betsy - I am definitely out of practice. We will see. I keep looking at myself in the mirror and reminding myself that at this point once more people see something other than what I see, but in the other way. Though I have so much loose skin right now, heh, ugh.
I'm glad your back is fine! Oh, you know, we have had a really mild summer this far except for a few bouts of 90 degrees but that will not last, but it would be neat to be able to plant lettuce et cetera at the same time as everything else. MY VEGGIES ARE DOING AMAZING. I'm so pleased. The tomato plants look great, the cukes are curling and climbing, I had no idea broccoli plants would get that big, and my eggplant plants have blooms and there are peppers on my peppers.
Hope the cold is getting better, and I think that is a TOTAL NSV. I have noticed I am SO much better in the garden now. It is great. Like I just don't get tired / need to rest like I did.
Nancy - I sincerely hope you week improved after the comedy of errors! How are you knees doing now?
Lariet - I have lost 150 lbs. The most important thing early in weight loss in my opinion is how you eat. Whatever method you choose is ultimately about CALORIES. Every method works by decreasing the calories you consume. You need to find one that suits your tastes and lifestyle.
I am a vegetarian and in order to keep myself full I have focused on eating more vegetables. I eat MANY vegetables every day. While I am not low-carbing (because: vegetarian), I have paid attention to getting in enough protein and make sure that my lunch and dinner are protein based (beans for lunch of some sort, usually). I don't shy away from carbs though.
PLAN PLAN PLAN for every contingency and don't buy anything that might tempt you. That's my initial advice. Exercise is good but FOOD is more important. Oh and either MyFitnessPal or the Livestrong website are great ideas.
Oh, and like Jane said: the key really is to keep starting over and to keep starting over immediately.
Jane - YOU LOOK SO GORGEOUS. Your skin is amazing and that color is spectacular on you. I think you re right, that dress is better with straps than it would've been strapless. It gives it a lovely frame.
wheezypi - haha, think about the motion you are using in the Elliptical, many more muscles I think because of the range of motion and the strength necessary. I have a treadmill at home (having it at home is so essential to my using it) so have never used a treadmill.
Wheezypi -- I know this is going to sound nuts, but I have a "favorite" elliptical at my gym. Favorite to the point of I'll modify the order of my exercise routine and wait until it is free. And, I hate to admit it, but to me, my favorite is the easiest to use! So, if you have the option of using several different ellipticals, you might try them all. Hope the knee pain goes away either way -- that's definitely no fun!
Mnemosyne -- I'm so envious of all the stuff you're already getting in your garden. Yes, it is nice to be able to plant tomatoes and lettuce at the same time, but that also means that it takes FOREVER for the veggies to actually start producing around here. Everything usually comes in about the time I've scheduled a trip some place!
Great advice on dieting tips -- they're good for all of us.
Noggs -- Is the AC fixed? I don't even have AC in my house, but have lived in the Midwest and the South where it was turned on in March and ran continuously until November. Hope it's resolved sooner than later.
I went down to the garden spot yesterday to begin the planting only to realize that since the garden was tilled several weeks ago that it had rained constantly for a two week period, and it needed to be tilled again. And, then it has to be raked. So, I did that, got some brush from a kitty willow that blew over in a storm cleaned up, watered everything (it's obviously stopped raining), and decided that was enough for the day. I'm going down in a little while to spend the afternoon getting all the plants in the ground.
And tomorrow it's back to the dreaded mulching......
LOL to all - I'm not sure how impressive 25 minutes is when you're pedaling as slowly as I am! But hey, I'll take it.
Bad weekend, though. My husband left yesterday to spend a week with family in New York, and I didn't realized how bummed and lonely I'd be. I've binged really badly, and now I'm trying to get myself back into a good frame of mind to start over. AGAIN.
betsy2013, I feel your pain with the gardening! When we put ours in last year, I was so sick of looking at it by the time we got to mulching. But this year I have a massive blackberry bush with tons of berries, blueberry bushes, all kinds of veggies. It's so satisfying.
