Weight Watchers/Weight Loss Support May 2012

[EmptyNestMom]

This is a support thread for those working to shed a few pounds (or more)! Some of us are on the Weight Watchers Points Plus plan; others are working different programs or focusing on personal goals. Anyone is welcome to join in!

Where did April go! My weight loss slowed down last month, partly due to the fact that my journalling was pretty lax! I am resolving to do better in May...
I weighed in today and was down .6 pounds, so not too bad...

Wishing you all a wonderful month...one filled with satisfaction about yourself!

I was wondering if I am the only one that does this...I go to weigh in at lunch and then I allow myself to buy and eat something that I wouldn't normally eat...no not a hot fudge sundae!! I go and buy a Starbucks coffee with flavoring and 12 sushi rolls and eat them all. All in all probably not too bad to splurge on...so what do you do?

[Valerie226]

Wow Denise, what a loss so gaining the pound was a lead up to losing 3.6 ... what a deal!

Emptynestmom, I don't know what a sushi roll ( not a fan of any I've tried) is but I can appreciate the coffee. I have a NF latte every morning, but when on vacations where we are working hard I have 1/2 a flavored coffee. DH and I split it, because of the caffeine not the calories. instant mocha tastes good, is a nice jolt of caffeine before a ride or hike.

We had a good short vacation. weather was so-so but we managed to time things well, got in plenty of hiking and mt biking, camping pleasant, non crowded except for saturday night which required some searching. I think about scratching sat nights entirely because of the difficulty finding decent camping conditions. I want quiet and minimal smoke... there is apparently a large % who build stinking smokey fires regardless of temp. gives me a headache and a cough.

[dcollier]

Hi everyone! I went with my DH to Hot Springs last Thursday for a doctor's appointment, and when we go (it's 100 miles from us), we hit the liquor store, Sam's, grocery stores, and usually another 4 to 6 places to take advantage of shopping outside our isolated little town. It was late when we got back so I missed my meeting. I've been trying hard again this week, but I know that my last 3.6 pound loss was a bit of a fluke. And you're probably right, Valerie, my 1 pound gain the week before probably had something to with it.

Pam, I have to confess that after weighing on Thursday nights, my DH and I almost always pick something up, and it's usually pizza or Mexican food. The difference, though, and it's a big one, is that we eat small portions and give the leftovers to our big dog, Lilly. Before WW, we usually devoured everything we bought.

Valerie, we live outside of town, but the town and all surrounding areas are completely surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest and camping here is a year-round event. My DH and I used to drive here from Dallas to camp, and now since we live where we camped (we're in the woods on a side of a mountain), we do very little anymore. But we both miss it and have about decided to buy a small used pop-up. We take the back roads any time we can, and coming back from Hot Springs Thursday, we cut through a very remote part of the National Forest and decided we had to get our camping gear out. Because we're so remote, we don't have crowds, but we do have a ridiculous number of four-wheelers which can be annoying.

Denise

[Valerie226]

Denise we had 2 pop-ups.... most people don't know what they are! Before that we tent camped. the first pop up got destroyed in a crash, the second one we traded in on a truck camper. we do this a lot and many times in less than ideal conditions, so decided to upgrade. we do this all year not just august. When conditions aren't good a hard sided camper helps.... with cold, heat, noise, and smoke. I swear I do NOT know what possesses people to build smokey fires when it's 80 degrees. Can you guess this has happened to us more than a few times.... I'm sitting there cursing the fact we don't have air while jerks are generating so much smoke it feels like a forest fire.

we still tent camp when we backpack but that season is more limited.

Pizza and mexican are my weaknesses but I eat my portion and then it's wrapped for leftovers. No way is a dog ( that I don't have) getting MY leftover pizza.

had 3 very active days, one Cathe workout, a 12 mile mt bike, and then a 5 hr xc ski. plus yard work. no rest at all.

[LakeMartinGal]

Pizza and mexican are my weaknesses but I eat my portion and then it's wrapped for leftovers. No way is a dog ( that I don't have) getting MY leftover pizza.

