Hi guys,

I totally disappeared this past week while I was on my vacation but I missed you all and I am currently back-reading everything I missed. Congrats to those who had weight losses this past week and congrats to those who continue to stay on plan and fight their way thru to the finish for results. The holiday was AMAZING and I wish it wasn't ending. I head back to work in a day and a half so a small amount of time left to still enjoy. I was able to be much more active like I wanted to be this holiday. The BF and I enjoyed time at the pool, walking around the neighborhood, and bowling. Our anniversary was amazing and we really enjoyed a night out on the town. I did splurge on my calories and had chocolate ice cream that night, but for being the first time I had something off plan and full of sugar in 7 weeks, I thought it was an ok decision for me. The next morning, I was right back on plan. I feel like the only thing that has been lacking for me during the holiday has been my water intake so I am trying daily to keep pushing myself to get everything in me that I need. After last week's 3 lb weight loss, this week I didn't go up or down. I'll take it (considering the ice cream and lack of water intake). Ready to head back to work though and get back into the swing of things at work and staying on plan with food and exercise at home again. It's hard to believe it is October here in Chongqing as we are still experiencing 85-95 degree weather. Something that is totally unheard of here especially this late into what "should be" fall. I hope it means that we still get a fall. If it jumps straight to winter I know it will be miserable. Anyways, I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. I'm ready to jump back into the swing of things here online so I will work on getting in some personals tomorrow.

Betsy - It was incredibly relaxing, not gonna lie. I used to love kayaking there, but don't have one anymore Should try and amend that!

Forgive my ignorance but is IF intermittent fasting? How do you find that? My uncle has recently lost a fair bit on 5:2... am contemplating it myself, even just for a few weeks to see what the deal is.

Fiona - Not secret knowledge, promise Just a bit of easy coding. To do what I did, you'll need to have your image hosted on a website like imgur, imageshack, postimage... wherever really. So upload your photo somewhere like that then get the direct link to the image.

OR if you're using a pic from Google Images or something, just get that link.

When you go to reply to a thread (even quick reply), you'll see a little yellow image box with a mountain and sun type picture? Click on that, then paste the link to your image in there. The image should now appear in your post. (It adds in the [img] codes).

I don't think it needs to be any size specifically, as I suspect it resizes for the board - or it should. I'm not entirely sure. I hope that's clear. I'm rubbish at explaining technical stuff.

Happy Belated Birthday Donna

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This morning I heard my alarm go off at 5 am but I turned it off and fall back asleep and then when I woke up it was almost 7 am again, DARN IT!!!!! Anyway I tired to go for my morning walk but I only got down and back up the street before my foot started hurting again but I hope once my shoes break in my foot wont hurt anymore. I'm gonna get my 2 miles in tonight and those are my only plans for today. Mom and I usually go to Walmart on Monday's but I dont know if we're gonna go today since we went shopping on the 3rd, I'll see when mom gets home today.

Good morning all. Just a few minutes before I need to get ready to go into town for the home equity line of credit closing that got screwed up last week. Will run a bunch of errands as long as I'm in town.

Terra -- Hope the shoes do the trick and help keep the foot pain away. Breaking them in may take some walking around. You might try just wearing them around the house to help with the breaking in.

MissBB -- Yes, IF is intermittent fasting. I just googled it and found lots of articles plus there is an IF thread here on 3FC. I also count calories and watch my carbs so it's my own version of the approach. For me, I maintain if I eat 3 meals a day, but to lose I need to cut back to eating within the 8 hour time frame which turns out to be 2 meals. Having a definite cut off time has helped immensely with breaking the evening snacking habit.

Shan84 -- Sounds like you had a great holiday -- how wonderful for you!!!! Being able to say that you maintained your weight while on vacation is a huge accomplishment in my book. Glad it was such a special time for you.

Crystalian -- One of the reasons that we all need to lose weight -- a lot of it -- is that we probably put ourselves at the bottom of the list including giving ourselves credit for accomplishing something. 30 pounds off is a major accomplishment. Do you want to lose more? Probably. But give yourself credit for sticking with it and getting the 30 off. It lets you know you can lose weight. And it's a lot better than gaining 30 pounds. I think it's a great start and congratulate you on doing it.