My twin sister, who is smaller than me by like 20-30 or so lbs, can't even do 2 minutes on the elliptical with no resistance. I do at least 15 with the resistance at 4. I don't know how that can be. I guess it's in how strong our muscles are and our tolerance level. The moment she feels something she wants to get off. That's probably it. She's just not used to the feeling. lol
Today I took some "before" shots. Just wanted to get those out of the way while I'm still relatively close to my starting weight. I also think not taking those pictures was holding me back. Like I felt like I couldn't move on totally until I had everything about my starting point documented.
Working out went okay. Wasn't able to workout very long before I felt my spine was going to snap (maybe about 15 mins). I'll just keep pushing.
@lariet50 - Aw, that sucks.. Try writing down your motivation and goals. That helps me redirect my mind. You can do this!
Good morning from a very cloudy and overcast Northwest.
Lariet -- Sorry you've got the blues from your husband being gone. Try to think of a few things that you can do to pamper yourself while he's gone -- spa day, mani/pedi, read a book, talk to an old friend, etc. It's hard to have your normal routine interrupted, but also makes us appreciate them more.
And thanks for the encouragement on the endless gardening and yard work. It will all pay off. Must be patient. Must be patient. Must be patient.
Alyssarof -- I'm impressed that you're up to a level 4 resistance. I've been on the danged thing now for about 2 years and have gone up and down on my capabilities depending on the health crisis du jour. But I'm still at level 1.
Hope you're able to keep working out, but appreciate the need to moderate it.
Lariet, you weren't alone being in binge mode yesterday. Don't know what happened, but the garden still isn't in (definitely needs to happen today), I ate pop chips which wouldn't be bad, but I think the half container of sour cream might have been not on plan. Back to it today -- just an off day and I have to accept that this will happen from time to time.
betsy - haha, well, thus far the only thing I've harvested are herbs. I made a red lentil soup yesterday with a bouquet garni of greek basil, lemon balm and thyme from the garden. I suppose I COULD pick a few peppers but I want them to turn red. That always takes forever.
Oh, and yes. Off days happen. Sunday is my 'planned' off day. Hah. Though usually only in the evenings, I always have a glass of something and real dessert and whatnot on Sundays.
lariet - starting over is the hardest and most important part. Just remember that and make that commitment to yourself and you'll be fine. I agree with betsy that you should find something to do to take your mind off. Spa day is great, even at home. Slice up a cucumber and soak your feet and do a mud mask and paint your nails. Go for a walk? It'll be great.
alyssa - yeah, it is hard to tell the difference between 'tough it out' pain and 'oh-I-need-to-stop' pain, and if you can that'll really help with exercising. It sounds like you can and maybe your sister can't!
--
SOOO, I measure sometimes, not regularly, I don't have a chart. BUT, my NSV this weekend was measurement related. When I started my bra band size was 48. I was a 48 G.
Now, my underbust measurement is 37 (am still wearing size 40 H bras, and need to go shopping). Anyway. Total! bust measurement is 46-or-so. AKA: even with H-cups, my total bust measurement is now lower than my old bra-band size. The bra-band size I was wearing this time last year. (And honestly, there was a time when I work a 50-DDD or G.)
I am looking forward to the moment when my waist is under 40", but we still aren't there yet.
Mnem Thank you so much! My skin was NOT gorgeous by the end of the day. The sunburn I got was horrendous!
I had another tooth pulled today, plus two fillings, so I'm finding it extremely challenging to hydrate, but at the same time, I know it's more important than ever to have my body up to snuff. They ended up having to do a surgical extraction (after three people yanked on my jaw all morning), so I'm on amoxil as a precaution. I hate taking antibiotics I've been on them four separate times in the last 18 months, either for tonsilitis or tooth infections (which should be gone now that the last bad one has been yanked), and they always screw up my system. Then again, I'd rather not get a gum infection!
