I did it!

Yep, WW weigh in and meeting #1 tonight! Okay, I was right - 12 pounds is the ticket. Point countdown begins tomorrow. Wish me luck, and I wish you the same!

Let's get motivated!

Hey foodies,

Anybody eat an entire pizza this weekend?? I didn't do that, but I did lose my motivation for a little while (as we all do from time to time). Decided to re-up my WW membership with their new on line promotion of $39.95 for 2 months - that's a good deal. The first weigh in is tomorrow night. I dread it in one way, but I also remember how good it felt a year ago to weigh in and have the right number showing on the scale and fitting into clothes I never thought I would. I look forward to getting back on track and looking good in those jeans again in a couple of months! I'm shooting for 10-12 pounds (I think) which will be confirmed tomorrow at my meeting. My surface motivation is my trip to see my West Coast family in mid-November.

I also discovered a group called "The Walking Club of Georgia" over the weekend. Sanjay Gupta has featured them on CNN, they have a website (Google it), and they have group walks on some weeknights and on Sunday mornings. Depending on your schedule, you can join them for 1, 3 or zero walks during the week. There is an annual membership fee of $24, which pays for the newsletter, organizers, etc. Walkers of all levels are members - beginner to competitive race walkers. The walks are from 5-10 miles, and you can do as much or as little as you like. They will also help send the message to other members if you want to start a regular group walk in an area they do not currently have one.

I'm thinking of joining and starting with the Sunday morning walks in the Brookhaven area (they all seem to be close to Atlanta proper at this time), and maybe starting a group in Gwinnett to walk on the Suwanee Creek Greenway once or twice every week.

For you cooks and Food Network fans, I made a fantastic soup last weekend featured on Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa" show. It's a cream of tomato soup that is loaded with great fesh veggies, herbs and flavors, and you could substitute a little fat free half & half or even regular milk for the very small amount of cream that is in the recipe. Can be served hot or cold and is really very tasty and healthy. Visit foodnetwork.com and you can find it easily.

More later!

Hi Chris,

I have been on WW for several months, and would love to be involved in a regular exercise and/or social foodie group. Great!

Hello to you women and men who have lost weight or are currently doing so - good for you! I lost 16 pounds last year participating in an at work program, and have gained back half of those pounds. Never had a huge weight problem, but 16 pounds on my frame is too much. My blood pressure dropped quite dramatically with just that much weight loss, which really surprised me. It is more difficult than it used to be to keep it in check at age 47. My 3-year workout partner from my office (much younger than I) is due with her first child November 1, so has not been inspiring me to show up at the gym in the wee hours of the morning for quite some time. Accountability means a lot.

I love to cook and am a Food Network junky. And I love to be at the lighter range of my healthy weight - about 10 pounds less than the scale is telling me today. I am hoping to connect with those of you who are on your way to your ideal weight, or maybe are maintaining the weight you made it to (yay you!), love to cook and experiment with recipes, and are willing to take one or two hours per week to connect with a group to walk or bike in the evening or possibly a weekend day. Maybe once per month we could meet and cook a healthy meal together and inspire one another to continue on this quest.

Continue with your goals, and please let me know if you have an interest in forming a group in the NE Atlanta area to inspire one another to reach our goals and have fun in the process.

Chris