Our trip to the movies yesterday ("Pride and Prejudice"--it was great) points up a little problem that sometimes arises with my WW schedule. Because I go to exercise or elsewhere in the morning most days, I eat breakfast late, usually at 10 or later. Then I eat a late lunch, sometime between 1:30 and 2:30; otherwise, I'm not yet hungry for lunch, plus I get TOO hungry before dinner at 6:00. Well, we left for the movies at 1:00, so I had a dilemma: It was almost 11:00 before I had breakfast, but it would be past 4:00 when we got home, so what to do? Well, this isn't ideal, but I cooked up a delicious winter squash (I think an acorn squash) and had that. It was 0 points, which brought my points way under for the day, but I compensated by having 45--yes, I counted out 45--pretzel sticks that night, adding 2 points.
Today, I have a more difficult adjustment to make: a Drama Club meeting at 1:00, which should last until 3:30. Guess I'll do something similar to the above to get past it. (Incidentally, the slow cooker chicken last night was delicious.)
Later: Just got back from exercise in the clubhouse (Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away the Pounds: the 3-Mile Walk") with neighbor Susan. We do this Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8 am, and she stops for me on the other days and we take a walk through the community of about a mile.
Every Wednesday night--that's tonight!--we go out to dinner with five other couples. Dinner out is another test, with which adventures in weight loss land abound. What can I order that stays within the points boundaries? What if I suddenly lose control and grab every edible in sight and/or attack the bread basket? Stay tuned.

All right, I got the news and it came not with a bang, but a whimper (sorry, T.S.E.). I lost 1.4, which brings my weight to 191. Not great, in fact I'm a bit disappointed, as I thought I'd lose at least 2, but considering Thanksgiving, not too bad. What I need to do is remind myself that I LOST weight. I'm philisophical about it, and will strive to do better.
I'll try to focus on little milestones, such as each 10 pounds and so on. I'm going to make my focus getting out of the 190's and into the 180's. Hope and expect to accomplish that by next week.
I'm getting sick, sick, sick of cooking two separate meals for Pat and me. Think I'll have chicken in the crock pot tonight. I'm going to the movies with friends this afternoon and it will be finished when I get home, and we can both eat it.
An explanatory note: Pat, my husband, won't share cooking chores and is the world's most finicky eater, so whenever I have a dinner even slightly out of the ordinary, I make two separate meals. He's an absolute meat and potatoes man, with just an occasional foray into spaghetti and meatballs. Sigh...

Okay, fellows and girls, this is it: WEIGH DAY! In just two hours, I'll be at the meeting and will weigh in. Will I lose? Will I gain? Will I stay the same? Does the future of the world hinge on that scale? Sometimes it seems that way.
Being an internet illiterate, I'm not sure this will work, but will try to post this, then add another post when I get back from the meeting. Let's hope it works and that my news is good...

May have temporarily solved the fruit problem: I took the nine apples I had prettily gracing the kitchen counter (I never eat fresh apples) and made applesauce. Just added some lemon juice and cinnamon, cooked them down, and enjoyed with dinner. At 2 points a cup, they're pretty point-pricey, but I drew from my 35 weekly extra points.
Had an incredibly yummy dinner: My recently-discovered onions, peppers, and mushrooms sauteed in oil, a big salad, and fresh salmon with lemon and pepper. Damn, it was good.
Hmmm.... I realize there's another blip in my faithfulness to the program I haven''t addressed: My tendency to have the identical breakfast and dinner every day. Reason I do is because I don't have to bother weighing and meassuring, decide what to buy, and so on. Guess that's a copout--the real reason is laziness, a malady from which I've suffered for years.
Will work on this.

