Weight Watchers At Work Program

[CrimsonQueen]

Karla, you've come much too far to let these last few pounds beat you. Anyone who can lose as much as you will manage to lose those last few pesky pounds....we used to call it Hard Lard:D Plus, you'll be so active on the ship....you'll be fine, I know.

 

I've forgotten to ask......where are you going on your cruise? And, with what cruise line?

 

The Saint and I will be married 32 years on Tuesday, the first of January. Wow.....where has all that time gone? And, your anniversary is in May? What day? My birthday is May 12.

 

I wish you the best weekend, and a Happy and Healthy 2008! Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Ginny, you are right....I've come to far at this point. I can see the end in sight...but unfortunately these holiday meals have sure weakend my will power. I will get back on though. We had a wedding reception tonight and I didn't do very good. By the time they served the food I was starving and I just ate too much. Tomorrow is a new day though.

 

We are on the Emerald Princess headed for the Southern Caribbean. We are making a 4 day stop at Disney World first.....I am a Disney nut! So we will be gone 15 days. I'm taking my laptop to keep in touch with my girls so hopefully I will have a few extra minutes to check in here.

 

Our 29th anniversary will be May 26th. My daughter got married on our anniversary last year. My DH's brother and sister-in-law got married on the same day 24 years ago. We have lots of people to celebrate with now. We were all at daughter's wedding in Mexico last year and it was a blast! We had 36 friends & family at an all inclusive. If I could do my wedding over again that is the way I would do it!

 

Keep up the good work! A special wish for you too for the new year. This is the year we will make it to a healthy, happy weight!!!!

[CrimsonQueen]

But since I gained 4 pounds last week, I'm still 2 pounds in the hole:o . Is that clear as mud??

 

Karla, I LOVE Disney! We went several times when the DS was young, and now the Saint (DH) refuses to go since we no longer have a child at home. I have a glass slipper on my desk from one of the trips and keep thinking that one day it will fit!!:)

 

I hope you have had a better week as well. With your cruise just 13 days away, and your being so close to goal...I so envy you. I hope to be "in your shoes" come April.

 

A coworker gave me WW Get In Shape DVD...it has three 30 minute workouts on it. Have you tried it? I'm going to try it tonight, and will let you know what I think.

 

Have a great week, and keep those salads coming! Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Hi Ginny. I am lucky, dh loves Disney almost as much as me. I love Disney and like cruising, he LOVES cruising and Likes Disney a lot, so for us it is perfect to fly to Florida, visit Disney World and hop on a cruise to relax afterwards!

 

I've lost a lb or so of the weight I gained over the holidays. I have about 2 lbs to loose to get back to where I was before Christmas. I HOPE to loose it before we leave a week from tomorrow. I really don't want to gain much on the cruise but it sure is going to be difficult!

 

Good luck with your success this week. You are doing good!

 

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

I'm having a really good week.......seems as though I don't want any more than my daily allotment of points. I wish it were always this easy. I'm adding more exercise this week, so hopefully it will show on the scales.

 

Karla, you're going to look and feel so good on this cruise that it will be easy for you to watch your daily intake.....notice I didn't say "stay within your points" :). It's vacation, and we all tend to let our guard down a little. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

I'll continue to post, and you just reply when you can. I wish you a safe and fun-filled time! Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

It is great that you are doing wonderful this week Ginny. We had baby showers (with brunch & lunch) all weekend for my daughter. I didn't have a hugely successful weekend but I am only about 1 lb up from before the holidays. I have weigh in today so we will see what the actual damamge is! Maybe that will be gone by the time I leave on Friday. I will probably worry it all off. I am going to try to make myself 1) take the stairs everywhere on the ship 2) walk the promanade a couple of times a day 3) visit the gym a 2-3 times during the cruise. Maybe those things will help me balance a bit more food and a couple of desserts. But this is my new way of life, so I have to be able to live WITH it! I'm sure will will do great while I'm gone and I will be anxious to find out how you are doing when I return if not before. I'm sure I will be checking back in a few times before we leave Friday! Have a great week though.

[CrimsonQueen]

Karla, I hope you didn't get any of the bad weather that ripped through the midwest last night. Are you okay?

 

So, you're going to be a Grandmother?? Wonderful! You'll set a very healthy example for the grandbaby. Besides, at your new weight, you'll actually feel like getting on the floor and playing with the baby:)

 

How's the packing going? Just remember, you're packing much smaller sizes this trip. I am so proud for you!

 

Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Thanks for you kind thoughts Ginny. We were fortunate and didn't get any bad weather last night. It was east of us by 70-90 miles. Heck, it didn't even rain!

