Hey Everyone! Wow, I have really missed you all and missed posting here. I am hopelessly behind & am not even going to try to catch up on the missed threads.
I had some craziness pop up in my personal life and it threw everything off kilter. I stopped focusing on being healthy and I let things slip. My eating & exercise (or lack there of) have been bad. After a few days I realized what I was letting happen but I couldn't seem to grab hold of anything as I was slipping. Then I got my first Christmas card yesterday from 3FC, it was from Brenda. It made me remember that there are people out there that care and that I cared and blah blah blah mushy mushy blah blah. lol
So, I am back in the saddle this morning and ready to go again. I am not sure how much damage I have done but I know in just the little while that I haven't exercised I feel crappier.
Hope you all can welcome me back, with my tail between my legs, lol. I promise to try harder. Had I kept posting even during my difficulties I would have had an easier time with it, I know that now. Hindsights 20/20.
Oh, hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving too!

morning chickies! just got done with my exercise for the day. i did a kickboxing dvd i rented from netflix. it was kathy smith's kickboxing. the beginner's workout was tough! i always think i'm doing pretty good when i do the WATP dvd's cuz i can keep up with them and even do the 4 mile one, but this kickboxing was a hard one. it didn't help that i'm a little sore from shoveling yesterday too! i'm glad it's done now though! i was hoping working out would make me forget about how hungry i am, but as i sit here i can feel the emptiness and all i can think about is that i am starving! i have to go get some blood drawn at 11:45 and have to fast for 12 hours before. i didn't really think about that last night when i ate dinner and then didn't eat anything else. it was 11:30 and i decided i wanted a snack (late i know, but i was all off schedule yesterday since i didn't work), then got distracted and never had anything. now, i want to raid the kitchen but can't until i get back from getting the blood taken. cereal (my favorite!) and the clementines sure are looking good in there! anyway, maybe i can keep myself busy on here for awhile.....

sandy--the pictures you posted from the wedding are really beautiful. i love the gerber daisies (my fave's) and the orange color of her flowers. everyone looks so nice, and the flower girl and junior bridesmaid (?) are cuties! looks like it was a gorgeous day for a wedding!

michelle--glad to hear that you are getting over that cold. i'm waiting for one. i always seem to get at least one really bad one, so i'm sure it'll find me sooner or later. with all the germs the boys must bring home from school, i'm always surprised i'm not sick all the time! how are your biopsies healing? hope everything is going well and glad to hear they were nothing to worry about (i should have posted about that earlier--sorry!).

jen--way to go on deciding to exercise this morning instead of justifying doing nothing (i've been known to do that too)! great accomplishment!

jill--sounds like you have a great plan for the day and ideas for keeping busy. i don't know if you like to do any sort of craft, but i make things at night to keep myself busy and out of the kitchen. i do crossstitch a lot and am making a baby quilt for my friends' baby that is due in march. my mother is law is going to teach me to make jelly, so i'll give her cinnamon apple jelly as christmas gifts and i am also making some beaded letter ornaments to put on the jars to personalize them. it keeps me busy, is fun, takes care of some gifts and saves some money.
i know what you mean about the people on biggest loser. i wish i could do that all day. i love the show, but i still don't know if i would want to lose 100 pounds in 3 months. it just doesn't seem healthy. i think it's interesting that the people who were working out at home are doing so well. i don't want to give anything away here in case people read this but haven't seen the show yet, but it makes me feel like it can really be done at home, you don't have to be on a tv show to lose weight and get healthy. and, i think your goal for next christmas is a great idea--you couldn't find a better gift for yourself!

anyway, i guess i'd better get moving. when i ordered my gazelle, they only charged me for one, but shipped me two. of course, i couldn't keep the one i didn't pay for, so i called the company and they emailed me stuff to return it. now i just need to get it all ready. we just thought the pieces for one came in two boxes so of course we opened both. now i need to tape the box closed and get this shipping label on and wrestle it out to the porch for the ups guy to pick up. also, i'm pretty sure i need a shower after all that kickboxing this morning! take care everyone! lori

Misti, I don't "thnk" I misunderstood. Didn't you measure the other day and noted how many inches you've lost on all your body parts? It was awesome to me. If your mean scale is still stuck, then you MUST be firming up with all the exercise you do. For me, you're still a great example. And, didn't you just recently buy size Large sweats instead of the XL??? size? Or, maybe I dreamed it......who knows. (some of the meds I'm on now mess with my memory) .