It's probably not good for the dog, either!

[EmptyNestMom]

I elected not to go weigh in this week but believe I am down about a pound...wishful thinking maybe but I'll find out next Tuesday...

I know what a pop-up is as we grew up with 5 kids in the family and couldn't afford hotels or cabins so we camped all over Michigan in one. Lots of great places there to camp. My husband and I have tent camped but decided the last couple of years that we would rather go to B&Bs and do hiking in the area they are located and then sleep in a nice bed at night...turned into 2 wimps!!

We do not have a dog and when we did we didn't share table food with it...now my MIL is a different story her dog got her share of every meal.

[Valerie226]

I didn't camp the first time until I was in my 20's, took an outdoor recreation class, met DH, learned some things. DH and I have done a lot every since. my parents never did anything with us and were very rigid about not letting us go with anyone else. So...I've tried to make up for lost time.

We've done quite a lot of hiking and backpacking and are not done yet. never have trouble sleeping on the ground. self inflating air mattresses are lightweight, insulating, make a huge difference.
we have a cushy camper ( our rolling B&B) and it makes campgrounds tolerable and being out all year in less than ideal weather. the best hiking is usually in areas that are a long drive from hotels or B&B's. we like staying close to trailheads rather than waste time/gas driving back and forth.

[dcollier]

Y'all crack me up worrying about my dog! She's a 75 pound pitbull-lab and she eats anything she can find, catch, or kill -- with the exceptions of our chickens and cats (which took serious training). We throw away very little, and she gets most of our leftovers. Our chickens get our grain-based leftovers and almost fight each other over them -- it's hysterical! We have 15 acres in the woods, and while she's a house dog (when we're in the house), she's not fenced when she's out which is a lot of the time. This is such a rural, moutainous area. No animals out our way are confined. Lilly protects our chickens (they free-range during the day) and our last two cats. She's a healthy, happy, loving, precious dog, and a big part of our family.

Denise

[LakeMartinGal]

Y'all crack me up worrying about my dog! She's a 75 pound pitbull-lab and she eats anything she can find, catch, or kill -- with the exceptions of our chickens and cats (which took serious training). We throw away very little, and she gets most of our leftovers. Our chickens get our grain-based leftovers and almost fight each other over them -- it's hysterical! We have 15 acres in the woods, and while she's a house dog (when we're in the house), she's not fenced when she's out which is a lot of the time. This is such a rural, moutainous area. No animals out our way are confined. Lilly protects our chickens (they free-range during the day) and our last two cats. She's a healthy, happy, loving, precious dog, and a big part of our family.

Denise

Glad to hear it, and I meant no disrespect. I know dogs will eat most anything, and as long as she's healthy, I'm okay. I mostly worry about city dogs whose owners think they're pampering their dog by giving them table scraps. BTW, my vet says that BBQ and dogs don't get along well together. We have country dogs, and we can't control what they eat outside, either...

[dcollier]

Kay, I wasn't at all offended. Our vet told us that onions and any other vegetable that has layers that "peel away" from themselves are very bad for dogs. We don't give Lilly anything that's spicey or any chicken bones (we do give her ham bones) or any processed food, although we have very little of that in the house. So we do monitor what we give her.

Funny story. Saturday, while potting annuals on our back deck, a big snake fell out of a tree about five feet from me! I think I came as close to having cardiac arrest as I ever had. I'm TERRIFIED of snakes, whether they're harmless or not. I watch every step I take, but never thought I needed to be looking up too! It was over six feet long and as big around as a broom handle. And it was unlike any snake I've ever seen around here. I have to tell you that I'm a dead-eye with a gun and he didn't make it. Anyway, before I could do anything about his "body" Lilly beat me to him. And bless her heart, she was a sick dog that night. Hopefully, it taught her a lesson. I, however, am struggling walking under trees now on our place, and we live in the woods!

