NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

Hi everyone, I’ve been on MFP for years and only just found the forums last night 😂. I’ve also followed WW on and off for about 10 years, and didn’t like it when it changed to flex as those few months beforehand I had lost over a stone and then I couldn’t keep it up. But now they’ve changed the plan again so liking green but I tend to use MFP more for tracking then WW app. And so far in less than a month I’ve lost nearly 6kg 🥳

@mswatson0777, the fabric bands were awesome and didn’t roll up at all yesterday. This morning I’m going to work out in my shorts and see how they do on bare legs. I workout at home and like to wear as little as possible as three fans keep the sweat away. I’m sorry you had a tough time and that the stress got to you. I know how awful it can feel when you take out your frustration on the one you love. Just keep the end in sight!

@cbabie, yayyy for being more aware of when you are stress eating or eating out of boredom. Can you track first thing in the morning and then adjust at the end of the day if need be? Yes, walking around your kitchen island totally counts. When I went to WW meetings there was a woman there that walked 5 miles a day in her home. So, get to stepping!!

@swazzom93, welcome! Congrats on your weight loss. I’ve heard that many people like the new WW plans where they can choose what works best for them.

@trooworld, I don’t like oatmeal at all and not sure why anyone would eat it. Have you ever tried something like Quest bars? They come in all kinds of flavors. I ate them for a couple of years for lunch at work. You could eat that and a big cup of coffee with cream. Hmmm, now I want that!!

@slightedgeforever, where are you!! I don’t like coming here in the morning and not seeing a post from you. I hope you are starting to feel better!

Good morning! I had a good day yesterday and stayed on my plan. Today is my day off from work so in a few minutes I’m going to work out, then I need to go to Hobby Lobby , do the grocery shopping, and do some housework. Ladies Bible study is tonight too so it will be a full day of doing. Have a good one everyone!

@mswatson0777 is that a group project for school? I hated those in school, I mean haaated. When I was in school I was a crazy person and pretty much had perfect marks. I was the person who would do the whole project just so we could get perfect marks. And yes I hated those people that just slacked off or didnt care.

I'm not like that anymore lol. I mean I can still be a perfectionist but not all the time. I've learned to enjoy life a bit more.

Sorry you struggle with anxiety. I do too. Have you tried writing about it? Sometimes that helps me cope.

@TeresaW1020 I'm so glad your pastor is ok.

Welcome @swazzom93!

@cbabie well string cheese is not so bad...better than junk food! The waffle was good but I'm still working off the calories lol.

@trooworld I can't believe you're a librarian! My master's degree is in library sciences..
I worked in the library throughout university and then when I graduated I couldn't get a job. So I ended up in a totally different field.

I'm doing ok. Have to go to the office this week 3 days so I'm tired lol. It's a longer day for me, and I eat more, but I'm doing ok with getting back on track with calories.

My trainer is back after being away off and on for almost a month and I'm so glad. My wrist is still not healed though and I feel like giving up on it. I also have biceps tendonitis now.

I had xrays last week but they are not ready yet so I still dont know the extent of the damage.

The weather here is really gray but mild so I feel like I'm getting ready for spring.

@its_cleo It's smart to make goals in 3 month clunks, I really like this idea. It makes things more manageable and doable. This is how you make changes become long-term life-style changes. Good for you for sticking to this goals. It's hard for me to stick to an exercise routine mostly because I'm working so much. It's not an easy goal to maintain, good for you for having a plan.

@TeresaW1020 -Lack of exercise is a real problem for me, I just don't know how to find something that I would stick to

@mswatson0777 - Don't be so hard on yourself, you have a lot on your plate.

@trooworld - The breakfast cookies sound good. I used to make biscatti, that I called my magic cookies because back when I was younger, when I made them I'd easily lose 10 pounds. They were hard so I had to sit and dunk them in coffee to eat them, I had to savor them slowly and they were filling.