Fi -- Love the new collage!

Still working on fine tuning my eating approach. I've gotten myself back in the habit of eating only between noon and 8 PM. Now I'm really working on trying to watch the carbs as I'd have a potato, rice, pasta, etc. with every meal if I could. But I am amazed at how must better I feel with the 10 pounds of the regain back off. Imagine how I'll feel when I get back to my low point and go on from there. Have a greaat day.

Greetings!

Sorry, been out of pocket for a bit.

Got the car dropped off at the body shop this morning. Went to the doc yesterday because I've been having odd pains in my legs. Looks like all is progressing as it should, because the ultrasound just showed the old clots that haven't totally resolved yet, but no new stuff. The assumption is that the pains have to do with all of the flow not being quite back yet.

Have a great day,

Dean

So, this week I figured out how to Laura (me)- proof my diet and exercise regimen. The diet part was easy. Sunday afternoons I prep. Breakfast, lunch, dinner- all in neat color coded Tupperware bowls so- I grab breakfast and lunch, throw them in my purse, and as soon as I get home from the gym at night, throw dinner's in the microwave- heat and eat the REALLY healthy way! All fresh, all prepped by me so I know what's in it, all clean, natural, no added salt or sugar or butter or oil ingredients- perfect. And it is SO easy, and doesn't give me a chance to fall off the wagon. I plan ONE meal out for the weak based on my cravings and that is on the weekend.
That was the easy part. (Although I MAY have gone a little heavy handed with the cayenne on today's lunch.. yow! Hot stuff!)

Then there was the exercise thing. I was doing good but honestly, I don't have time to structure every workout every day. BUT I've been doing the squat challenge this month- on Day 7- fyi- 90 squats and 90 glute bridges is NO joke... didn't know there were muscles in some of those places... anyway. So, I do the challenge count in the morning and walk/jog a few miles at night. Pounds are slipping away! And then it hits me. There are a gazillion of these 30 day fitness challenges- if I alternate upper, lower, core, I can literally do a different challenge every month for my morning work out, and then cardio for my evening work out. Boom.

So... diet and exercise- Laura-proofed. And the good news is, it is something I can do long term because it is a routine and one that frees up time with my kiddo.

Now I need to go find some water because I definently over did it with the spices today. Yikes!

Gonna catch up on personals since I haven't posted since Sunday and that was just a quickie

Donna HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope you were able to enjoy yourself!!!

BB Thanks for the love doll!! I'm gonna keep pushing as hard as I did last week and hope for another great loss this week

Betsy I did it!! I think I'm finally back on track 100%!! I've missed this tremendously! The wedding went very well...I was invited to go after I did their makeup but I had some errands to run and didn't know I was invited otherwise I would have planned for it. Great job on the 10 lb loss!!! You go girl!!!

Fi This by far is probably my favorite collage you've done that I've seen!! The colors are great and I just love the cat in it!!!

crystalian Great job on the 30 lb loss! It is an accomplishment to be proud of! I know what you mean where you'll be happier when you see it...It does take time because you see yourself everyday, but I promise you slowly but surely if you haven't already felt it, you will...That was the biggest thing for me when I first started losing. Keep up the great work!

Shan Sounds like you had a great vacation!!! I take mine at Christmas time and DH and I usually go visit family but this year we may stay home with our family here or maybe treat ourselves to a weekend at a cabin in the mountains...We haven't really decided yet. It's hard to believe it's October here since we are still having warm days but the humidity has started to go away...I can't wait to be able to wear a sweater all day long lol....

Dean Glad you went to the doctor to get checked out and good news on no new clots...hope you get well soon!

