Feeling stupid ~ I was bad today ~ off and on ~ ate some good things and some not so good. Knew I was doing wrong and did it anyway.

I haven't been good about the exercise either. I've got to quit fooling around and try harder to do the right things.

If I could make myself get right to that exercise first thing in the morning, but I get to puttering around doing stuff and I am on a roll with that ~ feeling pleased to be accomplishing things, and I hate to quit to do the exercise. Why oh why don't I like it better. It does not come natural to me. It is a thing I have to force myself to do.

Yes, yes...keep trying. Eating healthy and taking care of yourself is definitely worth the effort. I pretty much put exercise in the same category as brushing and flossing your teeth. I skip that once and while too, well, at least the flossing part. Exercise is part of good maintenance!

cals-2160-(720 from sugary treats), exerc-step class. Like my new stat? Sure brings it home. I have lots of room for improvement, goodness!

I am re-establishing a healthier relationship with food. I have accepted my inability to moderate portion control therefore there are categories of foods that I can no longer include in my diet. Challenge accepted!

cals-2360 (790), exerc-body sculpt at the Y. Not much improvement today I am afraid.

cals-1810(240 from treats), ex-step class at the Y. Well, those are much better results. Maybe I am finally going to make some progress. Gosh, I hope so.

Marie-so glad you are back. Sorry about the illness. I have been through some pretty bad asthma situations with my kids-thank God for those drugs. Take it easy and get better. Thanks for the thoughts on my work situation. Yeah, I know what you are saying but there are a few good things about the job-like a sweet commute and way flex hours. I have found a way to keep my inner peace-I just didn't understand the entire situation but I think I have it figured out now.

cals-1780(270 from sugar), ex-body sculpt class at the Y. I am happy with that. I think tracking the sugar calories along with the total is helping a bit. I read somewhere that the calories from sugar other than whole fruit should be quite small in a healthy diet so I am really making an effort. I find myself weighing in my mind my choices before I consume them-thinking I can have this or that but not both or the total will be too high. We'll see how this goes. The weekend is likely a total washout though-I have been invited to a girls weekend in a cabin in the mountains. Just to give you an idea I am bringing a breakfast casserole, a grasshopper pie, a bottle of wine and Chex Mix!

I fasted today for religious reasons...I ate dinner at 7:30 pm. A healthy green salad, tomatoes, peppers and 1/2 avocado. Now I am drinking tea and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow I will eat sensibly again.

Excellent Lucinda! I used to be part of a group that was supposed to fast on Fridays during Lent. I always, always blew it. So much for self discipline. I am working on my self control though. My life would be so much easier if I was a whole lot better at it.

We are here for eachother Terapet! I am sending positive vibes your way!

Tera ~ you are not alone in the struggle with self control. That is what has gotten me where I am.

Lucinda ~ good job on your self control for your fast.

Marie ~ sorry you ended up sick after your trip ~ hope you feel better soon.

It has been so busy here, I've only been able to read but not post.

We have had Maddie here all day every day this week ~ spring break from school. And last night we had her overnight ~ mommy had to go to Dallas for her work. Maddie is still asleep, so I am grabbing that moment to check in

I did get one day last week that I got the exercise in ~ 15 minutes on the treadmill in the morning and a 15 minute bike ride in the evening.

Yesterday it was a beautiful day so DH, Maddie and I went for a bike ride to a couple of the nearby neighborhood parks.

Someone had suggested one time that I could get in more exercise if I went on bike rides more frequently with Maddie. She can be so sweet, but is one of those strong willed kids. I worry that she will get in a snit about something (like she did yesterday) and take off (like she did yesterday) on me and I couldn't catch her. Thank God DH was with us ~ he can keep up and somehow is able to deal with her when she gets to acting out. She and I seem to lock horns, and I seem to say all the wrong things and end up making it worse. And she has (unfortunately) a mouth on her. I blame that on Daddy and his mom. I hate it when she opens her mouth and daddy comes out. Grrrrrrr. My sweet little girl can be rotten.

