Susan - We are praying for her and you. Trudy

Ok, Gang, our 3 (or 4) day weekend is over and it's time to get back to reality. What have you done today to get back to a normal routine and what are you going to do the rest of the week to undo any damage you think you did over the long weekend? Planning is essential. We need to plan our exercise, our rest and, of course, our meals and snacks. One thing we can do is track our eating by writing down every bite we take. I intend to have a little notebook in several areas (including my purse) so that I can write it down RIGHT AWAY. Now, even if we plan, there are those times when we are out longer than we thought and we buy a small bag of nuts or a yogurt to tide us over and we sometimes forget to write that down. So, pay attention!! When we are writing down the food, we can also make a note how we were feeling when we chose that food. And, we need to ask ourselves whether or not we are actually hungry. More and more often lately I am NOT hungry when I'm standing in front of the fridge! How about you? For breakfast I had an old standby - yogurt mixed with 1/2 banana and a scoop of Any Whey unflavored protein powder. Lunch was cottage cheese mixed with Splenda, protein powder and watermelon!!!! I LOVE watermelon but had never mixed it with cottage cheese before last week. I dared to try it and it's good! Normally I mix cottage cheese with just about every other kind of fruit but I'm glad I tried watermelon with it! Dinner will be a spinach salad with chicken salad over top. It's leftover from my lunch out yesterday. When my salad came to the table, I asked for a box and divided it right then. My snacks will be watermelon and maybe another yogurt with protein. If I get an urge for something more "sinful" I may have a no sugar added Klondike Bar (the one with the crunchy outside)instead of the yogurt! Yum! What's happening on the Exercise Front for you these days? With the weather better, those fun things we can do with the family count as exercise! We walked the dogs several times in the park and I saw people canoeing and boating. I told my husband we need to do that soon. I think he fears I will turn us over in the middle of the lake! We also went for a very long bike ride through the neighborhood and into the park and all through the park's trails. That was fun! This morning I didn't have to teach but went to the gym and took 2 classes. The first was an Interval class and the second was Spinning. In between I did weights and walked. I've gotten in my exercise for the day! Hubby left very, very early this morning to catch a 6 AM flight. He'll be back Thursday! Wish Wanda and I lived closer to each other. If Randy is gone this week, we could shop and party!!! I've also noticed that VERY few people have checked in on the Weigh In. Just a reminder, you do NOT have to post a weight. Just let us know how you are doing, your successes, your challenges, whatever! Please be thinking about Susan's Mother and Susan and read her post. I want to hear from Valerie too. Did you EVER get moved into your "old" place?! Hope so! Please don't let our board die out! I know everyone is busy and I know we are no longer obssessed with checking the board every 5 minutes like we were in the early stages but, as I've said lately, we are heading into a new phase in our journey and we all know it is going to be challenging. We need the support of all our members to help cope and overcome these challenges. So, don't let yourself or us down, keep checking in and letting us know how you are holding on!!! CeCe

Susan, We will all be thinking of you and your mom and praying for the family. I wish I could give you a real hug and some real help. I cannot imagine how hard it must be on you but I know your mother is so thankful for all the care and love you have given her. You are a wonderful daughter and a wonderful person. CeCe

Hi everyone. We had a really fun weekend at the lake of course I ate too many sweets but oh well. I did try a little sangria slushy my first venture into alcohol since my surgery. I had two teaspoonfuls of it and I was sicker than a dog I got really pale and light headed. So I'm not going there again. One nice thing it only last about 10 minutes. I did gain this week and I'm almost back to the weight I was at before going to Rochester. I really think I'm meant to weigh this and I'm not fighting it anymore. I'd really like to weigh less to get a healthy BMI. I still fit in the smaller sizes I bought so that's good. My goals for this week is to exercise and make better food choices. Beginning Wt 298.5 This week 161.8 Last week 158.2 Gain of 3.6 Total loss 136.7 BMI 29.6 Everyone have a fabulous week. Deb

Susan, I've been thinking about you lately and I know you must have zero time for yourself right now. I'm looking forward to reading your post about your mother. I've hesitated to ask about the situation because I know it must be painful to you. Please do try to get in an adequate amount of protein each day and don't forget your vitamins. Your mom needs you right now but she needs a healthy you! In order to take care of others, we have to take care of ourselves. So, please take care and check in with us when you can. CeCe