I am on my 5th glass of water and lost track of how many times I went "potty" today! Trying to take off those holiday pounds and few more! ;)

Thanks for bumping this up! :)

Diane, I know what you mean about the holidays. I had good intentions, but just gave up and I paid the price big time! :eek:

Sue, I'm right there with you. I had so much water today that I thought I was going to float away.

Well, Day one on the wagon AGAIN. No carbs, no bad stuff. Floating down the same river as the rest of you.

My resolution to keep me going this time is that when I hit 4 weeks, I can have a meal with whatever I want to eat if I stick to the plan.

I can do this. My goal is a whole new wardrobe by the time we are on Cross and that no one will recognize me when I get onboard.

Kathy, I figure that 43 weeks from today we will be winging our way towards Nice, so we definately have the time to get it done. Great goal! I am with you!

Don,

That Psuedo Texas-California Drawl will certainly give you away!

How about a Pseudo Texas-California Drawl speaking French? LOL

I think we ought to leave the French to Freddie! Spanish maybe your stronger suit, (lol)?

I am actually trying to learn both French and Spanish. Sometimes it comes out Franish and other times it comes out Spench! Add in the Pseudo Texas-California drawl and then I'm just speaking in tongues! LOL

Oh good for you, Don! Bonne chance avec le Francais!

I'd like to re-learn some Spanish as well, it helps that my son is taking Spanish 100 right now, and has post-it notes with the Spanish names for things all over the house!

Boy, I sure wish I was going on one of these trips with you guys! Oh well, 2008 awaits!

I took 3 years of French in High School with a plan to major in language in College and then I took 2 years of Spanish. Add some Yiddish from growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of former New Yorkers and well at least I can speak Valley Girl.

Down 6 lbs since Christmas.

Kathy, that is great! Good Job! :app:

Wendy, Merci beaucoup! We wish you were going with us also!

Maybe in 2008 we will have to revisit Tahiti together - or the Caribbean again.

Yes Kathy, congrats on the good start to your renewed weight-loss push! I've begun exercising, am upping my walking considerably, and am watching what I eat.

OT for this thread:

I'm sure we'll cross paths again, no fear. I know we want to go to Tahiti again, if we can. But I also know that we will probably go back to Europe in some form in 2008, again, if we can (i.e., god willing, if I believed in god.) I was musing about Oceania, looking at the itineraries for 2007, weighing the downsides: looks interesting on balance, but who knows?

WAVE was really the perfect cruise, wasn't it? I would gladly do that itinerary, or a similar one, again, since there's so many different things to do in each port. The 2007 version has the ports changed slightly, so that, for example, you're in La Coruna for the day, so you can go off independently. It also has Cadiz added (for Seville), and has dropped Santander.

We also have friends who spend part of their year in Crete, so who knows, we may visit them!

Kathy-- 4 of those lost pounds of yours went to me. I couldn't resist the corned beef when I went to NYC.

Diane -

That Corned Beef is all salt! Lots of water will make that disappear.

Wendy -

Yes, I am sure we'll travel again. CROSS is too similar to WAVE for us to do that part of the MED again. Maybe Greece/Istanbul though. Yes, we too are thinking Oceania - maybe even for 2008. I want to see French Countryside and Paris and maybe Amsterdam in 2008. But also, I was thinking Tropical vacation to show off our new (not) Bikini's for being so thin.

That's the spirit Kathy! I'm not focussing on a bikini, but a flatter stomach and less of me generally would be good. But remember, the most important thing is to be healthy!

But of course you could show off your bikini on a beach in Greece as well!! If we live long enough, there's definitely another FP in our future, PG or not, but Greece definitely beckons strongly too, as does Turkey--maybe that's where we'll meet!!

I'm not saying I would do the WAVE itin again, but I could certainly be persuaded to--we really want to go back to Portugal, having done the post-cruise there, but that could be just a land-trip. And I think I may be able to persuade David to dip his toe into Paris at some point, although there are plenty of smaller french cities that attract as well. Provence, I would love to re-visit, nostalgia value, 36 years ago now!

Wendy, oh yes Provence! We have been wanting to go back as well. Maybe stay in Aix en Provence as a base and just spend a week visiting Arles, Avignon, and the wineries of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Well, I did something I rarely do. I snuck a peek at the scale early and am happy that I am almost back at my pre-SAND weight. Just a few more pounds. I don't want to admit though how much I put on during our trip and the holidays! :eek: Let's just say that I thought the dial was going to spin off of the scale!

