I have to ask this question "tryin hard". How the heck did you do it? Going from 250 to 154! My goodness. I must know because I need the inspiration at this point.

I am so glad to hear from all of you. Today is my little girl's 6th birthday. We'll be celebrating tomorrow. As young as she is she wanted her outfit contain some kind of flag. So she has Power Puff girls shirt with a heart colored as a flag in the center. Then she has denim shorts with a heart rhinestone flag on the back pocket and a rhinestone flag buckle on her belt. So to complete the whole outfit I bought some patriotic ribbon for her hair and extra to sew bows onto her socks. And she doesn't even know it will be 4th of july. I guess it is in her blood since she was born so close to the day. Go figure. But we are very proud of her to think of her country on her day.

Talk to you later. Bye
kinarina

:) Hello everyone!

Kina, your daughter's birthday outfit sounded so cute. I missed out on being able to dress up a little girl with fun outfits, as I had two boys!

You said you needed inspiration - are you feeling discouraged? You have already made the tremendous step of realizing what you want, and are taking steps towards it. The pounds will come off, and you will get leaner and healthier! It is a drag that it takes so much longer than to "put it on", but that's just the way it is. We are all pulling for you!

Speaking of "all" - where are our original "old fashioned way" ladies? We know Nancy is driving across the States; but where are our other friends - aphil, Melisa, Sprite, Christine, Kanola, t-girl, Dawna, hereicome - ? Say hello to us so we know you are out there!:)

Hello to kewi, jacklyn (how's your back?) and tryin'hard, who is enjoying the fruits of her labor!

I'm a little miffed because it doesn't seem that enough people I run into have commented on my loss - it's almost 20 pounds now, yet only 2 people have commented. I guess there's always the thought that you don't want to insinuate that the person was overweight to begin with, or looked not-so-great before compared to current. Oh well. I am doing this for myself; and I am the only person I really need to please first.

Have a great Saturday night; and a great day tomorrow!

Your friend, Holly
176/158/150

Hello everyone! I know its been a while but I have just been taking it easy. I plan on starting my walking again tomorrow (yeah, yeah I know that's what they all say :) ). My back is actually getting better, slowly but surely. But I have to admit I have been taking a break from the whole diet thing, and the good thing is that I haven't gained any weight, so maybe once I get back on track it will just fall off!! Yeah right:p

Holly~ you had asked about the kind of yoga I do. I do the Kathy Smith New Yoga video. She says it is different kinds that they have combined for the purpose of the tape. I like it though because she does a pretty good job of having a hard pose followed by an easier one so you dont feel like you are killing yourself in the process. Hopefully it will improve my flexibility. I'm not too good at stretching before my workouts so I often feel really tight afterwards.

Well, I am hoping that everyone is having a wonderful day. Hope the others will join in again soon!

Im'Back!!!!!!!
 

Hello Everyone!!!!!!


We made it home safe and sound last night at 10:30pm (pacific time).We put 9,573 miles on the car. It was a longggggggggggg trip but It was so nice to see my family and friends. My little grandson is a sweetie. He did not take to me right away but he did to Grandpa. And of course with me giving him his very first haircut made it worse. He obviously thought Grandma was a bad guy :).

I am so tired from all the driving(and riding), I know it will take a week to get back to normal.
We we gone 45 days and here is the scoop on my weight....I gained 9 pounds,,,,yep....being away from home for so long really played **** with the weight loss. There were many times that I was perfect and many more times that I was bad and ate way too many carbs for sure. My body feels like a toxic waste dump!!! I am so looking forward to getting back on track with eating right.
First thing in the morning, I am off to the grocery store to get all the right stuff to get me losing again. I did not have a chance to get to the store today as our front and back yard looked like a Jungle and the hubby and I spent almost 6 hours mowing, raking and weedeating. It was a mess, but looks so pretty now. (And also the exercised was something that I needed).

I hope everyone is doing well,, I was trying to read the past posts and there so much , its hard for me to catch up. Maybe some one can give me a mini refresher on whats happening.

Hello to all my old friends and Hello to the new ladies also.

Holly~~~you are doing awesome with your weightloss.. I am so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tryin hard~~~~ Way to go on your two piece swimsuit, you must feel wonderful!

Jacklyn~~~ I hope your back is feeling better!

Kina and Kewi~~~ Hello to you both!

So where is everyone else??? Sprite? Christine? Nola? Melisa? T-girl? And anyone else I have missed...come out , come out where ever you are.....