 

Yes, Actually I am going to be a grandma for numbers 6 & 7!!! Both of my daughters are expecting 2 days apart in February. They live on the same block with me also. (We are very close). My son's and their families only live about 6 blocks away. I know...it sounds like a soap opera, but it really works well for us. We are thrilled to be so close. It sure makes leaving on a trip easier....I have built in pet & house sitters next door and 3 houses away! How lucky am I!

 

I am packing smaller sizes...when I actually get to the packing part. I am not packing too soon because my cats will find the suitcases and crawl right in so that I can take a fair amount of their fur with me to keep me warm in the Caribbean! I have lots of lists and stuff out and ready to be packed. I plan on doing all of it Thursday when I am off work!

 

Thanks for your encouragement. It means a lot to have someone to chat with. How are you doing with your weight this week? Now that the holidays are over it is getting easier again for me. I am actually .2 from where I was before the holidays, so I am feeling pretty good about it. I'm looking forward to my trip but I am also looking forward to getting back home afterwards and loosing those last 20-25 lbs. Is your weigh in on Thursday? I just know you will have a great week!

 

Hey, I found a new side dish tonight. Do you like sweet potatoe fries? This is very similar. I usually hate most veggies and especially squash, but I LOVE THIS! You take a butternut squash, peel, seed it and cut it into french fry sized chunks. Put them on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes, turning over 1/2 way through. They were WONDERFUL. Next time I am going to try putting a little cajun seasoning on them also. They are only 1 point per serving (1/2 squash). My DH loved them also. It said you can eat them with ketchup, salsa, BBQ sauce...whatever you would normally dip french fries into. It sounded and smelled bad to me to start with...but I ended up really enjoying them.

 

Have a great day!

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

for the recipe....I will try it this weekend. I especially miss french fries when I am eating a panini. I've been eating the "lite" chips with them, so now I have something else to try.

 

I'm glad you missed the bad weather. It was pretty rough here last night, but I grew up in Hunstville, Alabama (tornados VERY frequent), so they don't really scare me that much. However, about 6 years ago, one came down our road (category 5) and took out several houses. Ours was spared, thank goodness. Let's just say I have a healthy respect for them:)

 

So, you're off on Thursday? And, are you leaving on Friday? I guess I was mistaken....I thought you were leaving on Thursday.

 

This has been a very good week for me, and I'm actually looking forward to weigh-in tomorrow. I usually go to the first meeting (at 11:00) and eat my brown bag lunch, so I'll try to post the results right after I return. Hopefully, you can see it before you leave.

 

I didn't realize you already had grandchildren. And, getting two more so close together! I know I'm older than you, but we don't have any yet. My DS is 26 and no where near ready to be a father, or so his mother thinks:) . We only have the one child.

 

I hope your day flies by, so you can start packing tomorrow. Later, Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Hi Ginny: I will be anxious to hear how you do at weigh in. I will be sure to check on here before turning in tomorrow night for that last sleepless night before the trip! I'm so glad you had a great week!

 

My DS's are 26 for another month. They (identical twins) turn 27 next month. My how time flies. Then my DD's are 25 & 24. Yes....I know, I am totally nuts. And yes they are really all mine and DH's! No steps, no halfs.....Life we pretty wild for a number of years at our house...especially the year they were all 4 in high school at the same time. No wonder we didn't get to start cruising until they were out of school!

 

I was happy....this morning I was officially .2 UNDER my pre-holiday weigh in! YIPPEE. I really do love the ww @ work plan. Lots of encouragement and support. Are you finding the same thing with your work?

 

Good Luck!

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

So, now I'm right back to where I was before the holidays. Oh, well......

 

I have been doing so well since New Year's Day. I'm stll down 12 pounds from when we started this program at work. I need to focus on that, don't I????:o

 

I hope you are making a dent in your packing. I always love putting the clothes IN the suitcase.....it's the TAKING THEM OUT (and laundry) that I hate.:)

 

I have a story to tell you later. I'll try and type it while you're gone since it's kinda long , and I'm a big talker! However, let's just say that after receiving a late Christmas gift last night, you couldn't pay me to go over my allotment of points today!!! :eek:

 

Have a safe, wonderful time.....and tell Mickie hello from me!! Can't wait until you return to hear all about it.

[luv2travel2beaches]

Wow, now I am anxious to hear THIS story.

