Hello Marie, Tera and Lucinda,

Still hanging in there ~ trying to find my way with this altered summer schedule. Don't have much of a chance to get on here with Maddie here. I caught a break today though. I was sick yesterday. I felt a little better today, but still not so great. DH took Maddie to a movie, the library, some of the parks and ran errands. I don't know how he does it ~ having to play with her all day exhausts me. They were gone all day, so I was able to rest up some. I lost a couple pounds being sick ~ not a fun way to do it, but I'll take it anyway.

I actually added an extra protein shake of 130 calories to my last night's meal. I have been going to Zumba class Sunday, Monday ,Wednesday and I will go again this morning.
I felt thirsty at 6 pm, and a twinge hungry even though I had already eaten my dinner, hence the extra protein shake. I decided not to get on the scale today because I need to accept that my weight can fluctuate 2 pounds up or down and that does not mean I have lost my ability to stay true to my NEED to control what I eat.
Today's plan... breakfast protien shake 130 calories
lunch salad of raw greens, broccolli, tomatoes, peppers, 1/4 of avocado, teaspoon of tahini and a squirt of hot sauce 300 calories (estimated).

Dinner will be at a Sisterhood Function. I am bringing my mom with me. G-d grant me strength!

ex yest-2380, ex-none. Yesterday was a tough day-my little dog died. She was almost seventeen years old so it was time but it was still very sad. Obviously blew the calories thing but whatever. So back at it today. I expect to report my totals late.

So sorry for the loss of your little fur baby Tera :hug:

cals-1925, ex-body sculpt Y class. Back on track with my cals-even with some pie from my neighbor-"medicine" for a broken heart. It was delicious and nice to get out of the house and chat. I really miss my old sweet girl but I know it will get better. She was a good dog. Day 3 out of 14 down-avg cals 2109 so far. The weekend will be a tough test. Tomorrow I am meeting friends after work for margaritas and then Saturday I am going to a wedding. Perhaps this will be harder than I thought.

Gayle-Thank you for the kind sentiments. Glad you are able to rest and mend while DH does Maddie duty. It seems to me when you are up and running again, it might make sense to consider Maddie-Care your exercise for the day.

Marie-Good for you for sticking to doctors orders. It will all add up in time. I always give myself credit at least for the extra pounds I am not putting on by being conscientious about what I am eating.

Lucinda-Hope the dinner goes well and you enjoy a wonderful evening with your mom.

We had a great evening. THere was a beautiful salad and I had two helpings. I also exercised at zumba today and sweated like an athlete! I snuck a peak at the scale today and lost a pound and a half. I will not be changing what I have on the profile b/c I don't want to jinx myself. If my weight is still what it is now on Sunday, I will change the number on my profile.

Tera Pet.. I am sorry I did not read your past post more carefully. OMG Your sweet dog is gone! I know how sad you are! Cry it out. Feel the full weight of your emotions..but don't swallow the hurt away. Let it rise to the surface.

cals-2080,ex-none. I m not sure if those calories are right but I hope so. I tried to be good tonight. It was nice to get out of the house. I miss my dog so much. DH and I have been married nearly 35 years. We adopted our first dogs 9 months after we got hitched and we have only been without a dog for about one month, nearly 17 years ago. Sigh. It is going to take some time to get past the sadness.

Lucinda-I appreciate your kind thoughts.

Marie-Thx for the link. I too like to imagine all my dogs together in a happy place.

yest cals-1830?, no exerc. We had a nice time at the wedding. I am still adjusting to being without my dog. I have sooooo much time on my hands. Dogs-especially old dogs-take a lot of care. Today I made a pasta salad for lunch the next few days.

Marie-The quiet house is very difficult. I do not feel I have the time and energy a dog deserves and I don't know if we are home enough anymore. I am sorry to hear about the medicine making you feel awful. I hope you heal quickly.

I will use this space to keep myself honest. I have been nourishing my body with greens, peppers, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, raw bean spouts, carrots, beets, brussel sprouts, strawberries, grapes, apples, tahini, cashew butter, cashews, olive oil.. and I am down another 2 pounds in less than two weeks. I also have a daily protien shake made with spirutein, ice and almond milk(unsweetened).
I can live like this forever... because oops also avocados...
because I have been completely devoted to this style of eating since January 1 2014 and I have lost 50 pounds!

