Good morning!!

Oops, I've been "missing in action" for a few days. I've been struggling with annoyance at myself for giving in almost daily to having as many as three of the large delicious cookies at work...and I realize it's when I'm feeling frustrated at my co-workers for not pulling their share of the workload. In my past, I have blamed others for my breakdown of self-control...and I think I'm doing it again.

I also realize that I have gotten out of the habit of being "okay" with feeling slight hunger...which, when I'm happy, busy and occupied, just can ignore, or fill up with water. I think I'm also blaming winter, with feeling confined! bleh!

I'll just keep plugging away...I concentrated hard yesterday at work, and resisted any goodies. We're (husband and I) also planning another bike road trip, to Bike Week in Myrtle Beach in the beginning of May. Focusing on this trip might be the shake-up I need, as it's hundreds of miles that I need stamina and concentration for. I'm thinking of that as the primary concern; and of course, wearing that star-spangled bikini with confidence :D

aphil, congrats on the fab thrift shop finds!! And I wish I had a close friend like you right here with me, to help me with the courage of try a hair color for me! I've only had perms on my hair, never tried coloring or highlights, but would like to.

And I do apologize for sounding off so badly a couple of weeks ago, about my problems with husband. I was really just overwhelmed with bad feelings that day/night. Of course, we still have our differences, we always do, but I just feel so much better, and am wondering where the severity of my feelings came from! (separating? I was really thinking about that :?: ) But like aphil said, we all are probably feeling the effects of the drag of winter (and maybe reduced sunlight?) and it sure is nice to have our special "safe"place to relieve here!!

vmelo, congrats on being 2 lbs down!! You really have awesome self-control, with your calorie counts, and the exercise. Yay to you! :bravo: And yes, I agree with us trying to be on track this week!! I struggled last night with snacking feelings after supper; ended up with a cut-up apple in yogurt; still calories but not empty ones, at least.

Christine, that is a bummer about the water not tasting good, even with a Pur filter. Having to buy water is a big expense! You've probably tried this already, but does it help any to maybe float a lemon slice in the treated water? I wish I had some other suggestion, because we know how important it is to drink!

Would you recommend Arizona to live in? Husband and I are SO sick of winters in Vermont...but we love the small-town-ness, low population, etc. Guess Arizona is highly populated, 'cause it's warm and beautiful...? I think we're also longing for a place where we can ride year-round.

Hello to everyone else! I sincerely wish everyone super self-control, and strength to focus on what we personally want in our fitness/health quests...take small steps towards those great goals!

back again!

Wanted to tell you that I took out an old video that I hardly ever do, it's very dated (80's-ish) but has an extremely tough hips/thighs/butt section. I've modified some of the guy's too-fast, bouncy moves into more controlled moves, and this morning was the first time I could complete the leg section!!! :D and I could see some calf muscle, which gives me hope for these legs! :lol:

Hi, All. VermontMom, just hang in there. As we all know, there will always be times when our motivation is low and we give in to the temptation to say, "The H@!* with it" and eat. I've definitely gone through that a few times in the past year and a half. The important thing is to just stick to it; it's consistency that counts and you've shown that you have that. I sometimes try to think like a thin person would, i.e., if a thin person eats a few too many goodies, she won't castigate herself; she'd just move on and probably eat less later on because she's less hungry. It's clear you've got the right mindset to succeed: you resisted the temptation yesterday and did that kick-butt exercise tape. Good for you!
By the way, you'll be going to my neck of the woods in May. I grew up about 1/2 hour fr/ N. Myrtle Beach. I'm sure you'll have an awesome time.

Hope everyone has a great day!

G'mornin all.. it is only 9:30 here still! ;)...

I've not put lemon in my water here although I have in the past. I guess I should try that. Anything to make it more pallatable (sp?).

My mom's husband says Arizona is not so good if you're looking for year round riding. He's a Harley man. He says you just can't ride in the 3 digit heat of the summer here. I don't doubt he's right ;) He says they plan to buy a summer house in colorado or idaho so he can ride there in the summers.

