40-Somethings - 40-Somethings Week 4 Chat

Wow…. You ladies are always so active over the weekend. Mack and I cleaned the garage and pool area so never made it to the park with the pups.

I’ve got a dentist appointment this morning for my final crowns and the rest of the day I’ll be catching up on calls and getting Mack’s ditty bag and first aid kit packed. He leaves for Mexico on Friday for two weeks (I soooo want to go…. It’s our 2nd home).

I have decided to call my doc today and see if I need a referral for my knee or if I can just go in and get an x-ray. It doesn’t really hurt (execpt when I touch it) but now that the swelling is gone it feels (hard knot) unlike any “soft” tissue injury I have had in the past. I also need to check on my referral to the GYN for an issue she found when I was there for my annual a couple weeks ago. It sucks getting older but it sure beats the alternative.

Heidi – I have a 3 lb. fluctuation when on plan. If I add a couple beers or a day of not so great choices it goes up to 5 lbs. The nice thing about the 5 lbs. is that within two days it’s gone.

Renee – Good to see you here again. The 90 day journaling is a great idea. I have found that just putting my food in FitDay keeps me from slipping into REALLY bad habits. I have logged EVERYTHING since I started on December 15, 2008.

Patch – WTG on starting the treadmill, don’t over do it.

WLW – I think I would have to return that scale.

Pres – I’m not big on meds but is it possible to take the minimum dose without nasty side effects?

GJ – Thank for the link regarding CSA, I’m going to check out what is available in our area.

Marie – Glad the wrist is back to where it was. Sorry, I had to laugh about the scales…. I’ve gone so far as to have Mack hide them but I always go looking and find them within a couple days.

Sorry I was all over the place, I know I missed some of you. I need to run and go take care of my friends dogs before I come back and get ready for my dentist appointment. I’ll be back later today.

Have a GREAT day everyone.

presmaggie: that sounds like a lovely evening out! Especially walking along the harbour.

Marie: so glad that your wrist is better!

patchworkpenguin: yay for getting DH to get out the treadmill and, especially, for using it!

Velveteen: a 90 day journal challenge sounds like the perfect way to get things moving again!

CruiseCAT: hope the dentist appointment goes well.

I walked with a friend yesterday on the most difficult, hilly walk that I do. I can tell my muscles are stronger going up the hills. Still waiting for an improvement on the breathlessness.

Penguin, I hear you on the choc triumphs over all. Non-choc desserts just mean that I will find choc regardless. I love dark choc (hate milk choc) and it satisfies quick but it would be nice to have vanilla and be satisfied. And way to go on the walk/jog with the treadmill. That sounds fun! I’ve never heard of CC.

Renee, I like your self-challenge. 90 days of journalling will definitely help you make great choices.

Cruise, I totally sympathize with the health train. It just keeps rolling through. I think in my 20’s I couldn’t have handled all the little bumps in the road. Now (older) it’s just part of life. I hope your knee, crown and GYN conversations all go smoothly.

Joy, the breathing up the hill will improve. If my asthmatic lungs can now climb our little mountains, anybody can get that level. So I KNOW you can because you are doing great.

I had the oddest compliment/non-compliment the other day. A neighbor, about 65 yo, was chatting with me and my friend. He said, “Marie, you’re no skin and bones” after the discussion that I’m always freezing cold. My friend (another Marie) was aghast and I was pleased. I’ve had so many people tell me that I’m getting too thin but I still see I’m still fat. No one has ever uttered anything near to the idea I still need to lose a few more pounds. I took the comment as the truth and I liked it. My friend (who is larger) was not pleased. It was interesting because it reaffirmed what I see in myself is correct. That 149 is not my right weight, that 135 may be more likely. When I get there I’ll re-evaluate but it was interesting. So… would you all have been offended or appreciative about the honesty?
Marie

Hubby and I ate at Chili's; this is there annual "all profits go to St Jude Research Hopsital day". This is the third year in a row we have accidentlly participated. We split a chicken sandwich but didn't order the Molten Lava Cake. I gained a lb dispite yesterdays exercise so I'm trying to do this right!

www.championusa.com is having their semi-annual bra sale! I ordered a few things to try. They have a great return policy, so you can try the bras out and if you don't like them still return them. If you've never ordered don't go by their sizing because they ask you to add 5 inches to the band size ??. I just buy the size that I normally wear and that seems to fit. Hubby found a banner at Ford Truck Enthusiasts {no I'm not kidding} that will give you an extra 10%off your final order. I like them because they have larger plus sizes and the bras actually control bounce without smashing you flat.

Since I'm having a little trouble moving my legs I thought I'd try some upper body work today!

I seem to be losing my mind. I also post daily on an exercise forum. I wrote my post there, reviewed it but didn't hit submit. So I go back to post my workout, and there my post still sits. {Rolls eyes}

So I add my workout, then hit submit.

Then I come here to post my workout and see what everyone is up to and find I did the same thing here. I wrote, reviewed, but never submitted!

