This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This group is for those dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after age 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

We start new threads each Monday.

Bringing this over from the last thread:

From LostBombera/S. Diane

Hi chicks,

Thank goodness it is a holiday from work today. This is one of the only perks from work integration; we now get off on MLK day. I hope the sleet is over. It will be a while before we thaw out and what a mud pit it will be then!

Maybe I will venture out this afternoon with DH to go to the grocery store. We need to get a few items that are Core and it might be easier to go buy rather than try to tell DH what to look for in whole grains. I plan on making a big thing of oatmeal today for the rest of the week. I've really been thinking about taking oatmeal along with walnuts and blueberries for my lunch as an alternative.

I had my WI this morning. Down to 262.2 That's 4.6 since the beginning of the year. I think I'll stay off the scale until 1/31.

I think I'll go do the JMS yoga tape and a WATP tape later on today.

Have a good Monday!

Terri -- Thanks for starting the new thread!

I have a weight training session scheduled today. Good thing, otherwise I think I'd just lollygag about with the day off.... Yesterday was a rare non-exercise day. I can't believe I just typed that. I used to be a VERY rare exerciser, and now I exercise most days!

Good morning everyone!

Well, hearing about all the snow and ice around the country I guess I better not complain about my sunny 40 degrees.

I will be working today and unfortunately holidays just mean more work and headaches for me, but hopfully more money too.

Patti, You could drink hot water to warm up. That's what I do in the morning. The first thing I have before any other food is hot lemon water, supposed to clean out your "tract". I remember as a kid, my grandmother drinking this every morning of her life. To switch it up I will go so far as add a bit of stevia to make a sort of hot lemonade. It's quite yummy...yeah, I know, i'm such the wild woman! Gotta get my simple pleasures anywhere I can.

Terri, good idea to bring over the post!

Have a great day everyone!

Well I'm down 2 pounds this week, which is a very happy thing, though I'm still above where I was before the holidays. I did a 39-minute work out today, which is longer than I ever do except occasionally I might walk longer than that, so I feel good about it. The problem is that 39 minutes worth of exercise takes me so much longer than 39 minutes! If I did this much every day I'd probably lose faster, but also I haven't gotten much of anything else done today.

Okay, I'm done complaining now. It's almost 3, that's still early, so I can get some work done before the day is out.

Hope everyone's having a great day.

Afternoon chickies;

Angela - GREAT JOB!!! Keep it up!!
Terri - Great job, down 4.6 pounds, that's almost a 5 lb bag of sugar . . .
Wyllen - have a great time weight training . . .
Karen - too funny . . . I have those "wild woman" moments too, we all like our comfort.

I did yoga for the first time today, actually a yoga/pilates class . . . Oh My . . . I'm starting to feel it this afternoon, but plan on going to the water aerobics at 6 . . . hope I'm not over doing it . . . but I have WAY toooo much ENERGY . . .

Everyone have a great day . . . oh I faced the scale for the first time . . .

I'm

Hi ladies,

Just checking in for a quickie post. I'm back to work after a mostly four day reprieve with the bad weather on Friday and MLK day yesterday. It is going to be a busy week. Plus it is going to be a frigid week here which just makes me want to hibernate.

I did a shortened workout this morning so that I can get off to work a little earlier. I did end up taking the day off yesterday from exercise. No reasons, just felt lazy.

I'm off to work! Have a great OP day!

We didn't get the ice we were expecting, so it' work as usual.

Hi everyone!

I've been lazy the last couple days and haven't posted, though I have been keeping up with the posts. I had a huge (for me) NSV the past two nights--no grazing!! I don't remember the last time I stayed out of the kitchen, but I'm telling you, when I heard that doctor on the radio say that what we eat is by choice something clicked in my head...let's just hope the switch stays on!! I feel so much better when I get up, but I seem to be so much hungrier during the day!! I used to not eat til 1 or so, but now I usually have to have something within an hour of getting up. Very weird for me. I also did the bike for 26 minutes this morning, which is great. Since getting back to riding, my stamina hasn't been the greatest. All in all, I feel like I had a pretty decent week, finally!

Finally snowing in NE Ohio, and we're supposed to get into the teens overnight. I think that may be the coldest this whole winter. I'm ready for it--just to freeze the ground so Raymond doesn't bring muddy paws in every time he goes outside!

Wyellen~~How did the weight training go? Can you tell us a little bit about what all you did? I use five pound weights, but am not sure I'm doing the right thing, or enough reps when I do them.

Morning chickies!

Nothing much going on with me lately. Weigh in this morning down 2.3 pounds!

MTM--Way to go on that NSV! It was a big deal fro me when I finally could stop doing that too! Actually i've see a lot of authorities saying you should be eating within an hour of getting up. I make it a habit along with eating every 2-3 hours, not big meals mind you, but balanced small ones. Something about knowing I will be eating in only a few hours keeps me from overindulging and keeps my blood sugar level steady and my metabolism going.

Hi to everyone else, have a great day!