Well done Don! Yes, I too am back to my pre-holiday weight.

We just got a nice offer to visit Kauai for a week we're going to take. So a Bikini (ahem) vacation is going on the calendar shortly. I might add a night or two in Honolulu or Maui with it.

Don good news about the weight!

Yes, I think a week wandering around Provence would be perfect! I haven't been to Aix, but thought about Arles maybe (but it's not on our immediate list at all.)

Kathy, wonderful news about Hawaii--when's that going to be?

I must say that if you want to see Paris and Amsterdam (and maybe one more city), you should do it yourself, just go spend a week in Paris, a few days in Amsterdam, possibly some tours from there around Holland. Not sure why you need an packaged tour for doing these cities. I've spent a total of about a month in Amsterdam over the years, and just love walking around that city, discovering things. Just my opinion, of course.

Well, we've scrapped the Hawaii idea for now. No time. We've got 6 weeks of vacation time already on the books and there was no place to put in on the calendar! I am off to Santa Fe next month, we're going to Seattle/Vancouver in May and Cross will be 3 weeks including travel time. I also have to go to Fort Lauderdale at some point since my best friend's mother is terminal and my friend is going to need some support and solace.

Frank likes tour like travel - just point him in a direction and he will go. More adventure is my style. We're not quite ready to plan 2008. We're still working on 2007. Some of what we decide will be based on 2008 schedules.

Great weigh in today. I blew right past my goal this week. <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />

We too are waiting to see what the 2008 itineraries are going to be. We are thinking Tahiti on the PG for 2008. Ten days in either April or May.

Congrats Don!! 10 days on the PG sounds like heaven!

If I can make a recommendation, depending on the exact timing, and pricing of course, choose May over April. We had a great time when we went in April, but it's definitely hotter and more humd. Late May so far has been our favourite.

Weigh to go Don!

Thanks y'all!

Wendy, thanks for the tip. We are anxious for the 2008 cruises to be published.

I weighed in today too. I lost 7 lbs and then gained 3 this week - following my plan to perfection - no extras, no bread, no cheating. Can't figure out why the 3 lbs, but a net of 4 is pretty good. Must be water or something.

You all are doing great!

Yeh for you guys! I haven't had the nerve to get on the scales, but I have no doubt my new doctor will be weighing me this Thursday when I meet her, so I'll have to face the facts at last!

OT: Kind of strange story about our doctor...background: we have a real shortage of GPs here in Canada; very few here in Toronto accept new patients. Our GP was just "struck off" (i.e., he lost his license to practice) for having an affair with a patient! Too bad, really, stupid of him, them's the rules! I will miss him greatly after 25 years, but he was due to retire soon in any case. Soo...we've signed up for a family clinic practice at one of the large teaching hospitals--we get a new brand spanking doctor for 2 years, doing their residency, with all of their professors to back them up. I think it will work out fine, but it will certainly be different.

Wendy, how did everything go last week? I don't like change either. With our recent move, we are miles away from our Dr Lee and if I needed to go I would probably make the drive rather than change doctors.

Well the roads are iced over today, but the sun is out. Temps in the mid 20's with wind chills in the single digits. So I thought I would jump on here with an update while thawing out! Brrr!!!

First two weeks back on the diet have been great. I am now down below my pre-cruise weight, losing four pounds this week. I will hit one of my goal markers this week, about two weeks ahead of schedule. :app: I am sure that I will need that cushion though later on, so it is good to get ahead of the game.

This week I will be back on my exercise program. It is funny how you can lose weight and not feel that much thinner, but then add in some exercise and poof, you look in the mirror and you start really seeing it. It is just hard getting back to doing it. Good thing I bought some Nikes! LOL

What is embarassing is when you start lifting weights again and are struggling to lift such a small amount and then right behind you some 98 lb girl comes and doubles the weight you were straining to do and lifts it like it were feathers! Ouch!!! Oh well, you have to start somewhere. Right?

How did everybody else do this week?