So here is my workout. I did 26 upper body exercises {mostly taken from STS, a DVD strength training system I did earlier this year} on my own. Its been a long time since I've tried anything without a DVD instruction, but it was kinda fun. I did 16 counts {except for the two kinds of pushups I only did 10 each} and used 5's and 10's for my weights. My warmup, workout, and stretch took about 30min! I tried to rotate between body parts {such as doing bicep curls then shoulder raises, to give my mucles a rest between exercises} but I was picking exercises randomly from a list, also.

I think I'll refine my list and try this workout again. I made a lower body list while I was at it. I'm thinking of making two workouts which both rotate UB and LB exercises {more muscle resting}, and doing these every other workout with a treadmill workout in between.

{Ah, ha, I went to hit submit and hit preview again instead, maybe that's is my problem??}

Marie, http://www.cardiocoach.com/ These are audio only MP3 interval programs. I like 1 and 5 the best. There's also www.iTrain.com but I don't have any of those, I've only heard about them. If you go to iTrain and type in NAT2009 as your coupon code, you can get a free download {not sure how long that lasts}. I tried this once but got a different download than the one I ordered so haven't tried it again. iTrain has many different kinds of workouts, while CC is moslty cardio.

Since its unlikely that anyone would mistake me for being skin and bones, I'm not sure how I would take the comment. Percenption is a funny thing. When I weighed close to 300lbs I thought the people around me were too skinny but when I started to lose weight I thought these same people looked more normal than too skinny.

After spending more than three hours at the dentist I didn't get ANY of my calls made yesterday. Worse than spending so long in the chair is the fact that I have to go back. One of my permanent crowns didn't come it. Would have been nice if they had called so I could come in and get another impression and all three could have been done at the same time.

Still need to call my doc back; called while they were out for lunch yesterday and then didn't think about it again until I was going to bed.

Marie - As for the comment I personally feel it was inappropriate. Weight is one of those issues that unless you are VERY close AND asked for an opinion you don't give it.

Patch - Thanks for the CC link. I'll have to check it out. WTG on the upper body workout...... looks good.

Hi, everyone. Busy here.

CruiseCAT how annoying about the dentist... good luck with all your docs!

Marie I probably wouldn't be offended or pleased. I would just let it roll over me. BTW, I think you are looking great!

Penguin thanks for the bra link; I'll have to check it out!

Hi Girls, always happy to be back here with you all :)

Day 2 down of journaling (well, the days not over yet but I already logged everything and I'm a point over so that's the end of that!) - I know it's early days, but that whole sense of control comes back when I journal again and it's so very empowering!! Yesterday I was right on the mark, this morning I went out and did a total of 6 K, 5 of which was jogging (so approx 33 min jogging an 10 min walking), and then pretty much stuck to my plan for today. I'm working from home today (well, just finished), because *I* had to go to the dentist (sorry that got screwed up for you Cat!!!) for my yearly cleaning and check up. Usually when I'm at home I'm a little be more "free" with my choices - not today!

Hope everyone is doing well today and I wish you a great day!

huh. Marie - i find it a very strange thing to say. I get comments now and again and being in the Netherlands is a whole different ballgame. I've developed quite a thick skin actually. What is rude or inappropriate to me is just a Dutch person "being honest". What your ultimate goal weight should be is a tough call and SO personal. Can that person see the "fat" that you see? Can anyone? And what's the definition of "skin and bones" (and if she said you were skin and bones would that have upset you because of the "fat" you see on yourself)? You see, it's so personal that it really actually is inappropriate and nobody's business but your own.

I hope that made sense!!!

Marie: love your story about your neighbor and the way you felt about it. I think, as a culture, we've lost sight of what a healthy weight is. So many of us are overweight that it's starting to seem normal. Unless you spend too much time reading fashion magazines and then "too thin" looks like normal weight. Maybe people over 65 have a better eye than us younger folks do.

patchworkpenguin: your self-designed workouts sound great!

CruiseCAT: bummer about the dentist. Hope that the other doctor stuff goes well.

Velveteen: way to go with your journaling, eating, and exercise!

Busy day. I better get to the grocery store while I still have breakfast in my tummy so that I'm not overly tempted by things.

thanks Gardener!!

So, I was thinking that I didn't really have any progress pics yet. I thought I would share with you girls - I have kind of shied away from the camera for so long now, but I did take a photo in April 2008, and I was pretty much exactly the same in April 2009 (in fact was wearing the same clothes). Each year I made failed attempts but this time it really *is* different. Hubby took a pic of me today, though not exactly the same pose.

First one is Apr 08 at 96 KG or 212 lbs, second one is 85 KG or 187 lbs.

Penguin, I love your statement about all things being relative. I probably saw the same thing when I was heavier. Thanks for that perspective. I’ve been struggling since I took the full body pics a couple weeks ago and all I saw was that I was fat. Since then I’ve struggled with the munchies and wanting bigger servings. I've stayed in my cal range but the food choices are not premier. I know it’s all in my head and I’ve fought it. Your perspective I think might help straighten my head out.

