress pictures

Hoo boy, I can't believe I am DOING this, but I'm going to post the side profile before and after pictures from the 12-week Blast the Fat Challenge at PnP.

My daughter took the afters and I didn't have the heart to ask her to try to get the same distance and profile as the befores. I also couldn't find my shorts. I daresay the belly is shrinking though. I'm going to really focus on this in the next few months before NS beach weather.

The nice thing about this is, even with any flaws, the current after is going to be a before in a few short weeks. Onward and downward (the waist that is).

Oh, and I lost at WI last night. A nice 3 lb buffer between me and that WW 'goal'. Next week will be my last paying week - woohoo.

Cheers, and have a great day.

Race? What Race?

OK, I originally thought I'd be at goal by December 12th weigh-in. In the summer that seemed to be my target spot. Sweet! Maintain over Christmas and stop paying mid-January. I had it all worked out.

Some things happened along the way.

I could wine about plateaus, my lack of focus during certain time periods, inability to embrase exercise through the summer and fall. Instead we'll chalk it up to learning a new lifestyle. To making changes at a pace I can live with. I never took my eye off the prize - and don't intend to even yet, but I learned something about myself at every stage. Every month I got closer and closer to who I wanted to be. In early October I was 160.4lbs and before Christmas I was still 158. So, in almost 3 months I had only moved 2.4lbs. So much more happened during that time.

I developed a holiday eating plan, I learned that not journaling contributes to BLTs (for me), I learned to change my definition of exercise.

Pre-October defintion: Exer-Cise. Two 4-letter words that should never be said together. Can be replaced by Activity which includes leisurely walks or fun things that require mild exertion.

New definition: X-or-Size. "X" as in X-tra large fries and X-tra large T-shirt "or" "Size" as in the size you want/deserve to be. This involves embrassing the benefits of sore muscles and a bit of sweat. It also involves abdominal moves to get rid of a bulge (described earlier this week)

All of this actually reaped some benefit on the digital devil in the past few weeks and I finally broke the plateau. It wasn't the first plateau I experienced, just the longest. I'm hopeful that, with my new-found knowledge and exercise regime I won't experience another plateau at least until I reach goal, because I'm starting to get tired of paying for meetings...

So, the bottom line. We're not in a race. I'm not going to win any prize for getting to the finish line first. Enjoy the journey - there's more to it than lower numbers on the scale. There's great recipes, great company, and a lot of stuff to learn. And where is the finish line? I am having the distinct impression there isn't one. So, unlike exercise, you oughta take some time and enjoy the journey, with a mild exertion that can be maintained for the long haul.

As time Flyes

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? Wow! I usually ask for...not much. This year I've got a list. I need some new clothes and lots of accessories to help with my weight loss and strength training efforts. Looking for a heart rate monitor, some whey isolate protein, cardio videos, an exercise bench, more dumbells...
Oh yeah, I'm working the dumbells. I'd like a bench for my dumbell flyes - it's hard to keep those elbows off the ground at home. I've been tossing between feeling pretty damn good about how far I've come and pretty sheepish about how far I have to go. Joining phitnphat has been an extremely humbling and rewarding experience. I have learned so much over the past 7 months and have been extremely grateful to everyone. Phitnphat has made me realize that I have sooo much more to learn. And if I want to be thin and still flabby (calves, thighs, arms - all getting quite flabby as the fat melts away) keep going as I am. If I want to be tight, something else is required.
If you asked me a few months ago if I'd ever wear a 2-piece bathing suit that didn't come with a long enough tank top to cover my tummy I'd have laughed. I'm not saying skimpy bikini, but a regular 2-piece that comes up far enough to the belly button to cover the forest of stretch marks is actually something that I think could be attainable - maybe even next summer. Wow, the thought is invigorating, thrilling..... daring. Understand, I am now a 38 year-old Mom of 2 who at the start of last summer was wearing bathing shorts and flowy top to the pool to hide the perceived sins.
Over at PNP, Trish has been helping us do up Storyboards. Those in Weight Watchers have used this tool (or not, I never put much thought into them except to jot down some food goals). She has given basic ideas and left the creativity of these to us. A living proof of our goals and what we need to achieve them. I'd like to share mine here and hope that it inspires someone else to try something similar. Many of the girls used photoshop with color strips, but I'm still technically incompetent and did mine in Word. I know it's hard to see/read.

