Hi everyone.
Life is pretty hectic when you have to get up at 4am for some me time. The great news is that our son put in an offer on a house and it was accepted. The owners have already moved out so they should be able to move in in March!!! Yesterday at the last minute everyone decided to come home for supper. It was nice but hubby and I had to panic buy so the choices were not so good especially since I sent him to the store. Fi how did it feel to wake up and be 60? I am thinking a lot like the day before? tootsie you are really getting into the swing of things. WTG! Betsy I am glad WW is working for you. If you try the get motivated part of WW chat please throw a few tips my way. Also I am with you on just having a goal to get below a certain weight. For now my goal is 250 when I get there I may eventually try for 220. That seems like a pipe dream though. I apologize but I am too tired to toss out a sassy line today but I promise to be back in full force soon. Silent try not to be too nervous about your test results. I know of so many people who were put on meds and then taken off with diet and exercise. I hope you will not need it but never give up hope. Donna so many times when we find the strength to toss out some negativity in our life it snowballs and we really start to clean up our lives. Andrea thanks for the health update. I am so happy to hear all is well! I too get tired of cooking but like Betsy I have a few standbys and fried cabbage is one of them. I toss in a little meat and my daughter and I eat it when it is just the two of us for a meal. I make it at least once a week. Sam I am getting worried...
Today is weigh in day with my coffee house group and I so do not want to go. I really need to get a handle on this.
Have a peaceful day.
tootsieroll81 I can relate on looking at recipes and hunger especially beautiful food photos. I do best when I make batches of food on Sunday and have leftovers for the week.
mountain walker Wow an hour walk with dogs that is impressive and it sounds like fun too. Do you have a nice area to walk in?
I just throw the cabbage casserole together here is a link to a more organized method .
You can adjust it how you would like for example I don't like to use canned tomato soup so I use tomato sauce or just tinned crushed tomatos and I don't use rice. I also shred the cabbage in the food processor and don't cook it at all, I just throw it in. So there is plenty of room for playing around.
silentarctic I hope all goes well with your medical tests.
betsy2013 Losing 100 pounds is amazing!!! You going to the gym is inspiring and I need to get exercising.
I am back and ready to get serious... I bought myself a Jawbone Move with an wrist strap... I am able to track my sleep, movement and other things... I am just learning how to run it... last night I recorded 8 hours 9 minutes of sleep so that is about all I know about it so far...
Mountain - I am very proud of you!!! I haven't been in that particular situation but I am so very glad you got out. Feeling trapped is the worst part and I don't think anyone should have to live like that. I have always feared that I will wind up with a "feeder" and Lord knows I do not need that. Glad you are getting back on track with your eating, etc. I will keep you and your son in my prayers.
Plucky & Betsy - I use pinto beans and cook them in the crock pot. Years ago I used to add salt pork to the mixture but these days I only add a salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. They are season so nicely that you can't tell there isn't any fat in them. Occasionally I will add venison for some meat flavor. It makes for a low fat, high fiber meal/main course. I usually divide them up into 1 cup or 2 cup bowls and then I am able to add them to recipes or put into the freezer and take a bowl for lunch.
I am off to do fasting bloodwork... anxious to see how my stats are since I put back on the weight... It's nice to know where you are sometimes... I know the next time I go in it will be much improved...
Ubee ~ I dont know if its true or not but thats neat that you and your mom had the same size feet too.
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Woke up at 7:00 this morning, Its now 9:01 a.m. and I'm currently at school. I'm here until 3:00 p.m. today. I havent done much today so far, I woke up at 7 a.m. and got ready for school and got my bag ready for school and then at 7:40 I started watching for my bus. I got to school at 8:35 this morning. Now I'm just waiting for 11 a.m. to get here so I can eat, I'm hungry. I'll probably go in the kitchen at 10:30 and get the table ready like I did last week. I have peer support at 1:00 p.m. This is the last day we're gonna have peer support on Thursday. Starting next week we're gonna have peer support on Wed's from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Andrea— I'm a little late for the welcome wagon, but I must say: it's nice to have you back with us!
Ubee— Being 60 has been a bummer so far, because I fell down on the 21st (the day before my birthday). You know those shopping strips that have a high sidewalk, such that stepping down into the parking lot is kinda dicey for people with short legs, like me? Some people were coming in the same door I was leaving through, and they distracted me: I failed to be careful enough and landed on my knees. (When I was a doctor in Texas we had an acronym for that: DFD = done fell down—as in "He was working in the garage and then he done fell down.") Fortunately, not only did the people pause to make sure I was OK, but they included a really strong woman who locked her arms together and leaned back, allowing me to do what toddlers do—"pull to stand." I warned her that I weighed a lot, but she insisted, and it worked! By the time I got home, though, my knees were hurting. They hurt so much so much the following day (my birthday) I could only just barely manage standing up. Bob's been ambivalent about the big round brass table we got from his mom—because she didn't have room for it in her assisted-living studio apartment—but he could see how helpful it was to have two points for balancing when I get up from the green futon. I was so sore I couldn't do my Qigong (chee-GUNG) exercises for a few days, and got depressed as a result. All the way down to -4, and me saying "ouch" at every step to the bathroom... and "ouch" is not the right four-letter word for me climbing the stairs. Being 60 does feel a little different—and gee, I just noticed I've got to change the line above my avatar to "rockin' my 60s." =laugh= I haven't had a chance to write in my journal, though, so I don't know yet what it feels like. It is a little weird to wake up one day, and suddenly I qualify for some of the senior discounts.
By the way, who's Pam? Is that pjwv34? Spend some time with us, Pam, posting every day if you can. In other words, do what I say, not what I do. =grin= It helps to be accountable to yourself, even if you choose to ignore the advice you get. My 60th birthday festivities included not just dark chocolate but the C-word (cookies) and the D-word (donuts) as well. =sigh= But I'm back on track today, and I can't "cocoon" any more because the cats need food, and Bob has a bad cold.
=OUCH= That's the sound of my making a loud moaning noise when I rearranged my legs. I can't let them stay in the same position for long, or I get stuck and have a heck of a time getting up.
Gratitude check-in: what do I appreciate today? I appreciate how as she matures, Nénu (short for nénuphar, French for "water lily") is getting really affectionate. She climbs up my right side when my iPad or book is parked on the left, and purrrrrrs. (I gotta say it, Betsy and the other dog people: I like the way dogs are usually in a good mood, and they encourage you to take a walk with them, but cats who purr have a definite advantage.)
Gosh, I haven't told y'all yet what Grace gave me for my birthday: she made two tiles, one with Nénu bursting from a lotus, and the other one with a picture of Oscar the kitten, a picture of Oscar Wilde, and one of OW 's witticisms about friendship, in calligraphy. Since Oscar Wilde lived a good fifty years later than Edgar A. Poe, a wide variety of good photo portraits are available. I'm having almost as much fun calling the male kitten "Oscar Wilde" as I did calling the last male "Edgar Poe": we've accidentally called Oscar "Edgar" and Nénu "Annabel Lee" numerous times—even "Oscar Poe" has been said a few times, an appellation the human named "Oscar Wilde" probably wouldn't mind. Anyway, she coated the tiles with something clear and durable, and they arrived just in time to be coasters on the big round brass table—sweeeeeet... I guess one would call them "decoupage": whatever it is, I love them!
Did you miss getting to see the latest photo? That's Nénu on the left and Oscar on the right. =happy sigh= They still sneeze several times a day, but I'm such a happy kitty mommy, it's no big deal. And guess what? My breeder is giving us a 100% refund on what we paid for them, because of the vet bills and medication prices for their upper respiratory infection.
Ubee: Sounds great that your son bought a house. That must've been stressful for everyone. Thanks for commenting on my post. It really encourages me to stay on track.
Plucky: That cabbage casserole sounds divine. I like raw cabbage. Never really cooked it. Grandma used to make brats, sour kraut, onions, and cooked cabbage. Haven't had that for years. She passed when I was 12.
Pjvw: Pinto beans sound good. How I flavor mine: I still make lean boneless pork ribs from time to time. I just watch the portion sizes on them, like 2 oz or so, with a tsp of BBQ sauce on them. The way I make the ribs is to boil them first, so that they are nice and tender, then I take them out of the boiling water, and bake them on a cooking sheet with BBQ sauce for about 10 min. I save the broth, and that's how I flavor my beans. When I was a kid, we'd have ketchup on them. Funny how tastes change; can't stand ketchup now.
Pjvw: Please let us know how that Jawbone works out. Tempted to get one of those trackers, just not sure of which brand.
Terra: Sounds like a busy day/week. Hopefully you get time to relax a bit.
