Hi all -

It's been a while since my last entry.

I had what I thought was a way off the WW program weekend, drinks, food with fattening sauces and some dessert :o but the scale was kind this morn and I weighed 165.8. I've totally used up all my "extra" points - so I need to be completely on Core program until Thursday when I weigh in. :cry:

Bill - my sense is that you're probably already doing some core work if you're doing situps and any othere exercises that hold your upper and lower abdomen in. To me core is all about strengthening your abdominal and side/waist muscles and balance - so any exercises that concentrate on those areas will help. I really like to mix it up. So I combine - Mon - treadmill with incline and Floor work w free weights.... Tu - a real hill hike... Wed - similar Monday routine... Thurs - Yoga stretch and strengthening... Fri - similar Monday routine... Sat and Sun - 1 hour brisk walks

Jay - I like Pilates and Callanetics as well ! But it certainly has been a while since I last did either - now where did I put that old Calinetics tape ? :?:

Have a great day all - Patch

Hey Patch! Good to see you! :wave:

My trainer did a follow up call. We exchanged phone messages. I told her that the core exercises seemed good, but that I was going to work with the weight machines and was doing OK figuring out how to set them. She left another message and said if she happens to be there when I am, she'll be happy to show me how to set the machines.

SpinyMouse, long time no see your stripey socks in our thread. :)

CountingDown, I still have my Tae Bo Gold videotape--it's for folks over 40. Sometimes, when I'm in better shape, I do the regular workout. :faint:

pamatga, I know I sound like a broken record, but do you have good shoes? Maybe that's why your hurting that muscle on the front of your legs.

meowee, stay warm!

I'm off for now--will be going to the gym a little later.

Jay

Hope everybody is having a fun and active Holiday. Not a holiday here . . . but for those of us who are retired . . . who can really notice. :lol: It is something called "Family Day" in a lot of places in Canada; but our Provincial government decided to take the stance that "everyday is Family Day in Nova Scotia" -- really popular decision, as you can imagine. :mad:

It's warm, windy and very wet today -- hopefully sun will be coming out again tomorrow. Just got back from taking Blizzard to the Vet -- he has an ear infection and has been scratching the inside and outside of the ear raw -- all the bleeding is really eye-catching on a white cat. :yikes: Now he is wearing one of those delightful collars to try to keep him from scratching so the ear gets a chance to heal. He's not a happy camper and he keeps walking into stuff with the edge of the collar. Poor baby.

See you later . . . :carrot:

Hi Pals,
I'm still funkified. The weekends are the worst!
I don't want to broadcast feelings of gloom though.

Anyway, here's a different little stat. Heard that the average American eats 46 slices of pizza a year. That's ALL??? Wow, I eat at least 2 slices a week, which would be 104 slices a year. And that is minimum. Pizza is my staff of life. But, I also eat way less than the stats I hear regarding sugar, ice cream, any meat products, etc. My pizzas are like open-face vegetable sandwiches, which people seem to think are healthy, whereas "Pizza" has an unhealthy connotation for some reason. What's in a name anyway? To me the essential ingredient that makes pizza be pizza is tomato sauce. I could eat bowls of it.
I'm going to try to stand on one leg again for more than zero seconds.

I have been practicing and I am up to about 5 seconds. I tried it with eyes open and that was easy. Maybe it is not my core but my eyesight.:shrug:
Hope everyone is having a good week. All I have ever heard about core exercise is that it is all about the ab muscles. Hence sit ups.
Asher was on Oprah and he does 300 situps a day to get those abs.:love:

Spiny - I am with you on the pizza thinking. That seems really, really low to me. Heavens - My kids would polish off 46 pieces in a month - easily! I like making my own pizza with all kinds of veggies and feta and tomato sauce and spices. Very healthy and oh, so good!

Linda - sorry to hear about Blizzard. Those collars are awful! I feel so sorry for him. But, it IS a necessary evil. I hope his ear is better soon!

Jay - glad things are going better with your trainer and that you are getting the hang of the machines. It is always so frustrating to go to a new gym and not know how to work the equipment. While I don't have a membership, I try to hit the workout room when we travel. Some machines are baffling! I feel so stupid. Here I am a technology expert and I can't even figure out how to turn on a treadmill?

