Sammy: I have never been to a WW meeting. But coming from a family, where most are morbid obese I have heard about some of their experiences. I also understand that WW have more programs and ways to loose weight than they did earlier. Over the years it has been a constant struggle for me to keep my weight down. (6 month of mindless eating and I have gained 50 pounds!!!). Over the years I have studied treatment of obesity, both because of my personal interest in keeping my weight down, but also because of my former profession (I was a medical doctor ... had to stop because of brain damage that caused complex partial seizures). It is not loosing the weight that is hard!!! Any change in ones diet and exercise habits that causes one to be in energy deficit will make a person loose weight. Many sort of diets will make people loose weight. Some are more healthy than others. But all research shows that more than 98 percent who looses weight on any kind of diet will gain it all back + more. So yes people can loose weight ... but keeping the weight off is the problem. If Weight Watchers can help you to loose the weight and make the lifestyle changes needed to be constant vigilant about eating and exercise habits I certainly support people going there. Many do however only go to WW meetings to loose weight. Maintaining the weight loss is really important and for most it is a life long challenge. Many mention the social support going to meetings provide. It does help during the weight loss phase, but remember that most will need to keep up the lifestyle changes the rest of their lives. Getting more knowledge about nutrition, physiology and exercise will help. But even those who know it a lot about these subjects will become overweight anyway. Knowledge do not necessarily lead to action ..... People over eat for many reasons. Psychological, sociological and cultural factors also play their part. It is highly individual what will help different people to loose weight and keep the weight of. A good place to look for online support is this forum: http://weight-loss.fitness.com/ I also recommend learning to use this site: http://www.thedailyplate.com The sad truth about many of our efforts to loose weight is that the body actually try to counteract these efforts. Many who want to loose weight eat way too little and loose too much lean body mass and actually ends up slowing their metabolism down. Many loose weight but they actually only become smaller softer versions of what they look like now. I am not saying that people necessarily should strive to reach their ideal weight. I hate that term ... ones ideal weight is highly individual. Some can carry more weight than others and the "Ideal weight" as 25 yo is different than 50 yo. The most common mistakes in loosing weight are: - People eat to little ( the body will counteract that by slowing the metabolism down) but the worst part is that people do get enough nutrients (macro and micro nutrients). It is important to get enough protein. - People are not exercising enough and in the right way ( Aerobic exercise and weight exercise). I think I better end my rant here. There are many ways to loose weight that is for sure. Keeping the weight off and actually live healthy and build a better body is the real challenge. I sure wish all of you well in your pursuit of your goals to loose weight and get in better shape. And gardening is great exercise!!

I've hit a plateau and so haven't been excited to post. I'm holding steady at 32 pounds - up one then down one each week. I can't complain about the program though because I haven't been following it. It's all me. I stopped writing it all down, stopped counting points, etc. Even the exercise has lagged. I can look back at the past 6 weeks and know that I just got too comfortable with where I was! It was so good to be fitting into clothes and even buying a few new things. The success should have motivated me to keep working but instead I just sat back and enjoyed it.\ I had a couple weeks of business travel then a family vacation since I last posted too. That really made it hard and I missed a couple meetings because I was out of town. I guess I should be glad that I didn't gain a bunch of weight during that time! But the good news, for me, is that I got serious last week and feel much more on track. I started back with the homemade and point-conscious soups on Tuesday. This morning I did a 2 mile walk around a local lake, stopped at a farmers market on the way home and stocked up on good veggies, then came home and worked in the garden for a while. (After that I lounged in the pool for 2 hours, finished a book I haven't had much time to read, and am now on my way to a neighbors for late-afternoon mojitos! Didn't want you to think I had turned into a saint or anything!) Finally back with the program, I'm working hard to drop another 13 pounds by the end of June. On the 4th of July I want to be able to say I've lost 45 pounds. I think I can do that if I stay serious. Congrats Happy Girl on reaching goal and staying there! Kate

Here is something I made yesterday from the WW site. If you haven't tried it; it is pretty tasty. "YoCheese To make it, take a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter and suspend it over a glass or tall bowl. Put in some plain yogurt (without gelatins) like Dannon or Stonybrook Farms. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, better yet overnight, and the whey will drain off. Youll have a cheese about the texture of spreadable cream cheese, and about ½ as much cheese as you started with in yogurt. The flavor is somewhere between cream cheese and sour cream. You can use it about anywhere youÂd use cream cheese or sour cream. It also really takes on flavors well, especially if it has a chance to sit for a while after mixing. For dips, I really like to mix in dry Hidden Valley or Taco Seasoning. For a sweet spread, stir in DaVinci's syrups or extracts and some Splenda. For a peanut butter spread mix in some pb and Splenda. IÂve read that the whey has some carbs in it, but I really donÂt know for sure how much. The info on the web says ff yocheese is 80 cal for ½ cup. I think it would depend somewhat on the yogurt you started with. I just figure 1 point for each ¼ cup yocheese I eat. YoCheese Recipe Ideas ~ Mix w/ ff/sf vanilla pudding mix and put it on apple slices and grapes. Like eating cheesecake! ~ Base for stuffed mushrooms. ~ Mix with scallions & spices for a jazzed up cheese spread. ~ I had it as stuffed mushrooms just this afternoon. Mixed it with some canned crab meat & some salt-free seasoning and put it in baby portabellos. Baked it at 400 for about 15 min. Drizzled them with balsamic vinegar before serving. It was excellent! ~ Just the yocheese and the FF/SF white chocolate pudding mix makes it taste exactly like cheesecake, in my opinion. ~ I mix it with some chopped fresh herbs and maybe a little minced garlic. You could mix into warm pasta, or would be great on a baked potato. Possibilities are endless- just throw any kind of good stuff in! ~ Mix with a little DaVinci's syrups or other flavoring and Splenda for a sweet spread that is awesome on bagels. ~ Mix with a little dry Hidden Valley or Taco seasoning for a celery stuffer or spread for wraps. ~ Use anywhere you'd use cream cheese or sour cream. Much more nutritious and flavorful! ~ Mix with honey and walnuts. ~ Topping for fruit salad. ~ Mix with savory herbs for a veggie dip. ~ Mix with nut butter as a stretcher. Ditto mayo, sour cream. ~ Layer with fruit of choice for a parfait. ~ Use as a base for salad dressing - fabulous base for 1000 island. ~ I make tzatziki sauce which is yocheese, olive oil, lemon juice, cucumber diced, garlic, and fresh dill. It is a Greek sauce for roasted meat, but I also use it as a salad dressing. " I used a 32 ounce container of FF Plain yogurt, Great Value brand from Wal-Mart. After it drained overnight I added 1 pkg. SF/FF White Chocolate Mix, dry to the YoCheese. I also added 1 T. Splenda and mixed all well. I spooned out 1/2 cup and poured some SF Raspberry DaVinci syrup on it and it was good. 1/2 cup = 2 points and I believe it is Core. Bev 214.6/183.5/165

but i wonder what the salt content is? that's my bug-a-boo with my kidneys...sounds great!