Fenton

Sorry, it wouldn't let me include a photo, but this ought to explain things neatly: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q7yhoj_JZ1s/SROBfW5agcI/AAAAAAAAAuE/0qchhPW_sWc/s1600-h/claw.jpg

Potatie! OMG! FANTASTIC!!! Pat yourself on the back! And tomorrow, weigh in again and post in the right item - or FEAR THE WRATH OF THE CLAW!!! Sugar, it ain't no thing - you do the best you can, and we've got your back. And if you didn't make it this week, you'll make it next week - or face the wrath of the CLAW!!! I've been having a day of ungood eating. Yesterday was my monthly Day of Indulgence. Today I was back in the groove, and then this whole thing with the US Air flight happened, and it let me a bit upset. I shall go out to dinner tonight to Celebrate their escape. And there will be champagne, and red wine and whatnot, and even dessert. And tomorrow, I shall face the wrath of the CLAW!!!

YES! There is no other option! Everyone must weigh in tomorrow, or face the wrath of... THE CLAW!!!

OK, Shamrocks! THursday today, tomorrow's the big weigh-in day! Today is LAST CHANCE WEIGHT LOSS DAY!!! Everyone must try extra hard to stick to the straight and narrow intake-wise, and to maintain their exercise schedule! And Sugarbean: the eyes of a watching nation are upon you! Not really, but I'm hoping you managed to reverse course for this week. In other news, we've finally sorted out my gym membership issues; I restart February 1, after which point: look out!

The new relationship is hard - the whole weight loss process is SO difficult for a new partner to deal with. How can they be encouraging without nagging or hurting? How can they understand what it's like to be like this? I feel really lucky to have the person who has me now. She's been really great, really supportive. She's clearly thinking for the long term. It still amazes me that she can find me attractive - and it's completely clear that she does. I'm sorry about your pup, Lynn. The loss of a pet is a HUGE deal - be careful with your behaviours now! Good idea to go to a meeting tonight...

Robin, FANTASTIC on the weight loss! You've done a really great job - time to update your signature stats! And I'm sorry that stuff with your man isn't as easy as you might have hoped. Relationship stuff is hard - there are so many different factors that go into making something feel good or bad at any given moment. Are you SURE that he's not being as loving as he was? Could it just be that you're disappointed that he hasn't become MORE loving as you've lost weight? Could it be that he's feeling competitive with you, and feeling like he's losing because you've done well while he has struggled? I think the whole weight loss thing is a tricky business. We got overweight for a reason - obvs because we ate too much, but we ate too much for a reason, and we ignored our weight gain for a reason, and we probably found some benefits from being at our high weights. The thing is, when the weight goes, the reasons we got that way in the first piece don't really disappear along with the weight, and we're left a bit dazed and confused at some level. This isn't to say losing weight isn't a great and exhilarating hting, just that it's... complicated. So you lose weight, and perhaps your drives come back more vigorous than they were before, and your husband, struggling with his weight still, hasn't caught up to you at that level. Perhaps your husband is worried you'll lose weight and leave him for someone cuter. Perhaps he feels judged by you, judged as a failure because you've lost and he hasn't. Perhaps he's frustrated by his lack of loss right now, and blames you for putting him through an ordeal which hasn't yet yielded any results for him. And then there are all the reasons why all couples sometimes have difficulties - money worries, work stress, exhaustion etc etc. There are so many things it could be - assuming it's even a real change, rather than something you're imagining - but I think the first step in dealing with all of them is to open up a dialogue. Which will probably be hard to do, at least at first. Most guys don't like to talk about their feelings, and if you make him feel pressured, imply that he's not performing, he'll likely clam up. You know him best, know how to talk to him, know how to get him to relax before you introduce your concerns, know how to keep him comfortable and get him to talk. I think that has to be your first step - if he's not giving you the love you need, he'll likely become defensive, so just encourage him to talk, remind him how you care etc etc. It's always a tricky conversation to have - such a sensitive topic! But you know him and love him, and I'm sure you can find a way to make it OK for him... Good luck!

Great! Thanks for starting the new item, Amanda. I'm wondering - and this is a bit doinky, I know, but hear me out - if maybe we should (ie YOU could!) express the weight loss not as a number eg 3 , but as the MINUS number for the weight loss. On the list, to me at least, -3 looks more satisfying than 3 ... Trivial, but it's about the LOSS.

If a Harley chick says menopause isn't for sissies, you just KNOW it's not easy! I hope the ride is a bit smoother from now on. SugarBean - We're all rooting for you for this week. We know you can do it, you know you can do it, so... do it!