Laura YAY!!! So glad that you've found how to proof your eating and exercise!! It's a great feeling isn't it? I don't meal prep as much anymore but I do make sure to keep only healthy things in my fridge so at least if I want a snack or something it isn't overly terrible for me. I also have a calendar that is a dry erase board that I put the days of each month on there and what my work out for that particular day will be...I do it every 1st of the month and it seems to help me a lot too ....Keep up the great work!!

Well yesterday was a big flop. I did well with my eating no problem, even though I think a ate a little too much last night but hey that's ok, at least it was healthy and I acknowledge my error. Didn't get to exercise last night though. I was really pooped from work and I guess going so hard this weekend on top of it made me tired and of course my BIL passed out on the couch so I used him as the excuse as to why I couldn't exercise lol....But I got my work out in today...HIIT at home and tomorrow I'm going to do legs at the gym.

This weekend DH and I went to this town about an hour or so away from us that has a HUGE flea market and got some awesome stuff there....We have flea markets here in town but this one is bigger and they even allow people to set up tables outside that they have for free to sell their stuff. That's where we actually found the goodies. We got a Sega Genesis 3 with two controllers (est $35), a Nintendo zapper gun (est $10), an Nintendo games (est $6) all for $10!!! I also got a food dehydrator for $10 so I'm going to make home made veggie chips and maybe even some beef jerky mmm.... and the best find of the whole day was a vintage (we think around 1947) AM tube radio...all original pieces and it still worked!!! We got it for $20!!! We have been trying to look up some history on it and have found some refurbished ones that go for like $130-150 so I think we made out like bandits!!!! There are just a few minor cosmetic things on the outside that need to be fixed but other than that it still works! DH was so happy about it too

Well I need to get going and work on dinner...I'm getting hungry and have no idea what to eat tonight...maybe eggs...plan was for DH to make spaghetti sauce while I was at work so it could simmer all day but he didn't since he wasn't feeling good so now I gotta figure something out.

Anyway...Hope everyone is happy and healthy!! One love!!

Shan...what time is it in China??
Fiona....I envy you your creativity! I am going to get back to writing again and sewing...I will explain shortly!
Miss BB ......let me know how you get on with IF. I struggle to keep really low cal. It gives me terrible headaches....I would be interested in knowing if this passes!
Dean......the pain from clots can last ages, and it is a really horrible pain isn't it? Not to mention scary because you think they are returning! Hope your car isn't too expensive!
To everybody else......Bore Da...(good morning!)

Well, you may or may not remember that my hubby has been looking for work for some time? He is a 55 year old semi-disabled man and he wants farm work! Sounds ludicrous doesn't it? But he has spent most of his working life as a herdsman, milking cows, and it is what he knows. Just when we were about to give up on the whole thing, he responded to an ad in the local paper and went for a trial milking on Monday. The farmer was very upfront and asked about his disabilities ( he has Muscular Dystrophy) but as hubby is so at home in the milking parlour, his disabilities are almost irrelevant.
He had to get up at 03.50 this morning to do a 2nd shift (as a loving wife I got up to make him tea before he left...but I did return to my bed once he had gone!)
Here's the rub! It is self employed and he would be doing around 60 hours a week. Great so far...he loves the work despite coming home covered in cow pooh! However...(isn't there always something?) It leaves me car-less in a village with 4 buses a day that don't coincide with school times! It's a 2.5 mile walk to the town but almost half is down a country lane with a good deal of local traffic and no pavement. OK for me but a bit too far and hazardous for my 9 year old. My neighbour takes his girls to a nearby school and has offered to take him every day but won't take money........any advice?
Also it leaves me home alone....for MANY hours each day.....when I am not used to it and have every food cupboard in the house YELLING at me to come and search for snacks!.......Any more advice?

Please don't misunderstand, this job will make a massive difference on all sorts of levels but it will take some adjustment on all our parts!
I do have dogs, cat, chickens and racing pigeons for company but conversation is limited....especially advice regarding dieting!
Have a lovely day my chicken friends.
Donna

Good Morning!

Almond Vanilla Praline coffee this morning. Sounds a bit over the top, but the smell of this stuff is amazing.