Jill, I am exactly like you. Every day starts off great, and by the end of the day I feel like I've blown it. BUT, doing well in the morning is more than I was doing 4 months ago. I know I've gained back a little, I've sadly, updated my ticker, BUT, I also know if it wasn't for all you girls and this amazing site I would have gained much much more. In years past
I would literally gain 10 pounds a month this time of the year. So please, Honey, look at the whole picture. We have only 30 days more this month and we'll all have a fabulous new start on 1/1/07. Don't give up........
Did ya ever hear the Josh Groban song, "Don't Give Up, You Are Loved?"
It's beautiful and inspiring. This site gives us the lift we need to make our goals....even if they are in the future.....that's why we need to do one day, one meal, one hour (for me sometimes). Do a lyrics search for the song. If you can't find it I can pm it to you.


Nancy, I just love you. Have fun at your party....and you're completely correct....eat sensibily......(what gets me is the alcohol.)
Thanks about my dd's wedding. I miss her terribly. She's 750 miles away. She is my baby.
Andy and I have Miss Abby, (who, by the way is the littles brides maid....a junior brides maid) and she's currently my whole world, but Naomi is my youngest daughter from my first marriage.
She and I have always been extremely close. And I miss her so bad it hurts!!!!
Looking at the pics is worse than being at the wedding. At the wedding and reception I was so busy making sure everything and everyone was ok, behaving etc. I love my SIL
he's a good young man and he loves my daughter. (but i still hate she's so far away.)
Last weekend Abby said Naomi (who we all call Nomer) needs to live here with us. That she didn't care if Rhett came with her or not, but that her sissy needs to live here.
Then we both cried. But, when I look at the pics it makes my heart swell up with pride cuz she's a good young woman. (don't mean to sound conceited, sorry)
Have fun on the elliptical today. I'm cleaning and then Abby and I are gonna work on a blanket she wants to make for her dad. We were gonna make cupcakes, but I think....and hope she's forgotten about that.

Andie, I've wondered where you were. I've missed you
Of course we welcome you back, Sweetie. Don't be silly. We all rise and fall. Right now, I'm happy to not go crazy. This time of the year is so, so hard. Read what I told Jill about what USED to happen to me this time of the year. We all have little victories everyday. We just have to remember them and progress from there.

Wezi, What a good girl you are for returning the other Gazelle. I love being around honest people. Thanks about the pics.

It was a beautiful day at DD's wedding. Not too hot, not too cool, not too windy. The kids could not have picked a better day if they'd ordered it. ha ha

Ladies, I've been on the pc too long. I have to get off my butt and finish cleaning and moving furniture and sweeping under and behind them. Then, we're gonna get goin on her daddy's blanket.

It's 11 am ......and I'm still OP for the day thus far!!!!

Hellooooo chickies!! I am reposting this message from the exercise thread, because we need the help of everyone who is interested to make our yearly goal of 200,000 minutes! If you joined our thread before but fell off track, isn't this a great time to re-commit??? And if you never joined, isn't this a great time to do it? Don't wait for January to set goals! Have a routine in place by then!!!!


Here's the message:
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Okay, I did some figuring about our goal.

I added in the November minutes. Unless anyone has any more to add, we are at 178,809 min for the year. That means, to meet our year goal, we need: 21,191 minutes this month! That's about 684 min each day. [Note: we've done more than that before, but we did it in in the summer (for us Northern Hemisphere people) in months without the major holidays!]

