Hey violets,

Yesterday I went for a 30 minute walk it felt great. I ate well also. Last night slept horrible up at 4:30 staring at the ceiling. YUG!

My shins are a little sore today so I took the day off tomorrow I will walk again. Eating wasn't as good. But at least I didn't binge though so that's good. One step at a time.

Les I was addicted to soda as a teenager but luckily stopped in my 20's. I just have a Frescka Love it once in a blue moon. Just love that taste for some reason. Never was a Coke kinda girl.

Kuddos to you for being able to bake fresh cookies and not eat them. I couldn't. They would never last with my DH anyway. He loves when I bake but I bake very seldom now.

Lemon I agree with Les you make me feel lazy also. Especially that I am so limited after my operation. That is such a great feeling when your clothes start to fall off. It proves your program is working.

Amber sorry you are in a rough patch right now. Glad you enjoyed Boston.

Sami I would not like that traffic at all. That is good news that you are getting some much needed rain there. Any of the places that are having the fires are they getting this rain?

When I reach 50 pounds I want to do a happy dance first. Then go get as message...When I reach goal I want to enjoy it..And be proud that I finally have made it.

What is your favorite time of year and why? Mine is the fall. I love the crisp mornings and just the way everything feels so fresh. Nothing like putting clothes on the line or opening up all the windows in the house and getting that fresh air in. Also the fall colors. And of course Football!!!! I grew up with sports so I am a big sports fan.

LG

Lemon when I really need a snack in the afternoon, I am reaching for some fruit (mostly grapes lately but whatever I have around) with a small amount of either nuts or cheese. The nuts are really not calorie friendly, but they seem to fill me up and a small handful with some grapes will let me feel like I got a decent snack. The cheese can be a lot of calories or hardly any (laughing cow).

Mam, I am 100% with you. Fall forever!

More personals later: just thought I'd let you know my scale news for today it came in down 3.4 lbs! YEAH! That was awfully nice and gets me closer to leaving the 240s sooner than not. Keep on tracking. I have to run to town the long trip for some decorating supplies for DDs bike as she is riding in a parade this weekend and it needs to be decorated.I've done her bike in the past, but will let her do it this year as she's big enough to create her own. DS and I will be traveling together. If I go early enough then we don't have to do lunch until we get home. Got to keep on track w/shoving the fat out the window.

Happy day to you all!

Lemon

carrot:

LG

Shrinking Violet here saying I am happy w/today's progress. I will be having lunch here shortly so that will be good as it will be a salad w/ PROTEIN - ok a chicken breast, but that seems to be what gets me through until dinner.

Mam: My favorite is fall and then spring, summer, winter. Fall is super colorful around here, unless of course we get into a rainy spell which cuts the bright oranges and reds quickly and leaves the yellow and golds out there. I love the crisp days, the orchards, the pumpkin patches, the end of summer festivals, and even the fire pit in the backyard as the bugs are pretty much gone. Spring I like next because it offers such hope and color for the months following and I am one who tires of snow past new years. Too bad - I am definitely in a state that has it's fair share of snow

Les: how was your scale today? Hopefully it told you some nice numbers. How often are you doing the baking for others?

Hello Violets!

AM: So last night I went to the gym to move. Mind you rural town old folks home: so it was me, another gal my age on the treadmill and a guy who came in to lift weights. Since there are windows in front of the area I am in and it was getting dark I had reflections of what was behind me. Do all guys grunt and yell when weight lifting and then EVERY stinking time go by the mirror and flex his guns and give himself a smirk? It was crazy. The gal left fairly well into it, the guy spent 45 mins walking between weight machines and doing 6 reps, evidently too heavy for him as he'd be shaking his arms out after each one - maybe bad blood flow? Who knows, but it was a new experience. And why do guys not clean off the equipment when they are done like they are suppose to (my DH included)? I don't get it.

Happy w/the scale today. I will keep on the number of calories Noom is giving me and hope to stay within. It did drop them a bit more today w/the new weight, so that is hopefully a help as well. And I found weighing myself once a week was much better for my psyche.

