hi Annie i do so love your determination.. i need to get my butt in gear again i have been quite lax lately!

Catherine: I am pretty strong too. Ya know farm girls get strong. lol. No way am I stronger than my hubby though. He is very strong in his arms. I am wayyyy stronger in my legs but then, look what I am carrying around compared to him. Thanks for the encouragement on my walking. I think tomorrow I need to stretch. It is a shame to me that I can't walk much but I do have some self competition to get better so that will be good. Sounds like you had some real excitement at your home last night. About arguing, well I would much rather not argue than to argue. I guess after 22 years of marriage you just aren't always going to see eye to eye. I am a stubborn poop some times I have to admit. lol.

Patti: Come on girl. Get back on the exercise wagon. Even if you only jump on your treadmill for 4 or 5 minutes or do your Nintendo Wii for a bit. You can do it!

Well, I just got back from the pool and did my first weight lifting workout in the garage before I even came in the house. I only have to ride my bike for today and I will have done 133 minutes of exercise for today! Not all at once though. It's funny but my arm muscles near my pits are a bit shaky after lifting weights. lol. I have my weigh in tonight and hopefully it will be another good one.

Blessings to you all,
Annie

Annie -- You GO! 133 minutes?? :woohoo: I could use me some of those minutes! :D

Annie i am so proud of you! yes i will get back on track thanks for encouraging me!

Annie-I get tired just reading how much exercise you are doing.

I read about something neat on the internet. It is a plate kind of like the ones that come with TV dinners that is painted with protein, carbos, and vegetables. It is a way of not only portion controlling how much you eat, but also how much of what. It was designed for diabetics to try to lose weight, but could be used by anyone to lose weight. They also have a cereal bowl that has lines on the side to show how much you can have of a variety of different types of cereal. I guess granola would be towards the bottom, and cheerios towards the top. I thought that might really be good for people that have portion issues, and/or just can’t bring themselves to weigh or measure stuff. Don’t know when they will be available to purchase.

Hi everybody

Well I fell asleep this evening so was just going to come on and dash through but these posts just need personals! :)

First off... Robyn... :welcome: So glad you are here, and I love your positive attitude. Way to go! Although I will add that it is also okay to share the "down" times here as we all have them sometimes!

Peggy, I sure know what you mean about its getting hot to walk at lunch! Except LOL here in the Seattle are I know we are "wimps" when it comes to heat, as I grew up in Missouri and lived in South Florida and the Philippines... our "heat" here in the PNW would be a "cold snap" for most of you! I did go walking today though... just changed into a T-shirt so I would not be all sweaty when I came back to work. But like you, I just do not tolerate heat as I can't breathe well in hot weather.

Ratkitten, sorry about the gain. I can sure relate there too... I have been eating right and exercising my butt off... and lose a pound and gain back three! But oh well... it HAS to be working and doing something! Hang in there... times like this are when it is hard not to give up. Go go go. :)

Donna... congratulations to the mother of the graduate! :woohoo: And I don't want to be a nag either :) but I will echo Heather's comments and encourage you NOT to wait until week's end or whenever to get back OP. The longer you stay off the harder it is to get back on. At least it sure is for me.

MetaChick -- :hug: Sorry about your weight gain and skin problem. no no no it WON'T be forever! Your face will heal up and you WILL lose that weight if you keep OP.

Heather, I am so proud of you! Every time I look at your pictures I am just amazed. You look super!

Annie, good for you for doing the walking even when it is so hard! When I first started walking I was in so much pain it took all I had to keep going. LOL I would have to lean on all the light poles and fences to rest. But it is such good exercise and so helpful. I am proud of you for your determination to keep going. Even now walking is much harder for me than riding my bike, the water workouts, weights and all else. But I do it just about every day at my lunch hour. Wow you are doing a HUGE amount of exercise! :bike: :swim: Doesn't it feel GOOD though to be "one of the ones" working out? :)

Catherine, LOL it is probably not a good idea to pick a fight with your hubby just so you can make up. :) Good for you for getting along well with him! And LOL about the books... a woman after my own heart! :) At times I have had my apartment so full of books I can hardly walk through it all. Once I jokingly commented to my best friend that I needed to find a rich husband and she said "I hope he likes books." :) Oh and those yard sale books... one day I had a slew of them I had gotten at yard sales... opened one up and there was an envelope with $300 in cash! Old yellowed envelope... apparently someone's old stash... and no way at all to know where I had gotten it from so I could return it. WOW! And your cooler weather sounds like ours... gets really cool at night here pretty much all the time too! Love it! And yikes what a night you had with the car smashing! Glad you are safe!!