#1 - At home beginner strength training, Pump out the cardio 3x a week, and focus on the core. Measurements monthly

#2 - Increase water to help muscle re-build, Choose more protein for muscle development, Focus on Core food choices with lots of fruits and vegetables

#3 - You have an amazing support system. Each one is a special gift along this journey.Use them. (The runners caption says, To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.)

#4 - Get over weight-loss hump and get to Weight Watcher goal of 150. Be able to flex and have stronger arms than ever before by Valentines.

8 Healthy Guidelines

Zazu did an self-evaluation the other day of how she is dealing with Weight Watchers 8 Healthy Guidelines. I think this is a great idea and, at the risk of displaying all of my faults, decided to give it a whirl.

• 5 Servings of Veggies and Fruits per day - I usually have 1 serving in the morning and add veggies to meals all of the time. This has never been a big issue. I don't count many veggies except peas and stuff I know has pts. If I don't know, it's free.
• Choose whole-grain foods - We've always eaten whole wheat bread and I've switched to brown rice and whole-grain cereals. I've also boughten and eaten some whole-wheat pasta, but am just starting in on pasta-season, so will get more into this in the coming weeks. Generally I've jumped on this wagon.
• 2 servings of milk products per day - I don't care much for milk so I substitute LF soy drink and yogurt. I try to have 1C in the morning, I put whole milk in my coffee, and I try to remember to have 1C for supper unless I've had cheese during the day. Usually I get it in, but it's always an effort.
• Healthy Oil - I have actually taken to using oil-based salad dressings as my sauce in lunches. Paul Newman has some great suggestions. This is the one area I don't worry about points - I count them, but will choose high-fat options if I like the taste. It's something that's worth spending 2 pts/day on to me.
• Adequate protein. I usually get enough. This was a new thing to me because I was always so cheap at the grocery. Knowing I need protein and evaluating the cost in pts vs money has really modified some priorities.
• Limit added sugar and alcohol. Sometimes I still struggle with the sugar. I have switched to sweetner and try to satisfy a sweet craving with something like frozen pineapples or strawberries mic'd for a bit with a packet of splenda. I love baked goods, whip cream and chocolate. I try - let's leave it at that. With alcohol, I really don't drink a lot. 4 glasses of wine or beers per week tends to be my limit - not because of the points. Quite often one bottle of beer on Friday night is all I really want. I will very rarely have 3 drinks in 1 day. I just like knowing that I can, if I want to spend 3 pts on it and slow down my progress a bit.
• Drink 6 glasses of water per day. Sometimes I don't have a problem with this and sometimes I do. If I have my bottle, no problem. Lately I've been slacking and would like to get this back up to 8Cs per day
• Multi-vitamin daily. Very rarely, even though I keep a little bottle of Centrum in my desk. But now that I'm typing this I think I'll go downstairs, get a cup of water and take a multi-vitamin.

I Got a Secret

No Where to Run asked what some of my secrets to weight loss were. Heck, like most of us who have had some success with this - I just don't know. I also feel silly posting any advice I may have when faced with the amazing women in my blog community - Steph the big loser, Swizz the scientist, Randi the iron-woman, and everyone else who I turn to daily for motivation. Regardless, I've decided tonight to play 'Randi' and pretend I'm a know-it-all, LOL. Anyone reading this ought to keep in mind that my loss is quite slow, averaging just over 1lb/week since I started this in May.

The beginning: It was recognizing a disgust I had with my body. Staring at my stomach and thinking "I hate this." I go back to this image whenever I feel myself becoming too complacent. Several things lead me to the end of the beginning.

What is the end of the beginning? For me it was walking into a Weight Watchers meeting, but any program will do, even your own. I didn't know about food - I was a thin kid who ate like a man - correction, a working man. Until I was 29 this worked quite nicely for me, but then it stopped - my metabolism suddenly slowed down. WW taught me things about food that I had no idea about. And for the first time in my life I became aware of what I was eating.

In the months since this journey began I have 'trained' my family to be supportive. At first my children were especially upset because they like the built-in pillow. Supportive doesn't mean that they will eat everything I eat - yet - but it does mean that they're more sensitive, they don't try to de-rail my efforts ('Let's eat out tonight - you've been working so hard' is NOT supportive). For everyone this support is different. For me, it is having my 4yo be the first to ask me how my meeting was, my 9yo to smile at my successes and give me a hug, and my husband to try to make point-friendly meals and ask when I can work in a meal out.