Time to admit my two pounds by the 4th was a bust. Well, that's okay. The next few weeks will be kinda iffy as well. Between stuff at work and home, I will be a bit distracted, I think. Things may not disturb my routine as much as I think-not that I have a routine right now anyway. However, I am really trying to make wise food choices and not give into my cravings. I am also trying to make exercise a priority. Hopefully I will not gain weight.

Marie-I hope you are enjoying your days off from work. I imagine you are doing lots of walking with your dogs, swimming in your pool and maybe catching up on one of your lovely crafty projects. I was happy to read you are off the meds that made you sick. Perhaps your injury will improve with time. I have had some muscle injuries that I thought would be forever that actually improved immensely after 3 or 4 months. I miss Am2 also. Cool about the synching program. I still log calories on my laptop in the apparently vain attempt to keep my total calorie intake in the proper place.

Lucinda-Good for you focusing on your diet and getting where you want to be. Congrats on the fifty pound weight loss!

Today I plan to go to the Y for a body sculpt class and maybe, maybe a little jogging on the track before class. Not sure how my cals will end up because I do not have any good ideas for dinner!

Hello all,

I've been away for several days ~ kind of kept up with you all on my phone, but it is hard to post from that.

Had a nice few days away. Went with Sara and the kids to Eureka Springs, AR. Had some adventures there. We stayed in a cabin that over looked a lake ~ beautiful. Deer would come out in the evenings and early morning and eat the grass in the yard there. So peaceful. Take a cup of coffee and my crocheting out on the porch in the morning before everyone woke up ~ ahhhhh

DH lined up some adventures ~ horse back riding. Oh my aching joints ~ I hadn't been on a horse since I was a teenager. I have no desire to do it again in this lifetime ~ my joints don't go in those positions anymore ~ LOL.

Another afternoon, he had arranged for zip lining. I passed on that one. He and Sara and the kids went ~ even Maddie ~ they loved it. Seeing the videos they took during, was excitement enough for me. While they did that, I rode a trolly thing around town ~ the old down town area ~ neat little victorian type houses. Pretty.

Then Sara and the kids went home and we traveled on to Branson, MO. We got to see a couple shows there and wander around some of the little shops. There was this one restaurant we liked and kept going back to. Very tasty reasonably priced food. Sometimes, I would alternate have a meal, then sometimes instead of a meal ~ just a dessert. I haven't weighed yet. :o Hoping that because we did a lot of walking around that maybe it off set some of the calories.

Back home now ~ as usual with a vacation ~ you get home and have to rest up.

Hope you all are doing well. Have plans for the 4th?

Good to see you are back, Glynne! A couple of the gals were asking about you on the other thread. Hope your weight didn't stray too far off course ;).

Liana

Hi all. I have been very slack lately, thus no posts. Partly I have been having fun, partly busy with family and then lately I have been feeling under the weather. Still going to work and all but I have a sore throat that does not seem to want to go away. Anyway, I have not been making wise food choices lately so that is my first thing to work on.

Marie-Sounds like lots of fun with the family and still sticking to your diet. You are a wonderful example of where I want to be.

Gayle-Your trip sounds fun. I would have been afraid to go the horse as well as the zip line so you are one up on me!

Good afternoon,

Been away again. Here in spirit (reading) but no time or device from which to post.

This time a trip to San Antonio ~ took DGD to Sea World and saw some of the other sites in San Antonio. First night ~ DH and DGD enjoyed a mirror maze thing. Then we walked on the River Walk. DD had told about it and it sounded like a really neat place and I had been wanting to go. The next two days we spent at Sea World and their water park Aquatica. We did the water park first ~ spent some time there cooling off. We wore our bathing suits and wandered around all day in them ~ helped keep us cool. Enjoyed the various different shows. Lots of walking. The kids area had a “spray ground” which we kept returning to ~ to get wet and cool off again. On the way home we went to a museum ~ spent a while at the human body exibit. We all enjoyed that. Had a pretty good time ~ mostly fun, but I feel badly for DH and DGD ~ I don't keep up very well now with a 6 year old and that is frustrating for all of us. I seemed to be more stiff than usual ~ don't know why. Some of the places there were a lot of steps, and that is really hard on my knees. If I am lucky there are ramps to accommodate wheel chairs ~ I can walk easier on those. Or sometimes there will be steps that each step is less high than a regular step and those are easier.

