Here we are. Another day of not too great weather and another day of a not too great feeling head. Hopefully tomorrow will be much better in both departments. Looked outside just a while ago (because I really, really need to get to the nearest grocery store) but everywhere I can see there is just a nasty looking sea of ice. Guess I'll dig around in the freezer again. At least I have the makings for a decent salad on hand.

Hope everybody else is doing great things . . .

I have chronic knee pain that comes and goes with the weather and sometimes for no reason at all. I have had this since I was 20 yrs old and weighed 100lbs, so it's not all due to being overweight.

I honestly have not been to the mall since we started talking about shoes. We are going to Bakersfield for DH dr. appt next week, so maybe then.

My "car exercises" are sort of like crunches, I think. I set the cruise control, hold on to the steering wheel (of course!), put both feet flat on the floor, and lift my feet off the floor. I started out doing this with my knees slightly apart because it is easier. Now I do it with my knees together. Really works on the stomach muscles. At first I could do 10 "lifts". Now I can do 150 easily.

I drive about 35 miles through the desert to work. There is very little traffic and visibility forever. I DO NOT do this in town or in traffic.

I am wanting to use my little "mini-stair-stepper" because it has been raining (a good thing), cold, and generally not nice outside for walking. This piece of equipment takes up very little space and can sit out all the time - in hopes that I see it and use it!

I continue to have difficulty making a committment to exercise. I do it for a while, then slack off. Sort of "yo yo" exercising. But I read in one of my books that ANY exercise is better than none, so I am going with that idea.

The 19th of this month marked my one year anniversary of eating less/better. I started out eating a lot of lean cuisine. Now I am eating all homemade, fresh etc. food. I am kind of thinking that this year I will concentrate on adding exercise to my life.

I was all fired up last night because I was down a pound when I weighed. Then I couldn't go to sleep, tossed and turned etc, so I feel like a slug this morning.

I live on the base of a mountain. Today is high winds and blowing snow. At least the days are getting longer so Spring may eventually show up and I'll be able to get outside to jog again. Yesterday I did a step DVD. A weight workout is on the agenda for the day.

If I didn't exercise, I would weigh a lot more than I do now. Sometimes I have difficulty getting motivated to do it, but if I flake off more than a week or so, I start getting back pain and sciatica. I feel fine if I workout, and am really grateful that I control this with exercise. If I get myself started I usually find that it is not that hard to finish the workout

Hey again, CatR! I just got back from the fitness center. I didn't want to go, but I did anyway. Exercise really has been the answer for my lower back--sitting all day makes it worse!

Gail--happy anniversary! And look at how far you've come!

meowee, o when will spring come? Do you have any snowdrops poking up yet? Do you have crocus up there? I know it's a bit early yet.

Where's our other folks?

Jay

CatR - Looks like that cold nasty weather is headed my way. Blizzard warning for tonight with wind chill below -25F. UGH. I have to drive to Detroit area tomorrow for a conference for work. I agree with you, even though I don't always feel like exercising - I really need to. The last two days, I have been dragging when I get home from work. I definitely put forth less energy doing my workouts - but, at least I did them

Gail - congrats! 1 year is a GREAT milestone! Your car crunches sound interesting. I may try them as a passenger tomorrow. It is a 4 hr car ride when the weather is nice - tomorrow will be a challenge.

Linda - I hope your ice clears soon. We canceled school again today because of the ice. It was a blessing to have a quiet day - I got so much done

Jay - congrats on getting in your workout! You have been really dedicated this month

Question - the trip to Detroit will allow me to stop at Trader Joe's (it is the closest one to my house -so I only get there once or twice a year). What are your favorites from TJ? I want to make a list so I don't forget anything

Howdy, I'm walking in a 5k on Feb 9th, walking, jogging 3x a week wish me blessing on the walk!

There are a couple of TJs in Ann Arbor, too.

Lessee....Light Chevre (goat cheese), Not sure of the name, here, but Celtic reduced fat cheddar - very tasty. Nuts and seeds, dried cranberries with omega 3, TJ's house brand of Greek style yogurt - even the fat free is good. Fage imported from Greece is good, too, but costs more, I think. Whole Wheat mini pitas (about three inches across), 70+% dark chocolate. Frozen haricots verts. Fire roasted red bell peppers in a jar. Salad dressings: TJ's house brand of fat free Balsamic, low fat Raspberry and fat free Soy ginger sesame ( this last one is called "Trader Ming's" because it's Asian, I guess). I got frozen shrimp and scallops that were very good, although pricey.

I don't envy your making a trip in the frigid weather you are having! Drive carefully.

Good Luck HAPPYFACE . . . go girl go . . .

Hi there . . .

