I did laundry, dusted the living/dining rooms, transplanted hostas, and planted my calla lillies, made dinner, then watered all the back beds.
Tavvy, Is the porch shaded or sun? That will make a difference. If sun you might try some culinary herbs {useful} and some petunias{pretty}. They can both take full sun and do well in the dry season. Rosemary, oregano and thyme are my favorites. We have 5 gallon buckets strategically placed around the patio; I use them to collect weeds, move dirt, and water with, any rain that gets collected gets poured on a plant. I've seen the huge rainwater barrels in stores, great idea.
Arillen, Hopefully, I can post some photos tomorrow. My willingness to work in the yard starts out great in spring but then fades the hotter the summer gets.
Tavvy - on your 3 pound loss You are rockin it. I hope you make your goal and fit that cute cocktail dress by the time you sail Just keep on doing what you're doing.
My workout was 2 hours of yard work after I got home from work. I am so sore that I can barely move right now.
Penguin, it is only partial sun, I would love to put some type of vine in it (not ivy though!). That is a great idea with the buckets! I'm excited to get started!
Gettin: anytime you run out of yardwork, we aren't so far from Atlanta, feel free to come work on ours!
I think (and pray) that my body has decided to work with my efforts rather than against them...down another 2lbs this morning!! I was very pleasantly surprised and feel like I am actually going to see the end of being obese!
I got up this morning to weigh and Mr Scale's batteries were dead! Probably just as well, I went a little nuts last night eating 2 servings of ice cream!
I was almost back to sleep when Hubby called to tell me he was coming back home because he forgot his ID. So I never did get back to sleep, so I'm dragging my tail feathers this morning.
I need to wash the sheets and get some more work done in the back. I need to get to the front beds but I like to wait until the sun goes behind the trees in the evening, but by that time I don't always want to get back out there.
Tavvy - WOW you are burning fat like crazy! Congrats on losing another 2 pounds. Your new way of eating organic is working wonders for you. Keep up the great work. I find that gardening is so relaxing and I love blooming flowers and watching the butterflies & hummingbirds flutter around. Did you move into your new home yet?
Penguin - I'm with 'ya on dragging my tail feathers. I am soooo tired & sleepy this morning. I woke up at 2:00 am and lay there thinking about what I'm going to do in the back yard I was so tempted to call in today.
It's going to be a long and tiring day for me as I have to meet a new client to show a house after I leave work. I'm a licensed agent but I don't work much with real estate anymore. This is the son of one of my friends and it's his first purchase so I agreed to help him out.
I've been sticking to being OP and my weight is still 211 which is good after the 3 pound drop last week. I'm on track to make my goal of 208 by the end of May. Just gotta keep working it.
I hope everyone else is doing good with your May goals! We are over 1/2 way through the month It's going by so fast.
Tavvy -- Thank you for the welcome, and congrats on losing more weight! Let me know how it goes if you try to make melon bread--I've only ever bought it at convenience stores. There's waaaay too many interesting, delicious, easily-accessible sweet pastries in Japan.
GettinFit -- I don't know how I missed your post, but thank you very much! I'm happy to be joining in. And way to go with your goals!
patchworkpenguin -- Please do upload pictures! I am an amateur container gardener, and I love seeing how people have laid out their actual gardens. How to go for an overall visual effect is something I'm trying to learn.
I have to ask, and I know this is a common, recurring problem for a lot of people, but do any of you have any advice on cutting down on late-night snacking? I tend to get off work rather late, usually around 9:30 PM or so, and even if I bring dinner and eat it at work, I get home and just start mindlessly shoveling food in my mouth while reading e-mails and skyping with friends. I know this is main reason I haven't lost weight despite my huge increase in exercise since I started my new job two months ago, and it's getting frustrating--yet I still am having huge issues controlling it.
May 16th
Breakfast: Cereal & OJ
Lunch: Tonkatsu (Fried pork cutlet) sandwich & ice cream for desert
Snack: Watermelon
Dinner: Steak bites, brown rice, and strawberries
Late-night Fiasco: Potato chips, sour powers, and a can of tuna
Exercise: Yoga (10 minutes) + Biking (30 minutes)
The stoop is about 4x4 and leads to the driveway, which we don't use, the I'm standing close to the gate to take the picture. You can see the new foundation paint, also. If you step off the stoop and turn slightly left you are facing the beans turn a little more left and beside the garage door is the herb bed, around and you are facing the pecan tree, walking further into the yard brings you to the swing on the left with the hosta bed to the right.
