KittehMomma – I hope you found your way to the gym again… sorry about the allergies! Glad to hear that your mindset is improving.

Petra – I know you will bust through that 220 barrier, I just know it. Sorry to read that work continues to be such a source of stress. Hopefully being at the nursing home was a nice change.

AnnieDrews – ho ho ho re: yoda. Hope the added fat / protein is helping you. Last summer I added protein and iron and it helped a lot with the dragginess. Looking forward to housework tonight??! Those are words I have never uttered…

Wizzie – I’m glad you’re not feeling as tired…

Ange82much – I hope your trip is going well; I remember those alcohol business trip days… hard to resist the social pressure. Hope your headache is gone.

AngelsKeep – I hope you’re feeling more with-it today.

WeightlossWanted – how’s the packing going? Find your motivation again?

SLRoth – sorry to hear of your depression. I’m glad your mood lifted and you kept your eating under control. Hopefully today was a better day.

PeanutsMom – glad to hear things are going well with you and that you are staying on plan. Those on-again off-again false starts are frustrating – I speak from experience!

ICUWishing – we have a hermit crab; I don’t know that I would recommend them. They are very boring. We have renamed ours Tank, because all we do is take care of the tank, and almost never see the crab. Sorry about the fish; it’s really frustrating to not know what went wrong. I can’t believe that Atlanta is so soon; it seems so recently that you announced you were beginning to train, and now it’s here!

CruiseCAT – nice to see you, glad to read you are living a normal life. And congrats on the 8 pounds! I have to say, I feel in the same place as you. In control, eating well, living life. What’s your new volunteer position?

LolaJean – I’m glad you got the company to give you what you want. Because after all, you are the customer and you are paying! Good job sticking to your guns.

Nothing new to report here. Nice visit with my parents. Weight continuing to stabilize post-surgery; I’m wondering where it will level out at. I’m not really *trying* to lose weight, but the loss definitely motivates me to be extra careful about being on top of my game. As in, last night I considered a snack after dinner, but decided to just have tea instead; that sort of thing.

Heidi-The only reason I am looking forward to doing my housework tonight is this.....if I don't get it done tonight, I will have to do it Friday evening and/or Saturday. I plan to have fun most of the weekend w/ my sons and I want to start with a clean(er) house. I also look forward to walking into the bathroom and not cringing when I walk in there (two teenage sons anyone?). This works out best for me!

Love to all!

Quick howdy. Feeling better today. The wind finally stopped long enough for me to ride the bike. Just a *short* 3 miles, but good uphill sections. Tuckered out...slept only 4 hours last night. It is tough getting used to a different summer schedule and I don't sleep well at first for fear the alarm won't go off and I will oversleep and not be on time for b-fast. Waited up too late for Robert to get home from work, too. Hope I get all caught up to everyone pretty soon.

Barb

Busy day here today. The nursing home was a good distraction from the hospital. They were very happy to see me which was also nice. The personal assistant also seems to be getting into a groove.

I'm paying more attention to the fat content of my diet to see if not eating enough fat is what is making me feel hungry and miserable.

Really hit a slump this past week : ( I found out my oldest daughter (the one who doesn't speak to me or anyone else in the family) was finally given a diagnosis after 4 years of issues. She has cushings disease and had surgery today to remove a tumor from her pituitary gland. The slump is because I'm not suppose to know about this and can't talk to anyone in the family about it. I hate the whole disfunctional lying/secret-keeping that keeps going on! However if I say anything and my daughter finds out I know she'll know who told me.....

They did get the whole tumor and no radiation is necessary, so I'm breathing a sigh of relief. Why it took them over 4 years to diagnose her I don't know since I'm outside the loop and I do know they initially tested her for this more than 3 years ago. Anyway, all of this plus mother's day coming up has me in a funk about my family disintegration and feeling like a failure as a mother : (

So now that I've bummed everyone else out with my whining I'll go pack some boxes before bed. I'm getting down to crunch time, and little sleep last night doesn't help my mood or motivation!

