Marie - I won't comment on where I placed in my age group. Breaststroke has always been my weak stroke; I'm not even competitive in it and I'm not sure why I chose to swim it. It was almost a second slower than Nov. Backstr was better - almost 0.8sec faster, and so was the freestyle. And amazingly enough, that's even with the "parachute suit". Next meet is in 2 weeks - I just need to get all my parts healed and lined up again. I've seen a few folks doing laps with the snorkel and I know that open-water swimmers love them. I don't run into issues with breathing - I think it was the impact of hitting the water that did me in.
Hoping to actually have a lunch today, and will check back in then!
This is a fly by because I have to get back to **** this morning.
The name petra wasn't picked randomly as you might imagine-I'm a big fan of contemporary christian music. Petra was a band that is sort of like the rolling stones of contemporary christian music and it is also a woman's name so it fits me well. I'm a big Petra fan. I've seen them in concert probably a dozen times although they have disbanded after about 25 years.
Chubster-I'm familiar with Eric Kandel. I have a neuropsychiatry textbook that he co-authored and is considered a standard in my field.
As for the exercise thing-I'm a big believer that if you don't enjoy it you won't do it. Try to find something that you like. I like yoga and pilates so that's what I do. One of the things I have found that is fun is my Wii. It allows me to try out sports I would have never tried otherwise. I've found I like to fence-who would have thought that? I recently got a couple games that include skiing, snowboarding, luge (the whole winter sports thing) and am looking forward to trying them out. Reading Marie's posts about how much fun she is having skiing has me wanting to at least pretend ski. You don't burn as many calories that way as if you were doing the real thing but it is a whole lot cheaper and in my case more practical and like I said-the best exercise is the kind you actually do. I also love to shoot things so I love archery type games and anything that involves shooting accuracy.
ICU-I'm certain I have some sort of nonverbal learning disability. As my family would tell you, I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag-I get lost going almost anywhere. Good thing I have a GPS. It's kind of frightening actually. And a huge source of family jokes. I have a huge vocabulary and a truly scary memory (almost photographic) which I think has helped me compensate for that but I have no sense of spatial relationships. I'd never be able to be an engineer. Fortunately, school way overemphasizes verbal abilities. The only class I ever really struggled with was physics. Imagine that?
I just got a terrible phone call. Someone I work with was killed in a car accident last night. Talk to you guys later.
Hi, everyone. Just got done shoveling the driveway, again... My back has held out, though, so that's great.
Now, as for the elliptical, I love it!! It was one of my primary methods for training for my Peru trek a couple of years back. At the time, I had found some great routines to do in the "manual mode", which I will post hopefully later today. Many people know this already but for those who don't: here's how I keep myself entertained while using exercise machines. I get Large Print books out of the library and read those. Because the print is so large, I can still maintain my place while bouncing up and down. I've read some wonderful books this way, and it gets me motivated to head down to the basement for my 40-minutes of reading. That feels like a real splurge to me because I would never sit down in the middle of the day to read, so this is like a huge bonus.
Brand new to this site...not sure how it works but I love the little weight loss chart at the bottom of other's blogs. How do I get one?
So tired of every year making a New Year's Resolution that never works. Every year I think for the past 15 years I've done the "this is my year to loose all the extra weight", but it never sticks. I decided to opt for something new this year and take one day at a time. If I can just get through today, even though I have hunger pains and sore all over from adding to my gym routine I have to get in better health. I just need to get through today to make it to tomorrow. As 45+ has come and gone for me I have more health ailments than I ever had before because I'm overweight. I'm 47 and have so much to live for than ever before. My daughter in nursing school, just got engaged, my son graduated and got a job...YAHOO!!! and my youngest in high school finally and doing great. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who supports me and thinks I'm beautiful even though I am extremely overweight. How blessed I am!!!! So I thought this has to be my year to get off of high cholestrol medicine, to bring my blood pressure down, to be able to walk up three flights of stairs and still speak, to be able to tie my shoes and play baseball with my sons & daughter or ride a bike again.
