hello every one

loveusa  come join us the more the merier.

Today there is something big and yellow up in the sky,OMG its the SUN..The rain is gone for a few days and it feels so good.yesterday about 30 miles from here they had a tornado watch,but luckly that didnt get one.just heavy winds and lots of rain.

good eating day today but that ever bad thing is coming up,The weekend".I need to be good this weekend.

well i need to get ready for work

Linda

well

Thank you, ladies, I consider this quite a treat. I'm from California, like Judy, but the southern part. And I never married, like Elia, and am perfectly happy this way. Maybe I'm too idealistic. Who knows! It's funny one should feel compelled to mention their marital status to set up an identity, but we women have had that on our shoulders all our lives, along with double the responsibilities. So, the cafe is sounding really good. Can't wait to drop in and see who's here each time, and what everyone has been up to.

I lost a nice amount of weight a long time ago on takeout containers. I'd order something decadent each day, like a fabulous Chicken Caesar with the accompanying bread sticks or focaccia, too large for one meal with the way servings are these days, and would nibble on it all throughout the day. It was mine, all mine, so there was the element of safety there in knowing I wouldn't experience deprivation. I got only that (the good stuff) and promised not to have any other nibblings. It was the fastest, easiest, most pleasant weight loss 'plan' I have ever had. Will have to see about doing that again.

I hope everyone is taped together well, getting good as new again. I brought you some special fast healing band-aids, the ones with the coolest cartoons printed on them like Tigger and all his buddies. You will like these.

It's nice to meet everyone!

 Hello everyone! Loveusa, so glad that you joined us! Thanks for the band aids, boy do we need them!!  Hey , I am finally getting over this darned cold! Tow good things have come with it, I have actually stopped drinking beers, can you beliver that that is how sick I was? I have not even considered drinking one since I got sick! And my scale is feeling so sorry for me that it actually read 134.5! I was usre that since all I had been doing was working, eating and sleeping, the sclae would rocket back up to 142 but I guess i am finally out of the 140's! two years after i started the plan!! hey, better late than never! I have to write a special thank you to all of you and to Betty, boy did she walk us through some rough spots!! It is sunny today, but I am not going to the pool still hacking my chest away!! Patty hon, how are you doing? How are all your kiddies? I do hope that that little baby is being taken care of. Linda hon, do not go and get a sun burn now!! Judy, are you by any chance behaving??  Do not worry, I am taking it easy from now on with the weight loss. Not gaining by any means, too hard to lose, you know? But I am sticking to my new lifestyle, lots of fruits and veggies, fish at least three times a week, low sodium and portion control!! I imagine that the scale may still play a trick on me and go up 2-3 pounds, but I can handle that. I may still be dehydrated, how I do not know since I have been drinking juices and water galore!! Loveusa, you sound like just one of us, so I am very glad that you have joined us!! have a great weekend everyone! Love,

Elia

Hi Elia,

I never knew that a scale could actually feel sorry for someone :o) I am happy to hear that you are feeling better and very excited for your success!! It has truly been my pleasure and a great honor to work with all of you.

I hope that you enjoyed your weekend,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

welcome loveusa,

been staying busy with running our 3 teenagers to work, we live in the country and they work in 3 different towns. plus one of the 18yr olds, she's my foster daughter, my husband has been trying to teach her how to drive for over a month, since she will be leaving for college soon, then our son who'll be a senior just got his permit and we're starting to teach him, it seems like he's getting the hang of it much easier then she is. I've been hopping on my new elipitical as much as possible since i got it last wk,(only skipped 1 day) so it seems that the scale is creeping down very slowly,trying to get off the additional steroid weight that came on from that 2 wk bout with my asthma. but i do mean creeping, all of u seem 2 b going so well losing the weight and here i am at my high point plus the steroid wt., i try to keep hanging in there, i'm still upset about the baby, and hoping to get another one before the summers over, i know u all probably think i'm crazy, but i feel that it's my purpose in life, it just comes so natural to me, and i feel i have so much to offer a baby whether it's a drug baby or a medical special needs baby, so please keep me in your prayers.  Everyone is healthy here, and we've been enjoying a couple of cooler days, the rain has only been visiting at night and early morning. Hope everyone is doing well, and that everyones pounds are slipping away! 