Last one on yesterday, first today : ) So I got on my scale at 11pm for some reason just before I went to bed and my weight was the lowest it's been all week. What's up with that? Maybe I should weigh at night instead of first thing in the morning!? Looks the same today so I'll stop at the gym to confirm it...appears to be the same .5 loss I saw the other day. If so I'm claiming it! I hope everyone is having a great week! My crunch is on, off tomorrow and movers come on Saturday.

Congrats on the loss Kathi. Sorry about the family issues. I'm sure it does make mother's day difficult. Good thing you will have a distraction this weekend. Good luck with your move. I'll look forward to seeing your new place next month.

I'm in a little better mood myself today. Must be something in the air because I saw that magic number on my scale again this morning. I have to see it more than 1 day to claim it though. I think Becky may be onto something with the fat content of my diet. I won't know that for sure until I see a trend but this is a good sign.

Good morning, all. I had a really good workout yesterday morning. We went out for a going away lunch yesterday, and I am pleased to say I ordered a salad instead of eating at the high carb/high calorie buffet. I ate a bit more than I should have for dinner, but not too bad, and I had fruit for desert instead of giving in to my refined sugar cravings.

WLW--so sorry to hear about your family troubles, but thank goodness the doctors figured it out and were able to remove the tumor. Try not to blame yourself for your daughter's choices. Even the best parents can only guide a child so far.

Petra--glad to hear you had a good day and that the PA is working out.

Lolajean--sounds like you're doing the right thing for you right now. Good luck with the maintaining. That's always been the hardest thing for me, but you don't see advertisements for weight maintenance, just for weight loss.

Last night, I went a little "crazy" at a party last night & had two beers. The scale this morning read 133.5. Woo hoo, I lost 1.5 pounds of water weight. Thank you, beer. ;)

Seriously, I'm enjoying this segment of my weight loss journey. I'm starting to think about setting a final weight loss goal & looking at what maintenance would look like. I've never done maintenance before- I'd lose the weight and then gain it right back.

I'm also getting used to having a normal weight. My body can do things I never thought it could do like not struggle to get on a bike. Or squat down and get up without pulling myself up with my arms. I used to ignore my body with it's extra fat- now I am paying attention to how my body feels and moves. It's sad that I ignored my body before so I'm making up for it.

Anyway, enough philosophical stuff. I want to stay on my eating plan today & run 4 miles tonight. I'm trying to add strength training to my routine. I will commit to doing 20 minutes with my Bowflex & floor exercises.

Kathi - I'm sorry you're in such a difficult position. From what you've posted before, there's no reason to think any of this is you. Kids make extremely poor decisions - I read that the brain doesn't fully come into its capacity for decision-making until 25. One quote that's helped me is "We can't control how others behave, but we can control how we react to it". Spend a little time enjoying your successes in the past year! :hug:

petra - crossing fingers for you that maybe fat is a piece of your puzzle!

motivated - I always get a downtrend after a couple beers too. I think we all know why, but hey, it is nice to see even if it's temporary. :D

Heidi - thanks for the info on the hermit crab. I'm leaning toward Carolina anoles myself, because it's easy to set up terrarium that can be a functioning biosystem (very little cleaning required!).

ange - Two ways a big spider is deliberately coming into my house. "No way" is the one I can repeat here. :) Re chronic tension, even the chiros admit that neuromuscular aberrations cause the subluxation - so neuromuscular therapy is really the be-all, end-all of the root cause, esp for me. I've had very very good luck with a home version of NMT so far.

kitteh - great work resisting the sugar! It does get easier with time.

Left it ALL in the pool last night - yardage was only a mile and a half, but I tossed in a lot more stroke work than usual, plus a kicking set with fins. I was absolutely numb when I got done! Won't swim again til Saturday, so I figured I'd bust it good.

Hello gang!!