Cruise, ok, you really do have reason to hate dentists. Three hours and you’re not done? I guess they get to charge for an extra office visit. I’d distrust them to. I 100% agree comments about one’s weight is inappropriate but I’ve noticed that when you lose a significant chunk, then you’re fair game. To be honest, I don’t tell people how much I’ve lost. I just say “a bit”.

Newleaf, try to take a few minutes to relax in your busy week.

WTG Renee!!! Being at home and not munching is a wonderful victory. And your exercise is great. I envy people who can run. Asthma just won’t let me. I’ve tried to build up and the best I could do is a ½ mile. And then I’d be sucking on my ventolin all day. Not worth it but the envy doesn’t go away. And I love your breakdown of the weight comment. It made a lot of sense and perhaps I might be coming out of my struggle since posting the pics. It’s all relative and I “know” I am healthier (except the temp cold and asthma problems). That was the reason to do this and I think in the last couple months I lost that in the muck about looking good. I need to remember I’m 48, middle age. I love your progress pics. You are doing wonderful. Your face looks so different as well as the rest of you! :carrot:


Joy, your perspective is awesome as well. I’m really glad I asked. I’ve been confused lately and this has really helped. Healthy, my original reason, needs to be front and center as the reason I lose the 14 remaining pounds.

Our weather has changed and winds have finally blown the nasty smoke away. That’s one plus in my asthma starting to recover, I hope, but the cold has moved to the chest and my bronchial tubes are angered. I started monitoring my peak flows and I’ve lost 20% of my lung capacity. No wonder I feel like crap. I sort of tried not to exercise after work last night and failed. I did do the elliptical. I took 3 minutes longer to go the same distance and I lowered the resistance level to 3 from 6-7 so my lungs woudn’t be too taxed. And the doggies need their daily walk. So I would say I am very addicted to exercise. Perhaps even more so than the cocoa bean. :D

Marie

Hi everyone! Drive by again - it's week 2 of 2 of craziness. Just gotta make it to Sunday night ... recovered back down to the ticker weight, and hauling on toward Halloween. :) Hope everyone is finding success and sticking to plan! Hugs!

Its so nice outside I have my windows open. There's a female and male cardinal outiside chirping there fool heads off on my patio. April wants to go outside and chase them away. I put a bird feeder outside a few weeks ago but we haven't had much interest, maybe the birds finally found it.

I'm planning a low steady state treadmill walk today. I made a list of my 60 {?!] favorite exercises and arranged them into two workouts with 30 exercises each. Both have more upper body than lower but the upper body has many more muscles so that's to be expected. The average is about 2 UB to every 1 LB but I can live with that, LOL. I have many strength training workouts on DVD but I'm just not interested in doing them right now. They all have something 'wrong' with them. Too hard, too many squats, too many compound moves. I guess everyone needs a change and this is mine. Right now this is what is motivating me, so I'd better go with it.

Velveteen, Great pictures; thanks for posting them.

Marie, I'm glad I was able to help! Perspective is a very funny thing.

Cruise, Eeek on the dentist! One appointment would have been better for you!

LOL, I remembered to hit 'submit' today!

I spent 1:20 min on the treadmill. I wasn't intending THAT long of a workout, but I got involved in a movie. {Sabrina and Linus got together once again! :hug: } I walked 8,311 steps.

I have been really busy the past several days with work (I am the asst mgr of a mental health phone support line) and the regular old family stuff. I wrote down what I ate but was lax on checking calories and today I am back to checking calories.

The scale is not budging right now and I think I need to pay closer attention to portions, staying under my calories and exercise!:exercise: So many of you are doing such varied exercise programs, it inspires me to do more than just walk at work on breaks. I have asked my boyfriend to start walking with me at night and he said he would....we walked a big 15 minutes tonight, lol. I will keep at it and do my best and hopefully that scale will budge on Thursday when I weigh in. :goodscale

Hi everyone! I've been on and off the last couple of days. Had a very good day today until I got home from school and then I started snacking. Felt bad about it so I skipped dinner. Rode the exercise bike while I watched Biggest Loser trying to make up for it. Tomorrow will be a better day. I just want to get back into the "zone". I almost feel like I am thinking about it all too much! Does anyone else ever feel that way?

Welcome back Velveteen! Thanks for posting your pics! Keep up the good work!

Velveteen: you look great! Thanks for sharing such inspiring progress pics!

Marie: I can't run either. For me, it's Iliotibial Band Syndrome. I have some small hope that when I lose the weight, the physiology will change and I'll recover that ability. But no way to know until I get there.
You are addicted to exercise! There are worse things, of course, but take care of yourself and your lungs! Glad the smoke is gone.

ICUwishing: yay for being at ticker weight!

patchworkpenguin: sounds like a great exercise plan! Do you watch the original Sabrina or the remake?

Hydra: you're doing a great job of working yourself through this plateau. I'm sure a little tweak here and there will get things going again.

