Well, I took the night off tonight...falling asleep at the table while listening to the State of the Union (sorry, Mr. Bush! :yawn:)

Mele, as far as Mardi Gras goes...it is *every* bit as crazy as you see in the pictures. In fact, Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras day is quite a terrifying experience. You have no control over your own destiny--you are packed in and pretty much have to move with the crowd. You will see nearly every kind of public debauchery imaginable. Liquor and urine flow freely. Pretty appealing to the college age crowd, not so much for us ol' folks. My family and I usually head down for one big parade, Bacchus, which is Sat. the weekend before Fat Tuesday. There are dozens of parades in N.O. and surrounding area beginning on Jan. 6, which is the start of the season. N.O. parades are quite a sight, and something to experience, but it helps to have a native tell you how to get in and out and what to avoid so you're safe. We have a few parades in Baton Rouge that are no where near the scale of the N.O. parades, but they are plenty fun, and a whole lot more family-oriented. Besides, I have all the beads and other baubles to last me a lifetime, so I don't need to show nothin' to nobody :)

Tricia, thanks for the words of encouragement. Actually noted a small change on the scale this morning....at last! I know I'm not supposed to be so hung up about it, but it's so hard not to...

Curves and walking tomorrow! See y'all!

Good snowy afternoon ladies. Not looking good out there, came home early, after a near death experience trying to get to an appnt on time. Not worth it I said. Home and warm now. Thinking my aerobics class will be cancelled. Walking outside is out of the question. So, I guess it's time to get out that Pilates tape again. Gotta keep exercising, or i'll get lazy again. Skipped it yesterday. Pray fro my aunt, she's still in this breast cancer thing... praying for strength.. although she's acting like she's fine.. it's us that are a mess.

Walk on, if you can.

210
152
150

I dunno, SC, walking in the snow is darn good exercise when there's a few inches on the ground. Makes me sweat like a w:censored: in church! Also makes me jealous of Jasper's long legs--he's a Doberman, and like all of his breed, he doesn't have a lick of fat on him! :lucky:

We've got a layer of ice underneath, and as funny as me and my little terrier would look sliding past a neighbors house... i'll brave my basement and a video... wish we had the pretty powder stuff. it's deceiving out here, wiht the bottom layer of blackice.

ooh, black ice! Stay away from that stuff! Can't blame you for not getting out. Icy sidewalks are very musical--if you don't c sharp, you'll b flat. :lol:

Very cute musical reference DawnStorm.

I went walking this evening with my 2 sisters and their 2 dogs. The little Jack Russell terrier (short-legged variety) came home with a belly covered with grime since it's been raining all day and it was really muddy out. No snow to speak of though :lol: .


Hope everyone stays safe through these bad weather spells. I'm enjoying the sunshine (not today though) and warmer temps for you all. :)

YAY!
 

OOOOH!!!! I think i found a home!!! I've been trying to get back into walking after "wandering off the beaten path" I ran cross country in high school and was a size 4. Now i run my mouth only and am a size 14. :)

I have begun walking home from work. It's about a mile and a half, and i usually can make it in about 25 minutes. At first I thought i was going to die, but i just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I've made the trip 6 times now!!! And it gets a little easier each time. That's a total of 9 miles in a week!! If i start packing my lunch, then i could walk both ways. Right now i usually drive home for a quick bite to eat and have my fiance drive me back to work. Maybe i'll walk back from lunch today....