Angelskeep-Glad to hear that you were able to get out in the fresh air and exercise. I hope you can get caught up on your sleep; it is so important for good health. I said it before and I'll say it again, running a bed and breakfast sounds like lots of fun, but also LOTS of work! Hope you get back in the swing soon!

Petra-How nice to experience the appreciation of your patients at the nursing home. Appreciation is a big boost for me; my current job is the only one I've had where I feel truly appreciated and it makes it so much easier to come in everyday. Good luck on sorting out the fat content of your diet. I'm sure it will make a big difference.

WLW-Big hugs to you.:hug: I cannot imagine being estranged from my children. I do hope the situation is one that will change itself and become better for all. Glad daughter is doing okay now. Good luck with the packing!

Kitteh-Look at you with the workout and the healthy eating at a BUFFET!!! Great job! I haven't been to a buffet in months, not sure how I will act when I do see one.;)

Chickie-You wild woman, you! Two beers! It's a wonder you drug yourself out of bed this morning!:D Actually, two beers is close to my limit these days if and when I do drink it. I don't like the way I feel the next day if I have any more than that. Seriously, how exciting to be thinking about maintenance!:carrot: I've ignored my body for too long, too. I hope it forgives me and cooperates with my lifestyle changes.:)


Well, I only dropped a half a pound, but I am going to claim it! Going to weigh again tomorrow to see if I get the even number I got yesterday morning. Could be TOM coming up.

I got the majority of my work done last night and hope to be able to enjoy the weekend with my boys. Was considering a drive to Red Rock Canyon in Hinton, OK for a casual picnic lunch and some light hiking/trails on Sunday, but so far it looks like a 40% chance of rain.:( We may be able to adjust things and do this Saturday, but going to wait until tomorrow to decide. Younger son enjoyed the hiking we did 2 weeks ago so much that I want to keep it going. Anything to get him out and moving....older son, too, if he will go.

My tummy has been feeling like it is trying to get a little upset going, but nothing has happened.....glad for that. But hope it gets to feeling better later today. Not sure what is going on.:?:

Have a good day everyone!

Becky-We posted at the same time. I can't believe you swam a MILE AND A HALF!!! Great job!:carrot: I've never been that good of a swimmer, but I can sure appreciate that work. You're going to do great in Atlanta!!

annie - thanks! It's sorta funny to me that I'm in the "only a mile and a half" mindset. We used to log in a solid 4 miles a DAY when I swam in high school. It makes me snicker that I'm almost as fast now as I was then - and I'm doing so little work, relatively! :lol:

ICU-:bravo::carrot:

Still tired. Reading and glad for everyone else's posts. Just waiting for dinner to be here and over, then a hot bath and early to bed. Thanks to everyone for being around.

Barb

Becky: you are going to do great in Atlanta.

Motivated chick: maybe you should start checking out the maintainers forum. I'm no expert on the topic having never gotten there myself but I understand there is some adjusting of your mindset if you want to be successful at this longterm.

Annie: your weekend hike sounds fun. I wish I could say I always have appreciative patients but this is one of the major drawbacks of being a psychiatrist. Today I had a patient call me "the devil's mouthpiece" :lol: of course, he's delusional right now. Fortunately, I don't take myself too seriously.

We had a little party tonight in honor of nurses week and they gave out little tongs in cheek awards. I got one as Healer of Mysterious Illnesses because so many delirious patients get admitted to my service and I end up treating all kinds of strange things that are the underlying cause of the delirium. I also have an appointment in human resources with my boss tomorrow. From my understanding this guy we have an appointment with is supposed to be an impartial mediator and I hear that he is fair so I'm not too concerned about this. In fact, it may actually be helpful.

petra and barb both - hang in there and look after yourselves!

