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Good to see you, Wheeler! Come back soon!

Ginger runs screaming into the room wearing a very shiny spandex disco dress..She tosses the Frank Sinatra records. "Did I hear music!" Then she starts to point up at the glittering disco ball and then down, swing her body back & forth and singing at the top of her lungs "IIIIIII'm stayin' alive, stayin' alive, IIIIIIIIII'm stayin' alive." Snowmom knows that Ginger had just finished reading Dr. Phil's chapter on "intentional exercise" but thinks Ginger should have fun no-matter how foolishly back in time she may appear. And think of the miles that she is racking up on her pedometer!

I guess, I'm with you , Jenna! Our town just opened up a Super Wal-Mart last week, and its subject has come up in at least 90% of my conversations. Its a pretty big deal to me to be able to save $ and not have to travel out of town to do so. Happy savin'!

MONDAY 1/26th The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge: Bye, Bye Booty! Dr. Phil told you that if you enlisted in "Booty Camp" and stuck to his plan, you'd lose 20-30 pounds in 10 weeks. It's not too late to get involved! Find out if four of his recruits are losing weight ... or if they need another kick in the booty! Also, fat pets and their overweight masters.

Every year, I love hearing the history of St. Valentine and equate it to what Valentine's Day means to me. There is more depth than merely pink&red heart's and chocolates. It's all about True Love! Thank you, Snow, for sharing this!

((((MountainMommy)))))) You'll be missed! Thank you for all you've done for us. Please do come by often and let us know about your new adventures. Blessings~

Sounds like this would be a lot of fun to do with a few children. With cabin fever getting the best of us this winter, looking for indoor activities is a must. Thank you, Hill, for sharing this creative and interesting concoction.

It was really good to get together again!! Come and join us asap

Its below 0 here and I don't have a treadmill. Gotta get me one! Count me in for 3 miles this past week...I didn't quite make my goal this week but when its this cold, I spend little time walking outdoors. Better warm up soon!

I'll be there! I think we better bring our #'s. Its time we get real. We'll be rejoicing months from now when the pounds start disappearing but for now is the hard part...getting real.