I took a look at everyone's goals, and we are going to need everyone's help to get there! It's going to be tight, but if you're looking for yet another reason to exercise in the month of December (a VERY tough month to maintain momentum), this might be it. We need every minute from everybody to make our goal.

That being said, if we don't make it, I am still darn proud of every single one of us. We are doing what most people think can't be done. I say bravo to all of us!

I am sorry; I didn't mean to say you had said things wrong; I probably wrote it wrong or got falsely excited about the loss of measurements overall. Yes, I was focusing on the positive and how much I have lost since I started this and I have lost some inches since last time I measured. However, that was quite a while ago and as I have said before I am just unable to measure myself accurately as I just can't get the tape in the same place twice, etc. I can measure myself twice in a row and get a measurement of an inch or two different. And I CAN get the pants on and up which I could not before... but they are still waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too tight to actually wear and that is not changing.

Yes I bought large pants but I have not worn XL for months... my really OLD sweats were XL and since early this summer I have been wearing men's size small sweats and sports pants. The reason I could not wear women's pants before is that my thighs are really skinny and all the pants had huge legs and butt which hung halfway to my knees.

Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding. To be honest, that is one reason why I don't post here all that much any more -- because I don't want to keep complaining about not having lost weight so when I do post I just don't mention it at all since that last post you are referring to. So my silence doesn't mean I am being successful... it just means I'm keeping my mouth shut about it for a change.

Wow we had best get our butts in gear then, huh?

Jill -- I'm sorry the scale went up on you But I am very proud of you for not giving up. You know what to do, you just have to figure out HOW to do it. I know what you mean about all that TV time. I think that's one of the biggest things that's changed in my life: I spend a LOT less time in front of the tv and computer. I watch shows we Tivo, but not a LOT more. I used to always whine about not having time, but in my case I also didn't MAKE time. I'm still working on that (probably always will) but DID get much better about it this year.

Xan -- I feel like I've spent a LOT of time in the past month being consciously off plan. I've managed to maintain and not gain, which is better than I ever would have done in the past. That is NOTHING to sneeze at.

But I also know I can do better. Nancy, you talked about this too... getting a little complacent, cutting a few corners. I've been plateaud for a month or so and know why (a comfort!) -- because I've been doing a little more eating out, eating sweets, etc.

I'm ambivalent about it. On the one hand, day in and day out I am doing a TRUCKLOAD better than I ever have in the past. Yes, I've been going out to eat a lot, but I eat less food and make better choices. If this is for life I need to figure out how to LIVE this life and I feel like I'm starting to do that. I'm being conscious of what I eat, even when I eat more than I want.

On the other hand, I don't want to maintain here, I want to lose a little more. Can I maintain a lower weight? Heck, can I even lose more weight? It's whole new territory and I will just have to figure it out as I go along. But I know that if I keep doing what I've been doing then I won't get there.

And then on my third hand (which, as an aside, while a third hand would be helpful, I don't know where I'd put it... and would I need new clothes to accomodate it??)... I think, "You have come a long way and maybe you need to just maintain for a while and see what happens." Yeah, that third hand makes me think I'm kind of sabotaging myself a bit, but then again (4th hand?) as long as it's not out of control and I'm maintaining here (rather than where I was) then I'm okay.

Okay, I think I totally lost my point, confused myself, and ended up with many more hands than is physically possible...

EXACTLY!!!!

Oh, I love that little bike smily!!

GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I did a nice long post with personals for everyone and POOF it is gone. My own fault. I know I should type the long ones in Word first. Oh well, just know I was thinking of all of you.

Heather - You've really got me motivated to try to help the group make it to 200,000 for the year. And to that end, I got in 30 minutes on the Gazelle this morning.

To everyone else - Have a great day and great weekend. I'll be back later when I am not quite so PO'ed at the internet!

Xena -- Sorry about losing the post (I HATE when that happens), but I'm thrilled to motivate another about getting us to 200,000 minutes. We are absolutely within reach, but it will be a big challenge!!

