[Ubee]

Good morning!
Wish I were still sleeping. Going to have to cut back on the coffee!
Fi, so you are a book/paper piles gal also. Welcome to the club. I think "Weight loss and exercise is a gift we give ourselves." is not corny. I found it very moving. Thank you! I hope we are all here in 3 years supporting eachothers and those to come. It is a journey to be shared.
Hi Mipsie! Good job jumping in!
Lots of driving and errands today. It will be a test to my new way of eating being on the road. I have a plan, just hope hubby can handle it. So far he is very supportive. Always has been. I need to stop using him as an excuse.
Thanks for being here. I would be lost without you guys!

[mountain walker]

Fi I loved the way you expressed the gift we give ourselves. We women tend not to be so good at seeing to our own well being and get so caught up in the habit of sacrifice to children or parents or jobs or whatever......last in the queue! Some of us have experienced abuse in one form or another which ( to me any way) is another way of being made to feel that we don't deserve to have the best that life can offer.
Let me tell you all some of the wonderful things that have happened to me today.
I saw somebody today I have known for 30 years but not seen for 3 years or so. She exclaimed "You look so young!" Heavens to Betsy.......praise indeed!
I also had the all clear following my thoracic op which was a bit of a relief. One medical problem down several more to go!!
I feel like I have had a bit of a lightbulb moment today. I had a couple of hours on my own in the car on the way to and from the hospital. Ready???? I AM WORTH IT!!! No....really!!! I deserve to be happy and as healthy as I can have influence over.
I know I have to accept that my mental health problems will never vanish but we all know how much caring for ourselves and especially exercise helps!
Goodness what a ramble!!
Sorry ladies.
Off to get in to my pyjamas, and curl up with a good book and a cuddle. It's pouring with rain and windy so no wild parties for New Year.
Here's hoping we all have a healthy and happy New Year.
God Bless.
Donna

[Fiona W]

Oh boy! I just weighed myself, and I've lost 6 pounds in the past ten days! I don't see how that is even possible, given that I had chocolate on The Winter Solstice, but my digital scale doesn't lie. I'm so excited!

[betsy2013]

Good morning ladies. Being on the west coast of the US, all of you have frequently posted already and gotten on with your day by the time I get going. Just want to say that we all seem to be ending 2013 on a bang with very positive thoughts and ruminations. How uplifting reading everything was -- thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings!

Ubee -- I googled low carb yogurts and found this thread on different brands -- sounds like there are other options out there. http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ma...rt-brands.html. Love all of your resolutions and hope that running your errands with your hubby doesn't put too many food challenges in your path.

Donna -- You're not alone in loving housework as I have several friends who seem to enjoy it. Doesn't it feel wonderful to get unexpected and sincere compliments? And great news on the all clear with the operation -- glad you were able to get to the doctor for your follow up. I, too, wish I had a group of face-to-face friends and supporters, but I'm definitely the largest of any of my friends and am happy that I found this group -- you all are the best!

Fi -- Your words resonated with me -- sounds like, actually, with all of us -- today. Self love and acceptance is a huge hurdle to overcome, but one that is necessary to be successful. I can remember my mom telling me when she hit her 70s that it was her turn. I not only didn't understand it at the time, but thought it was incredibly selfish. I, of course, do understand it now and am glad that she stuck to her guns and did things that she had delayed in the interest of taking care of everyone else. I'm rapidly getting to that point as well. And 6 pounds off in 10 days!!!! YIPARDEE! Don't know if the muesli is helping with more than fighting off the depression, but what a wonderful way to end the year. Oh, and I loved your link -- loved the picture and the bio.

SilentArctic -- You do look wonderful in your profile picture, and I bet if you took a picture of you right now, you'd look wonderful as well. Take it from all of your older friends here -- love yourself.

Mipsie -- Welcome. Hope you feel comfortable sharing some info about yourself.

Easy eating day as just about everything is already made up so not much temptation to taste this and that. As I've gotten older, I watch the ball drop on Times Square in NY which occurs at 9 PM our time and am in bed shortly thereafter. Tomorrow is the last of the gatherings, and I've got a lot of cooking to do today for dishes to take to that. It's going to be a challenge, but I think I'll be ok with staying on plan simply because I really don't want to start the year with a big gorge fest. And on the personal front, I'm declaring Toby to be house broken. He now lets me know when he needs to go out and even waits until I can get to the door. I am looking forward to getting the doggie door installed so he and I both have some more freedom. Happy New Year dear friends.

