I'll just cut and paste my intro from the bio thread. This board is a little overwhelming right now...I have to find the quickest way to navigate around the different groups and threads. Thanks for the welcomes! I love my pig, too!!!
--------------------from the bio thread
Hi! I'm new! Weight was really never an issue for me until about 27...then I put on some weight during a depressing period in a relationship. I had always hovered around 125. I think I maxed at 165! Then I lost most of it...probably hovering around 135...and probably reaching that max again when I was pregnant. For the past 3 years I've been hovering around 145. I'm 5'5" but have a pretty small upper body...so it's not like a lot of my weight is boob weight! Unfortunately I carry it in my stomach, legs, and butt. I don't look particularly overweight in the clothes I choose to wear, but I've definitely got some rolls and in general feel out of shape and unhealthy. I don't eat poorly...I'm a vegan. I just don't expend enough energy to make up for the calories I take in, and there are certainly some foods I should cut out. I love seeing everyone's little weight trackers. They're very inspiring!
Frus~you need to really put that guy out of his misery. What a jerk!
Barbara~if I were to get a personal trainer, what kind of price should I expect? I assume that it would be on top of the cost of the gym, right?
Clytemnestra~I wish I could take my doggies for a walk! I know they miss our daily walks, but the only time I'm home to do it, it's too dark to go out. I refuse to walk in the dark (a little scared of the dark!!)
Susan~booby prize indeed! Good thing you realized your error! It must have been a hard walk. I haven't had to walk in the snow for about 18 years!!!! Before that, I had years and years of snow experience.
Dana~you can do it. The stress is only temporary. What kind of field work will you be doing?
Tina~your DD's party sounds like a hoot! Sorry about the snow.
Hi to all the newbies that are joining! Welcome aboard!
OK Allison here's some advice on how to chose a trainer (speaking as one) I'll look for a thread that Meg did once on the subject when I have time, but for now....Observe the different trainers at your gym before hiring one. Look to see if the trainer is focused on the client or talking to others or looking around as if he/she is bored. Look to see if the trainer is pushing the client inappropriately, e.g., a really rigorous exercise for someone who is very overweight and who will probably get discouraged by being pushed too hard too fast. Make sure the trainer is accredited by a reputable agency, such as ACE, ACSM, AFPA, NFPT, ISSA, NCSP,Cooper Institute. Too many trainers get into the business because they were athletes in high school and/or college, which doesn't necessarily equate to a good trainer. You may want to ask the other members who they use, and what they like or don't like about their trainers. Before starting, the trainer should ask you lots of questions about what you want to accomplish, and should set up an individualized program for you that paces you slowly and varies the exercises every few weeks.... better to go a little slow and build up your capability than rushing into it and getting hurt. A reevaluation should be done every few months. You want a trainer who doesn't rely totally on machines...who will work with you on free weights as well, since that takes into account more than single muscle involvement, and also involves balance. A trainer should warm you up for about 10 minutes before starting any vigorous activity or lifting, and should end with 5-10 minutes of flexibility and stretching. In general, he/she should have you doing short stretches in between exercises, unless you are doing circuit training. You should like your trainer and feel comfortable with him/her, and be open to saying when you like or don't like an activity. There are numerous ways to attack a quad muscle, and if you don't enjoy squats, there are lunges you can do, and many ways to work your biceps, for examples. The trainer should vary exercises to trick your body into not getting complacent. Most of all, if you are not satisfied, request another trainer...you are paying for this and you deserve the best and someone you can relate to. You might want to sign up for a short set of sessions, and then sign up for a longer one if you are enjoying it.
As far as price....generally in a gym there are trainers w/ different levels of experience, and the charges will vary accordingly. It can start about $50 a session (depending where in the country you live), and go up to $90 or above, also depending upon experience. You need to be careful, however; the gym I used to work for made almost everyone the same level....a high one, so they could get more money....and some of these kids weren't even certified or experienced. They also looked at the member's financial status, and gauged the price accordingly...that's got to be illegal!
Hope this helps. More than you asked for, I realize. I just get so upset when I see people getting stuck in situations or with someone who endangers or abuses his/her clients.
Susan -- Spring is coming yes it is, but you'd never know that with the snow and freezing rain we got last night and today... Did you get this most recent storm?
Artmaker -- great advise on chosing a PT...
Tina -- Kids birthdays are so important to them ... My teens of 19 and 17 still expect the parties and relatives dropping by, at this age it just doesn't happen that much anymore... But I still try to make it special by taking the simple route and taking them to a fancy restaurant for supper on their special day... Enjoy these special moments they really are priceless...
Sodiumlightbaby -- Hang in there with your stress, soon it will be over... If you can do the right thing in these stressful times you can do anything... right?
I haven't been to the gym since wednesday ... Thursday I shopped all day in Ottawa with my mom, we had a great day... we left at 10:30 in the morning and didn't come back till 7:30 that night... had lunch and supper out but my choices were good... Today was a snow day and I stayed in all day with DD and just puttered around cleaning the house and stuff, dyed DD's hair and did a bit of shoveling when the plow covered the entrance of our driveway after it went by... Presently I am enjoying a glass of wine... It's really been a good 2 days even if the food was a bit off and I didn't exercise the time off from thinking about food and exercise felt good... Tomorrow, I'm not even sure if I'll have time to exercise but on Sunday I intend to make a full day again of gym in the morning, running and swimmin in the afternoon...
Well, getting kinda late and I'm off to bed soon... TTFN ...
