Well, it is New York; were you by chance carrying 3lbs worth of valuables in your pockets? 
This week’s weigh-in results: 210.2! I lost 2.8 pounds!
I’m starting to think that I really do have a shot at hitting 200 by year’s end.
Well I just had my second Weight Watchers meeting tonight. I’m down 1.6 pounds!! It’s not as much as I’d hoped, but I did cheat a little and I’d rather have the weight loss be slow so I’m more likely to keep it off.
Thanks for all the welcomes and good wishes, everyone.
norinew, I had forgotten about the weight watchers range when I posted about my goal weight. That was just a rather arbitrary number that I had set on my own. 150 or so is probably much more realistic.
As much as losing weight is an obvious reason for joining, I am already seeing many more benefits to eating healthier. I no longer have that awful bloaty feeling when I eat tons of junk and I am actually starting to crave healthy foods like salad - whodathunk? My new baby is also reaping the benefits as she’s eating better too (I’m nursing). The most dramatic change of all is a complete turnaround in the frequency of her spitting up after nursing. Before I started eating better, she’d spit up quite a bit after nearly every meal. In the entire past week or so, she’s only done that once. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I’d like to think it’s not.
I’m finally well enough to get regular exercise. I’ll probably be down 3# for the month.
'Round these here parts, this is what we call “NSV” or non-scale victories. These are, for most of us, much more important than the numbers on the scale!
For myself, my health situation has gotten somewhat worse, but it turned out to be fore the best. See, Tuesday morning, around 5:30, the kidney pain was so bad it woke me up from sleep! All day Tuesday, the pain was so bad that Percocet, 10mg at a time, was not controlling the pain. I’d take it every four hours, and at best, it was taking the edge off the pain for about 90 minutes. Then it was back to lying whimpering on the bed until it was time for more Percocet. I had decided if it wasn’t better by Wednesday, I’d call my urologist. As soon as I got my little girl on the bus Wednesday morning, I called (it was 8:15), but hadn’t gotten a call back by 11:30, and just couldn’t take it any more. So I had a friend drive me to the ER. There, it was discovered the infection had returned full force, hence the return of the super-strength pain. They gave me IV antibiotics, a veritable buffet of IV drugs for pain and nausea (I got Zofran, Toradol, and Dilaudid!), and sent me home with more antibiotics and a 'script for more generous dosing of the pain meds.
It’s a good thing it was caught when it was, though, because I’m scheduled to have this thing removed Tuesday, and if the infection isn’t under control by then, they’d have to postpone again. But the antibiotics they gave me are kick-ass stuff (that make me way grateful for prescription coverage on my insurance!) and the 'script lasts through next Wednesday, so should still be active on Tuesday.
Anyway, I haven’t even been weighing myself. My clothes (even the tighter ones) are still feeling fine, so I’m okay, weight-wise.
I should be back to 100% functioning by a week from tomorrow (much to my husband’s joy and delight, as one of my favorite forms of exercise will again be available to me 
) then I’ll start weighing again on a weekly basis.
I really think I’m about done with losing weight, though; next up, plastic surgery!
6 Survival Tips for Eating in Bars
Mmmmmm sushi! Haven’t had that in quite a while.
Just coming in here for a quick update. Lost a little over four pounds the week before and gained back about three quarters of a pound this past week.
Still soldiering on here. Diet is doing well. Exercise is still pretty much the same too. I am thinking about buying some hand weights to use when I do my walking. I think that it may be time for some light upper body training.
You are correct. 4 points is what is recommended because many overweight people are also not active. This gives them a realistic exercise goal to work towards and maintain.
Before my calf injury, I would usually earn anywhere from 6-10 points per day 5-6 days a week. But I realize that this is not the norm and I certainly didn’t start out at this level.
Most members at the meetings I work don’t get in 28 activity points a week OR severly OVERestimate their activity levels. Then they give themselves more points then they really earned.
Since my injury, I have really conceded that activity should be done just for the sake of it’s benefit, not for the extra food. Sure, you can eat the extra food if you need to AND you’re losing. But if you’re not having weight loss/looser clothes, think twice about scarfing down those extra points/food.
Someone else has already pointed out that the 4 activity point limit is bogus (you can earn as many as you want, and can swap as many as you want), but I just want to comment on this one, as someone who works for Weight Watchers.
Sadly, amarinth, you are correct that there is not much information out there on heavy exercise. The practical reason for this is that there just aren’t that many WW members who DO such heavy exercise. However, in the past oh, five years or so, there are a lot more people who are doing things like marathons and 3 day breast cancer walks, that we’re getting more and more members who earn more than 4 AP’s per day. I am hoping that WW will address this officially in their materials.
Until such time though, you really do have to experiment for yourself and see how many of those AP’s you can or want to swap for food. You don’t NEED to swap them, but when you’re doing 2 hours of exercise, there’s a good chance you’ll be hungrier than normal. I have run 5 marathons, and it was a crapshoot on how to handle Activity Points. Of course, I was just trying to maintain my weight loss as a Lifetime member, and was not in weight loss mode like many of you are. So while I can give you anecdotal evidence or my own experience, there isn’t anything in my WW literature that tells you exactly what to do when you are exercising heavily.