Patch - great job on the weight loss since your restart in Feb.! You are doing GREAT!

I went on a shopping spree today. Our Meijer had 30% off all clearance merchandise, plus clearance shoes were buy 1 - get 1 for $1, plus using my Meijer CC was an extra 15% off on top of the other discounts. I came home with a winter coat, a spring coat, 5 sweaters, 3 tops, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pair of shoes, and 12 pr. of pantyhose. I spent $67. The original price on the winter coat was $79 :) And the best news of all - the tops were smalls and the jeans a size 10 :D

Good morning--guess I'm the first one in today!

You know, I rarely ate pizza, even before I started to lose weight. When I did eat it, I tended to eat a lot of it, though. Now, the closest I usually come is a Lean Cuisine pizza now and then. They are not great, but they satisfy that pizza desire for me.

I've learned how to eat one slice of regular pizza, though, if I'm at an event where that's all there is. That's pretty amazing for me.

Yesterday on the treadmill I actually ran for 2 minutes at a stretch without feeling terribly winded. I did those "sprints" throughout my 30 minutes, so I guess you could say I ran for 15 minutes total. Didn't burn a lot more calories, but I felt wonderful at being able to run. Thanks to my Nice New Running Shoes ;) I'm not sore or aching anywhere.

CountingDown, I doubt I will ever fit a size 10. Right now I'm a size 14 Petite (which is like a 12 regular, I'm told). But, who knows... maybe 15 more pounds would make that much difference. Fortunately, I don't care about sizes as long as the clothes fit and look good.

See ya!

Jay

Hi all

Went on a great hike today... I live in the hills of Sherman Oaks ( LA, CA ) and all that rain has turned the hills so green. I hike with two fairly new friends who are just wonderful... but one of them (L) today just couldn't make the hill and insisted we continue as she turned around. My other friend (P) and I talked about how hard it is at times to want to support your friends who are in the weightloss crossroads of life and really don't want to hear anymore "helpful suggestions". What can you do but just be there as a friend ?

I really thank G-d for these forums... they are such a lifesaver for me. Especially since I work (and eat :o) at home. Thanks to all you guys for being here !

Jay - congrats on the new shoes !:dancer:

Countingdown... - I love the idea of making my own pizza...

Spinymouse - hang in there... what about the weekends gets you down ? Maybe the gals and I can come up with some ideas... if you want.

Meowee - yeah I just love those collars on our feline friends... and aren't they sooooo grateful !

Congratulations to you Counting. What a great place to be. Good luck with the maintenance but you seem to have really changed your life so you should be successful.
And Jay I am with you on the pizza. It is one of those things that there is never enough of for me. Just stay away from it myself.
Spiny I am sure yours would be delicious and healthy. It is just that I do not make my own. Have you been practising your balance?

Hi to Patch. Nice to hear from you and good luck with the hiking. Too bad your friend did not make it all the way but she made it half way. Maybe next time.
I am at work looking out at a sunny day. Trying to stay on my food plan as well as I can. A learning process.

Jay I hear you about the exercise equipment. We pay all this money to go you think there would be someone on the floor to give you a hand. Mine is the same.

Hope everyone has a peaceful day.....:coffee:

Hi gang . . . . . . :wave:

We have had a very unusual day -- mild and mostly sunny. Not sure I can handle much of this; but guess I won't have to because the temp has been dropping like the proverbial rock the past couple of hours. :shrug:

But, yes, I spent most of the day out and about again. Terrible for the eating but okay for the moving part of the equation.

Update on Blizzard . . . All day yesterday, he kept removing the collar and I kept putting it back on -- today, I got smarter --added an extra tie to the collar, crossed it over his chest, ran it under his arms and tied it in the back. He is definitely not pleased with the 'new look' but the collar has stayed on all day. The only thing he does like is his 'pill pocket' with the amoxicillan dose in it. Those things really are amazing. He doesn't seem to realize he's taking a pill at all. At $10 for a bag of 45 they should be amazing. :mad: And, you should see him trying to clean his fur with this collar on -- actually by the time his week is up, he'll be really antsy -- all he can actually reach are his paws and the tip of his tail. He can eat just fine, but he makes a mess in the water bowl. :lol:

Also took Purrecious to the Vet this morning; but just for her annual booster. She got a clean bill of health and actually behaved herself throughout the exam. If we don't watch out she'll be losing her nick-name of 'flying squirrel'. I think she's a bit disappointed . . . I had given her one of the 'pill pockets' (sans pill, of course) and now she wants more. But a 12.3 pound cat does not need treats. I know, it's my own fault, I should never have given her the first one. The other three don't care about treats.

