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

@cbabie 9” of snow – that wasn’t me! Thankfully lol. We don’t get snow here until end of Dec or Jan usually. In spite of the stereotype, only parts of Canada get snowy. I think Iowa, Wisconsin, and some other states get more snow and are colder……Toronto is a pretty warm part of Canada though overall.

@mswatson0777 8 hour zoom meeting yuck. Do you have to be on camera? We do it with just the phone. Actually we don’t use zoom but a similar software.

@trooworld I had a bed that used those, it worked fine. Very easy to set up too. Still- awful it won’t dome for a couple of months. I must say I would not enjoy sleeping on an air mattress anymore. That is great news about your spine! I hope you can figure out what’s causing the pain.

@theslightedgeforever- Yep I know Rocky and Bullwinkle. Not very well but I do. That is quite a point system you have concocted! I’m impressed. I know it helps to have a good system. I did pre- covid…..they have half-bagels here, or the thin ones, but I don’t know if we have Lender’s specifically.

@TeresaW1020 I think having a plan for different scenarios is a good idea.

@Retiredandlovingit that sounds like a lot of work with the trees. My father has trees in his backyard and it has been a hassle for him- in a storm one came down on the neighbour property and he had to pay to have it cut up and taken away. It was expensive.

Well I have shelved my goal of movement for this week to try to be more mindful of my tendon and let it heal. It is frustrating. My trainer said it could take a yr. I still haven’t seen physio. My newest strategy is to let it rest more.
Which means on my butt more. When I get tired of that and if it doesn’t help I will try physio.

Still have seen my trainer 2x this week and I have gotten some walks in, just not sure if I can meet the goal I set.

Sat I see some friends for lunch and it seems like such a huge treat. In door dining is banned, but this place has a heated outdoor patio. I’m really looking forward to it.

Calories- over the last 2 days. But today I’m on track, actually I’m way under. I’m thinking about giving up pork. Not a religious thing, I just find it always leaves me hungry and the leaner meats- steak, chicken, and fish, are healthier.

Take care all!

PS I need a new avatar but I always find it a pain looking for them.

@theslightedgeforever Yes, of course, you are right that the words we tell ourselves is so important to becoming who we want to be. You would think I would know that by now! DH and I actually had a talk yesterday about my tendency to clean the entire house like a whirlwind and that I need to ask him to help instead of doing it all myself. The thing about my sweet husband is that he is willing to do whatever, but he truly doesn’t see dirt to the same degree that I see it. Do you know what I mean?

@trooworld He is a good driver, but he is much slower, and he doesn’t know my car as I do, so he makes me crazy. We talked about it on the drive home the other day that he misses driving on fun, windy roads like the one we were on, but he realizes that his reflexes just aren’t the same anymore. It works for us. Can you and DH just take your bed apart and put the mattress on the floor until the new stuff arrives to fix it?

@mswatson0777 Oh dear! Your walk to work in the storm sounds awful. I can’t believe that you are getting such cold weather already. Is that unusual for where you are? I can’t imagine an 8-hour Zoom meeting! I hope it goes better than you think it will. My staff meeting wasn’t very stressful. We all have so much fun together that we actually enjoy it. We did have to slash the heck out of our budget for next year and that hurt.

@cbabie Yeah, this back pain is stressing me out. Funny thing is that yesterday I sat all day in a folding chair and not once did I have any pain. We are going to go shop for a new office chair with better support and see if that might be the culprit. That is great that your daughter noticed that you are looking slim and toning up will definitely help with that.

@its_cleo I feel your frustration that you have to take a break from your normal workouts. I have made the decision to give up my Beachbody workouts for the time being in case that is part of my back issues. I will stick to calm walks on my treadmill as I try to narrow down the problem. We both have to set different goals and be OK with it. That is fun that you get to have lunch with your friends and I hope you have a great time!


Good morning! Well, my weight is up but that isn’t surprising. Pastor brought us Chic-Fil-A for breakfast, pizza, and candy for lunch, and then DH went to Publix for dinner and got us subs. I ate all the carbs!! The staff meeting went really well. We did our best to plan for next year with the knowledge that it could all change. The fact is that none of us knows what tomorrow will bring so we just need to have faith and roll with it. So I have been spending time have spent time on this new FB group that I found. It’s for alternate-day fasting and most of the people on there do a 500-calorie meal instead of an all-day fast. All-day fasting is super hard for me and the couple of times I’ve done it, I really have a hard time sleeping. Sooooo since I’m the weight loss tweaking queen, I have decided to give it a try. For the rest of this month and November, I am going to commit to it. What it looks like is that Mon, Wed, Fri I will eat a 500 or less calorie dinner. Tue, Thur, Sat I will eat two meals. Sunday will be OMAD (small snack and normal dinner) I plan to keep my 500-calorie day Keto and the rest of the week low-carbish. Fingers crossed that it will work!