Last weekend was rough, I went out to eat twice it wasn't great calorie wise, even when I was home I splurged. I struggle so much on the weekends, and last weekend was not great. Monday comes and I'm back on track, but it's the weekends that have prevented me from making progress with my goals. My kids were all at school last weekend, so it was just me and my DH home, which usually makes it easier, but no I indulged, and I got no exercise. I've been putting in long hours at work because there are several problems going on there, exercise only involves my 30 minute walk at lunch, and I do this rain, snow, or high winds, it's the one thing I'm committed to doing for myself.

@its_cleo Thank you for your kind thoughts. I do journal pretty frequently and it is very calming, but sometimes nothing calms the storm if that makes sense. It is a group project and found out NONE of my groupmates realized they signed up for the one due Monday...I hate people. So I gave them all homework assignments and a deadline because I am too old to deal with that level of stuff from full grown adults.

@trooworld Not gonna lie, I'm totally jealous of your food day yesterday. I haven't seen a single girlscout yet (which is probably good for my weightloss, but I really like supporting the organization and I have a few favorites I buy and ration out). Sorry to hear you struggle with anxiety too, it's the worst.

@joannadavison Your evening packing and listening to Grease with the students sounds like so much fun! I love that you made a typically onerous task into an exciting one. And I bet you'll be in those trousers in no time!

@nighthazel01 It sounds like you've got a lot of stress going on too, which is manifesting itself with food. Keep up on those 30 minute walks and maybe see if there are other de-stress tactics you can fit in to distract yourself from eating your emotions?

I'm feeling a lot better today school-wise. I finally got everyone in my group project on board. We have an article and they have their homework assignments and deadline. I hate group projects since its always one person who does all the work while everyone else coasts (you'd think it would be better since we're all older returning adult students...you'd be wrong). I also did a two hour jiu jitsu class last night which made me feel a lot more calm and centered (yoga's great for a lot of things, but brazilian jiu jitsu is my ultimate mood booster). I'm going back today for another two hours and I can't wait. Hope you all have wonderful Wednesdays!

@nighthazel01 I also find weekdays easier to stay on track than weekend. I'm trying to be better planned for slip ups & more mindful. Look after yourself even though work is busy. I fell into that trap years ago. Older & wiser now - I might do an odd day or 2 like that but never again. Just make sure you're looking after you.

@trooworld -was it the mint ones? Girl Scout Cookies, that is. My sister brought loads over one year for my girls & their Girl Guide Unit. Any time she visits if the cookies are for sale we get those mint ones!! If we're feeling like need a quick pizza we often get the fresh made ones & load up on the veg. Tuna & pasta bake- new comfort food!

@mswatson0777 the kids picked the music, not me, was still good fun. I've just got a couple of displays to rescue & pack the kit I'm currently using. I hate the idea of group projects. I do them in class but never set as homework for the exact same reasons you've said. Both my kids have been stung with group work before. I do agree that you'd expect adults to be more cooperative & organised. Enjoy ju-jitsu.

@theslightedgeforever LOL at the "No Whispering". Not good to do as it strains voice. You need a whiteboard & pen! Brilliant that you are staying on track thoughout this.

I has really good gym session. I did 3K on cross-trainer at better pace & then same routine as did with trainer last week. (HIT). Then some serious stretching. 800 cals gained! And I haven't used them. Got next weeks plan sorted & chilling before bed.

@theslightedgeforever How frustrating! I'm so sorry to hear your illness is clinging on. I hope you get your voice back soon and start to feel better.

@trooworld Mine's online as well so I feel your pain! And I'm sure they'll come out of the woodwork soon, I think our state gets cookies later than other states *sigh*

@cbabie I hate it when people say that, because teamwork in an office is VERY different than teamwork in a classroom. And I feel you on the pb. I have to have it every morning or I binge it, but I figure it's a healthy fat and protein so it's worth the cals for me.

@joannadavison You are seriously such a good teacher! And way to go on your workout, 800 calories for us women is NO JOKE!

Happy Thursday all! I'm feeling a lot calmer and in control of all the things I need to get done, thank goodness! I've got my weekend planned out and my trip is only one week away! I'm already in the vacation zen mode, I can't wait to just relax, read, swim, and play. And photos were released from the last event my SO and I attended and I looked pretty darned good if I do say so myself! All this tracking is finally paying off!