I can already tell a difference in my muscle tone and I have received compliments from my fiance about my progress. he's happy that I'm sticking with it. :dancer:

Does any one else out there have trouble with shin splits? I always have had trouble with them, and they are really bad right now as i'm trying to get back into shape. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know


Ashley

167/162/125

Welcome Ashley, glad you could join us. I walk daily too but usually in the evenings with my husband or sister. I get shin splints every now and then, mostly when I take more than a day off then try to start up again. I recently started to stretch out more before going and if I can feel the ache in my shins before I even start, I put some Flexall or Ben-Gay type of gel on it. I think the stretching helps a lot. I sometimes take some ibuprofen before I go since I've been told by my Dr. that it also works as a muscle relaxant. These remedies work for me so far. I hate anything that slows me down when I'm so motivated to move! Good luck and keep walking. :)

Thanks. I'm gonna try the ibuprofen and more stretches. I walked back to work from lunch and had pains at the half mile, one mile, and 1.25 mile marks. Usually it'll subside while i'm walking, but it keeps flaring back up. Hopefully once i get some new shoes and put some more miles behind me, they won't bother me anymore.

The best thing that i've found thus far to keep me motivated is to put a little sticker on my calendar each day that i do something considered exercise: sit-ups, walking, jumping jacks, stretching, etc. When i walk both to and from work, i get 2 stickers. Just about anything counts, but it helps me to see that i can stick to something. In all of January there are 4 days without stickers. That's not too bad considering what my previous activity level was.

Ashley

A Little Birdie Told me...
 

It's DawnStorm's Birthday today.

Happy Birthday to you and many, many more!!!

:hb: :hat: :flow1: :twirly: :balloons: :yes: :gift: :flow2: :dancer: :grouphug: :wave: :D

Hello Everyone !!! It sounds like everyone is doing great! I have been doing my walking every morning and evening:angel: I think this will be the first week that I have ever walked everyday. Today will be easy but Sat and Sun will be the real test. I started at 197 and am currently at 193 so it is taking a little longer than I want but oh well. Yesterday was tough, my boss brought chocolate fudge w/ nuts to work and then to top it off my uncle brought us some peanut butter fudge. :devil: Yes I did have a little of both:cry:
I walk all my miles on the treadmill, any ideas on how to get my husband to walk outside with me.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL & HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laurie
SW 197
CW 193
GW 150

Don't feel so bad Smileybug--yesterday was my birthday, and much to my surprise my mom baked a cake. Well of course I had to have some, but between my husband and I that sucker will be gone by the end of the the weekend. Know what my doctor said about diets? Will you cheat occassionally? Sure! Just get right back on it! ;) Besides I think that if someone offers food to you, you should take some unless you're allergic to it, or it's against your religion. To refuse just because you're on a diet is rude IMO. How much you take is up to you!

Well, I walked 3 miles yesterday and i plan on doing the same today. I enjoy the quiet time to unwind and think by myself before i get home and start spending time with my fiance and my puppy. On the way home yesterday I stopped by a bridal accessories shop to look and get some ideas. It was a nice (nonfood) way to treat myself for sticking with the walking.

The only problem i'm really noticing right now (in addition to the shin problems) is that my legs aren't getting slimmer evenly. I'm trying to see about "wiggling" my other foot in order to target that side now. That's what made me start slimming on the first side anyway. Any other suggestions or ideas? Anyone else having this trouble?

I am investing in new walking shoes this next payday. I haven't figured out how that will fit into the budget just yet, but it qualifies as a necessity. :) Besides, it's time that I spend some money on me for me. I'm ready for this treat

Ashley

Sorry I've missed the birthdays.

OOPS. Clicked before I was ready. Anyway, congrats to the ladies who gracefullly usher in another year. I haven't walked ina couple days. Work kept me late last night, even after I had eaten my way through town, I still didn't come home and walk. I swore I'd do that too. Today is another day, and in my journal, i've decided not to dwell. I will exercise today, and I will be good today. And, I will take that walk, because I need to keep up with my personal goals... to move my body more than I eat... is that possible? What a challenge.