Glad to be back home. Here I can go at my own pace ~ LOL.

Trying to eat correctly is hard when we travel. Gained back a few pounds on the last trip. Didn't gain any more this trip, but ate some chips yesterday and I think retained some fluid so weight is up a little more. Now gotta get back on track and get back to where I was.

Hope you all are having a nice weekend.

Glad you had a nice time on your vacation in San Antonio. I love river walks and shoreline promenades in any city. It's usually flat walking so easier on the knees and there are always lots of interesting things to see.

You might want to try icing your knees when you get back for the day, that may help with keeping the pain and swelling down. Are you going for knee replacements later or is that not in the cards? I'm sure DH & DGD were glad you were with them and participating anyhow. You probably walked a lot more than you realize... a little pedometer can tell you how many steps you take in a day and it can be surprising. :running:

Liana

Just poppin in to see if anyone is still around. I have not been here lately which of course means I have not been focusing on weight loss which equates with weight gain. Durn! My job has been very difficult and emotionally draining with no end to the ridiculous and unnecessary drama in sight. And its part time for very little pay to boot. The new American story for too many of us I am afraid. Sigh. Well, there is only one way to fix both of my "problems" and it begins with ME. Please feel free to encourage and support me along the way though:) I will try to return the favor.

PS I had chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. Please comment.

Hi Tera and Marie,

I am still here. Still trying to get back on track after our little trips recently. I can get off track so easliy, and it takes me a while to get my act together again. I don't have a lot of self discipine to begin with (that is what got me in this fix of being overweight) so being on track is already a struggle. I stress about it on the trips, then just kind of give up so I can enjoy it. I don't do horribly, but just don't eat the same when away as I do when I am at home. We try to eat economically which doesn't always work out to be the healthiest choices. Also, we are on the go and while I would be happy to eat a salad, I eat so slow, so I end up choosing things I can eat more quickly. Maybe our next outing, Maddie won't be with us and we can time things a little differently.

Wonder how Darcy is doing ~ haven't heard from her for a while.

Sorry that things are so stressful at work for you Tera.

Hope you are having a good summer Marie.

Take care

Gayle-I can relate to you on struggling with making wise food choices. I know exactly what to do but I rarely eat right these days. I love the bad stuff. Yesterday, as mentioned, was a chocolate-chip-cookie-fest followed by beer and dinner out for delicious and high caloric Mexican cuisine. My middle is multiplying. Ick. Now I quite rightly recognize this is my unhealthy response to work stress. I could have exercised instead or maybe a warm bath or perhaps soothing music and meditation. Naaaah-forget about it.....beer and cookies Man! :) Today I will try to be better but I do have a dinner party tonight at my home. So I guess I could skip the alcohol and appetizers and serve healthy salads but......not likely. Good news though-I used up all my hours at my part time job so I have the day off today. Now that is soothing! I have plans to cook and clean and work in my garden.

Hang in there Gayle. Keep fighting the good fight. Goodness knows a healthy physique is worth the effort. I know I will not get there if I simply throw in the towel and accept my bad habits as a foregone conclusion. So, it is one day at time. Agree?

Please comment

Hang in there Tera. I totally agree. I know what I need to do, but don't always do it. And, even though I don't get it right all the time ~ I hate to think of the mess I'd be in if I threw in the towel and didn't try at all.

Like you said ~ we'll keep on keeping on ~ one day at a time.

Took a 4 mile walk around a lake yesterday by myself and I feel much better both mentally and physically. I try to spend as much time outside as I can. Friday I weeded all morning around my backyard garden and then cooked and cleaned and had a fun dinner party with some neighbors. Actually I did a fair amount of home cooking this weekend-grilled salmon and steamed veggies for dinner last night and omelets, pancakes and fruit for brunch this morning. Tonight though is dinner at the Braves game-that will not be particularly healthy or low cal. I have all next week to be good and make up for it.

Marie-You are doing awesome. I am so glad you posted to let me know all the great things you have going on. I am inspired. Good thing you figured out the estrogen problem. When putting on weight it should at least be from something delicious and fun to eat-not estrogen replacement!

Hi Gayle!