Hey. Do you guys think we should have a separate item for Weigh-in Fridays? It tends to derail conversations and whatnot, I find. We could flag the arrival of hte day in this item, and then post and comment on progress in a new one. What do you think?

I don't know WHAT you copied! I was down 5 lbs but in one week - the thing you have there has never before existed! I'm being coy about my start and current weights. When it gets to something more palatable, I'll put it up. Indeed, when I began pushing for this idea, I think I specified that people don't have to put their weights down!

Huh. Well, it worked fine when I cut'n'pasted earlier in the day!

Harley! You stole back my five pound weight loss this week! So I'm updating again. Good loss to those who've lost, way to maintain to those who maintained, and chin up to those who had a little bump! and Yay to Scrappy, who was feeling blue, but powered through. Christine, that must have been v. scary indeed - I'm glad your lad is fine! I now repost the CORRECT data! NAME ***********START WEIGHT ****CURRENT WEIGHT **GOAL***LBS. Lost aJoneen............212............210............XXX............0 evelas5000.........180............179............140............1 Desdemona..........163............161............125............2 Fenton.............XXX............YYY............220............-5 HarleyGirl.........180............180............140...........-4 Hopeinapril........236............238............XXX...........+2 Lynn1215...........174.5..........175.3..........XXX............0 NurseNiki..........229.8..........227.6..........190.........-2.2 Nycm00.............220............217............XXX...........-3 Potatie............229............224............XXX...........-5 scrappy_friend.....170............172............150...........+1 SpecialK...........274............272............255...........-3 Sugarbean..........200............200............150...........+1 Tess415............294............295............289...........+1 Thin2bme...........191.2..........193.2..........150.........+3.2 WestCoastMom.......155............153.5..........140..........1.5

NAME ***********START WEIGHT ****CURRENT WEIGHT **GOAL***LBS. Lost aJoneen............212............210............XXX............0 evelas5000.........180............179............140............1 Desdemona..........163............161............125............2 Fenton.............XXX............YYY............220...........-5 HarleyGirl.........180............184............140...........+4 Hopeinapril........236............238............XXX...........+2 Lynn1215...........174.5..........175.3..........XXX............0 NurseNiki..........229.8..........227.6..........190.........-2.2 Nycm00.............220............218............XXX...........-2 Potatie............229............224............XXX...........-5 scrappy_friend.....170............172............150...........+1 SpecialK...........274............272............255...........-3 Sugarbean..........200............200............150...........+1 Tess415............294............295............289...........+1 Thin2bme...........191.2..........193.2..........150.........+3.2 WestCoastMom.......155............153.5..........140..........1.5 A bump of 1 lb, particularly if you're a chick, can be explained by cycling, don't you think? I did quite well - mostly water, no doubt, but I stuck to my regimen, and am down 5 lbs for the week. And if only I could sort out the whole gym thing...

Teri - that's a LOVELY story! Amanda's right, it's what we all want. Scrappy, we've all been there, all had those bingey urges. But look how much work you've done! Look how far you've come? You've been the rock of this group, you've kept on going, nonstop, as some of us have fallen by the wayside. We look at you for inspiration, because you've really done EXACTLY what you're supposed to do with a band. What do you think it'll be like at goal weight? Is it scary to you? You've put so much energy and drive into this process, it'll be strange for it to be "over", I think. You have so much to be proud of - you've been GREAT! I admire you so much for what you've done, and I'm going to try to be more like you.

Well, I was actually going to recommend yoga to Lynn for those times when she's feeling too tuckered to work out. (Speaking of tucker, where is our little Australian friend?) I like Rodney Yee, specifically Gaiam's AM/PM Yoga for Beginners. Rodney does an 18 minute easy routine, designed for mornings but I've used it at any hour of the day. For an hour work out, I use YOGA FOR WEIGHT LOSS with Suzanne Deason. It's about an hour long, somewhat demanding, and is well made, with demonstrations for four different levels of ability, from couch potato to experienced yogi. I like this one because the people demonstrating the different levels of challenge seem like ordinary people. The new Yee video - YOGA FOR BEGINNERS - seems pretty good, somewhere between the first two I've mentioned. There's a long section on how to do poses correctly at different levels, and then Rodney leads another 17 minute morning work out, this one a bit harder than AM/PM YOGA FOR BEGINNERS. Then his smokin' hot wife Colleen Seidman (sp?) leads a 20 minute evening workout, which I haven't really looked at. I've also picked up the following titles, as yet untried by me but highly rated on Amazon: BEGINNERS & BEYOND YOGA FOR WEIGHT LOSS ESSENTIAL YOGA FOR INFLEXIBLE PEOPLE YOGA FOR INFLEXIBLE PEOPLE I find I feel better when I do yoga. Although, as a scientist, I have to say that maybe it's when I feel better that I DO yoga... Either way, give it a try! The older yoga discs, like the Deason one and probably AM/PM YOGA FOR BEGINNERS, are less than $10 a pop.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT/FOOD RESTRICTION, SHAMROCKS!!!! Even one day's effort can make a difference!!!!