Then I discovered blogland. I found Roni who lead me to: Colette who makes me laugh and Steph who makes me laugh and cry at the same time and Becky who is a sweety through and through and Swizz with her crazy graphs and crazier heels. I started my blog - and this community gives me support and information that I wouldn't have had otherwise. I have expanded my blog weight-loss support group, revising my daily reads as I 'meet' new people and discover that others have stopped posting (runnergirl, melody, gone).

Through a blog-friend I discovered Sparks and found a lot of exercise tips there. At around the same time I 'met' Randi who expanded my horizons regarding strenght-training. I still struggle with the exercise thing, but trying and trying again - that's the biggest thing there.

Weight-loss, they say is made up of calories in and calories out, but it is so much more. It is food, it is exercise, and sometimes it's weighing-in after a pee, lol. But it's also your support system. Only you can decide who you will turn to for support. You need support in real life and, for me, in cyber-space.

The only other thing I can say is definately required is attitude. Each person can look at an event and take different steps: you weigh-in today and gain 3.2lbs (uh, yeah, let's not do that again). Do you: a) get depressed, say you blew it, and eat like crazy for a couple of days, b) re-focus, evaluate and move forward, while staying on-plan. This attitude, this perception, is going to be your success.

Other tips:

• Take measurements so you have another tool to measure success other than the demon scale. These should be taken every 1-2 months, or when you hit a plateau
• Attempt activity - do what you are comfortable with. Every little bit helps
• Journal your food (it's amazing what we 'forget' we ate)
• Pack lunches often - make your own frozen dinners
• Eat whole foods whenever possible, including whole grains such as brown rice and fresh fruit vs. dried. They are more filling
• Drink lots of water
• Share successes so others can celebrate with you
• Share challenges so others can offer their support to you
• Stock up on frozen fruits & veggies, and keep fresh stock at reasonable quantities to avoid feeding the composter
• Some protein, such as cheese and crackers or almonds while you're waiting for dinner will keep you full longer and you only need a bit
• I also try to get a dairy and a fruit in every morning at breakfast to get these servings under my belt, so to speak. It gives a great start to the day
• Remember, this is not a diet. It is your life and there's no rush. Take time to develope good habits and love yourself.

PS - I lost 1lb this week and decided to stick withthe cords as my weigh-in clothes. I also bought the 9-week holiday super-saver plan, so I'm good until Christmas.

6 Years of Blessings

Today seems to be the perfect day for reflecting on how we live, and giving blessings for our way of life. Much like many people, 6 years ago today I sat crying, staring at the television in disbelief. Our world changed, but thankfully not as much as some would have liked. I passed the Halifax International airport and the normally quiet little place was lined with airplanes that had landed in our little part of the world. Buses took travellers to shelters all day. I was so fortunate to be able to just go home.

6 Years of Blessings:

• I have a wonderful family and a husband who loves me. My children are full of love and not afraid to show it.
• My house, although not perfect, keeps us warm and dry.
• I was only without pay for 2 weeks after returning from maternity 4 years ago when my position was down-sized and they let me know 2 weeks before I was scheduled to return.
• My family has had some tough times financially, but we have always managed to pull through and come out better than when we started.
• We are healthy and free of illness which was so important during my time working without health coverage.
• Although I am still overweight, I am on my way to a healthy lifestyle and feel wonderful as a result. I am so thankful for all the support I get at my meetings, home, and on-line.

Good Thoughts ONLY

So, BB and I made a pact to think only the good things about ourselves this week. Bad thoughts must be squashed, hahahaaahaaaaaaaa (that's my wicked laugh).
OK, so then I was reading another post by Phit n Phat that talked about the power of the mind. Check it out http://phitnphat.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/mind-over-matter/
To chop this up even further, a couple of weeks ago, Swizzle said "Post something positive about myself every day to help boost my self image" as part of her goals. She's still doing this. I followed suite and posted one thing for 6 different days about myself here: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=CANDACE101&showall=YES
The process actually assisted in some self-evaluation and I found that I needed to justify WHY I was saying what I was about myself. Why can't we just say the nice thing and drop it. Probably for the same reason we can't just say 'Thank you' when offered a compliment. I must teach my children how to do that.
I've come to the conclusion that part of our plunge into self-abuse (i.e. letting ourselves go) is that we don't feel, on some level, that we deserve good things. I think posting something positive - WITHOUT explanation - is required. Something good about me, NOW - not 20 lbs from now. It's the power of positive thoughts that will win the day.