 

12 Lbs is a lot. Remember, pick up a 10 lb sack of potatoes and walk up and down the isles of your grocery store. Then when you put it down you will be thrilled you have gotten rid of MORE than that bag of potatoes. Every lb counts. And every lb is like loosing 2 because you didn't gain one and you lost one! (That's what I think)

 

Packing is done, everything is ready. Now I just have to TRY to sleep for a while. We leave home in 6 hours. Short night!!!

 

Good luck on your progress for the next 2 weeks.

 

Talk to you soon!

 

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

Today is weigh-in day, and I will post the results later. However, I wanted to get this "story" down before work, and hopefully you will understand why I'm sticking so closely to the food plan lately.:D

 

I'll try to be concise, but want to give you the background.

 

I grew up in a family of 7 children, so you would think I'd always have a playmate, right? Wrong! My next oldest siser is 5 years older than me, and my youngest sister is 5 years younger than me, so I never had a close-in-age sibling. However, my cousin is 8 months older, so we were very close growing up.

 

I was always the "smart" one, and she was always the "little" one. We attended the same schools growing up. However, after school, she married, and then I married and moved to Tennessee. We sort of drifted apart, as childhood friends often do, only seeing each other at funerals and reunions.

 

However, about 5 years ago, out of the blue, she calls me and it's just like it always was....we picked right up where we'd left off. We've gone shopping quite a bit, and visited back and forth, and have become friends again.

 

Are you still there?:) I promise to get to the point soon....

 

After one shopping trip, I came home and told my husband, "Everyone could see she was still the little one, but not one person stopped me on the street and asked me if I was the smart one!!":D

 

Anyway, this year for my birthday (May) she came to Nashville, and we spent the night together at Union Station (horribly expensive, but it was my present to myself). She, like all skinny people, had a camera around her neck the whole time, and was snapping pictures of everything. And, of course, I had to be in some of the pictures:mad:

 

One day last week, she sent me a late Christmas present. Once I opened the box, I saw, among other things, a coffee mug pasted with one of the pictures from our trip......She, looking slim and trim, and Me, in a pink t-shirt, taking up three fourths of the picture. Oh....My......Goodness!!! Am I really that big?????

 

And, of course, the answer is yes. So, I brought the mug to work, locked it in one of my cabinets, and take it out whenever I feel the need to snack. Best diet I've ever been on!!:)

 

Anyway, I hope you're having a perfectly marvelous time....all tanned and skinny.....and, I hope all the other women on board are jealous of you!!

 

Later. Ginny

[CrimsonQueen]

Our leader called in sick, so we didn't have a meeting.....no weigh-in. I guess I'll have to wait until next week to see if I get my 15 pounds sticker.

[luv2travel2beaches]

Hi Ginny: I'm back!!! The cruise was fabulous. We had the best time and everything went wonderful. The weather was great 95% of the time. I didn't do as well as I had hoped (weight wise). I gained 7.5 lbs! UGH!!!! It is so dang hard. I made good choices of foods most of the time, I used the stairs most of the time, but I just didn't do very well with portion control and there were just some things I couldn't control, including my love of chocolate and desserts. Today I was back on program though and now I have 27-30 lbs to loose instead of the 20-23 I left home needing to loose 2-1/2 weeks ago. It is so frustrating to gain back (in 2 weeks) what takes a month or more to loose. BACK TO WORK!!!

 

I'm anxious to hear how your weight loss is going and if you received your 15 lb star?

 

Just to let you know. Even though I have lost a lot so far, I still looked at the pictures from the trip and thought "I look WAY too heavy"! I know I have to work much harder now.

 

I truly enjoyed the story you shared with me. I can relate to it so much. I have a picture at work of myself on my cruise 2 years ago and it does motivate me when I look at it. I just can't believe that I was that FAT! I wonder if I will ever see myself as thin (even when I get to goal) again!

 

Let me know how your weigh in has gone. I'm not looking forward to mine tomorrow (although I already know how bad it is)! Have a great week!

 

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

Welcome back, Karla! I know you have a fabulous time. I want to hear about it once you settle in and catch your breath.

 

One of my favorite sayings is, "don't sweat the small stuff", so don't worry that you were on vacation, eating wonderful food, and gained some wait. Just remember what fun you had. Now that you're back to "reality" the weight will come off.

 

I'm still not at my 15 pound goal yet, but close. I still need 1.2 pounds, so surely I will get it this week. Our group as a whole has lost 220 pounds!!

 

Can't wait to hear about Mickie and your cruise. Reply when you can.....and I missed you!! Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Ginny:

 

I know you are getting close to that 15 lb weight loss. You are doing great.