Boy was I ever glad I had my Yak-Trax with me this morning . . . . . . Had to go out early and although the driving wasn't too bad (as long as you didn't try to do anything too quickly), the walking was a major disaster. Just a thin coating of sheer ice on every parking lot I encountered. It was an adventure staying upright even with the Yaks on. Have to go out again later this afternoon. Hope things melt a little by then -- although the temp is supposed to hover right around the freezing mark all day and there is no sun predicted, either, until tomorrow. At least I've got cream for my coffee, again and the headache is mostly gone.

Hope everybody else is having a great day. . . .

Gosh meowee, sounds like you're doing a survival thing!

When I lived in New England, I used to carry a coffee can of sand/salt mixture in the car. I would take it with me when I had to walk from the car to someplace--so I could shake some sand in front of me on any ice. It made a big difference!

Good luck on the 5K, happyface! I'm a Floridian, too. :sun:

Any weight loss successes out there? We're all workin' our butts off, there ought to be some!

Jay

I read the recent posts and got inspired to take my own advice and did a step workout. I woke up 2 hours early and couldn't get back to sleep.

Hi, Happy. I lived in West Palm Beach 1973-75. Your 5K should be a lot of fun.

TJ: Frozen wild salmon, crimini mushrooms, peanut butter, tofu, TJ sprouted breads, Balade light butter.

Thanks Jay for the idea of keeping sand/salt in the car.

I lost 1 1/2 pounds last week I would like to reach my goal June 15th, my 63rd birthday. That would be a great present to myself I will be losing slowly because it is hard to eat less than 1600 calories, but it seems like a reasonable goal provided I keep to my exercise and diet.

Hope everyone is doing well. Sounds like a lot of good work out there in the way of exercise. I too am finally getting to the gym and seem to have gotten past that dragging of the feet.
I did skip the progressive dinner and glad I did. I am watching what I eat and trying to stay around 1500 calories.
But had 2 bad days yesterday and Monday. We had a big snowstorm yesterday and the management likes to reward us with donuts. I so hate that and it is so hard to resist. I am thinking of sending in a suggestion that for health reasons they reconsider with chopped veggies. It is real easy to drive through the donut drive through and bring in cases of donuts. But not that much harder to find veggies.
I actually find it a bit of an insult. It happens quite often so time to speak up for the many. Anonymously of course.
So that has been my week 5 good days. Hoping for some weight loss soon.

and so how warm is it in Florida????

have a good week everyone!

cheers Jude

Hey hijude,

Offices are problematic, because a lot of people do like the donuts, etc. and like you said, they are easy. You could also suggest some fruits, like apples, grapes, etc. along with the donuts. They can also be overeaten--anything can--but they don't do as much damage so fast.

Maybe you could offer to help out by bringing some fruits in on those days. No one has to know you're "dieting," just that you think some healthier snacks would be good. If done the right way, you'll sound like a helper instead of a complainer...

Busy day for me--going to Macy's to buy clothes. I have always hated clothes shopping, even when I was normal size. And right now, I have no idea what size I am, because I have bought only a few things since I lost weight. But, I want to dress right for that concert I told you all about.

Jay

January has been such a yukky month for me and my family. I hope that February is better.

Mom is still in ICU back in Minnesota. I can't afford to fly home right now although through some very kind people we do have two free plane tickets whenever we want to do that. I want to wait until Mom is aware of us--the family. She is still suffering from that stroke and all the other complications she had from the cancer surgery. I sent flowers but they had to throw them away. Yellow is her favorite color but she never got to see them and appreciate them.

I had an indiscretion with fudge, my owns doings not any boss, this past weekend. I did send most of it with DH to work (sorry but I didn't need any more!) His co-workers liked it. Now, I have the two lbs from last week to re-lose all over again.

Well, got to start work, have fun shopping JayEll, that is something I never get tired of, I love to shop!!

Almost done with that bathroom, ran out of wallpaper border so I had to reorder something different and I am going to put that up on my lunch break (I work from home)

Have a good day, closer to the weekend Yea

What do donuts have to do with offices?
This makes as much sense to me as it would to have: artichokes associated with pool tables, maraschino cherries associated with Episcopalian churches, or almond paste associated with Oldsmobile dealerships.
People were bringing me food a lot last week. Kind of weird. What does grief over the loss of the Moving Focal Point Of The Entire Universe have to do with food? I didn't get donuts though. Thank God or Whoever. I got sushi, vegetable and anchovy pizza, roasted garlic and goat cheese and bread, and wine. Lots of wine. I am grateful, really.
And I don't understand what guacamole has to do with the Super Bowl!!!
And why is it always "the big game." Is there never a medium sized game, or a game kind of on the smallish side???
Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't done anything in almost two weeks now.