So experiment. That’s really the best we can offer. I know you probably think this sucks, but keep in mind that for us to be employed by WW, our only qualification is that we successfully lose weight with them. We are not dietitians or nutritionists - if you want that, you’re probably going to have to pay more than the $39.95 a month we charge for the monthly pass. But stay tuned, maybe things will change!
I’m back from vacation. I had a blast! It was really fun and I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.
Today I weighed in at 171.5 which is up a bit from when I left (3 lbs) but I’m not going to fret too much. I’ll get rid of that now that I’m back to my routine.
Good luck with your continued kidney issues Norinew I’m glad you finally got some pain relief. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Thanks for the article tdn doesn’t just happen in bars. Over at my husband’s cousin’s house for dinner we had appetizers and wine before dinner. I didn’t feel like I was eating all that much. A couple of crackers and some cheese, but when there’s alcohol involved it’s always more difficult to tell when you’ve had enough. I ended up overeating big time that day. That’s probably the 3 lbs I gained right there.
I’m back to not drinking and eating right and exercising. My birthday is coming up. I’d like to be back in the 160s for my birthday.
I was up 1.4 pounds last week, not entirely unexpected although it still sucks. My eating hasn’t been great this week either. I’ve been trying to at least limit my overeating to carrots, fruit, yogurt etc. Also, my basic food routine is still there - I’ve made some 5 point chicken-and-rice meals in pre-portioned tupperwares for the week.
It always happens, but my eating always gets worse when I’m going through an emotional rough patch, and the desire to constantly be sleeping doesn’t help either.
Me too. Except I would like to see the 210s again. And my birthday is in three days.
Where did you go for vacation?
I’m a little disheartened at my lack of progress over the past couple of months. But at least people are starting to notice a change in my appearance during that time. I must be doing something right.
We went to NY (Long Island) to visit my in-laws. Made one trip into the city and saw the Bill Charlap Trio at the Village Vangard which was just about the best concert I’ve ever seen.
I love NY. It’s a blast.
I’ve got more time than you as my B-day isn’t until the 17th. Dammit I’m getting old.
Of course you’re doing something right tdn. I’ve seen pictures. You are looking good. Just keep doing what you’re doing. The only way to fail is to quit trying.
I love New York too. It’s just like southern Florida. 
Yeah, I have to keep doing what I’m doing, but I need to tighten the screws a little bit. I’ve become complacent. I’m also going out to eat far more than I should, and sometimes skipping exercise to do it. But I’m starting to get a pretty good idea of what maintenance will look like 45 pounds down the road.
But without the tan.
I’m not sure if this is true for you but I’m finding that my biggest challenge is not eating more than I need. I fairly regularly ignore my body’s signals that I’ve had enough. I think eating out regularly is do-able if you’re able to stick with healthier menu choices and not over eat.
I agree that this is a good rehearsal for maintenance down the road.
It is interesting to note that everyone here, each and every person participating in this weight loss thread knows exactly what they need to do to lose weight. Am I right? Is there anyone who just doesn’t know how to lose? Assuming I’m right about that assumption, then weight loss boils down to having the discipline to do what we know needs to be done. Even when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, boring or difficult. That’s what the lifestyle change thing is all about, creating new habits so doing what we know we need to do is no longer inconvenient, uncomfortable, boring and difficult but habitual.
I’ve got plenty of bad habits. Time to get good habits.
Well, mostly unrelated to weight loss (just keeping you updated), I get to the hospital at 7:45 tomorrow morning to get this stone removed. Keep your fingers crossed, if you will, that all goes well. If it does, I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon, the stent can come out next weekend, then I’ll start building my strength up again.
Had another bad weekend and retained a bunch of water (due to alcohol I’m sure). I didn’t make my goal for weight-loss this month. I weighed in at 190 on Friday, and 193 Sat. Morning. Sunday night before bed I weighed myself (I usually weigh myself in the morning when I am dry and weigh the least) and it was a jaw dropping 198. This morning I was back down to 195, but I didn’t go that hog-wild this weekend so I know it had to be the alcohol making me retain water or something. I am guessing by tomorrow morning I should be back down pretty close to my original 190. I have 8 weeks to make my original goal of the 170-172 range, and I should have been something like 188 this morning. Oh well. I’m still good during the week.
Somewhere (here?) recently I heard that you really can’t trust those signals. They’ll fool you, and your own previous bad habits will throw them off. Much better, IMO, to trust your eyes more than your stomach. At least that works for me. When I cook for myself, which will be at least 5 nights per week, I can control how much I eat because I will only cook exactly what I need and no more. Restaurants are trickier, because portion sizes are out of control, and I’m often more concerned with being social than being responsible.
Thanksgiving is going to be a problem.
Wow, I didn’t even think about that. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a how-to question.
norinew, good luck with the surgery. My thoughts will be with you.
I hope that tomorrow is the start of healthier times for you, norine. You’ll be in my thoughts.
Hello Scout, are you joining our thread or just popping in for a visit ? I also work for WW’ers. Are you a leader or receptionist? I am a part time receptionist and going to BLS training next month.
Many of the people in the thread are doing WW’ers although I feel like I don’t want to make it all about that so not to piss off the ones that aren’t!
Anyway, the exercise issue is basically getting people to do something, and if it’s more than 4 AP’s and they are losing moderately than great. I know that I don’t see much of that happening.
It’s more the other way. People not getting enough exercise. There needs to be some way to encourage people to get moving more and enjoy it.
Suggestions?