Well, I had my first weigh in yesterday and I am down 3.2 pounds! I have to admit I was very happy and will take it, although I feel the loss should have been more. I weighed myself last Friday and was down 5! Celebrated by opening a bottle of wine and by the end of the night we were eating hot dogs! How dumb is that!!?? Just going off track to that degree - one day - I feel made a big difference in the weigh in this week.
Today is the first day of a new week for me. We are going out of down over the 4th of July and this will really be a challenge, but I do not want to wind up back at my starting weight. My motto is -- do it and be done with it! Then I can get on with life without having to struggle with zippers!!
Hope everyone has a great week and Happy 4th!
Debbie

Think about this: 3.2 lbs is about 1 1/2 percent of your total body weight. That makes it about right.
Wine & hot dogs, eh? Well, life is all about making decisions. Just because you chose wine & hot dogs one day doesn't make it a lifestyle. It was a good chianti, right?
There was one week when I stuck to the plan perfectly, walked 30 miles or thereabouts, and actually had a gain. Key to think about at such times is that you have decided on a new lifestyle. Just live it and make chasing numbers down the ticker a fun part of the new lifestyle -- but not the REASON for it.
Hang in there,
Richard in Texas

Hot dogs? Hot dogs?
If I'm gonna do wine, it sure ain't with hot dogs! A steak, a buffalo burger, a slab of salmon or red snapper, yes--but not a hot dog!
Seriously, youcan fit an occasional hot dog into your program. Buy the low fat ones (about 5g of fat per serving) and have them on reduced calorie buns.
A tip on the wine: a four ounce glass counts the same as a fat exchange, so make sure you have a fat serving to blow on your vino. Also, never have alcohol within a day or two of a weigh-in, because it usually makes most people retain a little water for a day or two.
I have a glass of wine with dinner on Saturday nights. Occasionally I splurge and have two glasses if it's a particularly good vintage. It hasn't seemed to affect my weight loss much. Last year, the hubster and I got into trying wines, and it has become such an enjoyable ritual for us to have wine with Saturday dinner, that I would really miss it and feel deprived if I did. So I take Saturday dinner as a meal on my own, and I plan ahead for it so that most of the time I don't get too off in my exchange counts.
This has been a long haul for me, and if I didn't have my little pleasures, weight loss would feel like a real chore. I have found that if I am going to splurge on alcohol, I am going to make sure every drop is worth the choice I am making. My mantra has become "Life is too short to drink cheap booze."
If I am splurging with a martini or a scotch, it is a premium vodka or scotch. If I am splurging with a second glass of wine, it had better be smooth and delicious. And you know what? It is easier not to overindulge, because I have learned to sip and savor.