I saw a dr today. I have a bad case of bronchitis. So I'm on some prednisone and some superantibiotics as the first round didn't seem to work. Well it did I guess. It cleared up the sinus infection. It just packed up and moved to my lungs. lol More room, it says. Still waiting on the voice to return.

@joannadavison Oh thanks for the reminder Girl Scout cookies are out and about. I always get two boxes of Thin Mints and throw them in the freezer and work on on them during the year. Sounds like you had a great gym workout.

@its_cleo See note above about dr. I'm getting lots of rest and I'm sleeping a bit better. Not much I can do until the coughing goes away. At least the sinus part seems to be finished. So I just went back and read a bit to see what's going on with you. Sounds like some injuries from the gym. Looks like you are on a rest plan too of sorts. Is there any type of support brace you can use? When I got golfers elbow (I don't golf) I got a elbow brace that seemed to help over time. I thought it was weird I had to put it where it didn't hurt though.

@cbabie So alot of talk on here about weekends. I used to do that too. But then I figured out I'm not going to change that probably so what do I do? I increased my allowed calories (which are now carbs) and reduced the other days to make up for that. So I can splurge on my two green days as I call them and I tighten up the other days. If I tell myself no I just want it more. Plus it has to be lowered gradually. Not just cut off 300 calories from a day. Trick your body with 50-100 calories at a time. Then I don't get the guilt feelings of gone over my calories for the day. Which could say why bother and do the same thing the next day. It's still the same number of calories per week that I'm shooting for. Although now I'm just shooting for 2 green days always(Thursdays and Saturdays) and then the rest of the time depends on the schedule. Whatever week I'm doing. Currently sick I allowed myself all Green. This next week I'll do two green and then shoot for all yellow and then the following week I'm hoping to be good as new and go back on my normal schedule with a bunch of red thrown in for good measure. My body will be saying Hey what's this.

@trooworld Tracking my food is a habit to me now. Like brushing my teeth.

@mswatson0777 You sound in a really good place right now. One week to go and you'll really be feeling good. I eat PB twice a week on my pancakes and french toast. (Thursday and Friday) It's a tradition. Always 1.5 T

Green Day Stayed OP-223/238 No exercise I think this next week I'm going to work on adding in at least 15 min a day. 5 min at a time until I'm better.

@theslightedgeforever, yikes!! I hope you get to feeling better soon.

@mswatson0777, how awesome to look at pictures of yourself and like what you see!!

@cbabie, I was addicted to peanut butter and wouldn’t even keep it in the house other than some super cheap brand that my husband shares with the dog. Yuck!! Then I went off Keto and started back to my beloved PB & J for lunch, but I’ve found myself a few times now eating it out of the jar and if I don’t stop I’m going to have to get rid of it again. Why does it have to be sooooo tasty!!! But yeah, at least we both are aware. Let’s control it so we can still have it!

@joannadavison, how did the Hunter’s Chicken turn out? I love my slow cooker!

@trooworld, thanks for being honest about the Girl Scout cookies and pizza. I went out to lunch with the staff yesterday and ate wayyyy more queso and chips then I should have and then had a smothered chimichanga. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I spent the rest of the day nibbling and going to bed last night feeling awful and mad at myself. Yeah, I don’t need to be told what I could do better. I just need to do better!! At least we are keeping it real, huh?

@nighthazel01, it sounds like several of us have had struggles with food this week. But yayyyy for sticking to your commitment to walking 30 minutes a day no matter what!! I struggled with being consistent with exercise for a long time but you really do have to just make it a priority and do it.

Good morning. It’s cold and rainy…again!! I’m so ready for spring! So, I’m ending the week with a gain and the month with a ½ pound loss. Big whoop!!! I’ve done terrible with my eating and I’ve already had the talk with myself about my behavior. I do great for a few days and then awful for a day or two, so my weight just keeps bouncing up and down the same few pounds. But today is a new day and we are going into a new month so I’m drawing a line in the sand, forgiving myself and moving forward. I took yesterday off from working out but today I will be back at it and my food has already been tracked for the day. I got this!! And so do you!!