OK ,, I am outta here for now.....but Ill be back tomorrow for sure.....
Night all.....


Nancy :wave:

Hello all! I hope you all had a great weekend!
SNOWEY--WE MISSED YOU! I am so glad you're back. Those 9 pounds will be history before you know it! Good for you to go shopping and get all your good stuff back in the house!!
Kina--I've done it "the old-fashioned way"!. I limit my calories to about 1400 and I walk 2 miles a day. I have truly changed my life and my lifestyle. I have found lots of tools along the way that work for me and this website has done wonders! I get so much inspiration from everyone here. I'll go into more details if you want, but just know in your heart that you can do it. Be your best friend, not your worst enemy!
Have a great day, everyone!

Welcome back, Nancy!
 

:wave: Hello everyone!

HI NANCY!!!!!! Welcome back! We sure did miss you! Wow, almost ten thousand miles!? What a trip!

You know, 9 pounds gained on such a long trip really isn't that bad - and because you know just what to do, and are going to start doing it right away, it will melt off really quickly.

We've all just been going along, doing our collective things - but there are a few friends we just haven't heard from in a couple of weeks.

Have you met Dawna, hereicome, Kina and kewi? I think they joined us just about the time you were leaving.

I was out of touch for a few days last week, as we had severe thunderstorms and our house was struck by lightning and fried lots of electronics, including our two phone lines. It took Verizon 7 days before we got the phone lines repaired, so I was "out of it" for that long!

I remember when I was SO very apprehensive about returning to work, regarding all the goodies there; and Nancy, you were so supportive of telling me that I would be fine - and thanks to that positive reinforcement, I have been super-good there! Maybe a little nibble of something sweet now and then; but that's it. And it's so easy now to just have some protein and veggies and just a tiny amount of some kind of starch for lunch.

If anything, it's in the evening at home that I might eat something that I really don't need. The "hubster" still isn't on my wavelength about getting in shape, so there is junk around sometimes. I just hope something "clicks" for him soon.

I'm still slowly and carefully going on practice rides on the 'cycle. My longest trip so far was on a quiet country road 13 miles to the next town and back. I think about 6 cars passed me! Going 48-50 mph wasn't fast enough for them, I guess. Oh well! At least on a motorcycle I can give cars plenty of room to pass, if they want. And I'd rather not have anyone behind me!

I splurged and bought a GORGEOUS Harley-Davidson leather jacket - it's buttery-soft, yet is made to protect. I'm usually not a clothes-shopping-type of person, but I spent almost two hours trying to decide between 3 jackets. Next I have to find leg covering, either in the form of pants or chaps. Boy, pulling on leather pants is something I NEVER thought I would try!

Well, I haven't exercised yet so I had better do that. Just HAD to say hello to Nancy when I saw her name!:)

Have a great day everyone!

Your friend, Holly
176/156!/150?

Hi, Nancy!
 

Welcome back! I love to travel but your trip surely was a long one!! Yes, I DID join the group about the time you left although I had been lurking for a long time. I betcha your weight will drop pretty fast once you start your regular routine.
Jacklyn-I think it is great that you were able to maintain your weight while not strictly OP. That's what it is all about after the excitement of seeing the scale numbers going down - having it be your way of life and getting on with all the other things there are to do.
I've had a sore knee since hiking around the lake a few weeks ago and so the only exercise I've had is mild walking and going to work(where I am on my feet for 7 out of 8 hours walking and standing and stooping and squatting) It's no cardio workout but at least I'm moving. Ibuprofen is my best friend right now! I have kept up with my weight lifting though. My body can take much more in the way of food indiscretion with the extra muscle on me, even if it is only my arms. I'm afraid to NOT do it. I just started doing squats holding 24 pounds of weight too. Not a lot but after 3 sets of 30 I am a bit sore the next day so it's enough
to make me work!
OK. Gotta run some errands this morning so time to get it in gear. Everyone "eat clean" and your body will thank you. At MY age healthy is the goal, looking better is a nice fringe benefit!

Hi everyone!
Holly, you must look so gorgeous in your leather jacket!! Good for you!!
Kewi, I love the notion of "eating clean." That is such a powerful thought in my head lately! I love the feeling at the end of the day that I've only put good stuff into my body. One thing I've noticed--food tastes better when you "eat clean." I love to cook, but I have recently noticed that I am cooking so much more plainly than before. I've stopped using barbeque sauce--grilled meat tastes better to me without it, and salad dressing has become a mix of balsamic vinegar and herbs. So, thank you for the idea! It helps!!
I hope you all have a great day!

