Good Morning . . . :grouphug:

:yay: . . . glad to see you back LYNN . . . glad you had a great time and that you kept the weight damage to such a minimum.

:welcome: HOLLY . . . so glad to have you joining us. You will love it around here. Yep, as Lynn siad, a pound still amounts to 3500 calories, but they definitely seem to become more stubborn as we get older. No miracle will get it moving any quicker -- but slow and steady will still win the race in the long run.

Not much new for me . . . my buddy LouLou brought her toy poodle over with her this morning -- four of my cats have totally 'disappeared' but Queen Purrecious is holding her ground. Dog is doing a lot of barking; cat is just staring. :lol:

We haven't even broken any sun yet this morning and the high temperature is only predicted to be in the mid-forties. :( Weight and blood sugar are still acceptable (but not as good as yours, Lynn).

Have a great day, Girls . . . see you later . . . :wave:

Welcome home Lynn....you look so great and only gained 3 lbs....way to go.

Love the photos....hope you have more to share. How long was your flight and what was the favorite part of the trip?

I'm still trying to get back on track after the move but eating is getting much better just need to get the exercise back in.

Phyllis

Hi Phyllis . . . :wave:

Forgot, I was going to tell you guys that I updated the picture on my profile (an off shoot of the little trip to Ottawa). I kind of like this one -- hey, the old one was almost 2 years old. :lol: This one is a little smaller and so it doesn't scare me quite so much everytime I see it. Here it is . . .

Good morning from sunny, hot So. Calif. Supposed to get up into the 100's. But my new air conditioner works nicely so I shouldn't suffer. I probably won't be home that much today to worry about it. Psychologist in the a.m. and my voice class in the afternoon.

Yesterday was nice and warm, about 80, and I had the air conditioner on to energy saver so it kicked on and off and didn't just blow me out of the chair.

Took the pup to the groomer for his monthly bath. He smells so nice now. I think I overpaid as I can't believe everything I got cost as much as I paid. I need to call them and have them reconfirm what it should have been, and give me a refund if I am right.

I also went to OSH and got some plant food for most of my outside plants. I was going to get a soaker hose but ended up with a little sprinkler head instead as it was a lot cheaper. So the plants in the yard got a really good drink. I also got another big pot of flowers so my yard looks really good. I could get more plants but will wait a while. The bushes I planted a month or so ago are blooming so nicely right now. This morning, on the news, they are talking about water rationing from April through September - no watering during the day.

Welcome, Holly, hope you find the information you are looking for. I am in my 70's and had a hysterectomy so don't remember much about menopause. I am also on a low carb program. My weight is stalled but I know it will come off sooner or later.

Have a lovely day.

Mornin all...Just flying thru. Have to start cooking asap.

Lynn..Welcome back. Pictures were wonderful. Horseback riding! Could you have even dreamed of that before the weight loss. It looks so Brit!

Holly..:welcome3:..welcome. What kinda plan are you using? I found that plans that worked years ago don't anymore. But everyone needs to find a plan that suits them and their tastes....because it isn't just dieting but an actual change in life style.

Linda....You looks younger in that picture.

Gotta go peel eggs, make cake and sandwiches.....did I mention need to buy the stuff first. Oh well It's still morning Bye...hugs Karen3

Hi. Thank you all for welcoming me.

I'm Hollie. I added my "bio" to the intro thread.

Basically I am realizing that I have been pretty screwed up in my approach to weight loss in the past. I basically did starvation things, juice fasting, water fasting, no carbs, etc. But at least I got the "instant" pounds off, even if they didn't stay off. I just tried a very low carb thing last week and after 6 days, I hadn't lost an ounce. I think I am ready to embrace exercising. Today I started a regimen where I exercise before I start work. This will insure that I get it done daily. I know that exercise has been missing from my lifestyle and I am really committed to adding it in. I was just wondering if the hormone changes I am going through will make it harder to loose, or if it is just calories in/calories out - cold hard math - no matter what. Also, this is the first time I have reached out and tried to have support in this. Goes way back to first family issues.

So, thanks and I hope to get to know you and everyone here.

Hollie

Thursday check-in
 

Thanks for the good wishes for my new granddaughter. Only 36 hours and I get to meet her! She is having a couple preemie issues (weak sucking is the main problem), but they are getting lots of help with her.

Ariella, I noticed after my hysterectomy that losing weight sure wasn't as easy as it once was. That was the beginning of the slow creeping up on the scale for me. Have you ever gone to east at an old folk's or retirement home? The portions are very small. My problem is, I still want to eat like I did in my 30s and 40s when I was running daily and hauling kids everywhere. I just have to learn to cut my portions in half!

Lynn, sounds like a wonderful trip! The food is pretty heavy in England compared to here. Love that Shepard's pie! I'd say 3 pounds up is a victory!