I'm taking bromelain supplements and drinking cooled cranberry tea because they're supposed to aid healing, and I made sure I went swimming and I keep getting up and walking around, because I know when the pain hits I'm going to want to wallow.
Hello everyone...
It has been a crazy few days for me, but now things are going better and sorta back to normal. We had the hottest weather here on Saturday, so I did not leave the house. But, I did about 15 minutes of a walking DVD I checked out at the library, and I was able to do the same last night. Today was my first day using My Fitness Pal, and I stood in the calories assigned to me...kind of crappy what I ate, but within the limits. This week, I am going to focus on staying in the calorie limits, and next week really begin to look at what I am eating.
Good morning all. Hope everyone is having a great hump day.
Jane -- love your new picture!!!! Your dental work sounds horrible and I'm amazed that you're out there swimming and still staying focused. Hope you don't get clobbered too much from the antibiotics and the pain. And, like you said, I hope this is the end of this struggle.
Mnem -- Great NSV on the bra measurements. 11 inch change is tremendous!!!!!
I'm still in yo-yo mode, but am sticking with this which is a huge change for me. Don't know what's causing this yo-yoing, but some part of my body evidently is just in love with the 340s and doesn't want to ever leave them. Well, get over it, because they're going to be in the rear view mirror if I have to do something drastic!
For some unknown reason, I decided that inviting the entire family here to celebrate Father's Day was a good idea so I started cleaning yesterday. In the past, I've taken 3 days to get it done mainly because I just couldn't physically finish it in one day. Well, I got through the dusting and wanted to stop. But I realized that I wanted to stop because I HATE cleaning, not because I was tired. So I got the kitchen done which is a lot of wiping down and polishing. And wanted to stop because I HATE cleaning (are you getting the theme here?). But I went ahead and got all 3 of the bathrooms done. I did allow myself to stop at that point because it was supper time and the floors do take a couple of hours to do. That's on the agenda for today along with the laundry. But, I wasn't tired and no aching feet this morning.
NOTE: In reading this, I realized that I had posted responses to several ladies who are in the 50+ thread on here. So I just edited but want to let you know that if you feel you are losing your mind, at least you have company. Now if I could just lose some weight to go with it!
Noggs I think it's a good idea to take things a week at a time. It worked really well for me in the beginning. Good luck!
Betsey I know how you feel, my body seems pretty stoked to stick in the 370's lately! I get where you're coming from on the housework. I used to have to take a break every five minutes it seemed, and the trash would pile up on the deck waiting for my boyfriend to come home because I couldn't face the stairs to take it down. Yesterday, I cleaned my jeep out and hauled all the stuff up out of it, and I didn't feel any adverse effects.
Not too much pain this morning, hoping to keep it that way.
Jane - hah, so lucky that you got the great pictures before the sunburn, ugh. I sunburn really easily and really quickly so I completely empathize. I hope you weren't too uncomfortable for the wedding itself!
Oh, tooth pulling sounds distinctly unpleasant. I hope that you require quickly, ugh.
Noggs - I think it's so smart to take it in pieces! That's definitely how I did it. Stay within calorie limits and gradually add more veggies is my advice. The veggies help me stay in calorie limits.
betsy - yoyo mode is a regular piece of the business for me, even though I'm steadily moving downward. Also man: I hadn't even CONCEPTUALIZED it as an 11 inch change in my bra-band, but wow. It is. I did go and buy some new 38 H bras earlier this week. They were buy 1 get 1 50% off then I had an additional $25 off so they ended up being $20 each, or $40 total. I don't know what I'll do when I go down below 36 as I won't be able to get bras at Lane Bryant anymroe and they're the only place around here with H cups and I find I really REALLY need to try the bras on now.
ALSO THAT WAS SO MUCH WORK. All that cleaning, wow. I hope your Father's Day plans go well, though!