Happy Monday everyone.  Yeah, I know, what's happy about Mondays?  I logged on briefly over the weekend, but never found time to post.  Elia, I certainly hope you're feeling better by now.  I liked Betty's comment about scales having feelings.  Mine has a feeling all right, a feeling of being overwhelmed by what I'm doing to it.  Typical behavior you know, I did well last week, lost a couple of pounds, and put it back on over the weekend.  I don't think I did anything outrageous, just ate normal food instead of diet food.  I'm back on it today, except I have some leftover chicken scallopine I made last night, and it will not go to waste.  Elia, blame it on whatever you want, but your weight loss is fantastic, congratulations.  So Loveusa, you are a fellow Californian.  How long have you lived in CA?  I was born here, actually in Southern California, Long Beach, to be exact.  Hey congratulations for never being married, you saved yourself a lot of time and stress and expense of divorce.  I've done it twice and I've never been happier than I am now with my single life and my little pets.  By the way, how did you pick the name "loveusa", other than the obvious, of course?  And would you want to go by your real first name here?   I liked your idea of the takeout food and making it last all day so you don't feel deprived.  Elia, your takeout selection could be beer!  Loveusa, did you just pick the food you had a craving for on that particular day or what?  My cravings usually involve carbohydrates.  Patty, you are a very special person to be a mommy to all those kids.  You sure can take whatever life hands you too.  Linda, I hope the sun is out for you today.  It's supposed to hit 100 here today and for the next four days.  Yikes, but my tomatoes are loving it.

I was going to make this a little longer, but somebody just gave me some work to do!  Later then.

Judy

Hi Everybody,

It's always so nice to come visit here. I hope the words are flowing better this evening because it's been a really warm day today. I think my mind has come down to a temperature at this point where it starts churning again, and not a moment too soon!

Linda, thank you for your friendliness in your last post. I left the thread open without reloading it for a while, and didn't see your welcome until after I finished posting a comment. I am happy you are enjoying sunshine, though have to admit I consider it a real treat to have a rainy day where everyone slows down on the road, and to curl up with a nice good book and a cup of tea by the window, hearing calming raindrops outside.

Patty, you are very special to care for so many children. I'm sure that they will be very grateful when full grown adults knowing you were there for them when they needed you. All the love and caring you give to them multiplies in our world and also comes back to you many fold.

Elia, your going through the 140s is marvellous! Marvellous! And you're half way to the 130s on top of it. Don't you feel so wonderful for every pound reshaped into a form of your own preference?

Judy, that's great you're from Long Beach, not too far from Los Angeles, where I moved in 1985. It has been home, and always felt like a good home. I came to visit Northern CA two Thanksgivings ago with my boyfriend at the time (we went our separate ways last December; it was a long distance relationship) who has friends there, and don't remember what town we were in, but it was near Shenadoah Valley where we went to visit some wineries for a day, and that was memorably pleasant. I don't know if you're near that area, and am not as familiar with the northern part, but will make a note to study a map, especially where all the cellars are. lol  Well, it was all good -- the foliage, the laid back relaxation, the cheese, the wine! lol 

Those luncheon takeouts are really great. Sometimes it's nice to have just one or two bites all throughout the day. Judy, do you like sugary carbohydrates or quasi-complex ones like pasta? You can have whatever you like, I suppose, even if it's cake. I know I'm going to get clobbered by a mob of dieters saying that, and on a diet site, no less. Did I really post my name already? lol But really, I doubt you would be satisfied solely with starches day after day. You will actually crave something really nutritious soon enough. I have scoot from the diet section of the bookstore to the psychology section, as it relates to diet, long ago. Am I talking up a storm! It's a good thing Betty stopped by and has brought us all to our senses and pointed out how well all of you have done on this plan, and it really is quite an accomplishment. I hope you all will have some recommendations.

More later.  Remember, you are all special!  ..... And loads of fun.