Arillen, I knit so I have a project or two by the couch where Hubby and I watch TV. I can tell if I'm getting bored and just want to eat something to entertain me, so try to head that off by knitting or chewing gum, or just pausing the TV and doing something else for a few minutes. Not sure any of those will help. I had to separate servings of Ice cream last night.
Last edited by patchworkpenguin; 05-16-2012 at 03:07 PM.
Arillen, I avoid late night snacking by keeping busy. If I am really into doing an activity I don't think about food. Something else to think about is that when you are hungry late at night near bedtime it is usually because you are tired and your body is craving fuel (simple carbohydrates) to stay awake.
Gettin: Yeppers Moved in a little while ago and have just been getting everything organized and such!
Penguin: I just LOVE hostas! Looks like you guys have a great yard!
Whew I'm so tired today. I'm taking tomorrow off so this is my Friday
Penguin - Your pics are nice.
Arillen - What helps me with night snacking is that I brush my teeth when I don't want to eat anything else. I also chew Extra gum and it is a big help. There are so many flavors and it satisfies my urge to snack. Some of my favorite flavors right now are chocolate mint, apple pie & watermelon.
I will be attending another farewell party this evening here at work where food/alcohol will be served. It will be catered and I'm not sure what will be served but I am eating very light today and will stay in control tonight. It is so motivating when I encounter these challenges and stay OP. It reinforces that I can live with this way of eating for life
Bah I just wrote a (probably too long anyways) message to say Hi I am back, and its gone (I hate the shortcut keys I am always accidentally pressing when typing on m laptop the cause screens to pop up and stuff to disappear). Anyways I have been MIA and most definitely struggling. In fact I have been struggling to get started since being on here! I feel like a broken record when I keep saying "today is the day". But I am saying it again! TODAY IS THE DAY!
I have some extra motivation. Yesterday I decided that since it is well into the middle of May and I am yet to have any progress losing this weight I needed to make some motivation. I gained about ten lbs last november thru december, and well its creeped up to being more like 12-13 lbs now. Anyways I have all these cloths I have just avoided trying on. Yesterday I did a thorough closet cleanout. I tired on all my cloths that I haven't worn since gaining weight and put into the donate pile the stuff that I dont really care for and saved the things I loved. Went thought the rest of my closet too for stained or ratty looking things. Well I was left with such a small amount of cloths I know exactly why I feel like I keep wearing the sane 10 things. I only have like 10 things left!
Saving those too small things that are in great shape and folding them neatly into a bag was such a great motivation. I actually split stuff into three bags. Each probably five lbs away from being able to wear again.
So for every 5 lbs my closet will grow again by 4-8 new things!! I actually found the whole process, first of all very maddening to see how awful these cloths look on me now, and secondly such a motivation to lose weight. I want to get those cloths back!
Another HUGE motivation is the bridesmaid dress that I am wearing for a wedding in august. I had to order it way back in October, which I was concerned about since I was really hoping to lose weight and be my goal of 155 by then. Well in October I weight 170 lbs and now I weigh like 180-184. In obtober I was kinda between sizes and since I had so much time I opted for the slightly tighter dress. I would have to get the size up altered a little since the dress is strapless, so I figured I'd rather lose five lbs than pay to alter down the larger size. Now I am a full 20lbs from fitting into that bridesmaid dress and August is coming way too fast. I hung that dress right on my closet door where I will see it all the time as a reminder. I cant afford to spend another 150 dollars on a new dress and I dont know if they can even size a dress up that much! I have 13.5 weeks. It's enough time but only if I am on it and on it now!
In other news, I am down .4 lbs so I am at 258.4 now.
Totals for today:
Calories: 1485
Fat: 46%
Carb: 30%
Protein: 23%
Exercise: JM Body Revolution
So today was a lower calorie day. I think it is due to all the liquids I drank! I had my normal 135 oz water, mint tea, all natural soda, and a glass of milk! No wonder I wasn't hungry!