Denise

[LakeMartinGal]

O.M.G, Denise! I'd be petrified, too! Since the dog got sick, you can pretty well imagine that it was not a harmless snake! The difference between venomous and poisonous (as told by The Crocodile Hunter), is that if a venomous snake bites you, you die, and if you bite it, you die! Not good! Glad your dog is ok! Great protector -- and you're great with the gun! Did you have to go get it, or did you have it with you... Enquiring minds want to know.

[srahndennis]

Wow, things are hopping here! Good to see. I say no to snakes and yes to pizza and mexican food! We've done some tent camping, too, although I'm to the point that I want a cabin. I don't mind sleeping in a tent, it's just that all the work to pack everything, then set it up, then take it down takes too much time of the little we have!

Had a loss this week, which is good since the two weeks prior were gains. Hoping to begin a downward spiral! I'm right on target with exercise. Eating is better but not perfect. I need to be tracking better.

[patt]

Since the dog got sick, you can pretty well imagine that it was not a harmless snake! The difference between venomous and poisonous (as told by The Crocodile Hunter), is that if a venomous snake bites you, you die, and if you bite it, you die!

Not that falling snakes wouldn't freak me out, but the odds of the snake being poisonous are really low. Of the poisonous snakes in your area, they are all ground dwellers. Unfortunately, Crocodile Dundee doesn't qualify as a snake expert even if he is an Aussie. Lilly probably was reacting to eating something very different from her usual diet-with or without pizza.

I wonder how many activity points you burned grabbing the gun and taking care of your intruder. Bet it's not listed in the WW list of activities.

Patt

[dcollier]

Kay, that was interesting about the difference in venomous and poisonous snakes. And makes this a bit more frightening to me. Lilly is a good protector. I love her very much. Our deck wraps around our house. My husband builds custom cabinets and furniture, and also had a remodeling company when we were in Dallas, so he never stops building. I've been under construction the entire 21 years we've been married. One way to access the deck is from our bedroom, and my Ruger SP101 stays on my nightstand (we have bears and mountain lions here too). So it took me about 30 seconds or less to get it.

And Patt, just the adrenaline alone I must have produced HAD to have burned a lot of calories!

I weigh tonight and am hoping I maintain. Two weeks ago was my 3.6 pound loss, then I missed last week because we were out of town but I showed a gain on my scale. This morning I was where I was two weeks ago, and I'll take that. We've had a lot of company and we've been out of town the last two weekends, and I don't do nearly as well as when it's just the two of us alone at home.

Denise

[cookieee]

Denise, it's your birthday, your not going to pass up a good excuse to celebrate are you?

[dcollier]

Cookie, how sweet of you to remember! And yes! We're celebrating, but tomorrow instead of today. We have to go to Hot Springs again tomorrow because my DH has to pick up hardwood for his current cabinet job, so we decided to celebrate there after we get his material (I'm taking a vacation day). Hot Springs is a beautiful city, a small city (35,000 pop.), and it's actually a National Park. There are lots of fun places to eat, and I'm not going to worry too much about Weight Watchers tomorrow.

[EmptyNestMom]

Happy Birthday Denise! Hope the scale reflects a no gain tonight...and enjoy your outing tomorrow...Hot Springs is a town we have talked about visiting if we ever come up with time for us after visiting parents and children who all live in different directions!

[Valerie226]

Wow, snakes falling from trees is not my idea of an ideal afternoon. I'm OK with snakes but that would still be a BIG surprise...
we were hiking at Yellowstone a couple years ago to some hot water vents on the river. spring,not many trails were open. dozens of people going back and forth on the trail. DH and I were walking back when I saw a huge snake coiled under a bush RIGHT at trailside. DH walked right by as had everyone else. I walked past and started to think maybe it was a joke ( fake rubber snake), it was so huge... so I asked DH if he'd noticed ... he hadn't. I'm sure no one else saw it. he headed uphill out of the way. However... if he'd fallen out of a tree at my feet I don't think I would have been so cool about it.

Been working out regularly, staying stable. treadmill and yoga yesterday, Cathe weight workout today. did some intense garden work this week, spring is always a "workout".