Onmyway: I'm no where near to the place where I'm thinking too much! But I can imagine getting to that place of knowing what works and just doing it. I'm sure you'll work it out!

Busy day, today. Prepping for landscape class, prepping for a conference next week, a visit from our HVAC guy to map out some next steps, landscape class. But I have a food plan and think I have a strategy to sneak in some exercise, so we'll see how it goes.

Renee - welcome back! Love your new avatar - your face looks thinner! Journaling - thumbs up! It's the key thing for me.
Heidi - maybe you don't like the exercise, but you are certainly getting it done!
hydra - I love artistic jewelry - would love to see some pics!
wyndy - welcome aboard!
Cindy - waiting to hear how your appts went. Dentist sounds like a nightmare, grrrr!
gardener - farm tour sounded fun! Getting outside this time of year is the best - no sweating, less bugs!
dmc - it takes a while to get all of the pieces in place. You've identified your core problem (nights). If you're tracking it, you know about how many calories that night snacking is costing you. So spend a week and make the goal to cut those calories in half - not eliminate them. And cut it in half again each next week. It's a habit, nothing more. The Fat Queen that I am also suggests that you review that journal to see if there's something in your dinners that's not satisfying you. I know that fat is calorically dense, but it's also very satisfying.
pres - salsa's the lowfat option. Cheese and peanut butter have been there. Diced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar are very good, hummus is filling (I really have to watch portion control on that one!), and I've even just scooped black beans out of the can with celery. :) And I agree with dmc - when the scale doesn't move, whip out the measuring tape!
vjack - your restraint with the chips is awesome. Not sure I could do it - chips are one of those banned foods for me right now.
marie - I can attest that eating 12000 calories a day requires planning! If I wasn't in the pool or in class or asleep, I had food in my mouth! Sorry to hear you're suffering and I hope it's getting better. Nothing fun about not having full lung capacity. :( Regarding your run-in with the neighbor, I don't know what I'd do with that. At 23 pounds off, not ONE person has said anything either way to me voluntarily.
wlw - how are you liking the food scale so far? I think I can pinpoint weighing what I eat as one of the key "aha's" in my loss - I really did have no idea what a portion was until I got one!
patch - keep kickin' butt on the treadmill! I need to find a spot for mine - DH will bellyache if it's out, but oh well. It needs to come out. I'm just boggled by your workouts - tells me how much further I have to go!
OMW - my biggest downfall hours are the ones between arriving home from work, and the start of dinner. About the "zone" - I haven't found it in 9 months so far. I've just had to accept that some small bit of attention is going to have to be devoted to what I put in my mouth, forever, cuz my intuition about food is way whacked. :) There's some comfort in the realization that I can either think about the way I eat, or think about how unhappy I am being overweight ... easy choice!

Another half pound down. 150's not going to be the final answer - I'm still carrying way too much fluff in my belly and thighs. I'm thinking I can probably call it the "red-line", as the maintainers say ... but still more work to do. :) I cannot believe how much better I feel - definitely inspired to stay down here!

ICU, is the turtle avatar still representing the difficult time? I hope not and that things are improving. Sunday is just around the corner. And wow, no one has said anything??? No wonder you’re bummed. Compliments or just weird comments at least give reinforcement to efforts. I’d say you surround yourself with vision impaired people because 23 pounds will always be noticeable. You are doing fabulous. And congrats on the additional pound being permanently eradicated from your life. :goodscale
Penguin, you are doing great with the exercise dedication. Great job! :carrot:


Hydra, 15 minutes extra of walking is 15 minutes of exercise. Never discount that. Good luck with those fickle scales. Nice one day, nasty the next.

OMW, oh yes I feel I think about it too much. It’s like my life is dedicated to it and if I were a thin person I’d have nothing to think about. But when I don’t obsess (dr. description not mine) then I gain weight. So I’d rather be obsessive.

Joy, after your landscape class, please, please visit southern Oregon and landscape my yard. Pretty please!!!! :D


ICU and OMW, put me in the arriving home to dinner as a munchies moment. I’ve started planning my calories for breakfast and lunch to include my 165 cal protein mocha right after work so that it kills that desire to graze through my kitchen.

So my lung capacity continues to be a problem and I was a little concerned about using my elliptical. So last night I took the peak measurement before I started. I used my pro-air, ellipticalled, then took another reading. It read the same. So being the obsessive twit I am, I figured no harm no foul. I wasn’t any worse so it must be ok. Very scientific of me to get my way. Today I feel better cold/cough wise and the smoke continues to be gone so I have hope that my lungs/bronchial tubes will recover without more prednisone. I become a raving, lunatic b!tch when I take it so I try so hard to avoid it. My husband and co-workers all like when I avoid it. :D I will never, ever understand why people deliberately choose to take steroids.

Marie

Well, nice to see you all here again!

Cruise, sorry you are spending so much time at the dentist, but it will be worth it.