MTM -- I work out with a trainer now, in big part because I didn't know what to do! My husband and I started lifting a year ago at the Y. We had one session with someone who showed us how to use the machines, got a sense of our goals, and made us a plan. The lifting was only a few machines, and we did it for 9 months! I think we did chest press, leg press, shoulder press... a couple of others I can't remember.

We joined a new gym in September, and a large motivation was to get better training, esp for weights. I usually lift 3 days a week, and the routines take about an hour each time. It also changes as I get stronger. Right now I'm working on a combination of machines and free weights, working a lot of muscle groups.

I was kind of scared and overwhelmed by weight lifting before I started. I read a lot on 3fc and links provided at the "ladies who lift" forum. I bought "Weight Lifting for Dummies" but I couldn't come up with my own routine because I still didn't know what I was doing or really when to do different exercises.

I actually really like it now -- not always WHILE I'm doing it mind you! I can really see my progress which is VERY motivating. And as I've gotten stronger, I can do so much more in my life.

Anyway, not sure I really answered the question you had about specific exercises, but feel free to ask more!

I’m doing really well the last couple of days. It’s not really comfortable yet, but I feel solid in my food choices overall, I've gotten back on the mill again, and I’m even doing better with my water. I’ve decided to stay off the scale until the end of the month. I wanted to leave it alone earlier this month, but I’ve been obsessing and jumping on it daily until the last couple days. Suddenly my focus is forward and I’m don’t NEED to look down at it constantly.

Has anyone read the February issue of Prevention magazine? I especially like the article on how our perception of food effects how much we eat. Good issue.

BARBARA – I’m glad Dallas didn’t get slammed to bad, or at least not on your street. I don’t have a whole new computer, but even getting used to my new hard drive is a pain. Everything is different. Hope you’re doing better with yours. As far as the Cowboys, maybe I already mentioned it, but my boss’s boss is a total die-hard Cowboys fan. You have No idea what Monday mornings have been like for us. Or maybe you do.

TERRI – I’m glad it didn’t bother the horses that you didn’t go to church. Mine would get all upset, so I don’t tell them. Kidding aside, all that sleet sounds just horrible! We brought the horses in on Sunday, cold and wet, and poor Cody was even shivering a little bit – so I did him a favor and rode him to warm him up. Somewhere in my head a little voice kept getting louder and louder: “I wanna canter, I wanna canter, I wanna canter!” It wouldn’t stop, so I finally asked him for it. The ornery cuss would NOT pick it up! He’s been ridden just at walk and trot for so long, he hasn’t been queued for canter in probably a year and a half. After a few attempts I decided to wait until my next ride… and then I’ll be sure to take a “magic motivation wand” (aka a riding whip) and tickle him up into it. Cross your fingers that he doesn’t just launch me to the moon. He’s never bucked before, but I’m old (and fat) enough to worry about these things. …As for the Jacuzzi, um, no. Haven’t got one. But feel free to let me know when yours is up and running again, and when you’ll be receiving guests.

ANGELA, I’m TOTALLY with you on coming here to keep the things in mind that we need to. It’s been really tough time-wise lately, but I’ll never stop coming back… like a bad penny.

LOSTBOMBERA – Don’t put too much “weight” on what the scale says. You know you’re doing things right, and that progress is inevitable.

CHARLOTTE, PATTI, I’ve never heard of Booda Velvet bones, but I’ll be on the lookout now. Nothing’s too good for Fang. I mean Simon – sharpest tooth in the MidWest.

PATTI – I Third this opinion of yours and TERRI’s. That’s exactly the way it was with my DH. I wouldn't tell him for the longest time, but he's been my biggest supporter, even when we've been having problems on other fronts. He's fine with whatever I serve for dinner, he bought me my TM. I've never regretted telling him, and now he shares my little victories. I can't imagine keeping my greatest dreams and successes a secret from the central person in my life. (On the other hand, I haven't mentioned what a motivater it is to think of showing up at his daughter's wedding & smile at her & his ex, another 50 pounds lighter. They'd hate it. It would be SO cool.)

LEAH, Sorry I missed it, but when is your DD’s Big Day? What a wonderful thing to look forward to, and how cool that you got to fly up there for the weekend.

HEATHER, I’d love to start lifting like you do. For now, the price of a gym is out of the question, but I have 10 & 20 pound weights, and I should be doing more of my strength tapes/DVDs to get as strong as I can, so when I can get a trainer like you, I won’t be back to being a total drip again. I’ve lost so much strength in the last 2 months. But whose fault is THAT??? Keep up the great work. It fades fast when you quit, and you’ve worked so hard to get in the great shape you’re in! Lead on!

LILION, I hope you’ve had the chance to chip the ice and sleet off your dear IM. I know it’s a pain, but someday you’ll thank it.

Ack. My eating is out of control tonight.

I apparently don't like it when hubby is out of town, both last week and this week I've lost it a little when he's been out of town. I think it's only the exercise keeping me remotely in check...

Hang on Heather. Concious control, remember? I hope you can find good choices instead of going crazy on bad ones. I know you can. I sure have spent enough of my own time prowling the kitchen, and I sure understand that drive. But we know where we've been. We know how we got there. And we know we aren't going to go there. Don't trade your health and success for the munchies of the moment.