Oh, and to alllllll the newbies, the more the merrier
Dana - good to see you back. As Ilene said, hang on in there
I am so excited about this that i've already posted it in the UK forum. I went swimming this morning for 90 minutes - dragged kicking and screaming by a water baby friend. I haven't been swimming in forever
I'm planning a good weekend as I was a wee bit naughty yesterday. OK, a lot naughty actually so I need to make up for it.
Just a quick hello this morning!!! I am going to hit the gym in a few for some cardio and then tommorow I have strength training. Today though I may need a little strength since we are going to a birthday party with pizza (one of my favs) and cake. I will just have to hold it steady and hope with the extra workout it won't do to much damage. Well you all have a great day!
Thursday night I had insomnia that kept me awake to 7 in the morning. Then I slept most of the day of Friday and didn't stick to my plan of doing sit-ups and being active every day this week.
One good thing about sleeping through most of Friday, I only ate one meal. Which should balance out the several bites of ricotta cheesecake I had for my b-day on Thursday.
Today, DH asked if I wanted to go 'off road' during our bike ride. I really didn't, but wanted to make him happy. We have foldable full sized mountain bikes that we take with us on when we cruise on our sailboat. They're great for getting around the islands we visit in New England and the towns along the Chesapeake.
BUT, they’re one-size fits all and I’m short legged. So when I fall off in the dirt/sand trail, I sometimes hit my pelvic bone. Ouch! I really struggled to stay upright today and ended up walking the bike much of the way. At least I got a little upper body workout pushing the heavy bike up some of the steep, sandy hills.
Since some of you are in the UK, I thought it would be fun to look up my weight in stones. When I was 160 lbs, I was 11.4 stones. Now that I’m 111 lbs, I’m 7.9 stones. I like the sound of the much lower numbers. My dream goal would be to get to 7.5 stones, but I’m just going to let it happen naturally if it does. I’m not going to ‘work’ at it.
So then I got curious about Kilograms and found out that at 160 lbs I was 72.57 kg and at 111 I’m 50 kg. Again, it’s great to see what looks like lower numbers even though it’s the same weight.
Good afternoon ladies. Haven't been in here in a few days. Just working, sleeping, and eating!!! Also my son's high school tennis season started yesterday so that is where I'll spend alot of my time. He had great games yesterday and won all of his sets. He loves playing tennis and I can't even think of anyone we know who plays tennis so I don't know where he got it from! The first tournament he played in a couple of years ago he & his opponent had both won one set & had a break before the third. The other kid's dad was giving him all kinds of instructions and examples of what he should be doing! My husband & I were just sitting with our son and finally I told him "we've got nothing for you! we don't know anything about tennis!" (but he did end up winning )
I worked last night from midnight-10 am and since I'm still up (it's 1:45 pm) I think I'll just stay up until about 4pm and then sleep until 10:30 pm before I go back to work tonight. I came home and walked for an hour on my treadmill and then cooked dinner. I'm going to go take a shower now and then do NOTHING!
Hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing weekend. Talk to you later. Jane
Tina~you'll do fine at the birthday party--just keep your portions small. Remember, everything in moderation!
Carolyn~off road biking! sounds fun! I remember going on a bike ride with DD several years ago and we had a hard time following signs and ended up having to off road through a park to get to our destination. It was a workout!
Jane~I would love it if my DS played tennis! The Indian Wells Tennis Garden has a clinic each year that is free for the kids--they get to play tennis, get lunch, and do all sorts of other fun things. DS went this year (to get extra credit for his 6th grade PE class) and when we picked him up we asked if he had fun (yes), and what did he do (everything BUT play tennis!). He liked the climbing wall best--but he's done that tons of times. Perhaps he'll be a rock climber rather than a tennis star. Scares me--I'm afraid of heights.
This week I've been hearing Dr. Phil in my head. He's saying one of his standard lines from his show. It's, "Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years..."
Then he usually talks about how inactivity (as in motivational change) causes us to remain in the same circumstances.
However, the flip side for us Featherweights is stringing days of healthy eating, excerise, and general good care for ourselves together, which leads to weeks, then to months, and then almost 'overnight' the weight comes off.
That's how it worked for me over these past 14 months. I didn't set out to lose 50 lbs, but as I saw the weight coming off from eating healthier, I kept at it one day at a time.
Also, when I did have a day where I ate a whole extra meal at midnight, I didn't beat myself up the next day. Or just cave into excessive eating for several days as I had done in the past when I was on a strick diet.
So ladies, be good to yourselves emotionally as well as physically!
This board is a little overwhelming right now...I have to find the quickest way to navigate around the different groups and threads. Thanks for the welcomes! I love my pig, too!!! 
I don't look particularly overweight in the clothes I choose to wear, but I've definitely got some rolls and in general feel out of shape and unhealthy. I don't eat poorly...I'm a vegan. I just don't expend enough energy to make up for the calories I take in, and there are certainly some foods I should cut out. I love seeing everyone's little weight trackers. They're very inspiring!
... Thursday I shopped all day in Ottawa with my mom, we had a great day... we left at 10:30 in the morning and didn't come back till 7:30 that night... had lunch and supper out but my choices were good... Today was a snow day and I stayed in all day with DD and just puttered around cleaning the house and stuff, dyed DD's hair and did a bit of shoveling when the plow covered the entrance of our driveway after it went by... Presently I am enjoying a glass of wine... It's really been a good 2 days even if the food was a bit off and I didn't exercise the time off from thinking about food and exercise felt good... Tomorrow, I'm not even sure if I'll have time to exercise but on Sunday I intend to make a full day again of gym in the morning, running and swimmin in the afternoon...
TTFN 
...
to alllllll the newbies, the more the merrier 