The way I look at it, you have to have these goodies now and then. You have to treat yourself but still watch protions. Last Sunday we went to a friends for a birthday/Super Bowl party. They had pizza, chicken wings, all kinds of munchies, cake and ice cream. There was literally nothing low fat there!!!!!!!! I have not had pizza in MONTHS and wings for close to a year!!!!!!!!! I had 2 small pieces of pizza, 4 wings, cake and ice cream. I figured I could do without the munchies.
I did walk an extra day last week cuz I knew what was gonna be served at the party. I would have liked to also get an extra day in this week but things have not worked out as planned but I am not fretting over it. I still might be able to get my extra day in on Sat. but that will go on February's log. No big deal.
I am not gonna make my goal. I would have to loose 4 lbs a week for the next 2 weeks. Again I am not gonna fret over it. I did so well over the holidays. I need to start thinking about my next goal. Maybe make St. Pat's day my target date or go for March 31. Will have to sit down with the calander and decide then write my goal down.
BTW...I am very pleased with that program I found to download and control my treadmill. Since I have been using it I have been doing a 40 minute workout and burning off 200 cal.

It kind of sounds like none of us are seeing the results as quick as we'd like. My friend whom I'm also doing this with, was trying to back out of our monthly outing..Our deal was every month as long as we progressed in some healthy area we were to celebrate by going shopping at the Good Will and take in a dollar movie. But because she hasn't lost like she wanted to she didn't want to go..:nono: I don't think so. I haven't lost either like I'd like to have but it is slowly coming off..but more importantly I am getting healthy, healthier then I've been in years , I'm sure. I was bummin..too, but time to pull up the boot straps..Remember what Dr. Phil said " only set goals for things you can control, such as eatting right and exercise because we can not control what our body does" We bought a recumbant bike, so yesterday I walked 1.5 and rode 8 miles. Today I reckon I'll walk and ride as well..Speaking for my friend and I I think we came out Jan 1 all ready to go..but now it's the end of Jan..and getting a little discouraged..Well it's almost Feb..time to get pumped up again..So here's my goal for Feb. I plan to walk 6 days a week minimum of 1.5 miles and ride at least 3 as well..how far I don't know..
163/157.5/130 ish

Happy Birthday, DawnStorm! It's hard to turn down *anything* much less birthday cake when it's offered with love, isn't it? Excellent philosophy to just put it behind you and move on...it's not the end of the world, or the "new you!"

Smiley--good to see you! Glad you are checking in. It really helps to stay accountable to yourself if you have someone to report to at the end of the day! Are you counting calories or anything? I know that really helps me decide whether or not I can splurge on something...I know what my calorie "budget" is for the day...and if something would put me waaaaay overbudget I have to decide if I REALLY want it, or if I'd rather not "waste" my calorie$$ on it! fitday.com is a great tool for that. And good for you for walking every day! Some people recommend only exercising every other day, but I find for myself if I make myself do *something* every day, then I'm more apt NOT to make excuses and skip the exercise altogether. As for getting your husband to walk with you--I sure don't know the trick. My husband's doctor even recommended he walk with me and that didn't even do it. ::sigh::

Ashley--welcome! I've heard shinsplints are related to the shoes you use, and the stretching too. So do stretch before and after, and invest in that new pair of shoes too. They're supposed to last about 500 miles before all the good padding and support are gone. I can't remember which website it was, but there was one of them that actually helped you track how much mileage you put on your shoes! Sounds like your'e getting married--when's the wedding? And where are you in LA?

Svelte, did you stick to your guns? I've got to pack to go out of town for a few days, so I'm not sure I'm going to get my walk in. Bad part is, while I'm at this conference, I know I will not only NOT exercise, I will eat and drink much more than I usually do! Ah well, it's only 4 days...maybe it won't be too much of a setback.

WNYMom, if you could go to a party and only eat that much--MORE POWER TO YOU! parties are especially hard. Are you walking outside up there in the frozen north?

Tricia...I think you and your friend have a great system! And I agree with you...if she's made ANY effort she needs to indulge and reward herself (low cost, low cal!! )--that incentive is what keeps us going! It's nice to see the scales change...lord knows I've been complaining about that lately...but I know I'm doing my body a favor by treating it better!