Yup, the pain from the clots is odd, as it comes and goes, and makes you worry about reclotting all the time. I'm glad they didn't find additional problems, but also somewhat embarrassed to have gone in. The problem seems to be that the docs don't exactly know why or how long the pain will last during recovery.

Everyone have a great day!

Dean

Betsy ~ Yeah I hope the shoes do the trick too. Yeah I've been walking them when we go out but we arent allow to wear our shoes inside though. Thanks for the suggestion though.

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I woke up at 6:00 am this morning and I got ready for school and now its almost time for me to watch for my bus. I'll probably get to school at 8 am and then I'll get back home probably at 2:30 or 3 today. I'm going to school to help prep and cook the DA4A lunch that we have every month. My only plans for today are to fold and put away my clothes and do my 2 miles tonight. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Good morning all. Fog season has started here -- slept past 8 this morning because the sun wasn't shining in my window. It's so foggy that I can't see the houses across the street. It will burn off by noon.

Terra -- Lots of people keep their houses shoe free so finding other way to break them in will help. Seems like when I get a pair of shoes broken in completely that's when it's time to get new ones!

Dean -- You have led me down the path to possible addiction. After your mentioning sugar free syrups for your coffee, I decided to try one (white chocolate). Oh my, it does add a lot to my morning coffee ritual. Thanks for the idea. Glad to hear that you got the OK on the leg clots -- and not something to feel embarrassed about. Those things are dangerous and definitely fall in the being safe rather than sorry category.

Donna -- First, congrats to your husband on his new job -- especially one that he really wants to do and will enjoy. In terms of getting your son to schoool, I would take the neighbor up on his offer to drive him and find a way -- either formally or informally -- to repay him. Would he let you buy him some gasoline periodically? Are there any services that you could perform that he needs? I'm assuming the children's mother is on the scene, so you might involve her in figuring something out. And if they truly want to do it as a neighborly help, then accept it and find a way to pay it forward for someone else. The keeping yourself occupied during the day is something else -- any clubs you could join? other women in the area to get together with? It's definitely a big adjustment and I know that the siren call of the forbiddens (food!) would be a problem for me as well. Good luck.

Sam -- Aren't finding great prices on items a wonderful feeling! Glad you guys got such good buys as well as had fun together doing it. Sounds like the wedding went well, too. Wish I had your expertise in doing makeup.

Laura -- What a great system for keeping the eating and exercise on track. It doesn't matter what we do because I think that all of us do different things, but finding something that works and sticking with it is a big challenge.

Bill has officially been released from the doctor and can drive again. Yay -- I can have my life back. Of course this does mean that I'm running out of excuses to stop procrastinating on getting the winterization stuff finished. Off to the gym, hit the pharmacy to get my flu shot and a couple of cards, and then I am going to do a LOT of weeding this afternoon. Have a great day.

I apologize for not participating much of late, especially with regard to personals, but my life has been pretty hectic. The kittens still have the upper respiratory infection (congested & sneezy) they had when we first got them. But there's hope: it looks like (crossing fingers & toes) their bug is sensitive to the antibiotic we've got them on now. Meanwhile, I've been suffering pain in both knees as a result of the deep squats I was doing for one of my Qigong exercises. I'm doing a modified version of it now that's no longer damaging my knees, but some rehab with leg exercises and gentle walking excursions is in order. Bob and I plan to leave on Monday to go enjoy the fall colors at his mom's (our) farm in Pennsylvania, so I'll be off the Net from roughly the 13th 'til the 26th. Lots to do to get ready! But I'm still having 0/0/0 days (no depression, no mania), so I'm a happy camper.

Ubee— I miss you very much! I say that not to make you feel guilty for being absent—you shouldn't feel guilty—but just to let you know how much I care about you. I'm hoping your life is blessed with love & joy, and that you feel gratitude for all the little things that make you smile, even when you may not feel on top of things re. eating & weight loss.

Personals finally!