ICU: got lots of those little green lizards running around the yard if you'd like me to ship you some : ) never heard of keeping them as pets! Good job on the swim, I'm sure you'll blow them away at the meet : )

Petra: the HR/mediator person might just be the solution. Looking forward to your visit : )

Funny, we had a peanut butter discussion on here and now I have some friends engaging in one on facebook, on of whom happens to be working on losing weight. Sorry I dumped my despair on everyone. The kids issue is usually packed away on a shelf labelled, "it is what it is" because I need to accept what I have no control over. Sometimes it comes back up and I need to work on letting go and letting God all over again. My dd1 is out of ICU and in a private room. I was told I'm sooo wrong to say it, but one of the symptoms of cushings is emotional instability, so maybe removing the tumor will provide an attitude adjustment? (anyone who was around me through my cancer treatment knows I have a warped sense of humor when it comes to seeing the positive in a bad situation!)

The crunch is on for my move yet here I sit playing on the internet...surrounded by boxes and chaos. I'm claiming that 1/2 lb and moving my ticker, the scale at the gym agreed with the crazy one here at home : )

ok, so the ticker didn't like the .5? gives me something to aim for I guess : )

Good morning. Just a quick post. Lost a couple pounds over the past few days-woohoo! Ate (pretty darned) healthy yesterday. Had some temptations, but I kept reminding myself of my goals. When I go on a cruise this summer, I want to be able to fit into my smaller swimsuit.

Gotta go. Have a great day, everyone.

Becky - You are thinking of anoles! My sister and I kept anoles for years growing up and loved them to death. Literally. We handled them way too much. Poor dears.

I am so excited to read your swimming updates and training for Atlanta. I feel like I'm living vicariously through you.

Petra - Thanks for suggesting the maintainers forum. I've started lurking there, but don't feel like I deserve to post there yet. I might as well introduce myself to them. I don't know why I'm shy.

Here's my morning update. Scale said 134 so I'm down another 3 pounds for the week, give or take. Now that my binge eating is in check, my weight has been a straight shot downward. I always knew that I had a high metabolism, but I never was thin b/c I always ate insane amounts of food.

I'm having lots of NSV's lately. I really like how I look & my fitness gains. And this morning for the first time ever, deep in my heart, I know I am going to make it to maintenance. And I know that I will stumble and binge sometimes, but I am going to keep working at it for life.

Have a good day all. :)

Hello everyone! Well my tummy did its thing yesterday (several times...:dizzy:) and it is feeling better today. Had a funny issue with the scales this morning. When I stepped on, straight out of bed, it said 164.5.:?::?::?: It showed that a few times, but when I got back on (to be sure I wasn't just delirious), it said 166. So I'm going to claim the 166 and be happy that I met my personal mini-goal (25 pounds gone). We'll see if that 164.5 comes back up next week. Took a pic with my boys last night at their concert and was a bit disappointed that I didn't look "skinnier" than I do. I've never been the skinny type, even when I was 130 pounds in my 20's, but I had hoped to look better. I think the dress is a bit unflattering....I'd really like a breast reduction! I really want to pay attention to wearing flattering styles for my body type....on a budget. Here's a side-by-side of a pic from Dec. (the one that really got me going on this journey, I looked/felt like an inflated balloon in that pic) and the one from last night (the one on the right).

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...wPics004-2.jpghttp://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...Concert011.jpg


Angel's-Hope you had a restful sleep.:hug:

Petra-I think a mediator sounds like the best idea yet for the situation at the hospital. Good luck!

Hi Ange!!:wave:

WLW-Glad DD1 is continuing to improve, even if you do have to watch from a distance.:hug:Good luck with the move!

Kitteh-Great job on the weight loss!:carrot: I think I'm going to shop around for a smaller bathing suit for motivation myself! I'm picky about those, overweight or not.