I'm experiencing water retention still and the scale has been scary. I also think I'm getting a cold.... blah. I've not brought in the treadmill yet and I've not done my dvd since last wednesday... could someone come kick my arse? :lol:

Worst of all... we had IHOP, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme and McDonalds in the past couple days... ouch! :^:

I really need to find that click again...

Christine
180/ :o /130

About Arizona and its population... Where we're living now (Tucson) its pretty busy. I also like smaller towns but unfortunately, that's not where you find work in the computer industry (although I'm beginning to wonder if we can find any here either!). But Arizona has a variety of areas to live in obviously. There are much smaller towns out there. And there are even areas that get more snow than I ever saw when I lived in NY! There's even skiing in parts of Arizona.
I think its beautiful here with the mountain views almost every direction you look. I'm really enjoying the mild winter weather. However, I don't know that I'd say I'm loving it here. I miss the vegetation of the east coast. I even miss snow a little bit (as long as we didn't have to drive in it!). If I could live anywhere it'd probably be on the east coast in the mountains. I live here so I can be near my family. If I didn't have family here, this is not somewhere I would've chosen to live.
Basically what I need to do now is win the lotto. Then I can keep a house here, buy one in the mountains of Tennessee where my inlaws want to move and one near the ocean in Florida, where my dad plans to move. I mean, what more could one want? A desert home, a mountain home and a seaside home? :lol: But, if family and jobs weren't involved.... I definitely think I'd go with the moutain home before anything else.

Of course, at the moment, we can't even afford one home so I'll just keep dreaming ;)

Christine

Good afternoon everyone!

Christine, thanks for the Arizona info. I wish you luck in winning the lottery! :D I was curious about the riding weather, as there's a guy on our motorcycle forum who lives in Arizona, and is just happy to rub it in us winter-expereriencing folk that he rides year-round....but he hasn't mentioned the triple-digit heat!

vmelo, thanks for the thumbs-up! I think I'm getting into a much better mind-set now. I kept away from the evil cookies at work yesterday, and when I came home at 8:45 pm (the less-appealing shift) I didn't automatically eat the leftovers of what the family had for dinner. I had been doing that for gosh, a couple of months. Had to give myself a mental shake and say, "you had a sandwich for your latelunch/early dinner, you don't need a second dinner!"

I also had an okay time grocery shopping, which sounds odd, but I can get annoyed at all the wonderful array of yummy foods...and feel irked that I can't have one of everything...but that's just not realistic! So I felt good about what I did pick out. A navel orange is so good cut up into a cup of low-fat sugar-free yogurt; it's part of my breakfast but tastes so good, it's like a treat. Lots of frozen veggie mixes, the asian blends and of course those green beans :D but I find that having a lot of those types of veggies on my dinner plate really help to fill me.

I steered clear of even LOOKING at the Valentine's Day candy
:devil: I remember Snowey saying, at Halloween, "Step away from the candy, and no one gets hurt!" :D

Have a great afternoon/evening everyone, and keep on track! Summer is coming!!!

What Changes Have You Experienced?
 

Hi, All. Good for you resisting those cookies, VermontMom! I had to laugh when you said you can get annoyed doing the grocery shopping. The funny thing is that I actually love grocery shopping! I think I just love food so much that I’m always on the lookout for a new “find”!

I thought I’d pose a question to everyone. We know that our bodies have changed and continue to change as we lose the weight and build muscle. What other changes has everyone noticed?

I’ve noticed that my palate has changed over the last couple of years. I find that I can more easily resist foods that I used to love and that I now like foods that I used to be “so-so” about. For example, I don’t really have a hard time resisting Twinkies or those kinds of processed desserts; I figure if I’m going to splurge, it’s going to be something great (i.e., NOT a Twinkie)! Also, I find that I like vegetables that I didn’t like in the past. I used to hate asparagus and now I eat it regularly. (This doesn’t mean that when I see all those Valentine hearts filled with chocolates that I don’t want to stuff three or four in my mouth and experience a few brief moments of bliss!)