A little high on the carb side, but this is due to the low amount of calories...I usually add some good fats to dinner and lunch but ended up not terribly hungry.
Tomorrow I will be dipping into very low carb. I'm going to try to get a cycle going of higher and lower days next week but this week was all about getting used to organics, used to cooking, and used to eating whole foods. So far so good and I am very happy with my results
Gettin: You can so do this! Hope you enjoy your time off! I am so jealous <That is me, green with envy but happy for you! lol
Wannabe: I have had a million "Today is the Day" kind of moments! Thankfully now I have found a plan that is 'sticking' and am loving it. I've always been passionate about doing things naturally so eating organic is an extention of my passion! Maybe there is a passion of yours that can be used as a part of your plan? Having such a powerful emotion tied into my way of eating has got me to the point that I don't even feel the deprivation of having no conventional foods...(and no...not everything comes in organic! a lot of stuff but not everything). I am cheering for you to fit into all those clothes and for the ones on your back right now to be too big!! You know what to do, you just have to do it!!
Arillen: Hope you had a great day! Mandy: Hope you are enjoying yourself!!
Waterlady, Clownfish, Dawny, Damiilya, Milly Hope you ladies are doing well and are still with us
Yesterday I went to the knitting meeting at church, went to lunch with my parents, then worked dividing/transplanting hostas, and broke my favorite hand trowel {Hubby welded it back together for me when he got home}. Then we did some shopping.
I was beginning to really get worried about Hubby's job situation. He's under a lot of stress with the pay cut, other people at work who are also stressed, and a few other office politics type things. I was full from lunch but still wanted to eat {to relieve stress?} but instead I found my copy of Shrink Yourself {a book on emotional eating} and restarted it. I got pretty far into it, skimming what I had read/underlined when I started it before. The information makes a lot of sense to me now, and I read some more today. The premise is to find out why I feel I want to eat, stop and think before I eat, then figure out how to turn the desire to eat into another response.
today was a good day, yesterday was a very bad day. but i feel like i've lost some weight o.o i hope i did...
tomorrow i'm going with my kempo group to Ardennes and going to move A LOT. and on sunday quite a lot as well and then go back home at 4 o'clock or so.. good exercise for me (:
I am SO tired (TOM is drawing near...I am extremely fatigued for several days prior) so here are the stats!
Calories: 1187
Fat: 68%
Carb: 13%
Protein: 18%
Exercise: JM Body Revolution
Carbs in grams were less than half of my normal carb intake...just shows up as a higher percentage because of low calories. I do not believe in making myself eat if I'm not hungry...so I don't...my body seems to naturally do cycles. One day I am starving so I eat 2000 calories...the next I'm eating ice cream just to get my calories above 1000! I just let my body do what it wants and I listen to the signals...at least for the short term (the last week and a half) it has worked out great. We will see how it goes in the long run!
Hubz is taking me to see Dark Shadows tomorrow I'm pumped! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Johnny Depp and Tim Burton!
Aside from that it is going to be a busy weekend so I might not check back until Monday! Hope everyone has a one!
Sorry I missed posting on Friday and yesterday. My day off was busy but great! I worked in the yard all day and am still sore & tired.
Tavvy - I love the dress and great job on another loss. You are doing an awesome job.
damiilya - Congrats on your loss.
WannaB - I hope you make your goal for the wedding. You can do !!!
I did very good with my eating on Friday and yesterday. I was invited to a cookout yesterday and one today. I stayed in control yesterday. I ate very light at breakfast & lunch and at the cookout I made good choices. I had 2 small ribs, 1 ckn leg, a huge serving of green salad w/light Italian dressing, a spoonfull of potato salad, 1/4 corn on the cob & a scoop of ice cream on a cone. I resisted so much other good stuff but was completely satisfied with what I ate.
This morning I went at 6:45 and did a 2.5 mile walk at Stone Mountain. I also plan to do some ab work today.
on your 3 pound loss 
You are rockin it. I hope you make your goal and fit that cute cocktail dress by the time you sail
Just keep on doing what you're doing.
. Did you move into your new home yet?
I was so tempted to call in today. 
It's going by so fast.
And way to go with your goals!
<That is me, green with envy but happy for you! lol 
You know what to do, you just have to do it!! 
My day off was busy but great! I worked in the yard all day and am still sore & tired.