[srahndennis]

OMG, Valerie -- I did High Step Challenge this morning. I've had it quite a while and haven't done it much. Really didn't remember the workout. Holy, moly -- I know now why I haven't done it much! 5 cycles each with cardio, legs & upper body part. Each leg piece has 30 leg presses [15 each side] (except cycle 4 which has 60!) plus another lower body exercise. I was already sore but I'm going to be hurtin' so good tomorrow! And I'm supposed to do KPC tomorrow, too! Sunday is a yoga day -- I think I'm going to really need it!

[srahndennis]

Happy Birthday, Denise!! Enjoy your day.

[Valerie226]

Yes, Happy birthday Denise...

Oh Stacy.. I have HST, have not done it in ages. For some reason, hiking, running, biking don't work things the same way and I always get deadly sore after a gazillion squats and lunges.... so sore that using the bathroom is a dreaded event.

I was being good about doing lower body blast and then we went on vacation and afterwards the dread factor kicked in. if I don't do those exercises every week I will be sore. so sore. so I've been doing lots, but not LBB. I forget how many risers she used in HST but I know I could not do it that high.

I do NOT understand why there is so little overlap between different types of exercise. If I am mt biking, spinning, running, why should I get so darn sore from squats and lunges??? Does not seem fair.

[dcollier]

Hi everyone, and thanks for the birthday wishes! We did have a great time in Hot Springs. A nice birthday dinner, some shopping, etc., and it was beautiful here. We haven't turned on the air conditioner yet (in the house), and I love when having the windows open is enough. But we're supposed to be 90 by the weekend, so no air conditioner days are coming to a halt.

I had another 1 pound gain last Thursday. Three weeks ago gained 1, two weeks ago lost 3.6, last week gained 1. I don't like to yo-yo at all. I spent a good part of the weekend cooking for the upcoming week, cleaning veggies, planning lunches, etc., so I HOPE I lose this week.

Valerie and Stacy, I'm still in awe of the exercise y'all do. I'm not kidding. I'm proud of myself that I'm walking regularly and moving faster in everything I do. But you two are quite an inspiration.

Denise

[srahndennis]

Denise - Don't sweat the pound. Keep doing what you've been doing; it will all straighten out. Birthday's only come once a year. Glad you had a nice time!

Are you getting close to your goal weight? I ask because as got close, my losses were all over the place where I had been very consistent before.

We're already using the a/c here, as I'm sure you can imagine. So far it's not been super hot but it's been humid. We always turn it down when we work out in the morning - too uncomfortable otherwise!

You should be proud of all the walking you do and being more active! It's a commitment no matter what your choices are. It's hard to stay motivated all the time - I've gone through periods where I've struggled. A couple of months ago, I decided that I was going to quit playing the "I didn't sleep well so I'm going to stay in bed game". I get up regardless. And since I'm up, I might as well work out. So I do! And in the long run, it helps me sleep better so it's all good.

Today was Cardio Supersets. Fun and just the right length.

Valerie -- I totally agree with the lower body exercises! You know they are my least favorite. But I'm getting better....and stronger.

[EmptyNestMom]

Valerie and Stacy, I'm still in awe of the exercise y'all do. I'm not kidding. I'm proud of myself that I'm walking regularly and moving faster in everything I do. But you two are quite an inspiration.

Denise

Denise I am with you on this sentiment! I do some walking but nothing to talk about!! I am considering walking a couple mornings a week before work with a neighbor...but that means I have to get up earlier!! Of course I am awake quite a few mornings earlier than I intended...so it will probably work out.

I weighed in today and was down another pound! My total weight loss is 19.8 pounds...if I don't turn my brain off and allow my mouth to binge I will lose that .2 pounds and maybe even more...

Thanks for keeping this thread going, it is helpful to me to see what everyone is doing...to share in your losses and your gains. It keeps me grounded so I don't get grandiose ideas about what I am doing. I am just living...have a wonderful week!