[Ubee]

Good afternoon!
Survived the car ride and it went great!
Fi, 6 pounds!!! You go girl! I am so excited for you!
Betsy, tell Toby he is a good boy and we are proud of him! Love the gorge fest comment! Have a fun time! Hopefully tomorrow will be quiet for me, and then the kids go back to school!!!
Donna, I am so happy to hear you got the all is well from your doc and may all your other visits be the same! I got very emotional when you admitted that you are worth it. There must be something in my past that I have not acknowledged because I must have a twinge of that every so often. Something to ponder. Your New Years sounds lovely. I like a quiet New Years.
Happy New Year to all!

[mountain walker]

Fi ....well done to you for 6 lbs in 10 days!
Feelin really positive today...took the xmas decs down and have had a really satisfying morning tidying and sorting....like a metaphor for my brain!
Had a good long chat with hubby last night about how important it is for my health and my psyche to move my butt every day regardless of prevailing weather or my rattly chest! Now have to do some work on finding healthy recipes for minimum expenditure!
Betsy Toby is doing so well bless him. One of my Jack Russells couldn't hold it last night and I had forgottten how unpleasant a start to the day it is!!
Silentarctic you have a beautiful face and I agree whether you weigh 10lbs or 50lbs more than when the photo was taken you will still have a lovely face and such nice skin!
My little boy and I have committed to 10 mins on the mini trampoline everyday for January. He is not a very sporty child as I might have said before and I worry about his weight as he is a little too fond of food! And I dug out of the back of a neglected cupboard weights and an exercise band so I can do a bit of free exercise at home.
Take care my lovely friends and Happy New Year xxxx

[betsy2013]

Happy New Year. After a very quiet evening at home, I awakened at 3:15 and couldn't get back to sleep. Since we're going down to Portland today, I finally gave up the sleep ghost around 4 and just got up. Have had breakfast, gotten Toby situated for the day, and will have plenty of time to get dressed without that rushed feeling.

Ubee and Donna -- sounds like you both had nice New Year's as well. Donna, moving around every day is definitely a must for me as well -- my joints are to the stage in life where if I don't move them they just feel as though they're locked up. And I agree that getting everyone back on a more fixed routine after the holidays is very comforting.

Off to Portland. I'm taking a baked brie that is a request of a niece (a brie round with homemade pesto and slivered almonds on top covered in a puff pastry shell), southwestern 3 bean salad, and a seafood salad that is ridiculously expensive and time consuming to make and which is requested every year. Oh well, I only make it once or twice a year so guess it won't burst the bank. I ate breakfast this morning so that I wouldn't be ravenous when we got there and end up snacking on a bunch of stuff I don't need.

Have a great New Year's Day.

[Fiona W]

Happy New Year, everybody! (Where's our new thread?) Well, I accomplished something big today: I walked around the lake. It was a mile and a half altogether. With my short legs and bein' out of shape, it took me an hour to do it, a full hour of brisk cardio. My injured knee was a little wonky at first, but it got better as I kept going. So nice to be out there on a trail through woods, with the bright sunlight making beautiful patterns on the surface of the water. I feel so lucky to live right near a park with a lake, but it's been a couple years since I've walked all the way around. I sure hope it will be a bit easier the next time! And it sure is good motivation to lose weight, because I have to work so hard to carry my bulk. I was working harder than anyone else out there today, even the people who were running. =laugh=

Here's what helped me get out of the house: I picked up a tip from Brooke Castillo's If I Am So Smart Why Can't I Lose Weight? She says when you're struggling to get yourself to exercise, you should pay attention to what you want instead of what you feel. So if you're thinking "I want to exercise because it will be good for my health & mood" but you're also thinking "I don't feel like it," you should value the first thought over the second one. There's no reason "I don't feel like it" has to win the argument. So I lay on the couch and pondered that a bit, reviewing in my head all the reasons I wanted to exercise, until ta-da! I was getting my boots out and putting them on.

Betsy— Your baked brie sounds heavenly! I may have to get the recipe for that. Do you have a special dish that you bake it in, or does it just sit on a cookie sheet? I hope you were able to avoid the "gorge fest" mentality at your gathering. You know, I'm still getting used to the idea that you wear eye liner & mascara. =smile= It sounds great—but it's not the mental picture I had for someone who likes outdoorsy activities like gardening. For me, the one essential makeup item is blusher: my skin has yellow undertones, so my face doesn't look right to me without a bit of orangey-pink color on my cheeks. I also like to put a bit of color on my full lips, because I like to show them off.

Donna— Good for you on your mini-trampoline workout! I'm having a hard time picturing it, though: you and your little boy are both on the trampoline together?

Ubee— I'm glad to hear your car ride went well! It sounds like you had it all planned in advance, with your husband on board to be supportive. I've had a problem myself with buying cookies and eating them in my car: my car has a really good stereo with satellite radio, and since my husband's been laid off, it's the only place I can go to be alone. So anyway, I'm having to work out new habits of enjoying being in my car without cookies.