I'm continuing to "follow the program" to a major extent. The only thing I have a problem with is getting all the milk and fruit in--well, I guess that's two problems. I have plenty of fresh fruit in the house, but tend to ignore it as I'd rather spend the calories on other things. Yesterday, I had my usual breakfast (2 slices of WW bread with a cup of cottage cheese and a small glass of orange juice) and lunch (a turkey breast sandwich and a bowl--2 cups, 2 points--of dump soup), but a weird and not entirely WW-approved dinner. Because I resolved to get my 2 teaspoons of oil in, I again used it to cook onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and just ate that and a baked potato. It satisfied me and later, I had my special nightly treat of popcorn (the whole bag) and wine (4 oz.).
Incidentally, I don't mind fat-free mayo and the point (and calorie) savings are enormous. You just have to regard it as a different spread, as it tastes nothing like mayo, if you ask me. I also use the "buttery spray" on veggies, popcorn, and whatever. To a certain extent, it gives the illusion of butter--I think.
Sister Betty in California is following the WW program, too, but by the back door: She doesn't go to meetings, just does it herself. I get a lot out of the meetings: I like the lecturer (Chris), and enjoy being there with people I know. I NEVER weigh myself at home, so the weigh-in is important to me. It's true it costs something ($120 for 11 meetings--up front because they're held at our clubhouse), but it's worth it to me. To each her own...
Of course, with all this blah, blah, blah--I ate this, I did that, I think the other thing--the real test will be on Tuesday if I lose weight.
I can't imagine being able to just live without obsessing about my weight, up or down. How do normally configured people do it?

Was happy with my eating yesterday, and followed the WW program well. Also went to exercise (we meet three days a week at the clubhouse and do 3 miles "power walking" with a Leslie Sansone DVD.) I'm doing the things I'm supposed to do much more closely than I did before. For instance, I'm including the two teaspoons of oil and the milk products; always did have plenty of vegetables. Am also trying to meet the water standard, but it can be a pain, as you can't stray far from a bathroom.
I gave husband Pat the leftovers we took home from Alison's, just having 2 ounces of turkey myself. I cooked myself peppers, onions, and mushrooms in the oil, too, plus had a cup of vegetarian baked beans. Sounds like an odd meal, but it tasted great. Earlier, I had had myself brussel sprouts as a snack. Later, had my wine and popcorn, then a cup of grapes. Went to bed satisfied both emotionally (I followed the program) and physically (I wasn't hungry).
A kind of test will come shortly when I go out for lunch with my friend, Marge. What I usually do is to order a Caesar salad, 3 cups of which is 7 points (I get 24 points a day). I sometimes add grilled chicken, which I calculate is about 3 ounces and adds another 3 points. Ten points is a pretty big percentage for lunch (my usual is about 5), but I can draw from the 35 extra points you get a week.
Made "dump soup" yesterday and boy, is that good. I eat 2 cups for 2 points, usually with a sandwich for lunch.
Feeling re-a-a-l good...

Have decided to make this a weight-loss blog with no holds barred! (That means I chickened out on blogging my real thoughts and attitudes, as they're generally churlish.)
My weight story is a long and frustrating one, but pretty common, I think: Somewhat chubby as kid, slim as teen and into marriage, started gaining in 40's and up, lost some, gained more back, up and down for years. At last weigh-in, tipped scales at 192.4 (at 5' 3"). I'm a lifetime Weight Watchers member and, most recently, have been attending for a few months, but have been careless about following the program until last Wednesday, November 22, when the meetings started being held at the clubhouse of the over 55 community where we live.
That, of course, is a bare bones outline of my weight life, which also includes a 90 pound weight loss 15 or so years ago, using Opti-Fast. This was an expensive program lasting months, of course, during which I drank only a liquid that totalled 500 calories a day. A doctor took blood pressure, etc. every week and it included group couseling. We used to meet in Princeton and the thing was wildly successful. Of course, as soon a I got to my goal weight, I started putting back on the pounds and more. Such is life...
But back to the present: Was pretty satisfied with myself and my eating yesterday on Thanksgiving. I ate my regular WW breakfast and lunch and at daughter's (Alison's), didn't actually follow the points program, but ate reasonably moderately. There was, of course, an abundance of food--17 people there and enough for at least 50--including the usual turkey and trimmings. I had cheese and crackers, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, stuffing, plus wine and two desserts, so why am I okay with what I ate? Because I really didn't hideously stuff myself so I could hardly move. I also didn't eat when we got home, although Alison packed us up leftovers, including three kinds of pie.
Did I do exactly what I should have in the diet department? No. But did I just go hog-wild so I'm suicidal this morning? No, no, no, and that's a great feeling. I'll go right back on the program today and continue--I hope and expect to lose this week and continue on.