This is it for me...I have to do it. It's so nice to see that there are other women out there who have the same struggles to get in better shape. Not just because I truly want to go to a store and try on clothes and think I actually look great...I hate mirrors right now...but also because I want to be healthy and watch all my children get married, have grandkids, have a wonderful retirement with my hunnie. So much to look forward to. I just have to take it one day at a time.
Thanks to anyone who can give me some advice and help with this site, also anyone else who has my same struggles. Good Luck to all trying to fight the good fight and be healthy.
Happy Tuesday to all. Thanks for the warm welcome and all the comments/encouragement on the elliptical. I didn't get it dusted off last night, but I did look at it. One step closer to getting back on the thing. Might try to step onto it in the morning, as I find I am more likely to exercise then than if I wait until the evening when I am tired.
I started keeping a food diary yesterday. Even though in my heart I know what items are bad for me/high in fat or calories, it is eye-opening to see them on paper. (A good example is 16 oz. of orange juice compared to 8 oz.) I was able to drink 64 oz. of water yesterday and am almost halfway to that goal for today. I made a list for myself of the reasons I want to lose weight/be more fit and healthy. I am sure I will add to that list as I go along.
Keep up the great work everyone!
Last edited by AnnieDrews; 01-12-2010 at 11:03 AM.
Heidi - yeah, I had to sit on the idea of the Kindle for quite awhile. I LOVE books, love seeing colorful covers, feeling them, opening a fresh book, the binding...all of it. I've been an avid reader since I was very young. After much debate - know what got me? I can adjust the font size...LOL, oh yeah baby, I can upsize the font and it's like having large print handy whenever I want. HA - started playing with it last night, and I lvoe there's no glare or anything, it's a very matte look, and actually feels like reading paperback ink/on off-white pages. Think I'm going to LOVE it for travel. I usually lug a big bag of books and magazines - now i have them all on this tiny, thin thing...and can buy new books no matter where I am, and have it delivered in moments.
Marsha - having energy for your son will be a great bonus! The right guy will come along when you're comfortable with yourself and you're ready. Let's make this year about YOU!
Annie - welcome to our group. A plan is a great thing, and can really help you stay on track. Good luck with your work contest.
Marie - well stated...I hope everyone feels welcome here This has been a lovely place for me to check in and been helpful with motivation - and I hope others continue as well - because we all help each other in the journey!
Kim - down is down. It may not be as much as you hoped, but it still went down, not up-- so let's celebrate that! As for restaurants, I'm finding the most difficult time is the menu in your hands. I try to decide before I even go to a restaurant what I'll get there...I also use incentives like you do...ROFL, like Disney for a 1/2 marathon..okay, so maybe it was a big one, but ya know what I mean!
OnMyWay - glad it's warming up some - and like you, I love the enthusiasm. It takes me a few more minutes to go through the board, but by setting time aside for this - in turn, it helps me keep understanding, I'm here because this is important to me.
Kendle - hormones were all over me last week, and it was rough...I find distraction is my friend. I have a few things I rely on to do if I want to eat, because before with hormones, I'd eat what wasn't nailed down...now a quick game of bejeweled, chewing some gum, getting up and painting my nails, brushing my teeth, whatever....just change my mind set -- it's helped.
WLW - ooh, audiobooks, love them. Would be a great reward for you, and there are two or three books I'd totally recommend on audio - water for elephants, memoirs of a geisha, etc...great narrarators, and if you like silly and fun, angus, thongs and full frontal snogging is a hoot too. Way to go getting a workout in!
Natalie- hopefully journaling will help you. I've had to relearn what "full" feels like. I now go for satisfied, which is different than that full feeling i used to go by. As for seeing things written down, it's a reality check - so hopefully it will help you pinpoint and focus what works for you.
Karen - yes, Lamb is Deb - lamb, lc, whatever works for me...LOL, it's fine. Ooh, busy schedule, yeah...I live right by the Columbia Trail (think Clinton, High Bridge, Annandale) - Spruce Run and Round Valley - so plenty of places, but I don't do it when it's this cold out! When it warms up, i'll enjoy them more. The shore has a lot of great options too..hit the WW boardwalk, LBI is a nice 18 miles! One day I'm going to walk or run that from one end to the other...maybe this year, maybe next...was thinking of running their run, but chose Disney in Oct instead.