Chickie-You are almost to your goal weight! So happy for you as you prepare for maintenance. You can do it!!:)

I have a very sore/tight muscle in my upper back on the left. My working out to the WATP DVDs has really had me paying close attention to my posture and I wonder if I am holding myself improperly? Could be the fact that I switched my hand weights last week from 1 pound each side to 2 pounds each side. I really feel like I need a good back rub in that area, but I can't reach it! Don't think teenage boys will be interested in rubbing Mom's back for Mother's Day.:p So I've been rubbing against the corners of walls.:D May try my heating pad this evening. Didn't last night as it was almost 90 degrees yesterday and I refuse to turn on A/C yet.

Have a great day everyone!!

Hi Annie! You're looking great! And younger!!

Thanks Ange!

Annie - I can see a big difference, but do have to agree that the dress isn't as flattering as it could be. Even though you have to be mindful of the budget, I'd definitely go shopping for something to celebrate 25 lbs (that's a fantastic milestone!) and that really highlights the new you!

Petra - good luck with the HR thing, we just had an informational session with VP of HR yesterday and she talked about effective discussion/negotiation skills so it will be interesting to see if this guy you have the appt with is helpful.

WLW - good luck with the packing and I think you are smart to try to put away the kid stuff as something you cannot control. It's hard enough to handle the stuff we do have control over, but crazy-making to get caught up on the rest of it.

motivated chickie - congrats with the 3 lbs and getting a handle on your binge eating!

ICUwishing - count me as another one who is very impressed by "only" 1.5 miles! lol!

newleaf - keep up the good healing, sounds like you are finding the right combination of not pushing yourself too hard, just hard enough to maximize the healing process!

hi to ange and angelskeep and kittehmomma and anyone else I missed (I think I got everyone on this page, at least! lol!)

I'm trying to keep my focus on staying on plan this month, and less about the scale, although of course I'm following that too, and so far, having a good month, back down below what was my ticker weight for a long time and just 1.2 above my low, so I'm looking forward to getting into new territory soon!

I've just done my first bit of exercise since breaking my foot (4+ weeks now). 10 mins on an exercise bike and 10 mins on the stepper. A moderate start!! I still have to keep the ski-boot thing on my foot so i can't do anything where i need to flex my toes, but those two machines work ok, so i'm really happy about that, and my foot doesn't hurt, so the plan now is to start to bring back some exercise when i get back home.

I'm in Toronto in Canada at the moment, but have a lovely 20hrs of flying to look forward to this afternoon which means with the time change and all, i don't get home til Sunday morning. Lets just hope there's some good movies on the plane....

Peanutsmom704 - who's Peanuts, or where do you get your name from? (sorry everyone, i'm new, i have questions that everyone has probably already discussed a hundred times)

Good luck on that flight, Ange! Whew, can't even imagine that!!

The candy bars are singing my name today, but I am ignoring them.

They sound really good, though--harmony and everything.

Hang in there, Kitteh! You're stronger than a bunch of candy bars!!:hug:

Annie: tie a couple of tennis balls in a sock and put it between the sore spot and a wall for a good self-message! you definitely need to do some shopping to show off your new figure - someplace like ross or goodwill (or any other thrift store) can help with the budget.

I'm on a break from packing boxes. Picked up my keys this morning after breakfast out with a friend so I started the day on a positive note.

kitteh - I can relate - I'm hearing the whispers of Cheezits in the vending machine. Not goin' there! Wallet is in the car, and I've taken to leaving my cash at home exactly because of this. Learn, learn, learn, learn. For every weakness, at least two strategies. :)

Annie - agree- you look GREAT! Time to shop (in a frugal way)!

I'm going out to play after work. I'll practice "rational restraint", call it a cheat meal, and move on tomorrow. :)

AnnieDrews you look great! I am large-breasted as well and sometimes just laugh when I try on certain styles, as if my breasts need any more accentuation! I'm sure you'll find some styles that you like. I tend to shop at Kohl's a lot; their clothes aren't very expensive when you use all their coupons, etc, and then I don't feel bad when I stop wearing them. Plus, with my loss so creepingly slow, I can wear something for a year before it looks bad LOL

Definitely find some clothes that fit and are flattering; it makes all the difference!