@theslightedgeforever HaHa! Yes, I do know what you mean when you say tapes. Maybe we need to upgrade our brains and turn the loop feature off.

@cbabie Sorry that your family has been struggling. I’m always on edge waiting for mine to implode on themselves down in Florida and getting the call for help. It’s good that you got out and walked and not binging on baby’s chips.

@mswatson0777 Happy house-i-versary! I hope you enjoyed yourself. Are you ready for the coming week? I hope that it won’t be too stressful for you. At least you know what things to do to help you relax instead of turning to food, which will NOT help.

@trooworld WOW!! You lost a huge amount this week! It looks like you have really found a balance that is working for you. Your Italian dinner sounds amazing!


Good morning! I tried to come on here yesterday, but the site was down and didn’t come back until late. Ya’ll we are bleeding money in this house! Our copier finally died and then this morning our coffee maker malfunctioned and made a mess of grounds and water all over the place. It’s happened before and we can’t figure out why so DH is going to get a new one today. I’m NOT kidding that every year around Christmas time we end up spending money on things that aren’t Christmasy fun things! Really annoys me! I’m going to go get on my treadmill for a little walk and then get ready for church. Have a great day!

@trooworld Do the pumpkin beers taste like pumpkin? Interesting! When DH and I went out to the brewery for our anniversary dinner, I had a stout that tasted just like hazelnut coffee. It was sooo good!! Love the graphic!!

@theslightedgeforever The tweaking is going well. I’m still hanging out in Onderland so that makes me happy. The real goal right now is to get out of the 199s. This will be my first complete week of doing my new plan. I will have three down days that will consist of fasting 18 to 20 hours on either side of when I eat a 500 calorie Keto meal. Fingers crossed for a good weigh-in this week! We bought the same coffee maker that we had. A Hamilton Flex Brew that has a 12-cup and K-cup feature. I did some reading on Google about keeping the coffee maker in tip-top shape and I didn’t realize that I should be descaling with vinegar at least every 3 months. If you haven’t done that you should look it up and see if you can get your coffee maker to give you back your 12 cups. It should also improve the taste. I noticed a burnt like taste to my coffee and this morning my coffee is so much better!


Good morning! We are excited because the new dishwasher finally arrives today. No more hand washing!! I’m also hoping my new office chair arrives today. I’m so anxious to see if that will help my back. I am doing better since I stopped the Beachbody workouts but I miss it and hope I can heal what is wrong with me and get back to it. I was watching some Bob and Brad videos on exercises I should and shouldn’t be doing. That was eye-opening that I have been doing many things that I shouldn’t be doing! On a happy note, I wore my size 12 Lee jeans to church yesterday and they fit perfectly. I can't believe that I'm one size away from a 10!! I haven't worn a size 10 since I was 10. OK, I’m off to walk the treadmill and then head over to Aldis. Have a good day!

@teresaw1020 That's great you are staying in ONEderland. Just keep doing what you are doing and you will eventually get out of the 190s. That's my goal by the end of the year. Although I'm taking the slow boat to China route so hopefully it sticks this time. I actually don't drink coffee. Just make it for hubby. But I did descale within the last three months. I had read about it. He didn't suddenly claim oh this tastes so much better so we'll see if I do it again. lol I knew he wouldn't notice. Yaaay on size 12. size 10s are on the horizon.

@trooworld I always read everyday. I just didn't have to do any of my regular tasks or activities. I do two of these a month. It's called scheduled playtime. No feeling guilty. Just sit and be. I got 50% today too. Started out good and then fizzled. Good for you for meditating. I've just been using my fitbit for the guided breathing exercises and then I continue a bit after it finishes. I love to be passive-aggressive now that I'm older. I put up with so much stuff when I was younger. That's why my dd says I'm in my all about me stage right now. Yup. I would take your mil to get groceries next time but wait about an hour. Then say, Oh I was just getting ready to call you. Yes it will earn you some trouble but it also puts you in the driver's seat. It's amazing how other people's behavior changed when I changed mine.