Velvetine, I am counting too, its hard! I always go over so if you have any tips for zero or one point treats, let me know. Would be appreciated.

Gardener, def. better to shop on a full tummy!

OnMyWay, working out to biggest loser seems to be a trendy thing. I know lots of people doing it! Awesome.

ICUWishing, congrats on the half pound. Wish it was me. I seem stuck!

Marie, I am not sure I would like someone to tell me that I am not skin and bones. Number one, it is so obvious in my case that it does not need to be said, and number two, it just seems...well, inappropriate and snide. I would be offended and probably would have become defensive. YOu are a bigger person than me. I probably would have clobbered'em! lol

Well, didn't lose last week, close still very lose and getting looser so I am hoping for one pound this week. Girls, I have got to get the night eating stopped. I have to close up that darn kitchen,. I don't know what the emotional big deal is that makes me do that! Ugh!

Nice to see you all!

ICU, My folding treadmill is currently taking up space in the little used dining room. Getting it out is a pain, and putting it up is worse. Leaving it out isn't an option at all. To use it I have to move it into the middle of the living room, but then there's only a few feet to walk around to get out of the room.

Joy, It just occured to me I have a cousin named Joy. My family isn't very close; I've only met this Joy twice. I watched the remake of 'Sabrina' with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. I'm not a big gan of either Bogart or Audrey Hepburn so I've never been able to make it through that version.

Hydra, 15 min walk is a good start. More than I can get my Hubby to do.

It was a wee bit chilly this morning {50*}. It actually feels cool in the house today. I need to bake a birthday cake for my friend. At least with a cake I can't nibble while I bake as with last week's cookies.

Planning on workout one today.

Okay, that took longer than I thought. I just finished workout 1, which took 55 min. I took a short break {1min or so} after every 10 exercises and a few other breaks besides. {pant, pant}. I have a few exercises mixed in that spike my heartrate, such as skaters, but I prefer to concentrate on weights. Near the end I started looking at the last few exercises thinking "do I really need to do these?", LOL. But I survived. I decided to rearrange a few things, so I have arrows criss-crossing my list. I used more weights [dumbbells] ranging from 5's to 20's for legwork. I'm rather pleased that I haven't lost a lot of strength over the summer hiatus, my weights aren't exacty where they were during the beginning of the year, but they are still close. I was thinking of typing the workouts into Word so I can print a fresh sheet for each workout, and keep track of the weights I used to gauge my improvements.

I haven't baked the cake yet, lucky for me we are having leftovers for dinner.

way to go penguin!

Patchwork, great job on the exercise! you are very dedicated!

DMC, how your clothes fit is just a big of deal as a drop on the scale. Keep at it! Do you have Trader Joe's near you. I bought some puffed corn cheese curls there. 1 1/4 cups for 1 point or 70 calories. Kind of like a white cheese cheeto. When I measured them out and put them in a bag I was surprised at how much you could have for 1 point.

Marie, Hope your breathing continues to improve. I admire your determination!

ICU, I'm bummed for you that no one has noticed you have lost over 20 pounds. Compliments are very motivating and you deserve the recognition for your efforts.

Joy, I would like more info about your CSA. Can you pm me some of the details since you are in my area?

Hydra, 15 minutes is a good start. Having someone to walk with makes the time go quicker!

Off to work! Hope everyone has a great day!

Marie and OMW - thanks for the sympathies! My mom is doing WW and we've both lost about the same ... but she's already starting in on the "you'd better stop - you're getting too thin." Um, yeah, not quite. :) My favorite quote was from my son - he gave me a hug and said "You're easier to get around now." Thank goodness for the community here - this support never wavers. :hug:
patch - with all those things working against you re the treadmill, I give you even more :high: for working it in! Great job with the exercise and figuring out how to make it simpler with technology. How'd the cake baking go?
Marie - I hope your lungs are recovering, and I can appreciate why you wouldn't want to take the steroids. I've experienced the personality change second-hand when a friend had to take them - it's like Jekyll and Hyde!

32 degrees here this morning - it's officially our killing frost. I introduced DS10 to the seat heaters in my Escape this morning - he was enthralled with the idea of a warm tush. :)

September was a good month - 4 pounds and another inch gone. Assuming I stay with the program (and I will), October's going to mean "goal". I say "goal" because I'm not going to be done, but I think I'm going to be switching over to some measurement goals. Dunno - gotta start thinking about the "where do I go from here?". It IS a little scary; this has been my big project for 2009 and yet it's not "done". I think ... I'm going to just keep eating the way I have been, and let the weight come off. There's going to be a point where I'll be hitting maintenance at this level and it'll stop where it stops. I guess ... but I'm open to suggestions! :shrug:

ICUwishing: Yay for another 1/2 pound gone! Have you started hanging out on the maintainers thread? I'm so far from that so I haven't been there, but I've seen other posts suggesting they can be pretty helpful about how to figure out the end game.