Becky - cant wait to see how it turns out...how exciting for your son to have this opportunity. I'm the opposite, total visual learning...try telling me something, and it can take you 3 tries..LOL, let me read it or see it, and I do SO much better.
Petra - i'm so sorry to hear about your work friend being killed ((hugs)) so sad....
Djo- welcome to the 40's group - the weight loss chart - you can add that to your signature after 20 posts, and maybe after 20 days or so? Let's take it one day at a time...and you'll get there. Dont' worry about "later", let's worry about today and tomorrow...what's on your agenda? What will you be eating, what exercise do you plan on doing?
--
Down another pound, and just happy about that. Know this will be a rough week - feel icky, bum not improving one iota, and stuff...but i refuse to let that be an excuse to backslide at all...i'm just going to take it one moment at a time - and get through today. I'll worry about tomorrow ---- wait for it.....tomorrow.
Petra, hugs to you and your co-workers. My thoughts are with you.
Chubster, glad you’re giving the elliptical another shot. Maybe you’ll find it fun like I do. If not, Petra is right, you have to find an exercise you enjoy or you won’t stick with it.
WLW, enjoy your upcoming weekend. Go slow back into the exercise so you don’t kill your back. Backwards progress is worse than slow.
ICU, YEAH on improving your freestyle and backstroke times. That’s awesome, especially over the holidays.
Petra, I had to laugh at the Wii skiing being cheaper. I keep saying I want one but have been told it’s not cheap. But then I spend $250 for lift tickets this upcoming weekend. The Wii lasts longer but without the whoosh of speed I’m not sure it would be the same. But I’d be warm on the Wii whereas I freeze my tail off as I’m always cold and skiing tend to be in cold weather.
Welcome DJO. Sounds like you are ready to do this. There is a lot to look forward to and being healthy is the way to do it. And congrats on the 7 pounds you’ve lose so far. Also I believe there’s a minimum number of posts before you can edit your signature and add a ticker. Maybe 25???
Annie, do more than look at it!!! LOL!!! Good job starting the food log. It’s may savior even though I do it electronically (LoseIt with my iPhone).
Lamb, adjusting the font??? That’s a selling point for sure as we’re aging. Enjoy your new toy! I never thought about feeling satisfied – how awesome. Every once in a while I feel full and I like that but I can adjust my thinking to feeling complete by being satisfied. Great job on eradicating another pound.
Newleaf, I use listening to my audiobook as an incentive to exercise. I wake wanting to elliptical so that I can listen to what happens next.
We’ve had high winds and our power went out around midnight. I haven’t braved going into the work restroom to see how I did with my makeup using my walking the dogs headlamp. But alas, I have to use the restroom so I’ll find out soon. Here’s hoping the power is back on when I go home. DH and I walked the dogs a mile and a half this morning since he couldn’t shower before work and I couldn’t elliptical. I guess he got his shower in the rain but walking on the muddy roads probably negated it. So tonight I’ll elliptical hopefully. Marie
Oh boy. I work in a physician's group office. We regularly have lunch brought in my pharmaceutical reps. Today's offering is pans and pans of cashew chicken, broccoli beef, fried rice, egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken! I brought a Slim Fast bar and a banana in my bag today. I think I will eat the banana first and maybe try to limit myself to maybe 3 pieces of the sweet and sour chicken and a bit of rice?? Maybe a few veg from the beef. Wow....if only I didn't have to walk near the kitchen to clock out for lunch, I wouldn't even know what was up there. These are the types of situations I have trouble with. In my book, there are no healthy portions of this type of food.
Good Tuesday to you! Got up this morning, shoveled the drive, and walked on the tread. Yesterday eating was good/bad. Good cause I didn't feel good so I didn't eat much. Bad because I didn't eat much. Although the scale was down this morning 1lb. I am trying to stay on track today so the pound stays down.