Anticakechick- Prepping my food for the week is super important for me staying on plan. I have two meals that I like to make every week and it break into small freezed portions for the week and I love it! I make a chicken taco chili from the website skinnytaste and I make a lean beef and SUPER veggie organic wheat spaghetti. All of this portions out to 12+ meals per week. Love being prepared for the week!

SamIAm- This past vacation wasn't one I took, it was a whole week for Chinese national holiday. Everyone in China gets that week off. I agree that Christmas is a great time to take time off for vacations. My next big vacation will be the whole month of February and I will be returning stateside to visit my sister and the rest of my family and (excited!!) bringing the BF home to meet everyone. Super excited. We will enjoy two and a half weeks in Texas and take a one week cruise to Mexico while we are there.

mountain walker- China's time difference to the states depends on where you are located. Roughly 14-18 hour time difference. I love to say that I live in the future! Haha. Your husbands new job sounds great even with the trials and challenges facing the rest of the family. I think if the neighbor is willing to take your daughter to and from school say thanks and even if they won't take gas money, continue to offer anyways, or purchase them a small gift to say thank you. The 2.5 mile walk to you for school and back would be great exercise and way to stay active though. What is it like in the winter time for you? Consider purchasing a bike to ride on the days you don't want to walk? As far as the hours at home, it always helps me to have a schedule that I stick to. You mentioned you are in school, so that means you need study hours. That should take up a chunk of your day. What are your hobbies you like to do at home? Is it time to pick up a new one and try it out? I don't think adult conversation or boredom will bother you cause you can always hop on here and talk to all kinds of people regardless of the time of day. I love browsing all the forums even though I don't necessarily comment in all of them. As far as the food in the cupboard yelling at you...why do you have that kind of food in the house? If it's just for your husband and child, then make yourself your own cupboard of the things you can snack on should you choose to. One the cupboards that are off limits to you for your healthy living plan, maybe post pictures to help you stay motivated before you go and reach into that cupboard. Just some ideas. Hope you find some of them helpful or entertaining at least. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

betsy2013- Where abouts in the states are you with fog already? I wish we were moving in that direction here in Chongqing but alas, we are still experiencing the 85-95 degree heat of the summer here still. Don't get me wrong, I love it considering 90% of a Chongqing year is grey and cloudy. And I hate the rain...but its kind of weird to be still getting summer weather when its already almost mid October.

Fiona- What I wouldn't give to spend a fabulous fall break at a farm in Pennsylvania of all places! I hope you enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time.


Hope everyone has had a good week thus far. I'm back to work and planning the BF's birthday night for tomorrow night. Although it will only be a dinner at home and a few hours together because we both have to work the next day and on opposite ends of town. I'm planning to tell him we can do a re-celebration on Saturday night/Sunday if he would like to. I'm trying to think of an alternative to cake for tomorrow night cause not only would I not eat it but he hates all cakes. Anyone have any suggestions? Food plan went a little haywire the last two days cause I found some banana popsicles at the grocery store...although of course all the nutrition info is in Chinese so I have no idea what I'm eating. I finally threw them out last night when I realized I was going to crazy on them. I decided to help me get back on plan that today for breakfast and lunch I'm going to do some optifast shakes to help me get my sugar intake under control again. I don't even like sugar in my everyday life. Damn those popsicles. Ah well, on the exercise front I haven't been any better. How do you stay motivated to workout? I'm doing it all at home but struggle with motivation to just do it. No real excuses. Anyone have any insight to offer? Cheers!

Betsy ~ Yeah I think it is a good idea to find other ways to break my shoes in.

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This morning I woke up at 6:30 am. Right now I'm eating breakfast, Clyde is still sleeping so I havent taken him outside yet. I still have to give him some fresh food and water. Today I plan to do my 2 miles tonight and I'll gonna clean my room today/tonight also and those are my only plans for today/tonight.

Hi Everyone.
Thank you so much for your concern, well wishes, prayers and <3.
I am starting to get my feet back on solid ground. I'm not sure what it was all about but I am so glad to have all of you in my life.
Soon I will get back to doing personals and finding out what you have all been up to.
Thanks. Ubee