QOD: The pink elephant in the room: how do you all plan to deal w/the call of the holidays and sticking to your plan? I am thinking Halloween on through New Years? This is a bad time of year for me in the past, one sweet has meant many to me in the past. What do you aim to do differently this year in regards to eating between these times?

May you all have a good day of it!

Congrats Lemon on the new drop! That's awesome!

My scales are giving me slightly better news, haha. Dropping the bloat weight a little bit each day, but still sitting right under 214 instead of 212 like a few days ago. Oh well, weight loss is not linear, as everyone keeps saying. Looks like I'll see the scale jump up a few pounds at least twice a month. Im getting used to it.

I'm keeping my steps up with a couple walks per day but that's about it for exercise. Hopefully when I'm less busy, I'll start swimming again.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Forgot to answer the QOD. I am going to ignore Halloween. They sell candy all year, I am not going to eat a bunch just because it's in my face. For thanksgiving and Christmas though, I am going to enjoy them. I will eat all my favorites at Thanksgiving, but this year I will make sure they are small portions and no second plate. I'll do the same at Christmas. And I will also eat a few desserts. I will probably still try to track my food those days, at least with estimates. And I will allow myself to go over on those days if necessary. But I won't sit around eating all the leftovers and stuffing my face for days on end like previous years.

Les:Yeah for you on the scale doing something good! I am trying to refrain from daily weigh ins, keeps me happier and w/o the worry that comes w/not seeing the scale move. Your ideas for the holidays are interesting, but yours sounds way different from mine. I am usually inundated in sweets at that time of year - I have a SIL that makes candies at Christmas. I make cookies and sweet breads, my FIL is a cookie tray person and the list goes on. When we are visiting family, those trays are everpresent so I have a hard time not just grabbing when I walk by. Hence my weight gain over the last 8 months - I had a really good time at Christmas and just kept going. UGH.

Mam: thank you for the congrats. I keep chugging along. I have been drinking so much water my DH thinks I am nuts!

Hello Violets! Where did everyone else go?

AM: Oh last night was bad for me. My DH and I are getting into a routine of every other night one of us goes to work out. Last night was his, and what did I do, I had 8 animal crackers and then that wasn't enough, had a 90 calorie quaker oat bar. Why, who the heck knows? I guess I just needed sugar. I hate when that happens. I didn't want fruit either. Today I aim to be better, it can be hard I think to overcome those moments of SUGAR I NEED SUGAR.

Otherwise, keeping tabs on my caloric intake has been going ok. Sometimes a bit hard, but I am able to build recipes in it to figure the calorie intake. Thus far I have not been focusing solely on the carb limits, which I think though good in theory, of late were not good for me loosing weight. I am using the principals of watching my carbs - a sweet w/ a protein, I am not taking in the number necessarily. I am aiming to make better choices nuts/sting cheese/veggies and then fruits. I made granola the other day and when I have it, I measure out 1/4 cup and put in my measured out yogurt. That seems to help to, the measuring that is. My scale just shipped from amazon. I was not thrilled w/the prices at target or the things I was finding at walmart when I was out shopping.

Alright - happy day to all of you - hopefully you have shrank further each and every one of you!

QOD: So how many of you have been photoing yourself on this journey? And if so how often do you follow up?

I took photos of DH and he of I earlier this summer from all 4 sides of our bodies (R, L, front and back) head to toe. I got prints made and will be hanging them on the fridge, including the one where DH was a dork and pulled his shorts way up on his belly. I think it will be interesting to see the profile begin to change. Especially kooky areas like the neck waddle or the bat wings that flatten out when my arm is to my side. I am doing it more for inspiration and to see where I began and where I am going.

I did take before pictures, and it was hard to do. I avoid cameras. But I took some because I want to appreciate the eventual loss that much more. I'm not sure how often to take progress pictures, maybe I'll take more after I reach onederland.

Les: I think you should take them more frequently. The reason I say this is because you may not notice many changes, but when you go back through you may see quite a few that at the time you didn't. I don't know. You don't have to keep them long term, but it's kind of a neat thing to look.

Hey violets,

I took before pictures and try to take them every month to see the progress.

You ever notice how many weightloss programs there are out there?

My question today is: How many different programs have you tried to find the magical cure???