[srahndennis]

Well, I gained the 1.4 lbs I lost last week. Talk about bouncing around!

Great job, Pam! Great idea to walk with your neighbor. I do hate getting up early but then it's done and I don't have to think about it anymore. It's really become a habit that I miss when I don't do it. It wakes me up for the day!

[Valerie226]

Denise I need to exercise to avoid weight gain. Bad bad metabolism and family history. I'm the only one who's not significantly overweight with T2 diabetes.
I like to do sports. vastly easier to exercise daily and not get out of shape. the "getting back in shape" battle that I used to do every year was hard. half the hiking season would go before I got adjusted to it. so now I just do something almost every day and (mostly) don't get sore. sometimes sore spots but nothing dramatic.
besides, hiking ( my favorite activity) IS walking, just longer times, up and down elevation carrying some weight, but really the same thing.

Congrats Stacy on getting up and working out even when you don't want to. that's harder if you didn't sleep well ..... I have the luxury of working out later or earlier, whatever I want. I like Cardio supersets a lot.

Emptynestmom, that's an impressive total. You will cross the 20 lb mark soon! That's how DH and I started exercising, running in the morning. but too much of the year it's too dark so that's when we started buying indoor gear. still love outdoors exercise but when it's too dark or wet it's nice to have an option indoors.

[dcollier]

Stacy, thanks for the encouragement. You're right -- there will be fluctuations throughout this journey, and I don't need to let them get me down. And right back at you with all you said to me! You had a week like two of mine recently, but after 10 months, I know to expect a gain now and then. I'm really not close to goal -- well over half way there but I still have a lot to lose. I'm 100% more active than I've been in 15 years or more, and my DH and I are doing more physically challenging things than we've done in over a decade. So that's a huge improvment we've made. We spent two days "opening" our deck, getting the pool uncovered and open, and planting tons of annuals. We've also planted a huge garden (at least in my opinion -- 40' x 60'), and talk about a workout! So we're definitely changing our lives for the better.

Contrats Pam on another loss! It really starts adding up, doesn't it?! And I agree with you about this thread. I feel comfortable being very honest here, and we're all working toward the same goal.

Valerie, we live in the mountains and have yet to start walking around our place -- which is our ultimate goal. But it's so "up and down" and very, very steep that right now we walk on the trails around the two ponds at the college where I work, or one that's just on the outskirts of town in the National Forest. It's paved, but it's literally in the National Forest and in the migrating path of the black bear. It's 1 mile around it once, and it has level areas and fairly steep areas, and that's the place we prefer. Plus it's totally shaded because of the trees. Our long-term goal is to start walking on our county road (which is gravel), but we've both got to build up a little more endurance before we can tackle that.

[Valerie226]

Denise, I use hiking/ trekking poles or ski poles. there are all kinds with different tips for dirt or snow) and handles, spring loaded, adjustable length, you name it. They give you two more points of contact for steep areas, either up or down. they get your arms into the game. My arms are in much better shape since I started using them.

I started to carry one instead of looking for a branch for stability crossing streams and quickly found more uses. then went to two poles, adjustable length ones since I'm short and most standard ones are too long. they help in snow and mud too. and I suppose you could use one as a "bear tapper" in a pinch! They are an immense help on steep terrain. just a thought.

[dcollier]

Valerie that's a great idea. The next time we're in Hot Springs or Little Rock, we'll look for them. Thanks!

Denise

[Valerie226]

Hiking poles are popular because they're so useful. Don't think of them like a cane or walker.
When we backpack my hands used to swell a little from the pack weight, arms hanging down/ pressure for hours. Even without a backpack that can happen to your hands over time.

poles totally solved that and made hiking with a big pack easier. my hands don't swell at all anymore. I flick debris off the trail with them. for beach hiking you can flip rocks and wood over, and if rocks are slippery it's another point of stability. We were used to using poles for x-c skiing and this seemed like a natural extension of that use. my arms and shoulders are much more fit looking now. I never hike without them. get adjustable length ones if you can.