Marie: the landscaping class went pretty well, but not well enough to start on someone else's project! We didn't make that much progress on our own, but it's defintitely a start. Glad your lungs seem to be improving a bit day by day. Clever of you to work out that the exercise didn't seem to be doing any harm.

dmc2009: have I mentioned Judith Beck's books? She's very good at about helping change behaviors like eating at night.

patchworkpenguin: Joy isn't a very common name but it's out there -- for some reason, I've run into more Joys since I got into librarianship about five years ago than I had my entire life before. Sounds like you're ready to get that workout into Word -- you'll be able to change it more easily, too.

We're having rain and thunder right now. I have chicken stock started. And tonight I'll make a Native American fall stew called sobaheg. Should be appropriate for the weather. I make the stew with salmon so it's quite nutritious.

DMD, LOL – no clobbering:D. I really don’t think the comment was intended to offend or compliment. It was more a statement of facts. And it is a fact. And try journaling your thoughts and feelings before you allow yourself to take a bite at night. I’m betting after a couple journals, you’ll be able to figure out the emotional trigger.

Penguin, I’ve had that self thought of do I really need to when exercising. Last week (during my I don’t care struggle) I then said to myself (aloud even) You want this then you reach for this. I think I’m a nutcase but it worked. I’ve used it a couple times when I just wanted to eat (only one other time exercising). It’s now my mantra. Because I REALLY want it (to lose the rest).

OMW, now I’m wanting a trader joes. The puffed curls sound wonderful for mindless munching. Everyone needs a safety valve like that.

ICU, LOL at the Jekyll and Hyde. :dizzy: That is a truly perfect description. Today the lungs feel better. I didn’t take a measurement because it always causes a coughing fit and I was enjoying the quiet morning. And oh my gosh!!! :carrot::carrot::carrot:Way to go on the 4 pounds gone. I’d be dancing on the ceiling dancin’ away if I lost 4 pounds in a month. You are doing so great. Can I offer a suggestion to answer your where to go from here. Have someone take a few straight on, level full body pictures of you. Print them out then put them on your fridge. When you look at them, I bet you’ll see what you want to do. If you’re happy with what you see, then you’re at goal and onto the maintainer stage. If not, go down a few more pounds and repeat the process. I’d thought about stopping at 149 but those full on pics made me realize that I really wasn’t done.

Joy, I’m glad you had a good time at the class. I was joking about doing our landscaping – Bambi eats everything, including the plants with the X through bambi. We live in the desert and bambi doesn’t get picky when the mountain melt off is gone about the end of June.

Today is a no elliptical day so I bummed around the house this morning and will walk the doggies with DH after work. Since it was 28 degrees this morning, I thought after work sounded better.
Marie

Joy, My cousin was adopted and they got her around Christmas so they named her Joy Noel.

ICU, The cake is baked but I have to add the choc icing. Its a Mississippi Mud cake. You bake the regular cake and while its warm top with Marshmellow Fluff, then top with choc icing. Usually the cake is hot and melts the fluff and icing together. Since I baked it yesterday hopefuly it will be better this way, less messy anyway. we could always heat the cake when we get to her house.

I had an interesting EATING BREAKTHROUGH yesterday. I came home and decided I was going to do something FUN, I don't feel I've had time to do anything fun in a while. So I walked around the house looking for something FUN to do and next thing I know I'm in the kitchen eating something. Because I never realized before that eating is FUN! I know its yummy and I like to do it but I never considered it fun before. Having realized this I'm not really sure what it means or what to do about it but its something to think about.

marie - thanks for the photo idea. I need to do that anyway. I still cannot find the picture that started this whole thing ... but I did find one that was almost as bad. I do need to get something current to compare it to.

gardenerjoy - I "lurk" over on Maintainers, but started posting again. I also signed on with the Featherweights - there are several ladies over there with the exact same issue I'm wrestling with on the last couple of pounds.

patch - good grief! I think I gained weight just reading that description for the cake! Nice epiphany with eating being "fun". I totally agree - the eating part is fun. It's the aftermath that hasn't been too fun! :)

Coasting down to the end of the "wild times". DH left to go salmon fishing this morning, and DS and I will be hopping a plane to Raleigh NC tomorrow afternoon for the weekend. Today was supposed to be insane, but once I got to work, several of the meetings fell off the table and left some productive time. :D The crockpot is bubbling at home as I type, so dinner is covered. Now if I can just get to bed at a decent hour tonight, I should be golden. I'm leaving the laptop at home this weekend - going to devote undivided attention to DS10 and just plain enjoy being with him. :)

gardenjoy - thanks lady. I have been staying on plan and upping my walking time. My next weigh in is on Sunday.

ICU - I will try and post pics of some of the jewelry I make:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a305/The_Hydra/necklace032909.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a305/The_Hydra/IM001085.jpg
I think it's great that you are almost at "goal" and you seem very comfortable and confident about your plans.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement through this plateau. Lost a half pound this past week. I will have time to get in a lot of exercise this weekend. I am still doing the callanetics but they wear me out after about 20 minutes. I will keep at them and increase my walking.