I'm already planning out my exercise for the day!

Heather, I understood your long post exactly! I too am thankful for how far I have come... and am amazed at myself as now I don't dodge the cameras but am kind of glad for them because it is a chance for a progress picture. Especially since I look at myself in the photos and am thrilled with how far I have come... except LOL now all I can see are boobs and stomach. But even through the shoulders and especially butt and down I look pretty good although I still want to be skinnier there.

BUT I want to keep losing weight too... this is not enough and I don't want to settle for it. And it feels as if the scales are not moving at all... but long term they are going down; just super slowly. And I was wrong in what I said earlier... I hit 228 on 10/10 and again on 11/11... this morning 232 again. But I am starting to log it every single morning on my Excel database so I can see the gradual downtrend. For example now I hardly EVER hit any higher than 232... I used to fluctuate a lot higher. Just have to keep working. LOL now I am talking in circles, oops.

One thing I have really noticed since I got my thyroid meds all adjusted properly and am exercising, getting lots of fresh air and eating right... is how much my hair and complexion are improving! I used to have really shiny hair but it got SO dull and dead looking when I had the thyroid tumor and was eating all kinds of junk, etc. I can really see an improvement.

Oh well... better go get on the Gazelle!!!

Sue (Misti) -- I'm so glad you understood me! And I'm glad to see you're seeing SOME kind of progress (tho small). You have come too far to give up now, and I know you know that!

And, you've motivated me to get OFF the computer and ON the treadmill. I'll be back with at least 45 min of exercise behind me. Gotta get moving on that exercise goal!!!

Hey guys
Just popping in and catching up before I head off for a bite of lunch, do my nails and a trip to the salon for my hair appt! Yeah!

Hope you all have a great day!! Talk to you tomorrow!!

by the way... sandy, the pics are GORGEOUS!!! and the bride is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Brenda

LOL Xena... I jumped on the Gazelle for 30 minutes too when I read Heather's post. I was "planning" to do it anyway but it did get me to jump right on!

It also inspired me to "up" my goal to 2000 minutes. I've done that for several months in a row so NO reason I can't get in gear and do it again.

In fact I was debating today whether to go out jogging or to get on the Gazelle which I have not done lately. But I did the Gazelle and NOW I am going to go out jogging too. Usually we go to the pool on Saturday but my friend could not go today and last night there was still some ice out so I decided not to go either.

Heather, thanks for the encouragement. One thing I didn't say before is that in the past month or so I am amazed at my strength progress. Now I usually go out jogging (be it slowly and kind of wimpy) LOL but I can keep moving. NO WAY I could have done that just a short time ago!!! \o/ (those are hands lifted in praise to God).

Misti: I wanted to tell you that I was looking at the photo page and you look amazing. I can't get over how much younger you look now with all your weight loss! Please don't feel like you can't come here and complain. Believe it or not, sometimes complaining helps me to feel normal like when I work my butt off and don't loose I'm not the only one. Please just be yourself here and say what ever you feel like saying! You are loved!

Mechelle: Cool. Is he like a TV weather man or radio or like behind the scenes?

Jen: Wonderful NSV. Very encouraging for me.

Jilly: Hang in there. You can do it. I'm very proud of you for not sitting still for doing something besides TV. I get caught up in that too. You have really inspired me to spend my time more wisely.

Mellissa: OH, what kind of puppy are you getting?

Nancy: Be proud my friend. At least you lost weight this year! I am weighing more right now than I ended last year weighing. UGH! So, at least you weigh less than last year.

Andie: Welcome back. Glad to see you back.

Lori: Good luck with the blood tests.

Sandy: Brag all you want about your lovely daughter. The photos from her wedding are so beautiful. Who are the two darling little girls in the one photo? The are so darling. Congrats on having such a special daughter! Congrats on having the wedding turn out so beautiful.

Lilion: I will do what ever I can to help out with the exercises too.

Blessings to you all,
Annie