So, without further ado: I am a very forgiving person. Just because I forgive does not mean I forget. Forgetting is a bad thing. No, I can forgive and still love/like someone for who they are - in spite of themselves in some cases. This allows me to take the good from these people - enjoy them for everything they have to offer me - and leave the bad at the door. There, no further explanation required.

Staying Motivated and Moving

I finally found a link to the C25K this week. Not sure I'm gonna do it all, but I am gonna do week 1, at least for this week. Also, shaking up my morning routines and increasing time to 12 mins.

Day 1 - Glutes (3 types - 2 sets - 20 and 12) - no push-ups. Will do alternating toe touches and various other stretches instead, including some lunge-type activity I learned in dance class last year. I find daily push-ups too much on my arms.

Day 2 - Crunches (I did 60 Friday), push-ups (2 sets of 20), arm twirls, toe touches, leg lifts, etc.

Sundays - off

Sat/Mon/Wed - Daily walk will be done with 8 1-minute jogs. I did this yesterday with hubby and it wasn't too bad. WOW! Did I just say that? Also, I got permission to take some extra lunch time since I'm here late most nights (and Sundays, as in today)

I'm not doing bad on the food front. I've GOT to get some groceries, but it looks like I'm stuck until Tuesday evening now. Main bummer is that I have none of my milk or yogurt, we only have homogenized (my coffee 'cream') and regular soy drink (an extra point per cup). I could pick up 1% dairy at the convenience store - I hate dairy milk. My fault for not getting to the grocery before it closed.

Went shopping for school supplies yesterday. I love this annual trip. We got the stuff on the list, then went over to Cleve's (a local sporting goods store) to look at their sneakers. Ci has outgrown 'children's' shoes and is in a size 7. Wal Mart had nothing. She saw a couple pair that she liked. One was on sale, but the soles were discoloured. The others were not on sale. But wait, the lady said they were a part of a promotion where you buy 1, get the 2nd pair for $1. Ci was like, "I get 2 Pair!" - Uh, no honey. Yes mame, may I see those tres expensive walking shoes over there - yes - they are part of that promotion too? Yes! Great! I love them! No - I don't need to try on a different pair, these are fine. - Anyway, we both got sneakers, and at a price that I would have expected to pay for 2 pairs. My Reebok's are so comfortable.

Oh, and just because, here's the results of 14 weeks OP- the summer of change. I just can't believe how far I've come. The last few weeks have been slow from a weight-loss perspective (3.8 in 5 weeks), but activity has become much more regular and enjoyable. It's all good.

September Goals

I posted this on Sparks, but figured I'd add it here as well. I read something the other day that said the point of challenges/goal setting is not that you WILL get them all done every day/week/month, but that you'll TRY. Being accountable to them daily means I'll do better than if I didn't have them. Kind of like WW GHG's.
This week I've also given thought to a Cindy, a lady from my meetings. She's been having a 'maintenance' summer, not by choice, and she seems discouraged about it. I think she'll pull it together once fall hits next month. The point of mentioning her is that I joined WW the end of May and have worked diligently over the summer, even while on vacation, trying to figure out my body, experimenting with different foods and points, etc. Anyway, I say I'm down 18.2lbs, but sometimes think, "I'm down 25lbs from where I WOULD have been now if I hadn't done this." How so? Both Cindy and I would likely have put weight on this summer had it not been for Weight Watchers. As it is, I have lost 18.2lbs and she is still down around 60lbs from starting.