Me I have done South Beach, Atkins, Richard Simmons (lost 119 pounds on this one). Only eat a 7 of a certain food a day (eggs, apples etc). My own diet no bread or potato. Weight Watchers many times. This is what I am currently doing but just eating no processed carbs.

I cringe every time I hear someone say when I reach goal I will eat what I want. No NO NO you can't do that that is what has gotten us into this mess. We have to learn new habits and to stick with them. going back to what you did will get the same results.

You have to commit to the program the rest of your life.

What do you think?

LG

Ok I will try and take pictures more often. Maybe every 20 pounds? That would be a new picture soon. I'm sure it will make me appreciate the journey a bit more.

I have never tried any diet until this one. I have been fat since 11 or 12, and have wanted to lose weight and have thought about losing weight. I have even made small attempts like only one soda per day, trying to pick healthy foods, etc. But I never made any actual effort, never tried beyond a couple of days, never really tried. I have had a few periods in my life where I slimmed down a bit, maybe 15 or 20 pounds. They always happened accidentally, and it always came back as life went back to normal.

Now I am calorie counting, and somewhat limiting bad foods. I still have the occasional junk, as long as fits in my calories for the day (except soda, NONE of that). But I am logging every bite, and I have only gone a little over on a few days, and I'm always under for the week. I am hopeful that my first real attempt can also be my last.

I do expect to count calories forever, even in maintenance, and I'm ok with that.

Mam: I have only tried WW, South Beach and followed the GD diet while pregnant. The rest of the time I just started moving. I used to swim 3X a week and managed to drop from 220 to 180 or so just with that. I was still eating fairly well. I have had to be on medical diets for short term due to testing one of which I call the no-nothing diet and the such, but no, never had this much weight to move off. I thought 220 was horrible. Now I am dealing with 250-267 as my highest. I am a comfort/stress eater and made up for everything in the last year with all that was happening in my life. It'd be nice if I didn't have that gracious tendency to do so.

Les: I think once a week once you are loosing is a help. I sit here and don't feel as much hanging under my chin. I ride the bike and I am noticing I don't flop too and fro as much. So small things that you aren't aware of may be tightening and slimming down. Study yourself really well when you look. Not w a critical eye, but one that says I am working on the machine that's my body, I can make it look good.

Hello Violets!

AM: Oh did it pour last night and I ran out in it to go work out. Yep - I sat pedaling while watching project runway. I enjoy that show for the projects they come up with and what each designer thinks is appropro. This year they have a plus size lady designer Ashley, she turns out some nice pieces and is conscious about the body, finally someone who gets that plus ladies don't want to forever be stuck in elastic waist, tunic tops or baggy ugly clothes. I am interested to see where her career takes her.

Struggling this week with sugar in late afternoon and evenings. As in I want to just start gnoshing on something sweet. I am finding on the days I do, I didn't have an egg for breakfast. One egg missing and this is what I do? Do any of you struggle with this? I am drinking lots of extra water when this happens, but sometimes that doesn't help. Any suggestions? I did eat the egg today. Will see how I do.

Does anyone know about heart rate and exercise? Do I miss out on potential help if my heart rate isn't at 80%? The bike I am on doesn't measure unless you wear a band and the elliptical (seated) I was using was toward the end of my routine and i was about 114 or so. Just curious.

Happy Friday to you all! I do hope your journeys are going well and you continue to shrink!

Quiet here Violets - I hope this finds you all well and loosing great weight!

AM: Totally creeped out, I went to sort laundry yesterday and my DS got into my baking cupboard leaning over the baby gate and pulled out the brown sugar and shook it all over my living room by the time I found it. Got out the shop vac and started cleaning and then investigating how the heck he got in the cupboard. Well as I was looking I noticed new bags of sugar had holes in them but they would have been too far back for his reach. I looked closer - mouse poops! ARGH!!!!!!!!

Now I take pride in keeping my foodstuffs well stored and my cabinets cleaned and the like. I live in a rural area and an old house, mice happen it is just the way it is this time of year. The last one was about 8 years ago when I was pregnant. That said, it just makes me want to shower: I hate creepy crawlies living in my space. So I got the cabinet cleaned out and the goods all washed down and sitting on my dining table. DH set up traps in the cupboard and this morning we had a decedent. I am one that always think they travel in pairs or families - so it's set once again. Until the traps end up empty for a week, I live w/the contents sitting out and not wanting to open my cupboard. Yuck!