I'll probably be MIA til Tues or Wed. Y'all keep walkin'! :)

Even though I was drinking I managed to stay away from the munchies. I wasn't hungry when they were brought out at half time so it wasn't to hard. Just stayed out of the diningroom!!!!
As far as walking goes, I have a treadmill right in my livingroom!!!!! It is iFIT.com compatable and I also found a web site where you can download a program so you can create your own workouts to work with a compatable piece of equipment. With iFIT their Level 1 workouts only go up to 35 minutes and I wanted to go longer. Level 2 is getting into jogging and running and I don't want that. I just want a nice fast walk. With this program I can pick and choose how long my workout is, when I peak both for speed and incline, adjust my warm up and cool down. It is pretty good.
I create my workout, grab my water, remote for the TV and start walking!!!!!!! I usually watch soaps. I have the remote so I can turn the sound up so I can hear the TV. ;) I watch TV and forget about what I am doing. I started out only doing 15 minutes 3 days a week and now I am up to 40 minutes 3 or 4 days a week.

Evening. Had a good day, got my exercise in, and ate well. Today ended on a stressful note, when I mentioned I'd like to go out on the town with his cousin sometime. He got very upset, and here we are, fighting. Hopefully tomorrow we'll settle this, and move on. Sometimes, being so different than your spouse really turns up the tension.

Hey everyone it's been a few days. Thought I'd resurrect this thread. Well despite having a difficult time last week with life in general I kept up my walking daily and can report a 2 lb loss this week. I have now lost 30 lbs total. I am so happy I just want to shout it from the rooftops. :dancer: I was also having problems with shin splints again but I think it's more to do with the fact that I wasn't stretching out enough before walking. I've been trying to pay more attention to the warm up part and drinking more water during the day. I also added an extra hill to towards the end of my walk to get the heart rate up again. All these things seems to have helped.

Chris, did you ever get that girls night out you wanted? You deserve it and hubby shouldn't have a problem with it especially if it's with family.

Hope to hear from others out there. Keep walking!

i got 4 days of walking in this past week. I have also been trying to pay attention to my diet. So far this week I am down about 1lb but I look at my loss from Monday to Monday.

No shin splints today. The sun was out and it was windy and beautiful. I am keeping that extra hill at the end of my walk to get the heart rate up a little more than usual and it adds maybe an extra 5-7 minutes in. Get this, I even jogged a little portion of the ways without feeling like I was going to die. Me, jogging! How funny is that? I loved it that it didn't feel like I had the flabby saddle bags on my hips bouncing around. Much less bulk and much more cardio healthy than I've been in a LONG time. I love it.

Hope everyone out there's keeping active--stay safe, but keep moving.

Didn't do to good this past week. The last time I walked was Wed. cuz I have been so busy. Sunday we went out to eat and I think I kind of blew my diet but it is only one day but it showed up on the scale this AM. I have a 1lb gain. :?: I have not had a gain in WEEKS but I can not let it get to me. :stress: I hope to get back on that treadmill today.:strong:

hey guys Never did get that girls night out. He's such a worrier. Feels like I"ll do something dumb, and come home drunk.. give me a break. I'll let that issue lie for now.

I walked this morning, evne though the melty stuff is now slippery ice. it was nice to ge the dog out. I had to work really late last night, and I actuallymissed my walk. And dinner. That stinks. Hate that.

I made my goal yesterday though, of 150 pounds. Did it from may 02-now. pretty happy, but to keep it off.... that's the challenge now. i feel pretty healthy. compared to back before. wheew!

Start: 210
Now: 150 Goal!
Goal.... reached 2-10-02

Arg! I only walked once last week, but the shin problems aren't quite as bad as I get back into shape. It rained and was cold and icky all week, so I didn't venture out as much. I understand about being busy WNYmom!! and I don't even have kids yet!! JustJane - I'm in Houma. i lived here while i was in high school and my fiance (then just a bf) and I moved back here in June. We are getting married in August (the 16th). It's going to be outside and hot!

I can't wait to reach my goal!! CONGRATULATIONS SVELTECHICKY!!!!!!!! :)

still working,
Ashley