Wow, I am so glad I redid my ticker. It looks so much better this way. I pretty much weigh the same old-same old that I have for the last 9 months. I go up and down around 150 a lot. Maybe I will do better now. I would like to anyway. More job drama going on in my house. This time it is DH. Totally unexpected and much more impact then my silly no good job. Waaaah. Anyway, we are trying to roll with the punches and look for the silver lining and all that. It is so awful right now though, I have lost some of my appetite. When I get really, really stressed I actually eat less. Go figure. Well, it won't last long-the loss of appetite I mean. I know DH and I will get used to our new financial circumstances as well-just not so fun.

Oh my Tera ~ did your DH lose his job or did his company close down? That is hard. Thoughts and prayers for you guys. Sorry you are having to under go that stress. Hang in there.

Gayle-Thanks for the kind thoughts. Thankfully he has not lost his job. Just very serious and debilitating changes. That is all I can say on the subject. Not trying to be cryptic-but -it is the Internet afterall. Anyway, we will be fine. Just hard to believe and hard to accept and verrrry disappointing.

My appetite is back so obviously I am recovering. :)

Tera ~ again, I am sorry for the stress and difficulties you and your DH are facing. I understand why you are not able to go into more detail. Sending good thoughts, {{{{hugs}}}} and prayers.

Birthdays tomorrow-awesome. I hope you both enjoy a fabulous day full of fun, food, family and friends!

I have not been terribly focused on what I am eating yet. Just trying to get back on track emotionally, get my worry response under control and maybe even find the right corrective action to get out of this negative rut I have found myself in. So far,I have been spending lots of time either outdoors-mostly hiking, walking the neighborhood or garden chores, in the kitchen cooking and reading non fiction-I love an interesting fact! However, I know there is more to be done-the thing I dislike so very, very much and keep having to do over and over. I am not even going to print it here. But I am preparing myself mentally for it. One step at a time.

Hello Tera and Marie,

And Happy Birthday Marie. Like you, I am enjoying today and not worrying about the food. Not going wild, but enjoying without guilt. Have kind of had a few treats ~ birthday related ~ this week. Tuesday DH had a birthday coupon for BOGO Blizzards at Dairy Queen. Shared 3 ways ~ that wasn't too bad. Then Friday, he had a BOGO coupon for Concrete mixers (kind of like a Blizzard) at Culvers. Again we split the two ~ between the 3 of us.

So sorry Tera for the stresses in your life right now. Hang in there :hug:

Hello Ladies-love your celebratory birthday treats. Yummmm. Now back to business! :)

I have not had any celebrations but still indulged in some treats. Time for me to get back to business also. Perhaps I can make myself count some calories tomorrow. I have managed to get some exercise in. Today was body sculpting class at the Y. I might try the yoga class tomorrow. I have been avoiding it because it is rather late in the day but I am thinking some yoga might be good for what ails me.

Marie-sorry to hear about the wildfires. R those a given every year where you live? I hope your asthma symptoms stay away!

Gayle-What is going on with your bike riding these days? Is it too warm there now?

Thank you both for the kind thoughts about my worries. I am fine. I have many, many things to be grateful for and just need to deal with the other stuff. I really, really need to work on acceptance and not reacting so openly! You two are wonderful though for putting up with my whining. I will try not to whine anymore. The weather here is great by the way and I am thoroughly enjoying a perfect evening on my screened porch watching the sun go done behind the trees and writing this note to you. Now that sounds a better perspective, right?

Goodness Gracious Marie-twelve pounds-Wow. Fantastique! I am so happy for you. Do you have any weight loss tips to share? Do you think your doctor was the main impetus? That is pretty awful about the wildfires-my praises to the brave people who fight them. Here is hoping and wishing a fortuitous climate event heads your way soon.

My frame of mind continues to mend. I am especially buoyed by DD's successful transition to her new job this year. I am so grateful to witness her joy and happiness and leave behind last years pain and struggles. Still not doing much for myself in the weight loss department except coming here to remind myself that there was a time.... Hopefully again soon.

cals-1570, ex-body sculpt at the Y. I ate a lot of food this weekend. Three different social engagements all revolving around dinner. We even got to try some new dishes-a watermelon, cucumber, feta salad and a blueberry/blackberry gallette. I am still eating leftovers but luckily in small portions. I am hoping this week to get back on track.