Then this morning same dear little boy found a container of nonpareils for decorating - open the lid and dumped them right out on the kitchen floor for me and ran away w/his ears plugged. Bless his heart. So once again I spent a 1/2 hour cleaning up these nasty little things - bTW a wet head attatchement on a shop vac works really well for that job.

I am ready to go back to bed anytime!

So that in a nutshell is my craziness. My diet - wishy yesterday. Still struggling w/sweets but I guess TOM is closer than not and I always load up on sweets right before. Not sure why, but I do. I am trying my darndest not to fall victim to such. I am drinking way more water to compensate when that hits me, of late it hits me between 330-and bedtime. Any suggestions? I sew, no knitting or crochet in the evenings to keep the hands totally busy. And it doesn't help w/my little ones wanting to eat too, but I keep having them grab water as well.

Hope you all have a beautiful fall weekend. Enjoy your football weekend. Today is a festival nearby and I will be taking the kids for a bit. Tomorrow is a parade and we have to get DDs bike decorated for it. And then, I am suppose to be getting a ton of bulbs in the mail today. I ordered hyacinths and my mom sent me a bunch of tulip and daffy bulbs. So my kids will help me plant today as it will be colder before it gets really warm again. Do any of you garden/flower bed? I have both - garden was a bust this year. I am having issues w/tomato blight I think. So if any of you are good tomato farmers let me know so I can pick your brain.

Happy day to you all!

Mice are the worst, lemon! Hope you get rid of them soon. Sorry you've been craving the sweets. I have no suggestions, as my TOM seems to cause cravings too, and I have found no remedies yet. Hope you had fun at the festival and have a blast at the parade.

Ok here's my updates. I've been super busy, but managing to stay on track. Haven't gone for any walks, but my busy days meant I hit my steps almost every day anyway. Went to a luncheon yesterday with a ton of awesome food, and managed to track all my food and keep it under 500 calories. Pretty good for a party. That gives me hope for all the holiday parties.

Now that TOM is finally gone, I'm dropping some pounds again. This morning was 209. I haven't been this weight in years. Feeling great! I hope all of you are having a great weekend, and are feeling as good as I am today!

UGH - mouse two this am. I know they come in multiples but it always gives me the creeps how damn long they have been in my house. ICKY! I haven't seen any more poops to indicate it's a prolific brood - I check the usual spaces in the past where we have had them but haven't seen them or their droppings. ICK.

How's that for a Sunday morning conversation - after church nonetheless.

Les: Good for you on eating well. I was bad - didn't track yesterday, split a milkshake w/DS, had a small soda, but I did walk to and from said festival. Good for feeling good about yourself. that's a nice feeling. I am sharing in that as well - feeling good about the changes you see.

Morning Violets!

AM: You saw my mouse story. Let's just say I feel like I need to scrub every surface daily until I am rid of these pesky buggers. Makes me also not want to eat when I know they are lurking about. Now the challenge is to find there entry point which can be like a needle in haystack.

On a different topic. Yes, craving sweets at TOM in near days. Lordy, I'd so love to crave something like water, instead it's sweets that beckon me near and far. So I need to find new ways to curb those pesky cravings. Eating protein hasn't been a huge help with this, the sweets still call louder. So I will have to do some investigating. Or if you all have some good ideas, send them this way.

I haven't bothered with the scale at all, I did do my measurements though, those are starting to look good - I have 2 1/4" on my hips and 1.5" on my chest - woot! Yes, the bras fit better band wise, but I am also on the last set of hooks. I think I may have to start perusing some economical bras here one of these days.

Happy day to you all. It's a pumpkin patch and orchard day trip at this house after the festivities and parade. Got to get to it while it's nice and still dry. The pumpkin place is nice - all pumpkins no matter the size are $1 because they believe all kids should have a pumpkin w/o cost issues. My kids run the field trying to find the perfect ones. It's a fun time for us all.

Enjoy the beautiful day! Packer game this evening so I am set.