Morning all! I didn't have to get up early today but my body/mind had other plans. So I got up, ate breakfast, and did CC1 again. Now I'm hungery again.

I have an eye dr appointment today. This is the guy who's supposed to fix my double vision, but I'm assuming this is going to take a few appointments to get right. Sigh.

Back to Chat later.

Great pics Hydra, thanks for posting! You're obviously much better at jewelry making than I am!

Penguin, I do have to agree. Eating is fun. The tastes, the smells, the textures. But ICU is so right – it’s the afterwards that isn’t. That’s where that balancing act has to come into play.

Hydra, your jewelry is beautiful. I love the earring in the bottom left corner. Congrats on the half pound. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept that the weight loss rate is so slow in our forties.

I did the elliptical today and upped the resistance one notch for a bit and my speed is back to where it was pre-smoke/pre-cold. My asthma readings are better, only down 15% now. So perhaps I will be able to full tilt elliptical someday soon again. At least I know I didn’t lose any progress while sick.


And it is Friday!!! How perfect is that. I love Fridays best of all days of the week. The anticipation of weekend makes this day special.


Marie

The eye doc was very nice. He gave me a perscription for glasses with a prism, which I took to another eye doc to get filled. We pay for 'vision' benefits which apparently only puts $100 towards the frames. Why do we pay for this again? Are we even breaking even? I wanted frameless glasses and she showed me some and I picked out some lenses shaped like a barrel on its side. I'm not sure how much this will cost but she's making a mock-up of them to measure me for the bi-focals. Probably more than I'm expecting.

Marie, good job on the elliptical settings!

I ordered two more bras; one new to me while the other is a different size of one I ordered last. The online sizing chart wants me to add 5 inches to my band measurement then round it up to an even number. My chest is 37 + 5 = 42. What? The bra I ordered is a 38" {its too big} but when I measured it flat its actually 31" around. the new size is a 36. The one I like the best so far is the Shape Scoop-back Underwire

Marie: I think deer are the hardest problem to solve with plants. Our CSA farm is doing something with double fences that looks fairly clever. but probably not worth it if you aren't growing food to sell. Apparently, deer don't have depth perception, so instead of building a 12 foot high fence (which they still jump!) you can build two small fences about 18" apart. They can't tell how far away that inner fence is and the whole puzzle just kind of spooks them. So, they stay away.

patchworkpenguin: If my brother had been a girl, they would have named him Melody, so my mother could have a Joyous Melody.
Glad things are proceeding apace with the eye doctor. My most recent pair of glasses are my first pair of bifocals. I got the no-line kind at the suggestion of just about everyone and was astounded at the cost. I treat them very gently. They're frameless, which I like, but it does add to sensation that these are both expensive and delicate.

ICUwishing: hope you and DS10 have a wonderful weekend together!

Hydra: beautiful jewelery! Love the earrings with the stones encased in decorative wiring.

Today's big project was the last grocery shopping trip before I go out of town for a couple of day's next week. The shopping itself was no big deal, but the planning was huge. I want to minimize restaurant eating so I'm making stuff that I can pack to eat in my room. And, I'm making stuff to keep DH happy while I'm gone. And, our normal meals. My food planning is more to do list than menu.

Quick drive by. Thursday is quiz day and I am cramming plus I am so busy. I am really thinking I might be down one pound as for the last 2 nights I have been good girl.
OMY I am going to go to trader joes tomorrow or tonight and find those. It would be perfect, even popcorn has more points than that.
Love the jewelry!
Okay, wish me luck on the test and on the scale!

Well, lets hope the scale is nicer to me then the test. Ugh. Its awful, I am not very good at this class.

Oh well, its only money right. Tonight had a big dinner and already had 3 sugarfree popcycles. I need to go to bed.

Good luck on the wiegh ins tomorrow for those that are doing it.
dmc

Morning ladies, sorry I've been MIA the last few days.

Mack is on his way to our second home (Mexico) for a couple weeks so I WILL be around more. I do have a long "To Do List" but my number one priority is to get back to what worked when I first started my journey; working out first thing in the morning, not only logging my food but planning it out for the day, weekly pictures, monthly measurements, and daily posting here.

The weather has finally turned here, 70/80's during the day and dropping down to the 40's at night. Before Mack left last night we took our final swim before "closing" the pool. With a temp of 74 I was in and out in seconds.

Although my PAP came back clean my GP still wants me to see the GYN so I have that appointment on Tuesday. My final (hopefully) dental appointment is on the 16th. I did get authorization to have my knee x-rayed but still not sure I really need it. Although it doesn't hurt (just a little tender to the touch) it does still have the knot and my concern is that I may do more damage by now knowing what's going on.

Well the dogs are driving me nuts to go out..... I'll be back.

Thanks for the compliments on the earrings. I will be making some more this weekend.

Finally the scale budged today, two whole pounds! I think the additional time spent exercising has helped this week and I drank more water too.