@mswatson0777 - A vacation sounds so good right now, anywhere with a little sun. It great that you feel you're looking better, that's great personal feedback for yourself.

@theslightedgeforever - I hope you're feeling better soon

@TeresaW1020 - Love your positive attitude. It's smart to plan ahead, it really helps to stay on track. I know I'm going to have days that I indulge, I'm trying to limit how long that indulgence lasts. In the past, it was hard to get back to a healthier routine, I feel I'm doing better with getting back on track sooner. Tracking my food makes a huge difference

@cbabie Fighting fatigue when there are young children in the house is so hard. I'm addicted to anything carb loaded, and/or strach. I can eat endless amounts of pasta if I let myself, I'm not sure what comes over my brain, but there's no off switch to tell myself I'm full.


All three of my kids are home from school this weekend. I'm not sure how that happened, usually they trickle in at different times. It was cold and drizzly here yesterday, and I believe a cold front is moving in soon. My goal is to continue to track my meals, no snacking or munching, choose healthy meals, and enjoy the meals I have with my family with guilt or worry. Also, be up and moving as much as possible.

@theslightedgeforever wow sorry about the bronchitis that sucks. Just take care and rest. I’m not sure a brace would help, I wrote more about it below.

@nighthazel01 those sound like great goals

@mswatson0777 that is what I prefer to drink, rum and diet pop. It is the lightest calories drink I could find. I also think it is relatively ‘clean’ as they say. I love beer but it is full of stuff and it always makes me feel like crap after. So I only drink it when I’m with my hiking club which is about once a month. I don’t drink wine either for the same reason- whatever the chemicals are in it they make me feel terrible. >> Hopefully you are on your trip by now!

@trooworld good luck at the DMV! Identity pictures…I had to get my passport renewed last year and the woman that took the picture took a lot of pride in how good her pictures are. So I don’t know it looks the same to me lol but she really tried…..I would have found it hard to do a degree online I think. I did it in person, it was a compressed 12 month program. It was exhausting lol. I loved school but I will never go back.
Another peanut butter fan here- I like peanut butter with apricot jam. Apricot jam is the only jam I will eat.

@TeresaW1020 ½ pound loss is great, at least it isn’t a gain! I’m ready for spring too. I don’t mind the cold but I can’t stand the gray skies.

@joannadavison glad you have an extra day Monday…I could never be a teacher, it always seems like such hard work!

Well my update: I’ve stayed on track with calories all week. I met my exercise goals (8x) but some of my exercise is like very lowkey rehab type work.

Injuries- the biceps tendonitis should heal with rest, it is just caused by overuse. So it is slowly getting better I just have to be smart and not overdo it. I think in 2 or 3 weeks it should be back to normal.

My wrist is another story. All along we thought it was a tendon injury. My xrays were delayed so we weren’t sure though. So I finally got my xrays back and the tendon is likely fine, but there is osteoarthritis in my wrist. I was pretty upset. 43 years old and I have arthritis?

This kind of arthritis happens when the cartilage on the bones wears away, so somehow that has happened to the bones in my wrist. I still have a couple of appointments next week but I read that it really can’t be reversed and it is degenerative, meaning it can get worse over time. So I was super upset when I found out. But today I feel a little better. Ironically I have been keeping my arm still bc I thought it was a tear and didn’t want the tear to get worse. But with arthritis they say it’s better to move it, bc if you stop using it will just get worse. So I’m going to try doing some gentle stretches.

I can still lift weight, just there are a couple things I can’t do bc it hurts too much. So I guess I have to start working around it. Bah.

@trooworld, so sorry that you are suffering from a migraine! I hope the acupuncture will give you relief. I think that is a great idea about pulling out your favorite recipes and getting it spiralbound! I never thought of that! I spend way too much time looking at recipes and need to do the same thing and just stick to what we love and what fits into my plan.

@its_cleo, uggghhhh I am so sorry to read about your wrist and the arthritis! I’m glad that you are feeling better and can start using it again, but I know that you love lifting weights and having to learn to modify sucks. Great job on meeting your exercise goals and staying on track with your calories!!