Annie-I think you look great! Getting new clothes when you lose weight is a nice reward but it can be expensive. I do a lot of outlet shopping.

Ange-that sounds like an awful plane trip. Make sure you get up and walk around every few hours so you don't get a blood clot. They really should encourage people to do that.

Kathi-good luck with your move tomorrow. I'm looking forward to my trip next month.

The HR meeting went well I think. I feel like I was treated fairly. I was chastised for having lost my cool the other day and yelling at my boss which was appropriate but also seemed to recognize that I had some legitimate issues. We'll see how things go moving forward. I still feel kind of emotionally worn out today.

I forgot to mention that I"m going to experiment with making my own trail mix this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out. Will make a good snack with lots of healthy fat.

Hi! I'm really too tired for a long post right now, but wanted to say thanks all for the supportive comments. WLW-If I can find some tennis balls, I'll try that massage trick. (So funny, when I first read that sentence you wrote, I thought you were referring to my boobs looking like two tennis balls in a sock! LOL:D:p It clicked after a couple of seconds.) I kept the heating pad on my back tonight and will probably lay off of formal exercise for the weekend. Plan to go on a day trip with the boys tomorrow and do some trail walking/light hiking.

Petra-I'm excited to hear about the trail mix!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Will check in tomorrow sometime. Maye with pics if I get some good ones. Hugs to all!

Good morning everyone. I know I'll never get cuaght up, but wanted to run past and say howdy. Waiting for Robert go get up so we can go geocaching for the day. Guests left early, so we have the whole day to play. I am going to get a Subway to take along for lunch. It's the first time I've had restaurant food,m except for my Friday Frosty, since I started my plan. Feeling a little bit anxious, because I used to eat a 12" one and now it will be just the 6" size. No chips or cookies, no soda. I should probably buy some pre-made carrot and celery sticks too, since I can eat a bunch of those for the calories in one piece of fruit.

I finally got the pics sent over to this computer, so I should go and save them and then try to post a few. Hoping nobody laughs at the fat chick trying to hike...that would be me. And since it was after 33 lbs lost, imagine what I must've lo0oked like before. EEK!

Back in a minute to put up the pics.

Barb

Well, hopefully I did this right. The pictures are of one of the cache areas we visited last weekend, on BLM land where the mustangs live. Behind me, you can see the hills I climbed to the top of. Also, a coyote jawbone and one of the rock formations. We climbed up the right hand side to get above the formation and I was impressed with myself. LOL! Only because I know that 11 weeks ago, I would've had to wait at the bottom.

Barb

Originally Posted by ange82much:
Peanutsmom704 - who's Peanuts, or where do you get your name from? (sorry everyone, i'm new, i have questions that everyone has probably already discussed a hundred times)

I use Peanut as a name for my son on other online boards. It should have been Peanut'sMom or something like that but I think I have was the first combo that worked when I was setting up my account.

Hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend - I've got a lot of housekeeping stuff and then cooking for my dad's birthday party tomorrow (75!!) and then something fun with the kid later on today.

Was up to 1am packing, movers showed up before 9! Took them longer than I expected but everything is moved : ) Now for the cleanup and figuring out where to put everything in the new place! According to my pedometer I did almost 12,000 steps yesterday - and 99% of that was just inside my house!

I like the pictures Barb. Thanks for explaining about the coyote jawbone cause I wondering what the heck that was :lol:

I've had a busy day. Worked at the hospital, ran a few errands, stopped at Lowe's and bought a few more plants for my yard, stopped at the grocery store, cooked dinner, did yard work, did all kinds of domestic stuff. I feel like I've been running in circles all day.

Kathi-unpacking is always more fun than packing. I've been in my current house for 3.5 years and I still feel like I've never completely unpacked. Kind of strange. It keeps getting better though. I'm really starting to feel like this is my home but it took a long time.