@cbabie You are definitely not failing with 1lb lost, way to go!!!

@trooworld It sounds like you made the best of a bad situation. I hope you don't beat yourself up too much for it! And I did go back and re-track out of curiosity. I was WAY over Saturday, but only about 300 calories over Sunday so I'm calling it a win.

@theslightedgeforever I did do some good things, but the problem is I'm not doing enough to lose weight so I'm just stuck in the same place and I miss my clothes fitting well. And I laughed at your response to my plan to flee. You must be a fighter in the fight vs. flight response.

It took a lot of effort to drag myself back to work these last few days. Nothing bad at work has happened, my head is just not in the game and I'm struggling to stay motivated. I did take a half day next Friday and a full day the following week so I can have some things to look forward to.

I took the dogs for a walk in the 25 degree weather last night, winter came early this year even for us (which is probably adding to my malaise mood). They both have Halloween hoodies that I dress them up in so they're pretty adorable which makes me smile (they're not thrilled to be wearing them but it's too cold for them to go out with just their short fur). I'll switch over to their holiday themed sweaters mid-November.

@trooworld I liked reading all the good things you did. Didn't it make you feel good to write those out? Then you also figured out a work-around for Mondays. I got 50% today. Two appointments. Tomorrow is two appointments. But I'll keep trying.

@mswatson0777 So what's your plan to make those clothes fit better? How about reducing your boundary by 50 or 100 calories/day. Something small so you don't really notice it but it would make a small difference. For instance something I started doing was every time I order a quesadilla at this one restaurant I immediately remove two triangles(it has 8) and throw them on my hubby's plate. Then that means I really only eat 75% of the calories. Today I actually left 1 on my plate so that was even more of a reduction. I recognized myself as full and said stop.
Hmmmm....fight versus flight. Never really saw myself as a fighter. But then I don't flee either. Sometimes mentally I escape through books but if you are going to try and take me down, you are going down too. lol Is there a third option? Usually I go for the win-win. Yaaay on your walk. BRRRR I bet your doggies look so cute.

@teresaw1020 That's great that you are being flexible and using your treadmill while you heal from the other. Remember it's only for now, not forever. I don't know how you do all that fasting. My body would be saying feed me and storing up all that food I do eat for later. lol You have extreme willpower. Although as I just wrote this I was thinking if she has such willpower to do that, how come the same willpower couldn't be used on the other side of the coin? It reminded me of two extremes. Black and white perfectionism. Where is the gray? Don't mind me. Just some thought rambling going on here. Sometimes I learn about myself when I post to others.

Red- Stayed OP 73/100
Intentional movement: 29 min strength training 23 min walk
37 zone minutes minus 0 for inactivity 8/8

October goals; Green dot day. Drink 6 glasses of water Burn 300 calories Preplan food

By popular request: here are the photos of my kids in their Halloween costumes.

@trooworld It seems that you are in the battle of the bedtimes! How soon before the new frame comes. And I typically walk the dogs until it hits 20 degrees and then it's too cold for them, but I walk to work year round, which includes -20 degree days

@theslightedgeforever Way to go on with listening to your body and hunger cues, that's major! And I struggle with cutting back more due to hunger levels, but I'll play around with 50 calories less and see how it goes

@TeresaW1020 In total we received well over 1/2 foot of snow so far this year, blerg. I hope you're able to get back to Barre Blend soon! I haven't had a chance to try that one yet since I've gotten so sucked into Autumn's workouts.

Happy Wednesday all! I've got a virtual conference today at work so it should be pretty low-key which I'm looking forward to.

After talking to my therapist yesterday and planning things to look forward to, I booked a cabin with a Jacuzzi for February so we can have a cabin weekend with our quaranteam! I'm so excited to get away since I normally take a big trip around that time of year, but due to COVID we don't want to fly anywhere, so here's a local socially distanced option

@cbabie It's about a mile each way so not too crazy. And I think tracking is the most important part, way to go! And if it's a zoom meeting no need to shower lol

@trooworld I'm glad you liked the photos! I'm so glad the frame is coming soon for your sanity! And new managers are always a cause for anxiety, I hope she is a good one!

Well...it's Thursday. I'm here, which is alI I can really say about today. I did get a killer workout this morning in, 30 minutes of 21 Day Fix Extreme Cardio and 10 minute abs, which I'm definitely feeling. I also got out for a nice long dog walk last night and hope to get another one in today after work. I've got a phone call to catch up with a good friend which I'm really looking forward to. Otherwise, its same old, same old on my end.

@mswatson0777 Ohhh my goodness your doggies are sooo cute!! Do they like looking cute or do they put up a fight? Maggie would totally put up a fight if I tried to put something on her. That is a lot of snow! Yes, I hope to get back to my BOD workouts soon. Part of my just wants to start doing 80 Day Obsession where I left off and modify everything that isn’t good for my back. I LOVE Autumn!! That is great that you will be able to get away in February and have some fun.

@cbabie I totally get that fasting isn’t for everyone and we all have to do what works best for our bodies and our emotions. Yes, puzzles are a nice distraction for me and since I discovered my love of podcasts it’s even more of a reason that I like doing them. I hope things smooth out for you soon.

@trooworld I’m glad that you were able to get a good night’s sleep. Oh, I would be nervous to get a new manager. Hopefully, she will be a good manager and learn how best to manage you in a way that lets you do your best work. My boss at the furniture store was a total micromanager and it was so frustrating. My pastor is the best. He lets me do my thing and doesn’t need to know the details.


Hi everyone! I had my staff meeting this morning and that went fine. I then came home and broke my 19 hours fast. Afterward, DH and I went shopping. I am redoing the decorations in the church for Christmas and I wanted a flocked tree. Michaels had a beautiful 7.5-foot one marked way down so I bought that and then went to Hobby Lobby and got some navy and gold ornaments for that tree and gold bows to replace the bright red ones that are on the wreaths on the windows. Our church carpet is maroon, and those bright red bows have made me crazy for 5 years. I also bought many boxes of Christmas cards. Pastor wants to send a Christmas card to the 65 different sets of families from the staff, which means I’m doing them. And he wants me to put together packets of cards so our people can send each other Christmas cards. So, I will be busy doing that for the next few weeks.

@trooworld I got 50%. Yaaay on your 75% and 50% So make good choices since you have your weigh in coming up. I hope you get a manager that will bring out the best in you. From the beginning voice your concerns telling her this is how I work best. I know you want me to do the best I can for this company because that will make you look good.....
You made me laugh with you and hubby seeing who can go to bed earlier just to get the bed. Again I laughed about your comment to Teresa. South vs SoCal. It's funny cause hubby likes to open doors for me but he will suddenly stop and move out of the way to let me go through first (which is nice) but in my head I'm thinking, just keep moving. Why are we stopping I can get the door.

@teresaw1020 Tweaking is the best. Hooray for your lb. It's working. Thinking about chivalry, my hubby would say you women keep demanding equal rights, equal pay, we can share the couch equally. Although in reality, his actions are different and I always get the bed in these instances. I play both sides of that coin. Whatever gets me what I want. I can be dependent woman or independent woman. He knows it too. I've got a good guy.

@mswatson0777 Woohoo on your killer workout. I am trying to learn to listen to my body and not just eat what's in front of me. Cause that can be alot. Sometimes I win and sometimes not. OMG Your doggies are so cute and I'm not a dog person. lol Well, a pet person. That's great that you found another option to have some chill time despite covid. You made me think of something someone put on social media. It's all about our perspectives. I'll have to go find it and post. This lesson can be useful for more than just covid. My kids all went to college in N. Iowa. So walking in -25 degree weather is normal for them. I guess you get used to it just like people who live in hot climates get used to it. Personally, I wish the world was 75 degrees year round. Blue skies with fluffy clouds.

@cbabie Yaaay on tracking and walking. Keep up those healthy habits. Interesting how we are both not animal people because our parents were. I know what my reasons are. Does yours have to do with colored cotton. Yes on escaping with books. You know I can be or Psychology wise, my first choice was the smiling devil. Interesting choice. At least your Zoom meeting doesn't have smell. So as you are learning new skills, you can begin working on journaling your emotions instead of eating them. A lot less calories that way. Maybe you can keep some gum on hand to get the chewing motion going. Or keep cut up carrots in the fridge so you can grab the container and take it to your room or lock yourself in the bathroom even. Begin by writing, I want to eat my emotions right now because of ..................... Get everything out. Then you could put down, But I'm not going to eat my emotions because I am trying to..........and I want to ...................

Green- Stayed OP 213/238
Intentional movement: 22 min strength training 37 min walk
26 zone minutes minus 1 for inactivity 7/8

October goals; Green dot day. Drink 6 glasses of water Burn 300 calories Preplan food