I am doing well. My official weigh in is Wednesday, but so far the total down is 11 lbs. I am laughing this morning, because, I did a diet slip yesterday. We went to dinner with friends last night and I ordered BBQ Salmon and Asparagus. It was so good, I finished it all - which means I overate. I was only supposed to eat 3/4 of the salmon and I ate the whole thing. So I guess I cheated.

Thanks Don, I had forgotten about it completely, given recent events (more about that later.) And great news on getting back on track (wish I could!)

The medical appt. went well, he's a nice fresh-faced young man. I wrote a two-page summary of myself, some medical history and current concerns. I also had a CD with my complete medical history from my former GP, scanned into a PDF. He seemed to appreciate all of that. My blood pressure was high, we'll be revisiting that when I have my checkup in February--it's been marginal for a while, if only I could lose 10 or 20 pounds, it would probably be fine!

OT: But my blood pressure has a right to be high right now. We live downtown, in an old house. The sewer system is very old, clay pipes. It collapsed last week. Suddenly. With no time to actually empty the basement (luckily unfinished, but unluckily piled high with "stuff", including all of our son's possessions--he moved back in with us in August.) Sigh. We spent Friday night in a hotel. The workmen are burying the new pipe and re-cementing the 20-foot trench in our basement floor as we speak. Tomorrow the front yard gets dug up, extending the new PVC out to the property line, and replacing the water intake while they're at it. $11K later, minus a $2K rebate from the city (they own the trees on the city streets, so the tree-root damage is partially their responsibility.) That's the price of a cruise!! :mecry:

Wendy, oh my gosh! That is terrible. I can't imagine it. I feel for you guys.

Kathy, it is really hard to overeat on salmon. High in omega 3 and really low in fat. Great job on the weight loss. Wow 11 lbs! That is fantastic.

Yeh, salmon is good for you! Maybe I'll drop by the fish store today, I haven't had a nice piece of salmon since...hmm, maybe Navigator!

The basement has a new coat of concrete up the middle, so things are progressing. But there's a big pit in our front hard, they are replacing the pipe coming from the city water main while they're at it, but it's gotten very cold here, and the pipes are trying to freeze. Oh lordy, they will be finished today, mostly, then we can start getting our lives back in order.

Meanwhile I'm bingeing. I have a great healthy breakfast and lunch, then go gang-busters at dinner. Any tips?

Oatmeal for a snack whenever you feel the urge. With sugar free jam, it hits the spot.

Plan your meals in advance and that helps control the dinner time. Wendy, that's my exact problem. That and starting a program and giving up at week 2 or 3 or 4....

Sorry for the pipe issue - yes, these are frustrating things without a doubt!

OK fellow travelers. Help needed. I am down to the last 10 pounds and am at a stalemate. I dropped the pounds I gained from a two day nyc trip (who would have thought?). But now, even with double thte walking and restricted portions, I have been stuck for weeks. Any ideas?

Diane, I don't have any magic suggestions. I suspect patience is the main key.

I've read that if you change the exact foods you're eating, that might work--sometimes one particular food can sabotage us without knowing. Or just eliminating a certain food temporarily--like dairy for example.

When I get stuck my nutritionist gives me what we call all protein days. Yogurt and 1/2 a banana for breakfast or a couple of eggs (no toast!) like a 3 egg-white omlette with spinach; Salad for lunch w/ chicken breast - grilled - balsamic for dressing or caesar on the side - no croutons. Dinner - baked fish with all the veggies you can eat and maybe a sugar free/fat free jello pudding for dessert.

Maybe that's the ticket, Kathy. All I know is, with all the walking I'm doing, my dog has become quite svelte and now snores when he naps. As for me. . . .

Boy getting back to working out is hard. I planned on doing it the past three days, but the weather here was awful. I finally got there this afternoon. We have FitLinx which keeps track of your workouts and when I entered my number today, it flashed WARNING, you have not been here since... Please take caution in your exercise. It really is amazing how out of shape you can get in just a couple of months. I got on the bike and tried for my normal pace. After just five minutes I was huffing and puffing and my pulse rate was already maxed out at over 160! I cut the tension back twice and still couldn't get it below 155! I only got in twenty minutes today. I am going to hate to see what it is going to be like tomorrow lifting weights! :eek:

Slow and easy is the way to go Don when getting back in to it - don't over do it!

I signed up for a "gentle" Yoga class that begins on Tuesday and is once a week for 8 weeks. I am really looking forward to it! :)