Good morning! :coffee:

I'm enjoying my coffee and contemplating my long weekend, which starts today. :) We had some strong storms overnight, and it's looking to be stormy all day today. At least I won't have to water the gardens, but I was looking forward to spending a lazy afternoon with my book on the patio. It looks like I'll have to curl up with my book on the sofa, instead. I have a few errands to run this morning, and I want to finish cleaning the house. I may stop in to have lunch with my mom & dad later, or maybe I'll see if they want to go out for lunch.
I haven't had much trouble staying OP, especially now that the weather has warmed up. I especially enjoying fresh lettuce, radishes and scallions that I can pick right from my garden. My only vice during the hotter months is trying to avoid ice cream. I keep a stash of the no sugar added fudgesicles in the freezer, but sometimes I really crave a DQ cone. :( I'm hanging in there, though, because I'm determined to lose these extra pounds.

Pam, I love reading your posts about your life on your farm. It brings back fond memories of spending my summer vacations on my cousin's farm in Minnesota while I was growing up. My dad is from Minnesota, and most of his family own big dairy farms out there. I know it's a lot of work, but what fun we had! I hope you saw the doctor about your kidney infection, and are feeling much better!

Trish, I'm glad you found a diet plan that you can live with. That's the true key to lose weight successfully. You have to find something that works for you and fits your lifestyle. :) Enjoy your long weekend!

Bonnie, I hope you found warm water at your water aerobics last night!

Carol, it sounds like you're still pretty busy with your crafts. I envy you that you get to visit Disneyland often! I've never been there, or even Disney World, and I'd love to go some day. Enjoy learning Tai Chi, that looks like fun!

TeslaGirl, it's nice to meet you! I agree that most restaurant portions are way too large, and hope they start a new trend of offering smaller portions. I'm glad you are enjoying exercising! I do it faithfully, but I sure don't share your enthusiasm for it. When are those "feel good endorphins" supposed to kick in? :dizzy:

Well, the sun unexpectedly popped out, so I'm going to take my mug of coffee outside and have a quick walk around the yard.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Good morning, ladies,

Roxanna - I hope you had fun at the strawberry festival with your mom. Sounds like lots of fun to me!

Linda - it's been hot and humid here, too. We went from cold to hot with no "warm" in between. Your vacation to Cape May sounds heavenly! I plan to visit there someday myself. Unless it would start a binge, having a DQ cone once in awhile really wouldn't be too bad. The small one, undipped isn't too many calories for such a burst of flavor. I haven't had one for ages, but it sure does sound good!

Pam - I hope you were able to get into the doctor's office and see about the kidney infection. Those can be miserable! Have fun with your daughters this weekend.

Trish - I like your new motto because it's reality! I think one reason I have lasted as long as I have is because I've allowed treats here and there for special occasions. That way, this can be for life.

Chubby14 & TeslaGirl - :welcome: to you both! I think you'll like it here. There's so much support and encouragement everyday.

Chubby14 - to make it easier on yourself, maybe you could just write down your food menu at night for the next day. I do that and it doesn't take very long at all. One of the best ways to avoid a binge, for me, is to include some of my favorite foods in my menus, and use portion control to keep it reasonable.

TeslaGirl - Neal and I order off the senior menu, where offered, and the portion (and prices) are much less. But yes, most of the time, the portions are huge, and although many of us bring home a doggy bag for later, the amount of food wasted in this nation is appalling. YAY for you, deciding to be more proactive!

Bonnie - how was the water aerobics class last night? Hope the water was warmer for you.

Carol - YAY for Disneyland!! Like you, I wouldn't go there in the summer, either, even if someone else paid for the whole trip. May is my favorite month to visit the mouse. We go to Florida's Disney World, since it's so much closer. I like to fly, but there are a couple of chickens in my family who insist on driving, lol. Hey, that power pack sounds like a very healthy, portion-controlled lunch compared to some of the other choices.

Hello to anyone else reading this. :wave:

I've got a busy weekend planned. Tomorrow I'm joining the family at my nephew's grave to release balloons in honor of his 50th birthday. (For those who don't know - he passed away in March) Then, tomorrow evening, Neal and I are going to the wedding of a son of one of my best friends. That will be fun! Sunday is the big Memorial Day party at my house. My daughters will help with the food and clean-up, thank goodness. Neal's brother from out of town will be here, too.

Have a good weekend, ladies! :grouphug:

Happy Friday before a holiday weekend!

