Vita - if you lost the 5 that easy - you only have 10 more to make our bet!!! I have lost like 2 maybe - I best get on the stick so that I am not buying drinks this holiday season huh? Seriously… not eating ain’t cool. Get a bag of mixed dry roasted nuts and have a few tblsp if you cannot get away… (maternal voice in there) I need you strong for your next visit girl, not faded away to a frazzle! 
Coolmore -
man o man do I wish I lost weight when I am stressed out. I just GAIN it! Plus I love food - skipping meals is not an option for me. I’ve been doomed since I was 4 and my mom noted then that “Sara loves music and food” 
I think you’re doing it exactly right, and I think the FIX IT NOW rule is awesome. I’m definitely going to start that.
About five years ago I set out to lose weight. I lost 20 lbs and kept it off. I can tell you what I did, but keep in mind I hadn’t been excercising or controlling what I ate.
1. I took up Taekwondo – I chose an excercise that I thought would be exciting, because I didn’t have the discipline to do the gym thing yet. It was awesome.
2. Kept a food diary in a notebook I kept with me at all times. The nutrition guide on the intelihealth website was helpful for calorie counting (I think it hooks into the USDA database): http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/325/7090.html
3. Completely cleared my house of any sort of junk food or high fat food I might be tempted by, and replaced it with healthier substitutes. I put a LOT of effort into this, because I knew if I could replace the fatty food with new food I really liked, I wouldn’t have to switch back ever. My house still stays this way.
4. Tried to keep up on nutrition and weight control news. I think this helped me keep focus. The following sites are good: http://www.intelihealth.com (run by Aetna), http://www.mayoclinic.com (run by the Mayo Clinic).
5. Capitalized on proscratination. If I was craving ice cream, I’d think about what was involved, and decide to get it later. Fortunately, the craving would go away before I motivated to get it.
After I’d lost weight, I found that the positive body image got me going to the gym, and eating better without too much effort.
I’ve been slacking off a bit since going to school again though. I think the high stress level drives up my appetite, and the lack of time keeps me from the gym. I’ve been talking with my acupunturist about trying acupuncture for appetite control. Has anyone else tried this?
Good luck!
Erica
End of week 3 results, a dismal one pound loss. I was scrupulously on program for the entire week and still only lost a pound. I know, I know, its better than gaining a pound! Still, I press on.
Kathy
Kathy, take the amounts you lost the previous two weeks, add all three weeks together, divide by three - in other words, AVERAGE them out and you should pat yourself on the back for a spectacular start. I’ve done WW (and oh boy do I need to get back on it) and you just can’t focus on one week versus another. You need to step back and get the bigger picture and realize that you are doing great! Congratulations to you.
Mary
Mary,
You’re right, of course. The girls on the website said the same thing. My 3 week average is 4 1/3 pounds, and yes, thats great. Thanks for the support. I AM feeling MUCH better.
Kathy
Kathy,
Keep it up girl! You are doing great! I just went to weight wathchers week 3. Only 1.5 pounds for me this week.
Tonight was very inspirational. Several members had lost > 25 pounds, some > 50 pounds, a few > 60 pounds, one greater than 75 pounds and one 115 pounds lost. WOW! The before and after pictures were amazing. These people are in the flesh examples of perserverance and success and so are you 
Shirl
Shirl,
Good work!! I’m still OP though my is all online. I don’t even know if you can go to meetings if you join online, perhaps I should find out, for the live support if nothing else. Let me know how it is going for you week to week as well.
Kathy
Kathy,
You still have to pay to go to meetings if you join online, but you get a code at the meetings that brings down the cost of your online service from ca $15 a month to ca $10. Doesn’t close to make up for the fees for meetings, but it’s at least something. Gotta run to lab, now!
Denise
Thanks for the info Denise!!
Kathy,
How did it go this week? 2.2 pounds for me. Total of 9 pounds in 4 weeks thus far. I was hoping for 10 total in 4 weeks, but at least I am close. I need to exercise more.
Shirl
Shirl,
Nothing for me-zippo-no loss, no gain!! 
My problem is I don’t like to drink water 
, and that may be why my ankles and feet are swollen up like balloons! I keep hoping the water will come off and a loss will show. That’s a total of 12 pounds in 4 weeks (the first wasn’t on WW). My goal (originally) was 40 pounds before starting med school (still a modest 2 pounds a week!)
Kathy
Find some cal-free way to dress up your water–a twist of lemon, Mandarin Orange Spice tea, a freezy mug so it doesn’t taste like water, etc. You have to turn the water into a treat or you won’t drink it.
I have a Britta water pitcher on my desk at work now.
Kathy,
Way to go! 
Shirl
a full body massage after a day of good water intake and I usually flush out alot of that puffy bloat - I hold it in my ankles & such too.
I have a girlfriend who’s really really not keen on water so she drinks it all in the morning and then sips on tea or whatever throughout the day. Not the best approach but at least the system gets a flush daily and she’s not nagged all day by that water bottle nor haunted in her dreams.
Thanks for the tips on making water more palatable!! It doesn’t help that the algae has done its annual “bloom” so the water tastes like dirt. Bottled water just FLIES off the shelves inTexas during this time!! I really like the mandarin orange spice tea idea!! I think any tead would be better than all the diet Coke I drink, as its dehydrating me! Thanks for the ideas all!
Kathy
WOO HOO!!! Weigh in this week, and I lost 3 pounds, for a total of 16 pounds in 5 weeks!!
Kathy
Kathy,
Congrats! Keep it up! Only 0.4 # for me this week 
Total of 9.6 in 5 weeks.
Shirl
Shirl,
Thats a loss for you though, not a gain, so way to go!! I’m using those little key limes to squeeze in my water, so I drank water this week!!
Kathy
This week’s weigh in resulted in a loss of one pound, for a total of 15 on Weight Watchers, and 20 overall!! Its slow going but its going, and thats what counts!!
Kathy