Patti sorry for your slipup... but yah good idea to get that butt moving again!! You don't want us to dig out that ole "butt kick" icon!!! :rofl:

Blessings to all, and for those I missed especially! Hang in there and stay OP!!! Move those butts, huff puff puff! :)

Hi Everyone :wave:

Wow, this thread sure does move fast. I just can't keep up. I didn't check in all weekend and goodness was there a lot to read.

Great to read that everyone is still on the same track. :welcome: robyn, I am also one of the newbies to this thread.

I need to share some great news. When I started my weight loss journey I had just went up in size from a tight 26 to a 28. That's when I decided I was not buying them and left the store and decided to do something about it.

Well, on Saturday I went into Lane Bryant and was able to fit comfortably into a size 24. I have not been in a size smaller than a 26 in over 5 years. I feel GREAT!!!!

Well thanks for lending an ear girls..... now, I am going to need to check in more often so I can keep up with you chickadees!

Good morning everyone! Motivated congratulations on wearing the smaller size pants! Yippee for you!

Annie, Heather, jewell, Catherine & Misti...

Thank you so much for your hugs, empathy and encouraging words. I've been on this site for a few months but things had been going so well for so long I never really needed support of any kind. Yesterday I did, and your input truly made a difference. When I get discouraged or upset I usually withdraw into myself so I'm glad I came and posted here instead.

We'll see what this week brings...or preferably takes away. :)

Congrats on that great NSV Motivated!

yes Misti i do need butt kick but i got it in gear again today!

Good Morning Ladies!:coffee:


Heather, Catherine, and Sue: It is really scary that since I have gotten to "know" you wonderful people, I am so in tune with you!! :comp:
I woke up this morning thinking that I really should get back OP right away...I mean how many days in a row can a person eat chicken, ribs and cake!!!:lol:
So before I even read your posts, I am very proudly eating my Special K and getting my mindset all together. After reading your lovely well wishes and smart advice, I know I did the right thing. Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for being there!! :hug: & big XXX's!!!!!!!


Peggy: Congrats on the -3!!!


Ratkitten: I don't know if I have said :welcome3: yet. I have 3 kitties and a dog myself. Our littlest one is nicknamed "Monkey-Cat"...I am sure you can guess why! :dizzy:


Jewel/Robyn: :welcome3: to you also. I hope you find the wonderful support here is what you need! :D

Meta: Proud and scared to death! He is going to the Community College where I went, so it's not like he's going away to school, but I am hoping he can find his path. This letting go thing is not in the mommy-manual!!!! :( I am having a bit of a struggle, but as bittersweet as it is, I know he is a good, smart kid and just needs to mature so the lightbulb will go on.:idea:
Oh, and I get an allergic reaction to the PABA that is in sunscreen. Do the bumps itch? If so, Benyadryl is a wonderful thing! ;)


Annie: WOW!! You and Catherine never sease(SP?) to amaze me!! You are definately 2 of the most amazing women I have ever "met"!!! Maybe the aliens make you guys so strong!!!:eek:

Well, dishes and laundry await...
Have a Great OP Day!!:cheer2:

Hey all...

I haven't been around much, but saw the flooding in England on the news and had to pop on and see how our friends on "the other side of the pond" are! Doesn't Sharon live in Sheffield?

English Roses! Post and let us know you are all okay!

Good morning all.
Wow, Motivated, congrats on the downsizing :D. You are making me excited for the day I'll be in a size 24 again, too.

Actually, each of you are very encouraging for me, this millionth time I'm "starting again". I am trying VERY hard to keep a positive outlook. Heck, my pessimistic one never worked for me, so why not give something new a try, right?

I have a question for you all to weigh in on (pun intended). What kinds of lunches do you have? I go to work each day, and have a job filled with paperwork, meetings and computer work. I try to actually take lunch away from my desk but the truth is my job is so "interrupt driven" I most often can't. I also am TRYING to have a peaceful breakfast every morning with my partner so lunch can't be too complicated because there isn't too much time to make it. Besides, my partner lovingly prepares my lunch every day and grows increasingly tired of asking me "what do you want for lunch" and getting, "I dunno" almost every time. :dizzy:Any suggestions and thoughts would really be appreciated.

Robyn

LOL Ain't that the truth. I know that after extended periods of not-so-good eating I've grown tired of even the yummiest food, and nothing feels appealing. The trick for me is to remember that feeling before I binge...so that I don't. It's so hard tho. :(

I remember reading (or hearing) once, "Nothing tastes as good as being thinner feels". I guess I need to laminate that and post it somewhere...or better yet make a card to carry with me.