Fi: Your cats are beautiful. Sounds like Grace gave you thoughtful, beautiful gifts. It's nice to have pretty things to look at. Sometimes all it takes is a beautiful picture to brighten my day. It's dreary here today. Snow is falling, but I hate the grey sky. In contrast, yesterday was cold, but sunny. Saw a squirrel out wandering around today. Had to laugh when a bit of snow fell on his back, and he wiggled his tail. He shot up the tree into his nest, looking like he was cursing the whole way. Poor little guy.
So I am having a 'cheat' day today for breakfast alone I had 800 calories . I have had 4 days where I barely made it to 1200 cals so this should be interesting I am suppose to be eating 1750 a day to lose 2lbs a week. Law of averages if I end up eating over 1750 I should still be on track and I kind of feel like I need a day like this to boost my energy levels I have been pretty tired and lethargic but also have not felt like eating so.. Whatcha gonna do! I am mostly okay with that. As long as I am sticking to my plans most of the time I should start still lose weight. Slowly at least.
Good morning everyone. Gee this week is just speeding by!
First, thanks to all who congratulated me on the 100 pound loss. Now it if were only true! Guess I wasn't too clear on what I'm trying to do. My initial goal was to get from 396 to 140, but have realized that I need to set some more realistic goals -- and not think of them as mini-goals -- to get me to lose. So, I'm having a reboot as I had gotten down to 327 and have over the course of the last few months regained back to 364. NOT GOOD! My goal for this year is to get below down to 296 which will mean losing 68 pounds in 2015. So, while I appreciate the congrats, I'll have to put them on hold for later in the year. Sorry for the confusion.
Tootsie -- Getting full sooner is definitely one of the benefits of losing. And actually listening to your body instead of eating everything that is considered a serving is a big step. Good for you!!! I like the fact that you're allowing yourself to eat what I refer to as "normal" foods as part of my struggle has been putting them on the banned list and then having a binge of forbidden foods.
Ubee -- Oh, you poor baby. It's a sign that maybe you need a little life adjustment when you have to get up at 4 AM for me time. I'm often up then, but it's for a bathroom trip before heading back to bed. So glad that your son and family will soon be moving. And the next time everyone decides to come home for supper, it's ok to say "let's go out to eat" or even to fix breakfast for dinner. I chuckled over your having fried cabbage once a week. Once again, those Midwest roots pull me back to memories of meals that I think are delicious and no one in the current family grouping will eat. Get some encouragement from the weigh in today. I have a feeling that once your life settles down a little bit that you'll find your mojo again.
Andrea -- Sounds like we all have some variation of your cabbage recipe. I fix mine in the crock pot (I use hamburger and do brown it first along with onions, mushrooms, garlic, and green peppers) and stir it up a few times during the day. Yum! I am going to share your comment about me being inspiring about going to the gym with the gym owner. She needs a good laugh. She's a trainer and has stated many times that if you can talk while you're doing cardio, you're not doing it hard enough. I told her that I didn't want to get to the point where I couldn't talk so that I could yell when I needed an ambulance called. Fortunately, she's in the any-exercise-is-better-than-no-exercise camp and not the boot-camp-is-for-sissies one.
Pam -- The beans sound good. In my effort to not go grocery shopping until I've cleaned out the pantry (I currently have enough food to keep my little town fed for a month or two), I realized that I have a lot of beans in there. Maybe a meat free day each week?
Terra -- Sounds like a busy day for you today. What is peer support involve?
Fi -- Ouch! Hope that your knees are beginning to give you fewer problems, but your fall sounded so painful. And the day before your birthday. Your DFD was NDF (No darn fun). Love the presents from Grace and I know that they mean the world to you as they should. And, yes, our pets bring us joy in so many ways. Toby definitely doesn't purr, but he snores gently at night and is definitely a snuggle bunny -- albeit a huge one! I was so glad that your breeder is fully refunding your fee for the kitties -- you've spent a small fortune on getting them healthy.
SilentArctic -- A cheat day isn't going to derail you totally as long as you don't pull a Betsy. That's when a cheat day becomes a cheat week which leads to a cheat month......you get the drift.
I've updated my signature and came clean on current weight. I've added in a new tracker for my reboot to get me initially back down to my low weight of 327 and on to the 296. For some reason, that just seems so much more reasonable.