Cottage: Hearing about your garden makes me envious. The only thing I'm getting is chives for my cottage cheese. I grow lettuce in the turtle pen--I need to grow it for me!

Pam: Hope your kidneys are better. I've had kidney infections in the past--your body just doesn't feel good all over!

Chubby 14 & TelsaGirl: :welcome3:

Carol: We'll be going down to DL in a few weeks. We usually go in October, but DH says he has to get away now. World of Color will be opening, but I don't want to fight the crowds so I don't know if I'll see it this time. Have you ever been in DL when the fireworks end :fr: ? I'm avoiding that at all costs this time.

Jane: Sounds like a mixed emotion weekend for you. Some sadness, but happy times too. I'm sorry about your nephew. That must have happened just before I came here. Have fun with the family!

The weather is finally supposed to break here. I only have two weeks before we go on our trip and the veggies have to be in by then so I get stuff earlier this year. I usually end up with lots of green tomatoes at the first frost (sometimes in August). I'll have to put everything in wall-o-waters in case there's a freeze while we are gone. Gardening here is a lot of work!

DH informed me he lost 6 pounds! I guess I did have too much junk food sitting around. He's not even on a diet :shrug: Darn Men!!! Maybe it's because he doesn't like what I've been cooking lately. We had halibut cheeks last night and he did like that.

I found some almonds I can eat that aren't heavily covered in chocolate. Diamond brand has come out with small packages of flavored almonds. So far I have had the salt & vinegar ones and I really like them. The whole package is a lot of calories so I have to ration it.

Have a great day everyone!

Doris

I'm new and was looking for a way to "jump in"...like double dutch jump rope?! LOL Went to Carrabba's for dinner last Thursday night--really hungry (hadn't had lunch). I had their Mussels steamed in white wine, the Mediterranean salad (sans dressing, croutons or cheese), and a "small" Sirloin Marsala with steamed Spinach. Delicious! And pretty low carb! If I hadn't been hungry as a bear, I'd have brought home some of the steak for sure. Love the option to order a smaller sized entree!

gittel, Chubby14 & TeslaGirl :welcome2:

Everybody have a great Memorial Day weekend!!!

Hello there. It's nice to see I'm not the only night owl.

I joined earlier and introduced myself on the intro forum. The name is MissNibs because I do lots of writing.

I've carried extra weight for most of my life, starting around 11. You've probably met me. You know, the one with the pretty face? Meaning, too bad she's so fat.
But, it's true. I am fat. No problemic genetics, so debilitating illnesses (back then), just ate too much and the worse I felt the more I ate and the bigger I got. Sound familiar?
My highest, that I know from my doctors chart was 316. I got sick several years ago and dropped to 250. Once I lost over 127 pounds and reached 157 but that was twenty years ago.
Isn't it funny how we all remember those times so vividly?
After staying around 250 for quite a while (due to illness, not self-control), in the last several months I've eaten enough to gain an additional 25 pounds. And I'm back in "nothing fits me anymore"-ville.

My goal is to start dieting on June 1rst. You know why...it's the day after Memorial Day. And I've never started a diet on a holiday.
I have a big dream of perhaps owning a home next year. I can tell you this because you don't know who I am, or where I live. I want so very much to be the healthiest I can be at that time. Moving and starting over takes strength and energy. Right now I posess neither.

I want to read all you ladies have to offer. We've all been there, done that. But some have come back and climbed to the top of the mountain victoriosly.

Time to wrap it up. But I'll be back.

g'night

MissNibs :write:

Good Morning everyone:

:welcome3: Gittel & Miss Nibbs. There are supportive people who have been successful here. I'm not one of the successful yet, but it's nice to be in a group that faces the same challenges.

I have never weighed this much before so it really is hard (and I'm not lucky enough to have a pretty face). I thought it was difficult losing 30 pounds in the past....when I had a free fitness center available and didn't have a job where I sit all day.

Nice blue skies this morning, but it's still cold out there so I'm killing time before I start watering. This crazy weather is supposed to be over by Monday then it will probably get hot very fast. One good thing about living here is that it almost always cools off at night (the veggies don't necessarily like that). We only run the AC for a few hours a day. And we try to make it a personal challenge not to run it until July. :hot:

Have a great day everyone!

Doris

Well, time to jump in. Hello everyone, from (today) sunny Juneau Alaska.
Working to get healthy and lose weight. I am so inspired by the successes I see here! (and EFFORT is a success in and of itself, I believe.)
Heading "out the road" today for a camp work day, and I am the cook for dinner. We are having a healthy BBQ. (with some traditional treats for skinnier folks.) I have had fun planning a delicious and healthy feast.

