Mark:
Great to see you here early. Wonderful you are jumping on the treadmill.

Kat:
Snow in Chattanooga - I don't even want to think about what the ridge cut section on I-24 must be like in snow. The dogs here are used to flurries so they aren't much fun... except for the puppy the kid next door got for Christmas - the little furball was tumbling end over end trying to catch the flakes.

The salmon recipe sounds yummy - I may try it with chicken breast (if I have any sf maple syrup ) - will let y'all know if it's good.

Smoothblu:
No problems with FitDay, but I only logged in once - about 5 AM Sat - over the weekend.

Absolutely awesome share yesterday re: expectations and goals - I agree that we are personally responsible for applying the guidelines from the books and not blaming our failure on the program if we're not actually applying the guidelines.

My take on expectations: I feel the books do paint a rosier pic than most are going to see... that people often set unrealistic expectations for themselves in terms of how fast the weight will come off and what their goal weight will be. My goals are based on something besides the scale - when I get there, I will switch to maintaining rather than losing. The goals - fit into the clothing I fit into when I last liked how I looked and felt. Be somewhat physically fit. Feel good - be medically stable and have energy & stamina. I'm already looking at options for maintenance - that is, a WOE, exercise regiment and other considerations that will keep me where I want to be. I was at 145 lbs the last time these conditions were met so it is my stated goal weight... I really don't care if I get there or not - I want to meet the three goal conditions.

Dawn:
Congrats on 5 lb weight loss.

Welcome to Promised land I lived in the frozen north for about 3 yrs - long enough to convince me that snow, ice and associated scraping and shovelling are to be avoid whenever possible. Living down south can be hot in the summer time, but I too don't miss the snow or ice.

So you hiked up the office stairs - actually stairs are one of the things hikers training for long hikes in mountain regions use if they live in flat areas. Works some of the same muscles. Killer day at gym - I admire you for tackling stairs under the circumstances... BTW, you can hike with weak ankles - just watch the terrain carefully at first and build up gradually. I used to wrap my weak ankle in an ace bandage before hiking in addition to using high hiking boots - I don't have to do that anymore - I can even hike in trail runners. Walking on paved paths / graded trails won't strengthen the muscles that stablize your ankle's lateral movements - you need to be walking on uneven surfaces to do that.

The calories per pound thing is something I have found that has worked for me in the past... I lose well by eating roughly 9 to 10 calories per pound of my body weight. Since I am about 176 lbs - I'm trying to keep daily calories between 9 X 176 or 1584 and 10 X 176 or 1760 in addition to getting adequate protein and restricting carbs. Obviously, as I lose weight, the number of calories I eat inches down.

Unity:
You have posted twice about chocolate - step away from the chocolate Seriously, don't over-do the sugar-free chocolate. An LCer I know here swears those are simply chocolate ex-lax in another package

Robin:
If you are still in pain, please do see a doctor.

Mary(mem2)
PP likely would it be more vegetarian friendly than Atkins because of the limits Atkins places on dairy products and the very low carb limits that would make it nearly impossible to use legumes and soy products in quantities sufficient to meet the protein needs of a vegetarian. There are vegetarian members at www.eatprotein.com who post on this forum Protein Power for Vegetarians . I suggest you read that site to get some idea of what some vegetarian PP users eat. Unfortunately, this group doesn't have any vegetarians or vegans. We would love to have you as our first.

Michele:
Congrats on your 3 lb loss

I'm with you on TGIF - the local ones are owned by a firm that ruins every restaurant they get their hands on - but the one I tried in the Atlanta area was fairly good. Tried the 'black and blu' salad yesterday at O'Charley's -neither I nor hubby were impressed. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't very good either.

Going to try your butter/ garlic 'dip' for chicken along with Brawdy's (found boneless breasts for $1.50/lb Sat - bought 7 lbs of them and will cook them all this afternoon - seasoned several different ways in the same oven)

Elaine:
Congrats on the 2.5 lb loss and the inch - I knew the extra work you have been doing would pay off - way to go!
Do the 'Walk away the pounds" tapes have any twisting from the waist type motions or things like stretching arms over the head / to the sides with weights? I'm actively looking for something I can safely do when the weather is nasty so I don't ever get as out-of-shape as I am right now. Granted, the medical problems played a role, but they weren't the only culprit.

Lisette:
So good to see you back. I missed you so.

Sorry to hear about the treadmill. Hope it is just the belt. Hubby goes thru about one a year. Great that your hubby realizes that the treadmill is an investment in your health.

Bawdy:
"Just a word of caution on the chicken recipe I posted. I did the "normal" thing and dipped one breast (the chicken's, not mine!)" Sprayed the keyboard with water this time... Bawdy, you must post warnings before saying anything that funny.

Will be trying your chicken recipe with my 7 lbs of breasts - the chicken's

Hope the bowflex 'message' relieved your tension.

Charran:
"I don't believe that ANY plan should tell you how much you're going to lose " Amen to that. I enjoyed your take on the expectation issues and your observation that if return to the eating and exercise plan we gained on to begin with after losing the weight, we will gain it back regardless of how we lost it.

Ellie:
PMed you re hairstyle - girl you are looking so good - you really do need to post a pic.

Hi to Marnie, Rob, Keith, Kristine, Black57 and Wendy. Wendy, please let us know you are OK.