Hope you all have a great evening . . . see you soon . . . keep things moving and shaking. :carrot:

Looks like I'm here first this morning. Actually I woke up way too early this morning and imagine I'll be wanting a nap this afternoon.

We got a little dusting of snow overnight and right now it is very cold and very windy -- but the sun is shining -- so hopefully I'll get out to play gain today.

Have a great moving and shaking day, all . . . :carrot:

Hi Pals -
Patch - I would be like your friend who couldn't get up the hill. I can walk all day on flat land but won't do 2 minutes uphill. I've always been that way. I grew up where it was flat though, and the first time I encountered a hill I was incredulous. "This is totally unreasonable" I thought.
I don't like going down hills either. That's because I fall. I'm kind of almost borderline-handicapped about things like hills, and standing on one leg.
Good for all of you who can do that stuff! Amazes the poop out of me!

Jay - You may surprise yourself. The sizes are so crazy right now. I stayed in a size 16 for months, and now, I have changed 2 sizes in 4 weeks. And I have a few things from 10 years ago when I was on my way up with my weight. One of my size 14 blouses is still way to snug :(

Congrats on the running! That is one thing I don't see in my future. I just can't seem to run even for a few minutes. Leslie's "boosted walking" is about the best I can do. And that doesn't seem to get any easier than when I first started. You are really doing GREAT with your exercise. You are an inspiration :)

Linda - it is amazing how much we treat our furbabies like real ones. We DO spoil them so much! The pill pockets really are wonderful though - I have had cats that I could do the "stuff and stroke" method, but others were way too smart. Pill pockets are worth the investment - giving meds to cats can turn ugly in a heartbeat!

Jude - I'm actually a bit fearful of maintenance. I have successfully lost weight several times in the past. I have always regained it - sometimes over a few years, sometimes over several - but I just haven't been able to "get" maintenance for life. I'm hoping that things like journaling my food, finding a wide variety of exercise options, weighing myself regularly, and coming to 3FC for support will help me finally win this battle for good. It seems like letting my guard down - even a little - could lead to a return of some of my "old ways".

Spiny - oh, girl - I get it! Visiting Oakland to see the kids until this year just about killed me. I would have to rest every couple of blocks. I think this is one of the reasons that I always arranged to be the keeper of the camera. I could stop and take a picture of something, which gave me time to rest and catch my breath. I'm not sure I was fooling anyone, but it seemed like a good strategy. Using the WATP videos and strength training faithfully for several months before our visit in Jan. really made a difference. The hills still bothered me (particularly my knees) but I seemed to have a lot more endurance this time. I don't think I will ever ENJOY climbing hills, but I don't dread them quite so much :)

Patch - I totally agree - 3FC and everyone here have really helped me so much. I am so grateful! I think I would have given up months ago - another failed "diet" had I not found this site. What a blessing!


I'm off to watch the rest of the eclipse :)

Laurie

Hello again--I'm going to be away most of the day meeting with a client. I hope I remember how to have face to face business interactions... ;) Most of my work communication is done via email and phone.

The meeting is going to be around lunchtime... I'm not sure what is planned, but I guess I'd better do some planning for myself lest I find out that "Bob's Barbecue" is the venue. :lol: Not that I don't love barbecue... :drool: But, there is a Sweet Tomatoes nearby our meeting place, so perhaps I can swerve things that direction if needed.

Enjoy your time! :wave:

Jay

Good Morning . . . :wave:

Another sunny but cold day. LouLou and I will be doing our usual 'mall-crawl' this afternoon.

Have a good day, gang and stay warm. At least the cold weather keeps you moving and shaking just to stay warm. :lol: