Hold...so you like being smelled?

You like pleasing her nose?

And she's catching herself reversing a tad on her weight plan and doing something about it. Wow. Incredible isn't an overstatement, IMO.

And she wants your admiration...she likes that she changed her own MO...which is how real change happens.

She likes your smell. And you're going to stock up. Could be, the more she's pleased with herself, the more she'll be pleased with you, too.

I wonder when you'll begin to love your inner rebel instead of use him. Hmmm.

Just a thought.

LA

?????????????

Is that post like a dog when he tilts his head to the side and his ears perk up, perplexed but interested?

LA

Yes

Shabbat Shalom!

I had a nice weekend. Both nights we watched tv together and I fell asleep with my head on her thigh. Not sure how she would rate the weekend, having to shove me off her at the end of the night. But I did purchase ingredients and cook dinner both nights from Weight Watchers approved recipes, and both dishes came out well, so I did create some value for her (I am told marketing and cooking dinner are stressful times for people on diets).

Ooh! Ooh! I have an entire notebook of recipes that I got on the WW website and printed out. Great stuff!

Another pretty good weekend! Yay!

Mrs. Hold really likes the stuff from Cooking Light. Their stuff is slightly more "exotic" than the WW recipes. The WW pot roast had potatoes and carrots and green beans. The CL version has zucchini instead of green beans, a dash of red wine and alot of garlic. YMMV.

Are they free recipes?

If you go to cookinglight.com, they have a recipe finder on the pull down menu under the "food" tab. I typed provencal into the search box and one of the items halfway down the list was the provencal beef stew recipe I made yesterday. Looks like they are free!

Hmmm, seems like they take you to myrecipes.com, which supports several food magazines and web sites. So be careful. Somehow I doubt that all the recipes from Southern Living are as low fat and low calorie as the ones from Cooking Light!

I absolutely love fat, I eat the fat of everyone's steak. They're all, "yuck, you're going to put that on yourself and have high cholesterol." I must be a freak of nature, b/c I eat fat like there's no tomorrow and my cholesterol is fine and as for being fat, well not even close!

You have to do exactly the opposite of the experts. Look everyone is on low calorie, carbs up the yang diets and yet US is getting bigger and bigger. Why, b/c we spike our insulin by eating carbs and get sick etc. We don't work off those calories even though they say they are easier to burn off. Not true, in my experience, teaching your body to burn fat is way, way more efficient.

Look up mark sissons site. His pictures look photo shopped, but that's him, they guy eats fats and meats. I use bacon grease as much as possible. That's something I never would have done in HS or college/grad. I use to take off cheese on pizza to avoid the fat from the cheese, no I layer it with all the meats... yum!

"Somehow I doubt that all the recipes from Southern Living are as low fat and low calorie as the ones from Cooking Light!"

rofl!!!

What is it that Paula Deen says? Something about "Butter makes everything taste better!" I'm trying to think of an exception, and nothing comes to mind...

I tried googling "Paula Deen quote butter" and came across the following:

something about deep-fried butter

OTOH I'm a big fan of the Mediterranean Diet. And French Girls Don't Get Fat. A couple of years ago I was baking tons of sourdough bread, eating bread and olive oil, cooking with olive oil and everything from scratch; also eating a lot of sweets, usually with a sourdough component - pancakes, Amish coffeecake, cinnamon buns, etc.

Now that we've moved into our new house and H claimed the kitchen, he cooks with way less butter, way less olive oil... but more "processed" breads, sauces, sweets.

We've all gained weight.

Yep, it happens every time. Processed refined sugars and flours. Just stick to the basics:

Candy
Candy corn
Candy canes
Sugar
and syrup

(from Elf)

Did you guys see that Pepsi is now marketing Throwback Pepsi as a healthy alternative because it contains REAL SUGAR?!?!

Can you imagine what that means about the "modern" sweeteners they use instead of sugar?!?!

On a more serious note, we went through an Atkins phase in our household. Twice I believe. Never worked for Mrs. Hold. Then again, nothing else did either until she joined the contest last year. So I imagine if a combination of exercise and Weight Watchers doesn't work, we will probably try something like Atkins or South Beach again.

The problem with diets is that people expect them to work forever...even when they stop following them. A good diet is nothing more than a sensible eating plan that works for your body, your exercise level, your metabolism. A meeting with a good nutrionist, working with a good trainer and adherence to the program will work for everyone.

It's like Marriage Builders. You have to practice it everyday. You might fall off the wagon a bit during periods of high stress, holidays, etc., but then you take an assessment and get back on program.

I've never had a weight problem but needed to drop at least that last 10lbs after each kid, PLUS get back into shape...physically, aerobically and mentally. It took the better part of 8-10 months each time. My weight would go back to pre-pregnancy within 2-3 months...but it was closer to a year before I felt like 'me' again.

After kid #3, my thyroid crapped out on me and even though I still don't have a weight issue, it's a daily battle to keep my body from packing on the pounds and I'm still about 7lbs heavier than I'd like to be...looking at the scale. But I'm the same clothes size I was in my mid-20's. I think all the working out, weight training, aerobic training and nutrition management counter-acts what the scale says. My body fat percentage is lower!

My point is that anything in moderation is ok.

Balance out protein, carbs and fats for your body and you will be fine. Get body fat and BMI measured and go by that over what the scale says.

Have you seen the new food pyramid? It's not really a pyramid anymore and it definitely speaks to a higher level of protein and even fats in our diet than previous pyramids.

BTW carbs? EVIL! I only eat them sparingly and at that, only whole grains and never after 4PM.

funny you should mention that.

Just yesterday me and my H were in costco and picked up a case of limited edition coke. It was in those old fashioned green tinted glass bottles. The sign said "made in mexico with Real cane sugar!"

I supposed they were referring to the "high fructose corn syrup" that they put in everything these days. Some reports I've heard blame the obesity epidemic on the corn syrup. MY FIL was reading some article to me about the evils of it a couple of years ago.

But then you get the ad campaign saying that HFCS is just like any other sugar product - trying to reassure everyone I suppose. So like a lot of things I have no idea what the actual TRUTH is health-wise.

OH:

Yes, my wife views this as a lifestyle and not a diet. However, everyone's case is different. My wife did not need to lose 10 pounds after each pregnancy, she needed to lose over 50. She lost 40 of it after S15. She lost none of it after D12. Then piled on more pounds. Until she did the contest last year. She had about 60 to lose when she started. Not to get back to her pre-baby weight, which we all agree is an unreasonable goal. But to get to where she could reasonably be at this stage of her life.

BMI is not a good measure for her. She is short but broad shouldered and has a solid ribcage and is curvaceous. So she is always going to be high on the BMI scale. We go by percentage of body fat, and even there she will be on the high side because she will never be stick thin. Trust me, even at 129 she will still be more like Salma Hayek than Kate Moss. She is always going to have hips and thighs and buns and boobs. Which is great. That is how I like it! Curvy. But she still has more belly than she wants, and to get rid of the belly some of the hips and thighs and buns and boobs will have to go too. Boo hoo! I kid her when I lay my head on her thigh that she is going to be all skin and bones and no longer be a good pillow.

She already watches what she eats. She exercises every day. She lost 40 pounds. But then she hit a plateau. Has not lost any weight in months. She cannot reasonably exercise more, as she is developing aches and pains from the constant effort. She is going to the doctor tomorrow to address those.

So if she is going to lose more weight, she needs help. She is not going to WW to diet. She is going for the encouragement of weekly weigh ins and a group of people who will support her in trying to make further changes to her lifestyle. The entire family is supporting her as we are all going to be eating healthier along with her. I hope to lose a few pounds as well, as I have gained 5 pounds since I stopped running. My wife finds that the structure and discipline of WW appeals to her. She liked the structure of the contest. She is hoping WW will give her some of that back.

Take what works and leave the rest.

This is where looking at shaking things up can help. WW is great for good tips on that. ONE visit to a sports nutritionist/health nutritionist might also be well worth the $$$ (and even covered by your insurance).

Lots of people plateau. It's the body's response to all that weight loss. The answer is patience...and shaking things up. Things I've done in the past when I've hit a plateau (they don't have to be weight related..mine have come in the form of BMI, body fat percentage, muscle development, and yes, weight), is to change up my eating for a week or two (increase/decrease protein, carbs, fats) and change my workout routine. Cut back on cardio, increase weight training. Switch out what I do...both cardio and weights. If I've been running alot, I switch to the bike. If I've been doing both of those, I get in the pool. If I've been on the elliptical, I get on the stairmaster. Or I mix it all up if I've been doing too much of one thing.

Same with weights. If I've been going for more lbs added to my weight routine, I cut back and increase reps. Try new routines. Free weights vs the machines. Take a class at the gym that I haven't taken before.

How about Pilates? Yoga? Great things to add to a workout routine that won't stress your joints.

OH:

She actually does a nice mix of exercise, not all the same thing. Sometimes spinning. Sometimes yoga. Sometimes cardio-sculpt. I do think she needs to maybe add some time in the pool (now that she is a size 8 she no longer feels so embarrassed to be in a bathing suit) or something else that is more whole-body related than machines in the gym or classes in the yoga / cardio room. But I think that will have to wait until after the visit to the doctor tomorrow to get a better idea why her shoulder is bothering her and what can be done. D12 gets PT on her knee. Maybe Mrs. Hold will need to get some shoulder work done.

As for nutrition, they had a nutritionist talk to the contestants last year. And we have had meetings with nutritionists for D12 who is overweight and has many food allergies. So in our case, it is not a lack of knowledge but a lack of willpower that is the issue. Hence the WW. They do a good job of reinforcing self-discipline.

I also help. I make sure to buy salad greens every trip to the market. Mrs. Hold doesn't love them and rarely buys them herself. But if I buy them and put a bowl of greens on the table with dinner, she usually takes some. She is generally pleased as it helps her feel full and she has some zero calorie dressings she likes. Whereas I have dropped talk of the carrots and celery that are 0 points because I know she doesn't like them and resents my suggesting them. But salad she is open to being "helped" to include. She sees that if she adds salad to dinner she is less likely to need a midnight bowl of mini-wheats.