I'd better get off and get dressed. DGS Corbin had put in a request for service from "Grandma's taxi" this morning. Wouldn't do to show up in my jammies

Hope you all have a nice day.

Hi everyone! Survived a very long work weekend last weekend (including just 3 hours in bed Sunday (from 5:30 am to 8:30 am), and a long week of work and shorter nights too, but it's Friday and I don't work this weekend so, yay me! :-D SOOO looking forward to sleeping in (hopefully!) tomorrow morning and catching up a bit.

I think the calorie counting is finally starting to work. It's slow going, but I'll take it as long as the trend keeps heading in the right direction. Had my long-overdue annual GYN exam last Friday and told him I was working at it and his comment was "It definitely gets harder as we get older. We need to reduce calories and increase activity just to maintain -- to lose takes even more effort." Yeah, I'm seeing that. LOL I think the different mindset this time is the key. I would LOVE to find time to exercise daily, even just a walk, but normally my days don't allow it. But the difference this time is that I'm ok with that. When I can go for a walk, I take advantage of it and figure one day is better than no days, and I don't beat myself up over the other days -- or worse yet, figure if I can only do it one day, what's the point. Part of the bigger picture, but also taking this in steps instead of the overwhelming "all or nothing" thinking I've had before. I couldn't wrap my head around it or find time to figure out how to track my diet (whatever method I was going to do, which I didn't have "time" to figure out either), how to fit in the exercise, how to keep it semi-low carb, etc., etc., etc. This time, I was ready to just "start" and run that baseline and figure over time I'll tweak things and add to it until I get to a better baseline. I don't know what switched, but I'm so grateful for the fresh start and perspective! I was kind of stuck for a few weeks weight-wise, but just after that GYN appt, I dropped a couple of pounds, and then another a couple of days after that (I was just about at the point of seeing a dietician to figure out what to do to make it work, but I'll hold off a bit since the scale likes me this week LOL). I love the MFP app and RunKeeper (not that I run, ha ha!) and how they work together, and I think technology is making this more fun this time...or as fun as all of this can be. Of course, sharing this journey with all of you makes a huge difference too!

Anyway, as of yesterday, I am down exactly 8 lbs from early January, and sticking right around 1200 calories a day (mostly just under, but a couple of times over by 100-200 inadvertently because of a new meal or something I wasn't expecting when I looked it up....learning experiences!). I've been hungrier this week than before, but I'm trying to come up with snack ideas, etc. to fill the gaps.

Gayle, I think it's so wonderful that you get to be so involved with your grandchildren, though I'm sorry Maddie has her challenging moments and doesn't see the awesomeness that is her grandmother just yet. She'll come around, though! Glad the weather has been good enough for bike rides again!

Marie, so sorry your Mexican vacation was marred by illness! The asthma really made that challenging and the other is just plain not fun. I hope you're feeling a lot better by now!

Tera, your exercise every day is inspiring. You're in a zone. The idea to track sugar in addition to calories is a great one. Sometimes that visual reminder can make a huge difference in what we ultimately decide.

Lucinda, kudos to you for the fast day. That can't be easy, but I'm glad you found the meaning in it all and that it was a good, powerful day for you!

Sorry this got so long, and that I haven't checked in for a while. I need to stop by while I'm working and say hi so it will be short and sweet....another goal for me. ;-)

Off to enjoy college basketball tonight on TV (local team's conference tournament game) and relax a little tomorrow. Sunday it's an early-rise day with a 1-1/2 hour drive to Anaheim for drum corps rehearsal for my oldest while I spend the day with the other 2 kids at Disneyland, pick up the oldest in the evening, and head back to Disneyland for a few more hours before driving back home. So much for a day off....but, hey, exercise walking around the theme parks counts for something. :-)

Happy Friday!