Messages By: mayzak

   This board is very quiet again today.  I guess everyone is having a fun and exciting weekend and getting their IE in.  I did get my two hours of swimming in this Am early because I did not get to swim last night due to the lightening.   

    Donna, I was thinking of you.  I guess it was lightening all over the south yesterday.  I am lucky in that if the storm passes quick enough I can go in later but last night I just went to bed and decided to just swim this AM.  Donna now fins that might be a good thing as much as I like to swim.   I hope that you do not get discouraged.  We have all had those times that we gain and then a while later if we follow the plan the weight will come off.  I did not lose any more myself this Am but I figure that if I continue to follow the plan as close as possible that maybe in a few days the pounds will show on the scale.  I still have people almost everyday tell me I am looking thinner each day so even if I am not losing on the scale I must be firming up and that also is good.  Please hang in there with us.  I looked in your profile but did not see your e-mail address.  I did want to send you an e-mail. 

   Reen, I am so sorry that your daughter was ill and had to have emergency surgery.  I am so glad that she is doing better.  I bet you are very glad to get her home with you again also.    I will keep you both in my prayers. 

     Shirley and Karen you both sound like you are doing very well.  Keep up the good work.  You both may have had a bump or so in the road but in the long run you are doing well.  Keep up the good work. 

     Cindy,  hang in there.  If we find ourselves off the plan just take a deep breath and look at what you are doing and then get right back in there.  We all get discouraged but with each other's support we can do this.   I know you can do this.  keep working hard.        

   Now everyone lets drink our water and do our IE and follow the food plan for today and then again for tomorrow .  We can do this.                           Alice 

  Reen, I am so sorry to read that your daughter had to be readmitted to the hospital.  Do they think it is a post op infection related to the surgery or another site?  I do not know exactly the type of surgery she had but I sure hope that a few hours of antibiotics will wipe out the infection and she will again get to go home and get better with you and Don.  I am sure you are worried as would any mother about her child.  Take care of you right now.   

  Karen and Susie I can imagine how excited you both are getting about right now just thinking about your trip.  I can believe that you both are already packing your bags.  Now Susie remember they do scan those bags so they would probably find the stoeaway.  But you are right we need to find Karen a GOOD man.    Now I know if anyone can you probably can find a few good ones. 

    Chilly, I think you will need to have at least two days of rest when all of your company leaves.  Have fun this week however. 

     Bev, thank you for the recipes.  I plan to try at least two of them but may try all three.  They all look so good.  Now I will not be afraid to buy extra pumpkins and make the soup. 

     Sharon, snow sounds so nice right about now with the hot days we are having.  I hope you have a safe trip to get the computer to its destination.  Enjoy the time with the GS.  Grandchildren are so much fun.  I truely enjoy all the time I get to see mine. 

      Vickie,  I hope you are feeling better today.  I am glad that you found the nw type of keyboard that hopefull will work better for you.  Take care of yourself. 

       Everyone please get your IE and follow the food and water plans for us.       Alice 

  Niki welcome back home.  Your vacation sounded wonderful.  Butterfly world sounds like someplace I would love to visit and enjoy.  I am so happy when butterflies come by to visit me while I am swimming.  I have a few that do that often and I so enjoy it.  

   Linda it is so good to see you back again also.    

   I hope everyone is having a good day.  These past two days have not been especially good food wise for me but I did get my IE swimming in around the Thunder and lightening storms.  We did not have but a few sprinkles of rain but did have lots of lightening so each day have had to get out and come back in later.  I hope that tomorrow will be better.    

    I am determined to make sure that tomorrow will be much better foodwise as well as in all of the other areas.   Have a good evening and I hope everyone got all of their water in today.   Alice  

   It is go great to see all of you back with us.    

   BJ & Andrie Pie  I am so glad that you are so close to your goals.  I am so happy for you.  I am still about 40 pounds from my goal and it has gotten much harder for me to lose lately.  I do not want to think what it will be when I am only 10 pounds from my goal.  

   BB Bev you have been  working so hard to get moved I am sure that you are doing well considering everything you have going right now.  It was great to hear from you.  