 Hello evryone!!  Betty so good of you to stop by, and yes my scale does have feelings, right now it is not feeling sorry for me anymore and decided to throw 3 pounds my way! The stupid thing is trying to convince me that I weigh 137.5, not likely, so I guess that I really was dehydrated after all!! Hey, I am perfectly ok with that, I know I will get back to 135!!  Patty hon, you really are one of a kind! I am so glad that all those children have you to shower them with love and understanding!  Judy hon, can you believe that the cold has taken my taste for the beers? what is this world comming to?? I will have to develop a taste for red wine!! Linda, do you have sunshine in your area? Loveusa, hon it is great to have you with us!! Hey, Betty was here right from the beginning, when I was still moaning and crying about every littl;e set back!! Like when I was doing great swimming, sure enough I caught a cold, so she suggested walking, guess what? I over did it and hurt my ankle!! Betty kept saying to look forward and not behind and that is one of the most important lessons that I have learned here!! I also kept comming up with rewards that I was going to give myself, like a tattoo and a kayak, well i have reched those two goals, one was 145 and the other one 140, but I still do not have the tattoo nor the kayak! I guess it was just an inspiration to keep me going! Now I am just staying on the plan for my own well being, the heck with the rewards!! What bigger reward can I have than to feel and be healthy?  Hey Judy and Linda, do you remember chansen 2000? She is back!! Ok gang have a great rst of the day!! Love,

Elia

 Hello girls

The sun has been out for 5 days in a row.Ive been out weeding my plants and hanging out my blankets on the line to dry.Its just so nice to finally have good wheather,i was getting so low with so much rainy wheather,it was almost like cabin fever in the summer.

kitty is doing better,he is eating some and drinking and not getting sick anymore.he looks better.

hello lovusa,its nice to see you still posting.

Hello betty i see your still checking up on us(we need it).

patty angel wings for you

judy be good i know your the party girl.

Elia good job on no beer,even though its light there are a lot of calories(and not good ones)

im on vacation next week,just doing day stuff and lunch with some girl friends.also going to the harry potter movie.

well i need to get ready for work.

linda

Elia, make sure you follow through with your rewards. I used to make sticky notes of my TO DO list, and when I'd get done 6 stickies, I'd get a reward. Eventually the done stickies piled up tp 35-40, and I thought the rewards weren't that important. Well, I lost trust in relying on my own self some, and at this point am really careful with following up with rewards. To put it another way, would you deprive a dear pet of a reward it was so excited to work toward? .... Didn't think so. Well, you deserve your own consideration too. Just a thought. (I know, Im a busybody!) Love you guys, Caroline

 Oh dear, my post was deleted again due to "offensive content".  I don't know what was offensive about it, but I copied if from the email message and will paste it here and replace a few words with xxxxxxx and hope it goes through this time:

Yay Caroline, good to know your name! You always have good tips and give us different angles to look at things with, I like that. This is such a hard battle, but I like the determination that all of us have to continue to push forward with it. Betty is right about that, and it's one of the things I've continued to do in spite of slipping and back-sliding. I am not giving up, I've done that too many times and I know where it has always gotten me. You asked me what kind of carbs I like - I like all of them! I love anything made with flour, cakes, cookies, pasta, all of it. But I also love fruit with a passion and eat a lot of it every day. Every morning I have a banana, canteloupe, blueberries and usually blackberries too with my yogurt. I bring cherries or grapes to work for a snack. I have nectarines, peaches and plums at home. If there is such a thing as eating too much fruit, then I'm sure I do. So of course Betty is right again, if you aren't eating much fat, you are probably eating too many carbohydrates. That is good for the cholesterol count, but not so much for the waist area, (notice i called it the waist area, not the waist, because there isn't any definition there. Elia, I'm glad you're feeling better, and I hope you kicked that xxxxx scale for messing with your mind. But I know you're emotionally and mentally stronger than it and you won't let it bother you. You are there, sistah friend, and I know you will stay there. Linda, I'm so glad to hear the sun is out. I know how depressing it is to have rain and clouds and darkness day after day. Then when the sun finally comes out it feels like you come out too. We have enough sun here right now to share with all of you, 101 today. My tomato plants are screaming for help. They say they're supposed to be in full sun, but I don't think they meant this. I went home for lunch today to check on Charlie, whom I now call Broby, long story, and should have watered the tomatoes because I'm afraid by the time I get home this evening the fruit will be sunburned, which some of it already is. Well, back to the work at hand, actually pretty slow day, but thought I would check in with everyone. Patty sweetie, I hope you're doing okay and will check in when you can. By the way, I was planning to see Bruno this weekend, but xxxxxxxxx.

 Hello everyone!!  hey, glad you have some sunshine Linda!! judy hon, I am going scuba diving!! You see Caroline, I do reward myself but with whatever inspires me at the moment! My new reward on the making? A pair of fins whci cost $199.00!! Hey, I do save my rewards and then splurge!! Heck, I may even buy another 63 lbs scuba diving tank! Now, those only go for $159!! hey, and I did buy a hoola hoop yeterday, that was not even on my rewards' list, I just felt like it!! But I am definetly buying the fins, that is a must!! Hey Judy, I will try to take some underwater pictures!! I am really excited about going diving, heck, I have not been diving for the longest!! Patty hon, how are those little ones treating you? I hope that you are feeling better. Have a great day!! Love,

Elia

Hi everybody! It's so nice to visit here. Linda and Patty, I hope both of you are great as always. It's nice to have you come out to play. There is always lots going on out here, and it's all good! I'm proud of you, Elia, for treating yourself to all those goodies. Linda and Patty, you need some treats too. Scooba diving sounds so much fun. Do you have to actually know how to swim to do it? I can float on my back for hours, but can't swim. You do have scuba tanks and the works, though 63 lbs., whatever it means, sounds like it would sink a non-swimmer pretty fast. lol  Maybe it's the air pressure and it's actually a light aluminum tank. Anyway, just wondering. I hope you share pictures with everybody because underwater ones are really nice. Enjoy the hoola hoop. And Judy, you have the full spectrum of colors of fruit. Sounds very healthy and all your fruit bowls must make your home look like a painting. I have to buy all my fruit at the market, and for the past two weeks the plums, peaches and apricots have been not as sweet as usual. They may be picked really green now with this heat so they make it to the market okay and then they never sweeten. All the other fruit has been nice and sweet though. I'm going to have to make it to some farmer's markets to see what they have and what's going on with all our plums! Keep those lovely tomatoes watered. Linda, can you create some kind of good drainage for your vegies with pebbles or something, or planting everything on a slope? I don't know actually, but anything's worth a shot. Why not! Goodness, fresh vine ripe tomatoes all summer. I hope Spencer and Brody are great pals already and helping out at the garden. They just may discover some neat catnip back there.

All the talk of rewards has me thinking, ... so I am getting myself one really nice lip gloss from a collection for every pound I lose from now on. I know, lip gloss probably sounds on the shallow side with all that's going on in the world, but we are girls, and girls feel good after buying a new tube of lip gloss! So there it is. I just tend to reward myself early and with several tubes on top of it, so I hope to remember the link between accomplishment and reward. I'm just a happy lab mouse. :D tra la la la (lol) ..... with a new gloss.       Happy hugs, your buddy, Caroline

Hi Everyone!

Just thought I would pop in to say hi.  I decide to get back on Alli.  It's great to see all of you still hanging around.  I haven't been on the site for many months and my added weight is a result.  I love reading the posts, they seem to keep me on track. 

Elia.....congratuations on your goals.  Going scuba diving that's wonderful.  Where are you going?  Also, I had forgotten about the rewards idea.  I used to do that, too.  Great idea!!

Well, just thought I would drop in.  Take care,

Carol

 Hello everyone!! Glad to see you here Carol!! This is a great bunch! Caroline hon, whatever makes you happy should be your reward! Now I do not think it would be good idea to go scuba diving if you do not know how to swim!! Hey, the tans do weigh but not too much. You do have to wear weight belts to be able to stay under and then use the BC to go back up. I love it!! Before alli and the weight loss and physical fitness (not shape by a long shot!!) I would not have even considered going back under, now I am all pshyched about it! I took my two (the 63 lbs and the 80 lbs.) tanks yesterday to be checked and filled, well the girl told me that I needed to take them to the service department which was in the back of the store, well I did not give it a second thought I just picked up both tanks and started walking, she asked if I needed help, and I said no, I was fine, well she mentioned how strong I was!! She must be new in the scuba industry, if you can not carry your own tanks, you may need a cart but do not expect anybody to offer to carry them! That is the exception, when someone does offer help!! Carol, we are going to Key Largo, I live in Doral, used to be part of Miami, right next to it.  I have to figure how to use the tickers to add pictures. so I can share some of the underwater shots!! Hey Judy, I guess you are already on weekend mode, behave will you?? Linda, still no beer! Well, at least my pocket is happy!! Patty hon, how are you? Ok gang do try to make the best choices!! Judy hon, I love my fruits too!! Have a good one! Love,

Elia