@theslightedgeforever, yes you are right that I need to celebrate my loss for last month, but I know that I should have done much better. In my Fat2Fit group, I’m doing a habit tracker and I’m going to start journaling each day’s habits on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hoping that the accountability will help me stay on track. I hope you start feeling better soon!

@nighthazel101, you have good weekend goals and I hope you enjoy your time with your family.

@mswatson0777, I hope you weekend is awesome! Shoveling snow is definitely a workout but I hear you about it not being what you wanted to do.

Good morning and happy February!! I did something yesterday to hurt my back, so I’m babying it this morning with my back massager. I probably did something during yesterday’s workout to hurt it. Today was supposed to be leg day with weights but I’m going to leave that for tomorrow and just walk on my treadmill. I’m at least learning not to push through my injuries. I just ordered a foam roller that had a lot of good reviews from Amazon that will be here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to trying it out. How did I ever live with Amazon Prime!! The rest of the day is going to be cleaning the house and trying to check off some stuff on my to-do list. Have a great day!

?? not sure about that last comment on here?? This isn't an old thread, lol. Anyway, Hi all...guess I have been MIA again.

@trooworld You said awhile back by getting on here would be a habit for me. Guess it kinda falls along with my eating habits--good for a few days, fall off a few days, repeat. Sorry you have a migraine. They are the worst. I used to get them monthly as I got older. Now thankfully havent really had one for years, lol. Guess there are advantages to getting old!

@TeresaW1020 Yeah on the loss. Every little bit helps!!

@mswatson0777 Shoveling is definitely hard work & burns calories!

@itscleo Sorry to hear about the arthritis in your wrist. Keep using it!!

@theslightedgeforever Hope your bronchitis goes away quickly! Dh had sinus infection & it took 2 courses of antibiotics to get over it. Then the other day gd who has been coughing a lot went to dr & has walking pneumonia!
I was coughing all summer & the dr decided I should go back on the Prilosec. Was doing great until we went to dd's in OK & been coughing ever since. Just saw allergy dr a couple of weeks ago, tho, so don't think I have anything. I hope not. We found fairly cheap tickets to fly out to Arizona, so we leave Tues for a week. Dh says if I start coughing on the plane, they will probably quantine both of us for that coronavirus, lol. I am thinking it might be related to dairy, so trying to avoid it for awhile to see if it makes a difference.

We got one of the Real ID's last fall. Ours didn't seem like a very big deal, maybe they didn't do it right, but I have the star so I'm good!

Well, probably won't get back on here until we get back, so hope everyone keeps doing their best!

Well, I didn't get any meal prep done yesterday. This is because my husband made a big mess in the kitchen yesterday and didn't clean it up before going to the hospital to see his relative so I had to spend a bunch of time cleaning up the kitchen before starting meal prep. By the time I was done cleaning up the kitchen, it was time to cook dinner. We'll see how this week's meals go...

@TeresaW1020 The acupuncture did help some, and I took some medication and between the two, the migraine was gone by the end of the day thankfully! Yes, it was only $5.50 to get it spiralbound at Fedex. I'm going to start using it next week's meal plan. I'm sorry to hear that you've hurt your back, I can imagine that it must hurt to do anything? lol...I love Amazon Prime as well!

@StocktonSue hello, this isn't an old thread, as you can see, it's updated daily!

@RetiredAndLovingIt Yes, well maybe someday it will be lol. Thanks re: the migraine. They ARE the worst! I hate them. I get them about every 3 weeks. Usually with changes in the weather. That's good you didn't have a problem getting your Real ID. I realized I can't find my SS card, so I had to reschedule my appointment until after I get a new card.

@its_cleo Yeah, it was super cheap to get them bound and it looks really nice. My migraine is gone for now, luckily! Yes, we are a collection of aches and pains lol! I'm glad you are at least getting some answers. I remember when I found out I have arthritis in my spine, I was really bummed. But I've gotten used to the idea now.

COMMITTED.
February goal: track 1 meal a day, go for a walk 1 time a week