 

At weigh in today I was only 5.4 lbs heavier than before our trip. I was pretty pleased with that. I'm hoping I can get back to the pre-cruise weight in about 3 weeks!

 

Now for trip details. We started with 4 days in Disney World and Sea World. My dh and friends called me the Disney Natzi and said that I was taking them on the Disney death march. I had so much energy as compared to previous trips. It was so nice to be able to race around Disney World and feel pretty good at the end of the day instead of wearing out by noon! I had a great time...I love Disney World. We then drove to Ft. Lauderdale and got on our ship. It is a beautiful ship. It is HUGE. We had a wonderful 10 days. The weather was beautiful most of the time. We had one day with some rain in Dominica but it is a tropical rain forest so what do you expect. Otherwise it was sunny and 80's the entire time. I guess it was below zero and in the low single digits at home while we were gone...I sure didn't miss that!!! I wouldn't return to the islands of Dominica and Grenada probably, they were very very poor and pretty dirty. We did love Bonaire, St. Thomas, Princess Cays and we liked Aruba pretty well. We did some island tours and then snorkeled quite a bit. All in all it was a fantastic vacation. We really didn't do a lot of activities on the ship. We watched the Movies under the stars a few nights. Otherwise we really enjoyed swimming, getting some sun by the pools and then relaxing on our balcony in the evenings. It was pretty low key but just perfect for us. If you want any other details just ask. I just don't want to bore you.

 

Hope you have a great week!

 

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

I cannot believe it. I lost 1.8, but I'm still .2 away from my 15 pound gold star. What more do I need to do???

 

I know exactly what I need to do.......exercise more:) . I am still not diligent in my exercise. At my age, diet and exercise have to be best friends, not merely acquaintances.

 

I hope you're getting caught up, and things are almost back to normal.

[luv2travel2beaches]

GREAT JOB! 1.8 is great for a week. You will for sure make it to the 15 lb star next week!!!

 

I sure know what you are saying about exercise. Before the holiday season I was doing really good at making myself walk up and down the steps at work over and over to get some exercise. Now...it just isn't happening. We are extremely busy at work and of couse I'm behind from being on vacation, so I don't take the time to do my few minutes of exercise. I don't do it when I get home either. It is really cold and nasty weather here and I just can't make myself go outside and walk. I know...I'm making excuses aren't I Ginny! My girlfriend began ww with me almost 1 year ago. She has lost 93 lbs and has made it to the "healthy" weight range. I'm excited for her but man I wish I were there too. She hasn't exercised at all! I'm afraid I won't make it to my goal weight if I don't start exercising regularly. UGH. I just HATE it!!!

 

OK. Enough whining from me tonight. We know what we need to do don't we! Our family is going to Hawaii 6 months from today. Not only do I want to be at goal weight by then, but I really need to exercise and get a little less flab going. You have a cruise coming! We need to do better!

Tomorrow is the first day of February. What can we do to get a little more exercise?

 

Hope you have a great weekend. I'm still waiting on grandbabies. Maybe this weekend!!! More likely it will be another week or two, but hey a grandma can hope can't she!

 

I guess I have rambled on enough today. Hope you are doing great....keep up the fantastic work!

 

Karla

[luv2travel2beaches]

Hi Ginny!

 

I just wanted to check in and share my good news. I was at the doctors today for a re-check and to renew my prescriptions. My cholesteral levels have dropped over 100 points!!!! I am totally within normal GOOD ranges on all levels. She took me completely off the cholesteral meds. Also, I was previously considered diabetic but now all of my blood sugar levels are back where they should be and I no longer have any diabetic issues. The doctor marked my chart that all diabetic issues are now resolved. I have gone from taking a LOT of meds to almost none and she expects to take me off of the rest in the next few months. She told me that I am a poster child for weight loss and I should be in magazines. I left the doctors office crying I was so happy. It is so motivational to be making a huge difference. I lost 2.8 lbs this week and I was happy with it, but I sure want to be back where I was before the cruise!

 

I am anxious to hear that you have lost this week and achieved that 15 lb star!!! Be sure to check in and let me know on Thursday. If I don't answer soon it may be because I am having grandbabies. It looks like we should have at least one by the end of the weekend and another by the next weekend....if the doctors can predict! :D

[Lakeside Annie]

We're starting a Weight Watchers At Work Program on Tuesday, November 20. I've been on WW before (in fact, Lifetime member and former leader) but never the At Work program.

 

Has anyone else had WW come to your office? Did you enjoy the luncheon meetings?

 

Anyone currently doing WW At Work?