Another thing that has changed is my mindset about food. Last night, for example, I had eaten dinner and even had a brownie for dessert (No Pudge brand). I figured that I’d only eaten about 1300 calories by the end of the day. By habit, my old mindset kicked into gear and I thought, “Hey, I have another 200 calories to spare. What can I eat?” Then I realized that I wasn’t hungry at all. In fact, I was pleasantly full and satisfied. So, I didn’t eat anything else. I know there will be days when my stomach will be growling at 1500 calories, and when that happens, I’ll choose a small snack to satisfy my hunger. In others words, I think I’m viewing food in a much healthier way that I used to.

Anybody else want to share mindset changes since you began your weight loss journey?

Hi all!

vmelo, good post! You have definitely adapted better thinking and actions!! :bravo:

My mindset changes...hmmm...well, I used to ALWAYS have toast with my morning coffee. Two pieces was the minimum, then I got down to one...and now can find that the coffee still tastes so good, even without a starch to go with it. But there are many times when I still oh-so-want something like a nibble of a muffin to go with that coffee. And I'm afraid that I still think that I would love to eat bad stuff like Twinkies, or chocolate bars. But at least I don't give in and buy them.

My GOOD mindset changes have to do with exercise. Now it is something I just know I have to do, almost every day. And thankfully not the obsessive "I Have To Do This Before I Allow Myself To Eat Anything", which I unfortunately went through years ago. Now it's more like a chore such as making the bed or brushing one's teeth or doing the dishes. Just has to be done. I can make the connection of exercising making me feel better with strength and stamina and seeing the definition and shadows emerging. It's harder for me to face the reality of eating those evil cookies = size gain/unhappiness. Maybe because the act of scarfing a cookie is just so quick! :D

Just for ha-ha's, I went through my journals and added up my exercise days. For the year 2003, I exercised at least 222 days out of 365. I had a whole 7 days in a row without planned exercise, but that was our motorcycle road trip, and I stayed the same weight. And this year, of the 43 days so far, I have exercised for 34. I feel good about that.

I had another very good day today, in the eating well department, so I am greatly encouraged in keeping on track.

I liked what you said the other day, vmelo, about how a thin person wouldn't castigate themself if they had too many goodies. They would just cut back on other foods, instead of beating themself up mentally and going into a bad spiral downspin! So much of what we put in our mouths is because of what is in our heads, instead of just hunger! :?:

I am all over the place with my thoughts! :lol: not very organized tonight, lol. Oh well.

Take care, everyone. I am still missing so many of our regular posters from last year! :( Hope you can make it back!

Back again! I was reading through old posts, to reminise, and get inspiration, and found this awesome "quotable quote" from aphil -


I am glad everyone is doing so well-and here is my word of advice for the day-"If it was easy, everyone would be thin." We have to realize that some of us will have to work at this every day for the rest of our lives. Be strong ladies, and be well.
Aphil

Isn't that great? that's from July/August of 2002.

thanks, aphil! :grouphug:

I used to eat potatoes every day. Now I eat them every so often. When I say potatoes, I mean french fries or stuffed with cheese and bacon. Who would of thought that I would rather have jicima slices than french fries.

loralee, your avatar is very cute :D

I'm also out of the habit of automatically cooking a starch (rice, potatoes, noodles) to go with our evening meal. of course, if it's spaghetti with sauce, then they're included, but I try to measure our servings. And I never dump the whole box in the pot to cook, as I used to.

I woke up this morning with a good feeling...and had to think for a second, why? and I remembered it was because I didn't do any mindless snacking after dinner, and before going to bed. didn't have the unnecessary bowl of cereal, or anything :D

I hope today is another great one for me; it has started well with doing an exercise vid is extra weights, and pausing the tape to do some extra reps. It's mostly my hips/butt/legs that I'm targeting now, tho' I still like to do some extra oblique work.