I like the idea of using the Kindle while exercising. Reading a mag or book on the tread is sometimes difficult. That is why I usually choose the TV. Where do you get the downloads for the books?
Petra, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. How horrible. My prayers to you and her family.
djo: Sounds like you have a lot to work for. That was the reason behind my newfound motivation for a healthy life/body. Everyday I remind myself why it is important for me to stay focused and do what I know to be better. Stay with us here and we will help and motiviate you to do it!
lamb: I wish my budget afforded such wonderful rewards!! Although DH and I are saving up to take the kids to disney next year. They have never been and are begging to go. The fact that I was a grown up before I got to go doesn't seem to passify them at all! LOL!! My goal is to go there and feel confident and healthy. DH and I went for our honeymoon there and to look and feel like I did 18 years ago would be a fabulous reward!
WLW: wow you are the exercise queen!! Great Job!
Hello to the rest. Everyone sounds like they are doing well. Keep up the good work!! The rest of my day involves work and running kids. I am realizing now that I don't have a dinner plan...shame on me!... so I need to figure out the rest of my day food wise. Grrrr..... need to be sure and do that at night before I go to bed.
Thanks for your first post in welcoming me Lambchop. It's great to know there are others out there working on all the same issues.
For diet: I try to eat 3 four hundred calorie meals a day with snacks. All snacks are like fruit, fresh veggies or the 100 calorie pack pretzels, etc. I am trying to revise my whole thinking about food and get off all the junk stuff, which I am famous for, especially desserts and sweets. I got this article in Prevention Magazine about women who should have 4 four hundred calorie meals a day. I improvised a bit so when it's break time at work I'm not sitting there in front of a donut but a nice fruit or fresh veggies.
For exercise: I'm actually beginning to like exercise. It's not a chore to me any longer. For the past six months I have been working out at a women's gym and like it but wasn't like "I can't wait to go". Now I incorporate this morning workout at 7 am every morning and added at night a one and a half hour workout at a gym with weights which my future son-in-law works at, actually it's a college he works at and he takes me to the gym every night for our ritual workout. There I incorporate the eliptical for 30 minutes with weights. I was soooo sore for about a week now I hardly hurt at all unless I add new things. My husband came this past Sunday with me and decided I should try sit ups on a balance ball with a medicine ball. Hard work but I actually can say I look forward to using the balance ball again. My body is so weird because I have alot of belly-fat but my legs are thin. It's strange that your body doesn't balance itself out. My legs are still decent but I weigh 224 pounds and it's all in my belly and back and hips. But I'm working on getting those down!!!.
My goals are to be healthy. I don't necessarily want to be 130 pounds like the time I met my hunnie. I just want to be healthy, maybe hit 165 or so. I am only looking right now for 10 pounds, not 80lbs. so I just want to make it through this week into next.
I have a journal I write in every night to keep track of food and feelings. In the past years I found out what anxiety was with a sick son and began tracking feelings years ago so I didn't worry as much. Now I've just applied more and added food and thoughts in my journal as well. It helps me I think.
Thanks again for your input. I appreciate it as I'm brand new to this. Any support helps. I want to make it this year!!!!!
Well, hopefully disaster averted at lunch. I allowed myself to have 2 pieces of sweet and sour chicken (sauce drizzled on top instead of dunked), some brocolli/carrots out of the beef/brocolli with a very small amount of sauce on top of a small scoop of steamed rice. And a diet Coke! Hard to calculate calorie-wise, but I didn't feel too deprived.....though I really wanted to load up on that fried chicken!
I left the kitchen and ran to the bank, then walked 1/5 mile around our office complex. I feel a bit better after that.
Good afternoon! Every day a new friend! This is terrific!
WLW, enjoy your midweek weekend! Great job with the exercising. Sounds like you are feeling much better!
ICU, Hope the neck is feeling better quick. Congrats on the swim meet. Taking .8 off a time is terrific.
Petra, So sorry to hear about your friend. Makes you realize how quickly things can change. I have heard of Petra and am familiar with their music. Good choice!