Okay everyone, I am back. instead of taking a "free day" I took a free month.
boy did I learn something. I am not ready for 'freedom' quite yet. I gained back 12 pounds. this is an old pattern for me, I get close to 240 and panic.

This is not a failure. I have just learned one more thing that does not work for me.

Thanks in advance for welcoming me back.
Next step is being honest and updating my ticker and other information.

Good Morning all! Welcome to the newbies! Well today was weigh in day and I stayed the same, which for me is a good thing, hubby gained the pound he had lost, still not too bad. We will be taking a few days off, were supposed to go and visit my brother in TN but a new job offer came up that he would be stupid to refuse, so we had to cancel, I don't care if we stay home as long as we can take a break from working 6 days, really 7 days a week, we have not been on a real vacation in 10 years, hoping to one day go on another cruise. Anyway I hope you all have a blessed day.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

A big :welcome2: to gittel, MissNibs, and Bunti! - you've found a very friendly, supportive group, and we are so glad you're here! Please fill out a Daily Chat bio, when/if you're comfortable with sharing.

Doris - I've never heard of halibut cheeks, and am picturing a halibut getting it's cheeks filleted right off, lol. That can't be right?!? My DH has lost around 15 pounds since I've been OP, Feb. 1st, and he's done it w/o trying at all. <sigh> Do you ever just toss a tablespoon of almonds or walnuts on your salad? They are good like that! The memorial at the gravesite yesterday was bittersweet.

gittel - double dutch jump rope was so much fun! I have the sing-song, "Not last night but the night before, 24 robbers came a-knockin' at my door..." stuck in my head now. Cool! There isn't a Carrabba's, or anyplace like it, around here, but that menu sounds devine!

MissNibs - whatever your illness is/was, I hope it's all better now. We have a lot in common! I started gaining around age 11, too. I lost in during my teen years, and kept my weight down until my 30s. It's been a battle ever since. Yes, it's funny/odd how we remember the dates of our weight loss successes and failures, too. I've got a whole mental list of these times. You are so right when you say moving and such requires a lot of energy. My main reason for wanting to keep losing is for energy. I'm sick and tired of having to sit on the sidelines of my own life. It's now or never for me! Do you have a specific plan in mind to lose? What ever it is, we here will help you along your weight loss journey.

Bunti - how exciting to live in such a place! What kind of work is it that you do? Enjoy your BBQ!

ChicPanda - I'm so happy you're back! I've done the same thing in the past, and you already know we're here for ya'. :hug:

Tammy - aww, I'm sorry your trip to Tennessee got canceled. I surely do hope you get a well-deserved vacation! YAY for maintaining, and not gaining.

After another "up and down" on the scales, I'm finally down another pound. That makes 23.4 now, of 100. I'm nearly 1/4 of the way there.

The family will be here afterwhile, and then 5 (yes, 5) of the grands will be staying over. Tomorrow, among other things, they'll be picking cherries for me to freeze. Not sure what else we'll be doing, but they'll keep me busy - that's a given, lol.

Toodles for now,

Today is a nice relaxing day. I just found a page that gives cal burned per minute of activity. The rate for house work is 4 cal per minute. Okay I want to loose one pound this week through house work. That means I have to clean for 875 minutes or 14.58 hours. Goodie. My house is gonna be sooo clean!

Good Morning all! We closed all 3 stores today, have opened for Memorial Day and it was slow, so it gives us and our employees an extra day off, especially since most spouses are off today. Make it a blessed day. Tammy

Happy Memorial Day to my USA friends--I already put my flag out,

Another marathon gardening day. Hope you all are well--will post more later if I'm not in too much pain. I already have a lot of spines in my hands from trying to weed the hardy cacti beds. They are such a mess after neglecting them for too long-my shade bed is the same way. Parallels my big weight gain-there has to be some connection:idea:

At least when I'm busy, I'm not worried about eating :)

Doris

Happy Memorial Day!
We had our big family cookout yesterday, and it was the perfect day for it. Today I"m just relaxing and taking it easy, although I am getting the laundry done. There's plenty of leftovers from yesterday for supper, and our son and his family will most likely join us later this afternoon.
I only work 3 days this week, then I'm taking off early Friday morning for a long weekend in Cape May with my daughter and youngest granddaughter. I'm looking forward to coffee on our balcony overlooking the ocean in the mornings while watching the sunrise, lazy afternoons under an umbrella on the beach, and some nice dinners out. Can't wait!