    Carol it is so nice to hear from you.  I am so sorry to hear about your mom being so ill.  I know what you mean about the lightening.  These last two days I have had to get out of the pool each day a few minutes after I got in due to the thunder and lightening and then later I was able to get back in.    If you are able to get in and out the pool will feel great.  I know you will enjoy it.  

    Reen you must be beside yourself.  You have so much going on.  I sure hope that your daughter is feeling better and the infection is going away.  You must be like me wanting to have everything clean before company but remember it is OK to wait and clean after they all leave.  At least that is what people have told me.  They are coming to see you not your house cleaning.  

      Vickie it is good to see that you are taking care of yourself.  Do not overdo it.  I hope the accupunture helps this time even more than last time.  

       Karen and Shirley you both keep working although you already have a lot going on in your lives.    

     I have not done very well foodwise for the past two days but have gotten in the IE and have drank all of my water and then some.  I am setting a goal to measure and make sure all of my portions are what they are supposed to be tomorrow.  Again today I ate more than my portions.  Today it was vegetables but still I wanted to really stick to the plan but I will tomorrow.  

    I want to wish you all a good evening.  Again it is so nice to see you all back to those I did not mention I  read your posts and just forgot   You know the old age thing creaping in.     Alice  

   Reen I can just see you having a good time school shopping with your GD.  It will be fun and just think you will be able to get them what they want.    When you come back you will either have very happy GD or will be thinking that you are a lot like Mom if you say no to something they want but Mom would not approve of.  As Karen said you can do it because you are experienced.  I went shopping for mine but I did not have daughters so for me it was a new experience.  I did howeve have 5 sisters so to say the least I have been shopping for younger sisters for school clothes and each one does like and have their own styles and definite likes and dislikes.     

    I hope everyone got their IE in today.  I did this morning after having to get out due to lightening but  again did not do especially well in my food intake.  I have decided tomorrow I measure everything again.  I let my portion sizes get too large and then I wonder why I am not loosing only maintaining.  Have a good evening.                  Alice  

  I just have to share the good news.  I got this morning and went out and swam the two hours and then I came in and got on the scale.  I am now officially in the 150's.  I am so happy.  I am sure this is the extra kick I needed to keep me on the straight and narrow with getting the correct size portions.  I will be measuring out my portion size as the last two days I realized that I had allowed my portions to get a little bigger again. 

   Niki of course you can put my picture anywhere you want.  I would send you one but I do not remember how to put it into an e-mail but I think it is getting a little outdated as it was taken in February and I have lost more since so do look a little thinner now but since I do not have any recent pictures it will have to do.  Maybe in a few weeks when my Granddaughters come I will get my DIL or son to take another picture of me.    I am so sorry to hear you are struggling but you have had health issues so be easy on yourself.  Putting a picture up that we think makes us look less than we want does help sometimes.  As long as you do not let it discourage you.  I think you are doing so great giving up the Cappi. and drinking green tea instead.  That is a huge step.  You are taking the right steps.  Talking with your doctor is helpful.  I hope that she will support you in your weight loss goals now.  You are getting your IE and drinking your water and working with all of the other keys you will succeed.  Remember we did not gain this overnight and we will not loose it overnight.  Just keep following the plan and the pounds will come off.   Look two and a half years ago when I started I had trouble even bending over and  had to have help when I got down on my knees to get back up again.  Now it is easy to do.  Look at where you were when you first started this and now look at yourself today.  Even if you have not lost as much weight as you would have liked to by now think of all of the changes you have made in the other key areas.  I can bet if you are like me your thinking is entirely different now than when you first started.  You have come a long way and we will succeed together.   I know you can do it.           

Barbara you continue to inspire me with all of your wisdom.  I hope you and everyone is having a very good day and drinking their water.   Take care              Alice 

  Just had to post and let you all know why I am so very happy.  This morning after I swam the two hours I came in and got on the scale expecting to see a gain for this week.  I was so surprised that instead I had a loss and am now officially into the 150's- Never to see the 160's again.  This is the kick I needed to get me to stick to the food plan and measure my portions.  I am so happy that I have now lost 120 lbs.  As my DIL said mom that is a whole person.  I am so happy.  I wanted everyone to know that this plan does work and with all of the support and help from all of you I now have less than 40 pounds to lose till I get to my goal .  I am drinking green tea and am toasting to all of you and saying a big Thank you for all of your great words and support thru these past 2 1/2  years.    

   I hope you all are having a great day.  Chilly you are inspiring me.  I am going to go and start doing my house work now too.  Have a great day and Keep drinking the water or green tea.  Hugs                  Alice   278/158/120  

  I hope everyone is having as good of day as I am.  I am very happy that now I am in the 150's and I hope never to see the 160's again.  I have now lost 120 pounds.  This morning I got up and went swimming for the two hours like most days and then after finishing I decided to weigh myself expecting to see a gain for this week as I thought I had done very poorly on my eating.  I was so surprised to find that instead I had a loss.  I think this was exactly what I needed to make sure that from here on I am measuring my portions and following the food plan exactly.  I guess that since I knew I had eaten more than I should have I really exercised and it all evened out.  Anyway I am very happy.  I want to let you all know that it is possible and if I can do it you also can do it.  When I began this I had so much difficulty bending over and had to have help if I ever got down on my knees to get back up.  Now I can do it so easily.  When I get discouraged I often think of those times and also look at how I used to think.  On all the diets I tried before I always was counting till I could go off it and begin eating again.  My thinking has changed completely and now I just know that this is for the rest of my life and find joy in each day.  When I have bad days and eat things that I should not like the other day had chicken that had been breaded and was like baked fried chicken I just pick up where I am at and begin immediately to try to eat right from there on.  It does work and also your help in your encouragement during the past  2 1/2 years also has made a huge difference.  I know that although it may be slow I will take off the last 38 pounds  and when I get to my goal will work very hard to stay there for the rest of my life.  I now know that I will have to continue to exercise daily for the rest of my life and also will need to continue to eat properly with proper proportions.  

   Chilly your reminders of getting enough protein in the day to prevent hunger is so right.  I do find that when I have not had enough I am hungry.  Thanks for your good advice and reminders.  The snacks are what I use and also what one can take instead of candy is dried fruit to keep in your desk if you do not have a refrigerator.  But watch closely as many dried fruits have sugar added to them.    Also a few is the portion not a cup of it.    

   Vickie, you are doing well not using food to medicate yourself and let yourself get all upset over your daughters moving out.  She may get out for a while and find that home does not look so bad and may be back soon.  You must have rules and make everyone abide by them.  It is for their own good.  Someday they will see the light and will thank you for it.  

    Karen, I want to thank you for always being there for me and for always giving me the helping encouragement just when I need it.  It is so great to have such a loving friend.  

    Everyone have a great day.  I hope you are all drinking your water and eating the correct food and the portions that are need.  We will get to our goals.  Remember slow but sure will win the race.  

Hugs             Alice  

  Bren you are so right.  Both Niki and Karen are beautiful women inside and out and should not be so hard on themselves.  You are both trying hard to change yourselves and that is what is important.  It takes awhile, do not get discouraged.  Just follow the plan and we will get to our goals one day soon in the future.  When you do you will think back to this day and know that you were being too hard on yourself.  I know you can both do this and have already succeeded in many aspects.  Keep up the hard work. 

   Bren you are doing very good swimming and getting all of the other IE.  Good for you.  Keep up the hard work. 

   Everyone I hope you had a good day.  I was able to follow the food plan and got all of my water plus in today.  Have a great weekend.                   Alice 

    I hope everyone is having a good day.   I would like to say great job to all those losing both pounds and inches your hard work and effort is showing.  To those that are staying the same do not get discouraged just keep following the plan. 

     I have been thinking of show far I have come in my thinking.  I hope if al of you look at youselves honestly you will also see that you have changed a lot in you thinking and in your priorities.  Now remember we have to forgive ourselves sometimes.  Old habits die hard and when we are under stress we do turn to food as a natural thing.     I especially admire all of you who are losing even though you have many many stresses in your life right now. 

    Keep up the good work everyone we can do this together.               Alice