Newleaf, sounds like you are back in business with your exercising. I saw some candy hearts at the grocery the other day and immediately thought of you. Just say "NO!"
Djo, Welcome to our group. Know that you have within you what it takes to do this! You mentioned biking, my family gave me a bike for Mother's Day last spring after I had lost about 50 pounds. It was such a great feeling to be able to ride with my DD.
Annie, Start with a small amount of time on the elliptical and gradually build up. You'll feel better when you take the first step! Sounds like you managed the work lunch OK.
Lambchop, sorry to hear your tail is still giving you fits. I know it's hard to be patient. Moment by moment, sometimes that's what it takes to get through. Keep up the great work!
Marie, LOL about getting ready with your dog walking lamp! Too funny!
Bellybuster, One of the hardest things to realize with weighloss is that sometimes eating less is not better. Hope you are feeling better today!
I've had a good day today. Going out to dinner with friends this evening then to DD's 1st band concert. I'll go online and look at the menu so I can be prepared to make a good choice.
Hello to everyone. I haven't been on 3fc for quite a long time and my waistline shows it. So, here I am, looking to get support to get back on the bike and try it again. I have actually done a few things to get started. I joined the YMCA last week. I have a friend who goes and so I don't mind going when I can meet her there b/c the walking goes so much quicker when you are walkin' and talkin'. hehehehe
Anywho, I am such an emotional eater. I eat mostly lately due to anxiety and stress. I am lazy by nature and I create my own stress much of the time by not being organized. I know there are some things I could do to make things simpler. Also, right now I am planning for a wedding and it is a month away, and there is more stress. LOL Oh well, one day it will ease up. Thanks for letting me post with ya!
Cross your fingers for me ladies, I think I've had a "whoosh"! The scale at the gym said 165 1/2 at lunch time. Usually I weigh in the morning, so I'm thinking maybe, just maybe if I weigh in the morning it will be even lower : ) Hit the elliptical again today for a 10 minute mile. Yesterday it was a bit rough as far as cardio, today it was a struggle for my legs. I think different machines at the gym are harder to work than others. So far the back feels good. Looking forward to my four days off, might try a yoga class at the gym on friday. My biggest issue seems to be several areas of very tight muscles as well as needing to build up my core and abdominal muscles to protect that herniated disc. Got my pt exercise sheets to refer to so I don't hurt myself : )
Welcome to all of our newbies! You picked a great place for support and encouragement : )
Breaststroke has always been my weak stroke; I'm not even competitive in it and I'm not sure why I chose to swim it. It was almost a second slower than Nov. Backstr was better - almost 0.8sec faster, and so was the freestyle. And amazingly enough, that's even with the "parachute suit". Next meet is in 2 weeks - I just need to get all my parts healed and lined up again. I've seen a few folks doing laps with the snorkel and I know that open-water swimmers love them. I don't run into issues with breathing - I think it was the impact of hitting the water that did me in.
One Day At A Time
This has been a lovely place for me to check in and been helpful with motivation - and I hope others continue as well - because we all help each other in the journey! 
It may not be as much as you hoped, but it still went down, not up-- so let's celebrate that! As for restaurants, I'm finding the most difficult time is the menu in your hands. I try to decide before I even go to a restaurant what I'll get there...I also use incentives like you do...ROFL, like Disney for a 1/2 marathon..okay, so maybe it was a big one, but ya know what I mean!
My thoughts are with you.
I haven’t braved going into the work restroom to see how I did with my makeup using my walking the dogs headlamp. 
But alas, I have to use the restroom so I’ll find out soon. Here’s hoping the power is back on when I go home. DH and I walked the dogs a mile and a half this morning 
I brought a Slim Fast bar and a banana in my bag today. I think I will eat the banana first and maybe try to limit myself to maybe 3 pieces of the sweet and sour chicken and a bit of rice?? Maybe a few veg from the beef. Wow....if only I didn't have to walk near the kitchen to clock out for lunch, I wouldn't even know what was up there. These are the types of situations I have trouble with. In my book, there are no healthy portions of this type of food.