My bf wants to grill out steaks for dinner and I thought it was nice he told me this morning so I can plan for a heavier meal tonight. He wants to make fries and corn with the meal...he is so meat and potatoes! lol And I am going to plan on a couple glasses of wine tonight as well. I have a nice merlot in the fridge.

I hope everyone has a good Saturday! :grouphug:

Well the dogs are in and tired out.

Just did pics, measurements, and weigh in and have to admit I'm not real happy with how September went; basically gained 10 lbs. Truth be told I've loss/gained the same 10 lbs. for months. My body really does like to stay around 150. As easy as it is to put it on it's equally as easy to take it off. It's getting down below 142 that seems to be elusive at this point.

Like I said in my previous post..... time to get serious.

:carrot: 141 this morning. AND it was really tuff to see the needle, did it possibly say 140??? I am going with 141 cause I just feel safer that way.

I was really good the last few nights, it just makes all the difference in the world for me. I have to keep doing that.

Today I am probably going to walk about 5 or 6 miles and stay on plan.

I have to go shopping so will pick up extra veggies to munch on. I plan on going to trader joes to check out the cheese puffs! :devil:

So even though I blew my test in class, I didn't over indulge last night, only 3 sugarfree popcycles instead of wine and popcorn! :p

Cruise, it is a new month!!!!

Hydra, fill up on the corn and potatoes with butter spray and small bites of meat, (harder said than done)!

Good luck!

dmc2009: So sorry the test didn't go well. So glad the scale went better!

CruiseCAT: I think you've got some good reasons for that knee X-ray. I had mine X-rayed once and got a diagnosis of osteo-arthritis. "Just" arthritis -- it's amazing how blase people are about that, including doctors. I was 39, at the time, so I thought it was a bigger deal than the people around me did. Anyway, it was useful to me. Besides not being serious enough to garner medical attention which was a relief as well as an annoyance, there are things that can be done for it -- I just had to do the research on my own. Losing weight, of course, is at the top of the list.

Hydra: I don't have steak often, but I do enjoy it when I do. And sandwiches from leftover steak are yummy, so there's a good reason to keep the portions small. I've been doing this recipe (http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2009/07/roasted_potatoes.html) in place of fries, but instead of roasting them, DH grills them in a basket on the grill along with the meat. A good salad would go nicely with your menu, whether or not BF eats some with you!

I hit a new low this morning. That was a long time coming! But it seems to be my pattern. I really find it useful to have you guys here in those long interims to remind me that eating less and exercising more really does work, even if I don't see that on the scale as often as I would like.

I have a hilly walk with a friend planned this afternoon and our favorite greens dish this evening. That should keep things moving for me!

Penguin, isn’t amazing how insurance plans always try to get out of paying much? We have double medical coverage and it still amazes me how much we pay out of pocket.

Joy, cool info on the fences. I will keep that in mind with my apple trees. They have one ring of fences around them but perhaps another is in order. I love the story of your mom’s Joyous Melody idea. Congrats on the new low!:carrot::carrot::carrot:

DMC, I hope the quizzes go well and that you are one pound down. Even more important is the 2 nights without munching. Excellent job. And congrats on your new reading. :carrot::carrot::carrot:You’re getting to a border weight. The “3”’s are just around the corner.

Cruise, ah the closing of the pool. DH has been closing mine all day. I haven’t swam for about 3 weeks since he was pushy about turning off the solar heaters since I wasn’t swimming daily. So I ignored the pool. Apparently a big, bad move as algae grew in it. The temp this morning was 65 and no heating for 3 weeks. It should have been 50 but we did have way hot weather. I think DH is cleaning it because he’s the one that pushed. Plus being sick, he’s being nice. :D It is sad to have the swim season end. On the knee, perhaps the lump is a blood bruise thingie that just needs to be reabsorbed. My animal behaviorist has that after an injury and it’s been about 6 weeks.

Hydra, yeah on the 2 pounds. :carrot::carrot::carrot: That’s exciting and you are doing so great. Your BF sounds very supportive.

Cruise, my DH is deploying for ~6 weeks on Monday morning. I figure I will really do a push for losing. I’ve lost about 2 pounds in sept but I’d rather push for 4. So you and I are in this together – the little old ladies with their doggies. :o;):D

Today I came to a conclusion/realization. I’ve been feeling about the same for 5 days at around 66% better. Not good, not bad. But every afternoon by 2 I am wiped out. At work I just have trouble keeping my eyes open. So today and tomorrow I’m going to take a nap and see it that helps. If I feel even slightly better by Monday, I’m going to listen to my body at work and go home sice every afternoon. I have loads of sick time and after 2 weeks, I’m sick of being sick. Hopefully it won’t come to that after resting loads in the afternoons. Today I napped with the doggies for 2 hours. It was heavenly and I am not tired this evening.

Marie

PS, wow, look at all the dancing carrots. Our group is doing great.

Hello everyone! :wave:

Just stopping by to say hi to all of you. Enjoy your weekend. :)