So, the reason I am posting this is to keep momentum happening in the face of new changes with the schoold year starting, Mark taking a realtor course, fall activities starting up, and just generally less 'ME' time all of a sudden. So, without further ado,
My goals for September are (many of these are also part of the 12-week Octoberbest challenge for me, others are WW, others are just me):
- Get to below the 160lb
- Drink at least 8 cups of water daily
- Some type of exercise or activity for 150 mins/week, incorporating abs/glutes/arms/cardio (all my weak areas)
- WW GHG's of 5 F&V daily, 2-3 Dairy daily, 1-2 healthy oils daily (I have recognized that I have a hard time with oils, but if I can get in even 1 it's better than none and I'm gonna count it as a success, even though it falls short according to WW)
- If I slip forgive myself immediately, not the next day, and get back on plan. No sense in turning a 1 meal slip-up into a 1 day or week slip-up.
- Journal all my meals with the exception of Wednesday nights (With Wed WI before, if I have points available, I don't worry about this meal - just keep the guidelines in perspective)

I am also currently attempting to follow Wendie. Mmalloy is having success with this, but I am in the 'test' phase. Yesterday I was 1pt shy from Wendie, but I was done, so that's cool. Tonight is WI and the September Goals will officially be in place tomorrow for 5 weeks (ending Oct 3). This will also wrap up Octoberbest Challenge.

Cheers, and Happy Hump Day!

Goals met/or not

I decided to set similar goals as Swizzle this week and - well, she did better than me in sticking to them. This is how it played out: Incomplete, Complete

My goals for the past week (Wed - Tues):
Exercise 3 times for at least 30 minutes - 2 20 minute walks
Do a daily 10 minute morning routing for 6 of 7 days - Mon and Tues only
Copy my manual journal into Sparks Food log daily to check on 'value chart' - even though many of these food choices are brand-name and do not reflect my choices 100% - mostly and will complete and analyze later today.
Have a fruit or veggie with every meal - Check
Drink at least 64oz of water every day - 5/7 days met - short on Sat and Sun
Write something positive about myself every day to help boost my self image - 6/7 met - missed Sun

On the exercise front, I know I did less than I should have. No excuses, just trying to get back on the wagon (or should I say on a wagon). I think I'll strive for a more structured guideline this week.
Water - I guess I need to figure out a way to keep water in front of me at home, as I do at work. Maybe I'll buy a honkin' big jug.
Food - I seem to be hitting my goals on this front fairly regularly.
Personal positivity - This was an interesting exercise. This may be a neat thing to do once a week.

Motivating - Who Me?

Before getting started today, I would like to clarify something that Jodi pointed out from my post yesterday. The 16 points are attributable to my weight only. The others, due to the other factors such as sitting on my butt all day and being female and all add up to 6 for a grand total of 22. Even if my points did all add up to 16, I think WW requires you to eat a minimum of 18/day. Thanks for the concern Jodi, and sorry to confuse. I also indicated that 'officially' they were 16 - I decided not to reduce them, based on our leaders advice, until I'm into the zone and see that I am not losing as much as I'd like. Right now, I think that 22/day may be too little. Considering I always use a few FPs each day, it really doesn't matter as long as I dont use too many in 1 week.

OK! Me? Motivating people IMRL to lose weight?
#1 - When my mother indicated that she was going to do WW after seeing my success, I took it with a grain of salt. She obtained information and is choosing to go it alone rather than join. I will work on trying to convince her that the meetings and being accountable are invaluable, but she joined during her 'grieving' stage after my father passed away and never lost weight. Going to the meetings is fine, but you also need to be accountable to yourself on a daily basis. I think wanting to do something is better than nothing.
#2 - I wrote a while ago about a girl that I work with who got talking about losing the 30+lbs she'd put on this past winter. She also doesn't want to 'pay' for stuff (to me, the money is so worth it - an investment that will pay off potentially in reduced drug bills in the future, but I digress) and has been asking questions. Funny, I really thought she was going to do something in May and it was just one of the things that kick started me. Anyway, I thought about it and suggested she sign up for SparksPeople. She printed off her menu and is happy. She's decided that she wants to lose 21 lbs for mid-November, and knowing that I've lost close to that in almost 3 months has given her determination. We'll see how it goes.

I really hadn't any 'friends' at my meeting - living in commuterville and commuting a lot, most people I do know around home have children at or around my 9yo's age. Everyone at meeting was very nice, though. This week, a lady from our Church joined. I'll admit I have been MIA from church since about last November (something about not wanting to hear the "Where have you been" 's and I just never got back), but it was nice to see a familiar, friendly face. I think that's why I love Steph, Colette, Dizzy, Amanda and DietCoke - going there and seeing their smiling faces gives me a sense of realism. I think I'll have to get my pic up, too - I never realized what an impact those had. I just wish I took a better picture.