 

I'm sailing on Carnival Valor to the Eastern Caribbean, leaving Miami on April 6, 2008....less than 5 months now. I'm hoping to be close to goal by then. Please join me in this journey.

 

I know you started this post last year. But I wanted to add my experience.

 

We started a WW at Work in 2005. It took a while to get enough to be interested and in March, we finally had the 15 members. Our leader seemed a little young and distracted, and indeed, her husband got a transfer and she left us. :( Our next leader was really great, but she admitted that she didn't truly believe in WW and after our sessions were over, she was going to break away from WW and begin her own personalized healthy lifestyle program.

 

I, on the otherhand, had a fantastic experience with WW at Work. I had never tried any type of diet or exercise program before and I was wearing size 16's (and starting to consider 18's) I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to leave my office to go to meetings. I enjoyed that I had a network within the office that we all had something in common. I enjoyed the (self-imposed) competition with one other girl that I considered to be in a similar weight situation as me. WW worked for me! And I was amazed how simple it was (using Flex Points.)

 

After our sessions were up, we didn't have the committment to begin another round of sessions. So some of the girls and I went to the local WW office and resumed our program there. After 53 weeks, I'd lost 58# and was wearing 4's and 6's. Just in time for my HS reunion!!!

Hah! Nobody even knew I'd gained nearly 70# and lost back 58#! They just figured I still weighed about the same as in HS!!!

 

Life got crazy and I didn't follow maintenance. :( I've since gained back about 30#. But with a cruise coming up in June, I'm on a mission to lose before we go. It's slow, and I'm doing it on my own (without meetings or WW online.) Just counting my points and tracking weekly weigh-ins. But I could not do this now without all the knowledge I got from WW at Work.

[CrimsonQueen]

Thanks for your encouranging words.....we will complete our first 10 weeks tomorrow (we had 40 enrolled) and hopefully have enough for our second session. Feel free to post at any time....if you've read our posts, you'll see that Karla is a great motivator:) . We'll be glad to help all we can. And, if you decide not to post regularly, at least let us know how your weight loss is going from time to time. And, my HS reunion is coming up in August...so wish me luck.

 

YEA, KARLA!!!! What a boost to hear all your good news. Yes, you SHOULD be in the magazines....have you thought of writing and sending in a picture to WW magazine?

 

I am so proud for you. Just to think of your getting off all those meds by losing weight......such good news.

 

I still want to hear about your trip. Did you post a review/pix anywhere?

 

I'll find out tomorrow if I get the 15 pound star. I don't want to get my hopes up, because I was so sure I would get it last week....I don't want to be disappointed again. But, I've done really well this week. Still taking the stairs every morning, but still not exercising at night:( .

 

This afternoon, I was feeling hungry, and an employee came up to talk with me (I work in HR). Before she left, she asked if I had lost weight. She said she could tell......when she left, I wasn't the least bit hungry any more:D .

 

I hope the grandbabies get here safely.....keep me posted when you have time.

 

Ginny

[luv2travel2beaches]

Welcome Annie. I wish you all of the best in your challenge of weight loss. At least I know that it is a challenge for me. I have found that the past year (yes my 1 year anniversary is next week) it has become much easier most of the time. There are definately days that are more challenging, but overall it has been a great year, and honestly much easier than I thought it would be.

 

Ginny, I can't wait to hear about your success tomorrow. I feel confident that you will be at your 15 lb star. Success is most certainly the best motivator for me too. It is so much easier to feel not hungry when you are feeling successful. And we are humans aren't we....that encouragement we get from others when they notice our weight loss is very motivating.

 

Exercise is still my biggest challenge. Heck, who am I kidding....I just can't get it going the way I need to. With work being so busy I can't take time each day to go up and down the steps like I was before my cruise. I MUST find a way to incorporate it into my life and make time to get moving. Maybe that would help me to get these last 25 lbs gone for good.

 

Good luck tomorrow Ginny, I will be waiting to hear.

Come back and visit with us more Annie! We will help to encourage you as much as we can! I truly belive in this new lifestyle with Weight Watchers as my guide.

 

Karla

[CrimsonQueen]

I lost 2.4, which puts my total to 17.2 pounds! I am so excited. Now, keep your fingers crossed that we have enough people to join for a second session.....I still have lots to lose.

[CrimsonQueen]

No, I'm not logging in to brag:) but when I posted earlier today, it didn't bring my post up to the top as it normally does, and it still showed you (Karla) as being the last poster. I was afraid you wouldn't open the thread to see that I had actually posted.......

 

So, I'm trying again:D

 

See the post below for the actual boasting part:p