Key One: Right Thinking Unlock the door to self control Change your thinking to change your weight. Get rid of self defeating thought patterns, believe that you will succeed, and you will have mastered the first key necessary to overcome your struggles with your weight. As you begin to think differently, you will succeed and you will maximize your life. Everyone -including you- has what I call a "personal truth." This is whatever you, at the absolute core of your being, believe to be true about yourself. It is the story you live, the story you tell yourself about everything that is going on in your life, and this includes your weight and your ability (or lack of ability) to keep your weight in check. You hold powerful beliefs about yourself and these influence you, good or bad, and affect how you approach your weight. Everything you do and feel, and more importantly, how you do it and feel stems from your personal truth. You don't have to look far to find negative examples of personal truths that can jump out and ambush your weight-management efforts; you start a weight loss or exercise program to change your shape, but your efforts bite the dust again and again, because you tell yourself that you are a hopeless case who will never succeed. Your personal truth is that of a failure-and honestly, why wouldn't it be? You have a long history of failure in this arena of weight control, one that you have internalized, and now it dictates to you what your outcome will be. It should be obvious then, why your personal truth is so important. What you believe about yourself, what you treat as your ownreality, is dramatically important because it guides and directs your weight management efforts. If you have ever been to a circus, perhaps you have seen six-ton elephants tethered by rope to little wooden stakes. Have you ever wondered why one of these powerful animals doesn't yank that stake out of the ground and stampede off? When the elephants are young and powerless, they are attached by heavy chains to immovable steel stakes. The baby elephants tug and pull, but no matter how hard they try, the chains will not break and the stakes will not come out of the ground. As the elephants grow and get stronger, they come to believe that they cannot move anywhere as long as there is a stake in the ground nearby, no matter how tiny or weak the stake. They don't try to break loose because they think they can't. So it is with people. If you are like those circus elephants, you've allowed your thoughts and actions to limit you, and like those elephants, you may not have been aware that you had choices. Well, you may not have been aware before but I am telling you now that you do have choices, you do have power; now you know. You don't have to stay mindlessly tied to stakes of wrong thinking and self-destructive behavior. You can "pull up the stakes," transcend your conditioning, and reprogram yourself for success rather than failure. With this key, you will learn how to change your internal dialogue and in doing so, regain self-control and peace of mind. When you begin to think, feel, and behave differently, when you are on the right track internally and emotionally, you'll quickly discover there is an enormous energy that uplifts you. Your Weight Locus of Control To help you clarify the thought patterns that may be holding you back from your weight loss goals, try doing an internal audit. Your weight locus of control (WLOC) reveals your mindset about who or what you credit or blame for the shape you're in. Identifying your primary weight locus of control is important, because once you know what it is, you can exercise greater control over your thinking, feelings, and behavior. You'll be awakened to powerful resources at your disposal — resources that can help you finally achieve your weight loss goals. You'll be able to stop destructive behavior such as overeating, bingeing, on-again, off-again dieting. And you'll have a new measure of self-control over your mind in body. Your Weight Locus of Control For each statement below, decide how much you agree or disagree with it. Of the four answer choices, select the one that best expresses how you feel about the statement: if you agree totally without reservations, then circle "a" agree; "b" if you agree slightly; "c" if you disagree slightly; or "d" if you disagree completely. Part A. Internal Weight Locus of Control 1.Gaining, losing, and maintaining weight is entirely up to me. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 2. I am overweight as a result of my eating habits. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 3. I am overweight as a result of being inactive or not getting enough exercise. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 4. If I set realistic, measurable goals, I can lose weight no matter what. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 5. Failure to keep my weight off is due to poor effort on my part. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part B. External Weight Locus of Control 6. Family history has most determined my weight and size. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 7. I need a structured, formal diet program, or else I have difficulty losing weight. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 8. I depend on good doctors or nutritionists to help me lose weight. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 9. I need prescription diet pills or other diet aids to lose weight. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 10. I overeat because there is too much tempting food in my environment. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part C. Chance Weight Locus of Control 11. Being at my ideal weight is a matter of good fortune. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 12. My failure to lose weight is just bad luck. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 13. I will go off my diet if I have a bad day. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 14. No matter if I gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same, it is just going to happen, and that's life. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. 15. I am very lucky if I stick to my exercise program. a. Agree. b. Agree slightly. c. Disagree slightly. d. Disagree. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORING You will score yourself separately for each of the three parts of the WLOC assessment (Internal, External, and Chance). For each "Agree" answer, give yourself 4 points; for each "Agree slightly" answer, give yourself 3 points; for each "Disagree slightly" answer, give yourself 2 points; and for each "Disagree" answer, give yourself 1 point. Record your totals in the spaces below: Part A. Internal _________________ Part B. External _________________ Part C. Chance _________________ Your responses to the questions for each part of the assessment generated three separate scores, each ranging from five to twenty. For each of the three parts of the test — Internal, External, and Chance — your scores place you into one of four categories: very low, low, average, or high for each of the three parts of the test, in accordance with the following chart: Part A: Internal Weight Locus of Control 5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities 8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities 12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities 17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities Part B: External Weight Locus of Control 5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to external responsibilities 8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to external responsibilities 12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to external responsibilities 17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to external responsibilities Part C: Chance Weight Locus of Control 5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to chance 8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to chance 12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to chance 17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to chance *Highlights taken from Dr. Phil McGraw's book "The Ultimate Weight Solution, The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom"

What we learn in the leisure of our backyards, we can eaily apply to survival skills. Cooking on a fire pit and barbeque helps us to be comfortable when we may need to be more self sufficient. I love outdoors. Thanks Mare, for posting about this new magazine!

MONDAY 1/19 on Dr. Phil Weight Loss Challenge Success Stories Get ready for some amazing weight loss success stories from viewers who have joined the challenge from home. What are you waiting for? Meet a guest who went from a size 20 to a size 8, and find out how one woman lost 153 pounds without going on a diet! Plus, the challengers have lost more than 1,000 pounds ... but only one team can win the biggest prize of the challenge yet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This should give us loads to talk about at chat Monday night! See ya there! ~ Ginger

I love making candles, we save all our ends that don't melt. Some of the larger 3 wick ones can leave so much that doesn't get used. By Christmas time, we have several to melt down and put into jars to give away for gifts. We experiment with scents and use crayons to deepen or change the color. Thanks for the link, Snow...I can always learn new ways to make candles.

Nope, it's always me.....

Expect Success No matter where you ended up on this readiness continuum, no matter how much you weigh, no matter how disgusted you are with what you see in the mirror, now is your chance, using the seven keys to permanent weight loss, to fix your weight problem for good and live out your best qualities. Believe me when I tell you that it is possible, you can do it, and you are worth it. You are a person with strength, gifts and talents, capable of achieving your greatest goals. It's like that old saying, "God don't make no junk." You have what it takes to lose weight, be healthy, and to live the life you desire and deserve. Now is the time to doit. Now is the time to unlock the doors to permanent weight loss. ~ Dr. Phil Okay, most of you should have taken the readiness test on Dr. Phil's link that I shared above. Are you ready?? I know I am. Next week we will take a good look at key # 1 Right Thinking. Be sure to post your goals in the Womens Issues forum and be specific. We are in this together! ~ Ginger

3 miles for me, too.