Off to the gym and then home to do the bookkeeping for the month. My older nephew tore his Achilles tendon playing soccer Tuesday night (he'll be 44 this year), so we're going up this weekend to help with the boys and to swap cars so he can have an automatic to drive. They're going to a specialist today in Seattle, and he'll probably have to have surgery. He definitely won't be playing soccer for a good long while.
I just feel like a monkey doing a jig is called for on a freezing cold Friday morning.
Ubee Mmmmm fried cabbage sounds yummy. How do you prepare it? I love to buy cabbage this time of year because it is cheap and one of the few local veggies I can buy.
Coffee house group sounds fun. How did that start, was it something you joined with friends or on a meet up group? I assume it is in people's homes as who wants to weigh in at a coffee shop?
pjvw34 The beans sound delicious, I do love beans. I keep meaning to get a slow cooker but have not yet gotten around to it. Is a crock pot the same thing?
Fi It is nice to be back and thanks, I always enjoy reading the posts here. Happy belated birthday.
I am sorry to hear you fell but it renews my faith in humanity to hear of good Samaritans helping you up. LOL at the DFD.
OMG those cats are gorgeous. I have two kitties two and they are both cuddly.
How is your art coming along these days?
tootsieroll81 Brats sounds really good, I will have to try it sometime. I have been feeling nostalgic for corned beef and cabbage, I have not had that for 30 years. I think I will make it for St. Patrick's day.
Reading your story about the squirrel reminded me of a squirrel I saw a few weeks ago. The power lines were coated in ice and a squirrel was making his way along the line, his back legs kept slipping and he would pause and grip with his front paws but he kept on going. Very resilient.
Plucky: Oddly enough, I don't like brats or sour kraut. I just remember the smell of it cooking because that was grandpa's favorite meal. Never tried corned beef and cabbage... Sounds good though. Squirrels are great. Love watching the little guys. They don't seem to let anything get in their way. Saw a hungry guy in my trash can the other day. I left some seeds on my lawn for him and turned my empty cans over so that he doesn't get stuck.
Another 3 miles down. It's starting to get easier.
Betsy: Sorry that I misunderstood you. Still an impressive loss, though. Feel bad for your nephew. That has to really hurt. I hope that he has a quick recovery. I don't know much about that injury.
Good morning!
The house is full but everyone is busy working on different projects. tootsie 3 miles down! WTG! You've never had corned beef and cabbage? What are some of your family foods? Andrea beware of brats! They are delicious. They also have 38 grams of fat and a trillion calories. My group is at the coffee house. We all met there and started talking about our weight. The owner weighs us in back. When I make the cabbage I fry it in butter, and garlic salt. If I want a protein I just fry up whatever meat I have on hand and toss it in. Betsy sorry about your nephew but glad you are there to help him out. Totally agree on the realistic goal. Thanks for the chuckle about calling an ambulance from the gym. How is MFP comparing with WW? Have you planned a vacation yet? Silent am I hearing a little optimism in your post? Spring is coming and I think it will bring some motivation to us all! I will take losing slowly any day, because I have ground to a halt with my weight loss. Fi sorry about the DFD. The kitties are fabulous looking as always. They really do warm my heart. Do you think we could see a picture of Grace's tiles? I am sure you will do a great job of "Rock in your 60's". I hit my 50's this year and I am loving it. Younger people always mention that I probably wish I was younger but truth be told I love where I am in life. Terra how many people attend your school? I like small groups and I am thinking your school is a nice little sized group. Pam please share what is motivating you! Lately some of my friends have been having weight related health issues and I am waiting for that to motivate me. As for being a grandma some time in the future I can tell you get some weight off now. I have a ways to go but am so happy I can bend, lift, crawl, carry... and all that stuff with my little 8 month fat banana. It would have been a chore at my highest weight.
All right chicks let's get back in the game.
Have a peaceful day!
Ubee: Depends on which family that you're talking about. I don't remember a lot. I only remember some things, like the time my grandma told my mom that we were eating chicken soup when it ended up being turtle soup. My mom used to make something that she called slop. She put cream style corn, and kidney beans in a pot. Then she would cook ground sausage in a pan. She took the sausage out and added it to the cream style corn and kidney bean mixture. Then she would make gravy. We had the gravy and slop over bread or biscuits, and that was dinner. My spouse is picky though, so our meals are usually just normal, like spaghetti, chili, chicken and noodles, beef and noodles, hamburgers, etc.