WTH, Harley? Lobster for Breakfast doesn't sound good??? OK, don't worry - I'll eat yours... Still chugging forward. Hassling the gym to sort out my membership issues. New Yoga DVDs arrived yesterday. 5 weeks till I go to see my girl. Motivation? CHECK! Willpower? CHECK! Feeling good? CHECK! Weight loss? WE'LL FIND OUT TOMORROW!

Things are going well, I think, back in The Program. I think I've had enough to eat protein-wise; I'm about to go shopping to replenish the pantry with my In the Program staples. Although, gosh, I'm not sure that I can remember what they were! I had a good/bad NSV last night - I'd been saving a pair of corduroys for when I could fit in them; I tried them on and they completely ballooned around me. I liked them, and they're useless! OTOH, they're useless because I'm too thin for them... So, like, boo! And: YAY!

It's funny being back on the wagon. Day 2, I feel a lot clearer, but also a bit angsty and tense. I guess in part I'm having a busy, stress-y day, but it's also the way I always feel when I get back on the horse. And I'm hungry - not starving, but there's a pit in my stomach demanding attention. This will last another day, I think, and then I'll be used to not having my stomach full. Then over a couple of days I'll be getting rid of all the excess Fluid, and hopefully by Friday weigh-in, I'll have actually lost, rather than gained (which is what I deserve!)...

Nice work, potatie! We shall prepare the bouncing smilies and the balloon animations for your Century! Kathy, how about trying one of those preparations that coat the stomach wall... I'm blanking on names. Mylanta? Pepto Bismol too. I'd be a bit wary of the vinegar - it's just acetic acid.

Wait - where's ajoneen?

Nice straightening! Also: since many of us have been decidedly naughty, we now have Water weight to lose. And what goes on easy.... I hope we'll see some nice drops come Friday!

Well, not too bad - after a month of eating in Paris and holiday banqueting, I'm down 8 lbs . Since I lost most weight at the beginning of my trip - eating only ice cream and McDonald's, but walking, walking, walking - I know what I gotta do... Also! Since it's a new year, I'm going to do something I've not done before: :biggrin: I hope you all enjoyed it! NAME *******START WEIGHT *******CURRENT WEIGHT ********GOAL ********LBS. Lost aJoneen............212............210............XXX............0 Fenton.............XXX............YYY...........220....4 weeks -8 HarleyGirl.........XXX............XXX............XXX............0 Hopeinapril .......236............241............XXX............0 Hungry4help........XXX............XXX............XXX............0 Lynn1215...........174.5..........175.3.........XXX............0 NurseNiki..........229.8..........228.8..........190............-1 Nycm00.............220............218............XXX...........-2 Potatie............229............224............XXX............-5. scrappy_friend.....170............172............150...........+2 SpecialK...........274............272.9..........255.........-1.1 Sugarbean..........200............199............150...........-1 Tess415............294............295............289...........+1 Thin2bme...........191.2..........190..........150............-1.2 WestCoastMom.......155............153.5..........140..........1.5

OK, Shamrocks! TIME TO PAY THE PIPER!!! We've all been pretty slack in the last couple of weeks I'm sure, maybe with the exception of a couple of praiseworthy individuals, but now it's time to face the reckoning, and see how much damage we've done. I know I've been bad - I desperately want to say, "No! Wait! Let's do this on Monday instead! I'll start watching my intake today, lose the Water weight, and shine on Monday!" But NO! Today is Friday... TODAY IS MARCH BANDSTER WEIGH-IN DAY!!! I'll seeya on the other side...

OK, peeps! I want to wish you all a fantastic New Year's Eve. And let's see how much ass we can collectively kick this year! I'm really excited about seeing some of you guys romping home to GOAL soon... Congratulations to all of us on our achievements in 2008, and let's all of us have a rockin' 2009! xoJ