Good for you!! Momo! Thats what I am doing also, a modified atkins sprinkled heavily with Dr. Phil's keys.

They *all* know where home is! I have seen it time and time again. Like teenagers, they are sure to come home hungry and with loads of laundry. And like faithful moms, our arms are always open wide and chocolate cookies are always baking in the oven. You just keep on postin', Girl!

Monday's work out great for me, I'll just have my family tape "Everyone Loves Raymond' for me Lets try to gather as many as possible. Thank you, Snow!

(((((BeccaAnne))))))) Some day these busy day memories will warm your heart and make you long for more. Enjoy your family

Darn, I missed it again! I really wanted to see Westbrook and Lowie in chat and was hoping to catch up. Maybe next time.

(((((Snow)))))) We can do it! Don't we have the chat room here? I know every time I have gone there, I have been all alone. With some planning, maybe we can meet up like we did in the old days on Phat-chat Mondays.

Part 3 Get-With-It Goal Setting Express your goals in terms of specific behaviors and feeling. One of the greatest difficulties with goals is that they are often poorly defined, murky and without sufficient detail. For example, if you say, "I'm going to lose weight," then your goal isn't very helpful because it's too fuzzy. This kind of goal setting practically ensures failure; it doesn't tell how you will lose the weight. The most effective and motivating goals are those that describe behavioral change ~ in other words, what will be done. Thus a better statement might be; "I intend to lose weight by going to the gym 4 times a week and by following the food plan in this book." By describing your goals in terms of specific behaviors ~ exercising and eating right ~ you can go after them more directly and successfully than you could with an ambiguous, blue-sky statement like "I want to lose weight." Only when your goals are specific, and focus on changing behaviors, will your attempts at losing weight and keeping it off be successful. *With specificity, write what it is that you hope to achieve (number of pounds you want to lose or the desire to maintain your weightloss within a certain range once you have lost it) : *Describe what you will do (behaviors or actions youmust commence, change, or stop in order tolose weight) : *When you lose weight, want to feel...(proud of your new shape, lighter, more energetic, free from obsessions over food or dieting, at peace with your body and so forth): *Express your goal(s) in terms that can be measured and are realistic. Example: I intend to lose 50 pounds to reach my goal weight of 125 pounds. * Assign a timeline to your goal. Example: I want to lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks starting Januaru 19th - July 5th. As you map out a timeline, thinking in terms of a calendar allows you to access the realism of your plan and to determine the intensity of what you must do to reach your goal. Create a timeline for achieving your goal- Be sure to transfer this information to your calandar or daily planner. * Break down your goals into manageable steps. Weightloss doesn't just happen; it happens one step at a time. Considered in its entirety, the thought of losing 50 pounds and dropping several sizes can be so overwhelming that it is paralyzing. But it begins to look doable when broken down into manageable steps. The steps you determin may be as simple as: ~ I will use the keys in this book and follow the action steps presented ~ I will walk 4x a week for 1 hour each time ~ I will eliminate junk food from my diet ~ I will productively and positively manage the stress in my life in order to stop the overeating in response to stressful events * Create Accountability Have a trusted loyal checkpoint person in your life to whom you require yourself to report on your progress. (Accountability is a key aspect that I believe we will have huge success as a discussion board. For years we have been a wonderful support group to one another. I think its time we reach out to one another for one of our most prized possessions on this earth ~ our health. I recommend writing out our goals in the Women's Issue forum to ensure privacy ~Ginger) BE - DO - HAVE BE committed DO what it takes and you will HAVE what you want Are you ready? Take The Readiness Profile Test http://www.drphil.com/weightloss/weightl...izzes+and+Tests READY ~ SET ~ GO!!!

Part 2 Get Real Expectations and Goals We were brought into this world in a pleasing array of diverse shapes and sizes, and we are genetically programmed to be a certain way; tall, short, muscular, stout, or thin. There has never been another you in the history of this world and there never will be. You are uniquely designed and gifted with a core purpose of being in this world. You've got to be your own best friend first, accepting and loving yourself from the inside out, before you can be truly happy and before you can live with purpose and passion. Once you start appreciating your body, you will begin to take much better care of yourself and you will find that weight loss is so much easier because you are treating yourself with respect. Psychologically ~ your get real weight has little to do with numbers on a scale or other device. It means: * You like your body and live in it with pride * You are happy and truly at peace with your size * You accept your God-given uniqueness * You treat your body with respect, care and love * You like what you see in the mirror every day * You focus your attention on living well rather than looking good http://www.drphil.com/weightloss/weightl...izzes+and+Tests