Back to work....
Betsy

Hi Hollie and :welcome: Your "past" sounds pretty much like mine. I had doctors tell me to forget about trying to lose weight at my menopausal age - which actually just made me mad and more determined. I did find that I can't just "cut calories" any more though. I have to watch what type of food I eat so I've gone to 99% whole foods. I also discovered I don't lose at all if I use artificial sweeteners. Lots of people don't have a problem with them so :crossed: I hope you can keep them too. Absolutely add in the exercise and you'll be amazed at how much better you'll feel while you're waiting for the pounds to disappear.

Oooh Betsy, aren't new grandkids just the best? So much fun to spoil rotten then give back to their parents :D

Welcome home Lynn Sounds like an awesome trip and what a fabulous victory to come home with only 3 extra pounds - you'll have those whipped off in no time. And, might I add, you look quite at home and relaxed on that horse. Might you have been a closet equestrienne all this time?

Eeesh Karen3 I'm getting tired just thinking about all that cooking!

Well, gotta run. :grouphug: Have a wonderful OP day ladies.

Betsy, you are so right.

My other problem is portion control. It is especially hard because I married a "younger" man and he still eats hearty. His job is physical (works at the grocery store unloading pallets, etc.) and he likes to get out and walk/climb around our island. I want to be in better shape so I can participate more with him in the outdoors here. Anyway, what I was doing was not eating much during the day and then having a hearty meal with him at night (which is his main meal). That hasn't worked. So now I am eating kind of medium through the day and less at night. I saw a video once that used the "1" method of portion control. One bowl of something, one sandwich, one plate of something, for each meal with one piece of fruit for snack inbetween. I am kind of doing that. I absolutely hate measuring and weighing and calorie counting. . . . So, I am going to try this for a couple weeks and see if there are any results. . . .I believe that eventually I will find what works. I will not give up, that much I know.

Back to work for me too. . .

Hollie

Hi Yoyo - didn't see your real name. . . .

I eat what I call pretty clean. I very seldom eat anything from a can or a box. I don't eat white flour or white sugar. If I eat grains it is whole wheat or sprouted grain products. This is not very often. I use Stevia and Agave for sweeteners, but I do drink Fresca which uses aspartamine. I think the prob is pretty much portion size. I make a smoothie that is almonds, sesame, dates, flax seed, agave, fresh apple and banna, and a frozen tropical fruit blend of strawberry, pineapple and mango. To that I add 4 or 5 handfuls of spinach. One batch of this is about 1600 calories and it lasts me about 3 days, having one drink at day. I make this in a vitamix. Dinner is usually a protein, a salad and a side veggie. Sometimes the side veggie is starchy - potato, corn, peas. So, I think I eat pretty well, just too much. . .

Thanks for the input.

Hollie

Hi There
I am trying to find my way around this sight still. I am slow but I do poor work. I'll get it eventually. I posted my info in the intro section. Basically, always fought weight, still fighting weight. I almost won the battle once, but life got in the way and I ended up moving in the wrong direction. Not sure what I would do if I didn't have to worry about my weight anyway.
Looking forward to getting to know everyone.
diane

Hi...Middle of cooking...last time this month,YoYo,I promise. Have the deviled eggs and cake done. At least with these folks they are happy with same ole same ole. Just doing sandwiches later.

BUT what a morning!!!!!! After writing I jumped in my car to go shopping and all I could get was burrrrrrrrrrrrr, Dead battery! Did you know that the cars now have a hidden battery. On my car to put in a new battery you have to put on a lift, take off front wheel and there she is.....Not something you can do at home. And of course not cheap. What ever happen to $69 batteries...this sucker was 180............:dunno:

So at 2pm am really on a roll to have this much stuff done. Not tarts or special stuff this week. Even bought bakery fudge and cut up to look homemade. Vegies and dip packed.

Hollie....You are tall and lucky to be able to carry your weight better than us shorties. I have found that to loss weight I have to eat between 1100 and 1500 calories a day. Less and body shuts off to protect itself. Look at the various sites here on 3Chicks and if you have a chance check out free website FitDay....It's amazing how much more they know about diets than the days of peaches/cottage cheese. Best diet is one that fits you and your life style. Don't worry about issues most of us here have issues too and someone always has just the right pat or hug to get you over the bump. (ps what island where in Alaska? Sounds wonderful)

Karen32...You can even sell your house via the net. We did...actually we bought and closed on this house via net. Just had one day where admitted we were homeless. Felt strange after being home owners 37 years. Another story about how we moved here but our furniture went on vacation to Ft Myers for 2 weeks.:rofl:

Well back to kitchen...am too tired to even lick my fingers this week. hugs Karen3

Hi Diane,

WELCOME! Don't worry about using this site -we can help. Glad you found us.

Lynn

Hi Hollie,

BC you listed the calories in your smoothie, I'm guessing you have access to a tool for counting calories. Do you know what your BMI is? If not, go to http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...dict-equation/ and follow the directions to figure out how many calories you need to eat/day to maintain. Then, cut down by 500/day & you will lose 1 lb/week. If it doesn't work, increase your exercise by 15-20 min/day.

Regardless of what foods we eat, it's the calories to exercise ratio that matters.

Lynn

Hi Linda,

I LOVE your new photo. Any chance of it becoming your avatar?

Lynn