Hi all!!! How is everyone doing this COLD morning? I am here with the fur kids just trying to get some chores done and staying warm… I have several chores planned for the day… and I hope to get out and go see my parents this afternoon…
Plucky – yes a crock pot is the same as a slow cooker… my grannie always called it a crock pot so I just carried that with me…
Betsy – you sound like my mom… she has several cabinets and a pantry filled with canned goods and all sorts of dry foods… she could feed our little town too…. I tend to do that sometimes too… right now I have quite a few canned goods but not nearly as many as her… I just try to have enough to last for a month for myself…
Ubee – I am going to have to cook some cabbage before my head in the fridge goes bad… oh I love that stuff… I cook mine with coconut oil and turkey bacon… and it is soooooo good… see below for my motivation info…
Tootsie – I studied Amazon for a couple of days comparing the trackers… my friend got one of the fitbit ones that cost $250 and I just cannot bring myself to spend that kind of money right now… so I settled on the Jawbone… I even got one that had been returned to Amazon for about $40 and there is nothing wrong with it… plus it was in the original packaging… I bought a little wrist band to go with it and I wear it all the time but in the shower… I will keep you all up to date on how it works…
Fi – I know it is good for me to post every day… and I am trying to get back into that habit… I will get there I promise... It sounds like you had a wonderful birthday… and being back on track makes it even more special… you go girl!!!
I was asked about my motivation… it’s a long story so I will try to give you the reader’s digest version… My paternal grandmother had about 13 brothers and sisters… all of them but about 3 died from obesity related issues… many of their children and grandchildren suffer from the same problems… in January one of my cousins died and it just plain hit home… I have decided that I do not want to be in that number if I can help it… I know that if I keep heading in the wrong direction I will most certainly be dealing with diabetes… I do not want that… On top of that my parents are getting older and although not morbidly obese are each 30-40 pounds overweight… They are in good health otherwise (well besides my dad’s back issues - sciatica)… I just need to get myself in better shape so that I can be there for them… like they have always been there for me… then my son has gotten engaged and they have a venue and a date set for May of 2016… 15 months - so that gives me plenty of time to be ready for that… I am shooting for 10 pounds a month and if I can do that I will be close to 200… I would take more of course but I think that is a safe bet there…
I have been using my Jawbone Move for the past 3 days… I love it… You have to change from sleep mode to wake mode but it keeps track of your steps and how much you sleep… I think it is pretty accurate… especially with my sleep so I imagine with my steps and movement too… I have been concentrating on getting in more movement every day and getting plenty of sleep at night… today I am going to work on getting in plenty of water and getting things done around the house since I cannot get out much today with the snow and ice on the ground… if I feel really industrious I may try to do the walk video… right now I just want to get some things done in the house… I have several crafty projects that will keep my hands busy… I have all the materials to put together a denim jean rug… I can’t wait to see how it turns out…
Alright… I am going to go for now… I hope each of you had a perfect ON PLAN day!!!
Tootsie ~ Yeah I'm getting to relax for a couple of days actually, I'm not going anywhere until Tuesday.
Betsy ~ We discuss topics of interest, Lately I'll been printing off a list of questions and then we go around the room one by one members answer the questions, They have been interesting questions so its been neat to learn more about the members of peer support.
Ubee ~ Yeah they arent that many, Maybe 18 at the most.
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Woke up at 5:20 a.m. Its now almost 10:00 a.m. I'm just posting on here, Watching t.v,Posting on another forum while reading my newsfeed on facebook, In an hour I'm gonna do my 40 min. chair exercises and then at 1 p.m. I'll do my 30 min. 2 mile with my walking dvd and then at 7 or 8 tonight I'll do my 20 min. 1 mile with my walking dvd. I also need to clean the bathroom and clean my room as well.
I do best when I make batches of food on Sunday and have leftovers for the week.
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You going to the gym is inspiring and I need to get exercising.
Guess I wasn't too clear on what I'm trying to do. My initial goal was to get from 396 to 140, but have realized that I need to set some more realistic goals -- and not think of them as mini-goals -- to get me to lose. So, I'm having a reboot as I had gotten down to 327 and have over the course of the last few months regained back to 364. NOT GOOD! My goal for this year is to get below down to 296 which will mean losing 68 pounds in 2015. So, while I appreciate the congrats, I'll have to put them on hold for later in the year. Sorry for the confusion.