Hello Everyone
 

Tryinhard>>>>>>It is great to know that it is was all determination and strength that got you to lose the weight. And in just a year, girl, that is terrific. Everytime I feel a slump I am going to think of you. Not that nobody elses success stories are amazing to me but because your weight and mine were about the same when I started. So it is a great motivator. Keep up the great work.

Kewi>>>>>>>>>Amazing story about the hike and especially about that weight training. Are you doing the weight traning to build muscle or to build a little in order to have the muscle burn the fat so that you can lose weight? I hope your knee gets better. There is nothing like an injury to slow you down.

Vermontmom>>>My husband could lose a few pounds himself but I don't push anything on him. But I have noticed how he seems to be a bit grouchy when I invite him to go out to eat. I guess he is noticing how much we eat and eat out. Eating out sure can add alot of pounds...quickly. Keep doing what you are doing the rest will follow.

Snowey>>>>>>Hi. Welcome back it seems. I just joined in June after you left it seems. I have been enjoying my time on the thread. Lots of great people with so much support all the way around. How could i not be encouraged to do something about the extra weight I carry.

I will stop here. I didn't get to all of you but i don't want my post to be so long that everyone will pass it by. Keep up the great work.

Hugs to all. Kinarina:strong:

Hello everyone! This is going to be short and sweet. I just wrote a very long post and of course it disappeared...dont ya just love it when that happens??

Anyways, hope everyone is having a great day. Welcome back Nancy! I have missed your upbeat posts!

Good news for me! I stepped on the scale and saw that I have finally gotten back into the 140's!!! It has been such a long time that I have sat at 150. I just hope that it is not a muscle loss due to my lack of exercise lately but I'll take it for now! I'm slowly getting back in the groove of things though. I just have to be really careful. It seems like my back will be fine and then WHAMMO back to square one.

Well I've got to get going, glad to so many posts recently! I'll check in later tonight!

Congrats to you, Jacklyn! I know how hard you've worked to get into your new "decade!"
Hope you're all having a good day! Keep up the good work everyone!

Hi all!

Yes, big congrats to you, Jacklyn! Here's to a new "decade"!!!!

Another good day for me - I'm just incredulous that this is so easy now. It took 5 months but the changes are now habitual. Yeah!

Your friend, Holly
176/156/150?

So many of us are"in the groove". Don't you just love it when things are effortless and you just eat healthfully out of habit? Kina (I love your name) I do a simple arm exercise that I got out of Prevention magazine last Dec or Jan I think. I started mid Jan this year. It exercises all the major muscles in the arm and shoulder. I started it because I felt I was losing the strength to do my job. (nursing) When I began it was with 5 lb weights, 2 sets of 8. Now I do 12 lb weights and 4 sets of 12 every M-W-F. I can definitely see and feel the difference. And I am starting squats too. I used to do these so I could lift an 8 year old with severe cerebral palsy when I was doing pediatric home care. I started noticing a few months ago that when I overate one meal or a few days, then got back to eating better that my weight would not have increased. At 55, that HAS to be the added muscle because I am not doing anything else different. I love it-my own little insurance policy. And some of my clothes are just a little looser, so even though the weight is the same, I am losing a little. I hope I answered your question. I am not going for the buff look or competition stuff, just free weights and minimal work at home. Still, I have been rewarded. K

Hello everyone!

Kewi~that is awesome about your arm exercises. That is a real problem area for me. You would think that that would be an area that I really work on, but instead I do other things that I feel that I will definitely show some progress in. I have always had flabby arms...even when I weighed alot less. Oh well, just another thing that I need to work on....

I really appreciate all of you guys cheering me on. Its funny how I dont know any of you personally, yet you know one of my most personal secrets...my weight!! Have been doing okay the past couple of days. Not even gonna bother to weigh until next week. Hopefully then my water weight will subside. I have been feeling a little (a lot!!!) bloated!!!

Thanks for everything!!

Oh yeah....Holly I wanted to mention that I think that it is so great that it is habitual for you now....unfortunately it is still a struggle for me everyday.

I remember a couple of years ago when I lost a good portion of my weight...I had a "click" in me...in that I was ready to eat healthy and do what ever it takes...no matter what. Unfortunately, I dont feel that now. I am just going through the motions. Hopefully I will get inspired soon and do what it takes to finally reach my goal!!

Anyways~dont mean to be a downer:?: Hope everyone is doing great!!!:D :D :D :D