Oh, and I KNEW that the scale was moving down slightly, but didn't want to weigh too soon, but thank goodness it has moved down from the scary (for me) 149-150. But that was bound to happen, as soon as I faced myself and realized that the daily cookies AND the bad things I didn't confess to you all :o like the ice cream cookie sandwiches eaten on the way home from work one night (yeah, TWO of them) and the next night a bag of chocolate-covered nuts (don't ask :( ) and a bag of chips the following night. All due to me blaming others for my lapse of good judgement! Well, no more of that crap!!! It feels too good when I am eating "cleanly" to risk that again. And I SO want to see more improvement in my legs. I will do it!!!!

Have a great day everyone, and please say hi and post!! I'm selfish, it really helps me to hear everyone plugging along as I do :D

Hi, Everyone! Happy Friday! VermontMom, you are really kickin' butt with your exercise routine. You really should be proud of yourself for the amazing consistency with your exercise. Good for you for resisting those snacks. I think we’ve all had those days when we just seem to eat everything in sight (I know I have!), but the important thing is that we get back on track and start eating right. I think the key to being thin isn’t perfection, just consistency in our positive habits.

I also like that quote your reposted from Aphil. In my old “woe is me for being born fat” days, I used to think that all thin people were “lucky.” Then, one day in the gym I looked around me and realized that most of the people working out were fairly thin. That’s when I realized that these people weren’t lucky; they worked at staying thin. I realized that that’s what I would have to do when I reached my goal weight. As simple as it seems, I think at one time or another we’ve all fallen into the trap of thinking that we’ll just have to eat right and exercise until we reach our goal. The fact is, that eating right and exercising must become a part of our lives if we intend on staying at our goal.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Good morning everyone!

Hope you all had a good Saturday. And hope there were only small indulgences in chocolates, if any! My older son have me a very small Russell Stover box of chocolates, maybe 7 or 8 pieces, which I magnaminously (sp? :lol: ) shared. He said that he knows I exercise all the time, and didn't want to tempt me with a bigger box. Good for him!!Husband knows better, and just gave me flowers, good for him also! :D

I am so enjoying having two days off in a row that are also Sat. and Sunday! First time since late fall that has happened - oh well, working in the service industry does that.

I bought a stack of Prevention magazines at the second-hand shop for .10 each, have been enjoying reading through them. They seem to be targeted towards the over 50 set, tho' they always have a gorgeous, early 30's-ish model on the cover :rolleyes: :lol: But I found a couple of hip/thigh exercise variations that I will do today.

Nothing new to say, 'cept another day of trying to make good choices of food, and drinking the proper amount of water; as always for me, that's the challenge, as opposed to the exercise, which I just do. We each have our own particular hurdles, eh. I know I do want to just throw out the bathroom scale :mad: it makes me so happy when I see it's moved down, then frustrated when it goes up two lbs. for whatever reason. I need to make myself stay off it until it's time to measure again early next month!!!!

Have a great day, ladies!!!!!

Happy Sunday everyone :)

Did you all behave on Valentine's Day? I shared a chocolate rose with my family and had a bazillion choco chip cookies.... Yes, I'm admitting it.

I really don't know why I can't get on track here but its just not happening. My click is lost and I cannot find it!

We haven't brought the treadmill in yet and I didn't do my DVD this week.

I'm in sad shape here!! I need me a personal trainer and private chef. It worked for Oprah, right? ;)

I'm thinking that once my husband is working and that stress is lifted, I'll be in a little better mental state to do this again.
Plus, I tend to eat when and what he eats when he's around. So, if he's at work all day, perhaps I can eat only when I'm hungry and eat healthier things!

Excuses, excuses... I know. But I really can't figure out why I'm being so bad so I'm looking for reasons.

I hope everyone else is doing better than me!

:)
Christine
180/ :o /130

How true for me, also. I can be doing so well, then when husband comes home, and starts cooking his Atkins smelly meat "snack" :rolleyes: it is truly difficult to resist.

Christine, just keep visiting with us here....I'm sure that click will occur, then it will seem at least do-able.

Today is my older son's 21st birthday!!! Oh my! Wish me luck in having control in making cupcakes for his celebration dinner :D