I am going away this weekend, going to a concert Saturday night (the band The National) and decided to drive up Friday, maybe shop, and go to some parks and whatnot. My brother is meeting me for the concert on Saturday. I got a good deal on a hotel with a pool so I'll get to swim! I'll have to watch food but I'm going to be very careful and pack some stuff and I should be fine.
My brother hasn't seen me since Christmas and I've lost another 50 lbs (well, since the END of hte holidays, haha, not since my before Christmas-low), and I wonder if he'll say anything? He didn't say anything at Christmas!
I'm convinced some people won't say anything until you're all up in their face like LOOK AT ME I'M SKINNIER DAMMIT!! haha. I make my husband tell me all the wonderful things that are noticeably smaller on me because I obviously don't see it. I've had a real crap a$$ couple of days. my car is acting ridiculous and I found out I have a cylinder 1 misfire because the check engine light decided to come on 2 days later. I checked with Monro Muffler (AKA overcharging douchebag universe) and they wanted $350 for spark plugs/wires/labor or MORE. Goodyear wanted $300 plus another 48-100 for a diagnostic test. like really? hello? am I made of money? I just forked over $695 to school for gods sake. nothing stresses me out like money.
wheezy- car trouble sucks!! So you have a friend who is talented?? Lots of people can change spark plugs and wires. If you have an autozone they ruin computer test for free.
jane- bless your heart on the teeth. Hubby is having 6 pulled on monday and then in 3 weeks will have the rest of his teeth pulled and get dentures. He has always fought gum disease, but being a diabetic just made things much worse. Hope your mouth heals quickly
nmen- I miss you!! I know I should check in more often.
My scales are stuck. I gained 8lbs the week after the wedding and now have it off but Tom just showed up again. I will be cooking different meals the next few weeks for hubby and I. I will make sure his are nice and soft and mine will be nice and healthy. LOL
more power to you gamie, I make my husband eat what I eat. he could stand to lose a good 100 lbs or so too (he's 6'3" and 350 but he's pretty muscular). my husband and his dad are going to try and change the plugs and wires themselves, it's just going to be a little costly. if it's not a fuel injector then that's good news. if it is, then I'll have to actually pay a mechanic
Jane -- So glad to hear that you're not experiencing much pain from the dental work. You either on really good drugs or else the surgery was the worst part. Hope the trend continues through the weekend.
Mnem -- What a great weekend it sounds like you have planned!!!! You seem to get out and do a lot of interesting things. If your brother doesn't notice another 50 pounds off, go to a store, have him pick up a 50 pound bag of something, and tell him that's how much weight you've lost since the last time you saw him and cudos are in order! Or accept that as a male, he's just deficient in the noticing change category.
Wheezypi -- Yikes! Car troubles are the pits. Emergency expenditures of large sums of cash are the pits. Hope you can get things fixed and be back to driving soon.
Dgramie -- Hope your hubby's dental work goes well -- sounds like a major step in a long road. Congrats on getting the wedding weight off and for looking on the meal planning for the next few days as a way to fix you some healthy meals while making soft stuff for your husband.
I'm running up to the airport again today to pick up the last of the early summer vacationers. This is it for awhile......the car is beginning to just head to the airport without me steering! Then I'll come home and start working on meal prep for the weekend family gathering. We're just having a cookout, but I'm also trying to make sure that I have several healthy dishes included. Strawberry season is just beginning here, and I'm going to pick up a flat on the way home and have fresh strawberries for dessert with some angel food cake for those who want it. Love this time of year here (Western Washington). Strawberry season first. Then raspberry/blackberry season. Then blueberry season. And they're all ripe all the way through and so sweet and healthy. Yum.
I have noticed I am SO much better in the garden now. It is great. Like I just don't get tired / need to rest like I did.
I've been on them four separate times in the last 18 months, either for tonsilitis or tooth infections (which should be gone now that the last bad one has been yanked), and they always screw up my system. Then again, I'd rather not get a gum infection! 
