Good morning ladies. Mind if I join your group?

My name is Cindy and I've been a member of this site for well over a year. When I first joined I enjoyed the support and camaraderie, and I lost about 25 pounds rather quickly. Then, of course, life got in the way. My husband got transferred to another state and the move threw off my routine and I still haven't gotten it back. We've been here in Georgia for over a year now, and I'm still where I was when I started!

I'm a stay-at-home Mom and my son is 2 years old. Losing weight was much easier before he started walking (or should I say, running!). But I'm determined again and it would be wonderful to have some more buddies. I check in with another thread on this site every so often, with a wonderful bunch of ladies, but I think I need all the support I can get!

As far as my "plan", I just try to eat better. Less fat, more protein (to stay full), no "seconds", more water. And I'm trying to do Tae Bo every day, and calisthenics every morning. It's not much, but it's a start.

Hope you don't mind if I join in, you seem like a motivated and supportive bunch.

Cindy B.

Hey, have room for one more? I joined 3FC about a month ago -- yes, that infamous New Year's thing! - and I post on a few other threads but some of them are running dry (no one seems to show up!). You guys seem really supportive of each other and you post and share frequently!

A small bit about me. I'm 46 (still trying to figure out how that happened! ), have three kids and mostly a SAHM but work PT as a pharmaceutical auditor. I never really had a weight issue until I had kids. Oh, I thought I was a fat cow at 130; now I'd give my right arm to be in the shape I was in 15 years ago! I lost about 20 lbs. 3 yrs. ago but stupidly ate my way back up the scale. When I've lost the weight b/4, exercise has been a key element of my process. I've actually learned to - gulp! like exercise! I've managed to lose 5 lbs. this past month of January. My biggest problems w/food is eating waaaayyyyy too much of junk at night. You know, when the house is quiet, something good is on the tube and no one is asking you for yet one more minute of your time? So, I've stopped doing that (so far, so good) and have worked my exercise back to 3 miles on the treadmill, 5x's/week plus 2 or 3 (ok, TWO) days a week of weight stuff. I also try to get in an extra 1.5 miles for a dog walk as often as I can. No really fast or anything, but just to move and get my legs used to something other than a flat (read broken) treadmill.

Hope you have room for one more!

Jo

Hello everyone!
Welcome Cindy & Jo!!
Feeling a bit better today. I can tell this darn cold is going to hang in there though and totally muck up my week!
I have to confess I haven't journaled for several days, but I haven't eaten much either. This cold couldn't have come at a worse time (actually I'm not sure when a good time would be). This is about the time I usually just give up on the weight loss thing and go back to my bad habits. I don't want to do that! So even though there is no way to exercise until I shake this and my eating isn't going to be as structured, I will try to keep posting here daily, it will help keep me motivated and on track so to speak.

Steff - Way to go on the exercise! Even if you only slowly add the extra couple of days, your commitment to it so far has been really wonderful!

Cindy B. - Sounds like we have similar approaches to our eating plans. I'm trying to put myself in the frame of mind that I am not denying myself anything but to pay attention to what I am eating and how much I am eating. When I tell myself I can't have something, that seems to be the only thing I want!

Jo - Please, please, please, tell me how you learned to like exercise!! Because quite franly I hate exercise! Which is why I am doing kickboxing, its something that makes me think. I get bored too quickly with other kinds of exercise and then can't stay motivated with it.

Hope you all have a good day! Stay focused!

LadyHLG

Lady H -- After I had my first kid 16 yrs. ago, I bought some Firm tapes and rode a stationary bike. It took me forever to be able to actually get through and entire Firm tape and completely do the whole thing. Seriously, like 8-12 weeks. But once I got to a certain point and could actually do it and weight was starting to come off, it's like I finally got it. It did make me feel better when I got the exercise in. It made me feel stronger. Now, I've gone off and on exercising over the past 15 years but I always feel better just doing it. But I had to feel it in my body, you know? And accomplishing something - like all the reps the women on the tape are doing - just gives you a real sense of accomplishment. BTW, I hated the stationary bike. Don't like real bikes either. We (hubby and I) bought a Nordic Track eekks, years ago. He always liked it. I had to force myself to use it and always found that it hurt my lower back. I personally like to treadmill. Alot of people find it boring but I like pushing myself on it cause I'd never, ever, ever walk or run that fast in the real world! I was bored stiff just watching tv but got an ipod and the music really, really helps me. Especially when the beat is just dead on w/the pace I'm running. I think I like exercise because I really like how it makes me feel. I don't always feel like exercising and frequently think "oo, I'm going to have a great workout" then have to force myself to stay on the treadmill (and think of it as a dreadmill the whole time ) but I just do it. I think finding something you really like is imperative to sticking w/a routine. Mix things up, try different things. Kickboxing appeals to me very much but the bucks for that just aren't around right now. My brother has a black belt in karate, which also appeals to me, but again it's just too expensive. I also try to get any exercise done in the a.m. I find it very hard to motivate myself later on in the day. Even getting the dog out for a walk is sometimes challenging! I also had a cold the other week. Not necessarily a reall bad cold, but man did it wipe me out. Completely and totally beat. It ran it's course and I felt better after a week. I posted something I found on another thread and thought it was really good. My last thoughts are that watching what you eat; dieting; exercising, etc. -- it's 90% mental. If you can get the mental thing working, I believe the rest will follow.

1. Exercise six days a week, for the rest of your life. Whether you want to or not, whether you feel like it or not.
2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week (45 min), for the rest of your life.
3. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life.
4. Spend less than you make.
5. Quit eating crap.
6. Care.
7. Connect and commit.

Hi ladies!

Lady H: Stick with it! That cold is a test, and you can pass with flying colors! Life is never perfect, and you have to deal with the obstacles in your way by jumping over them, not letting them stop you. You can do it!

Jo, I am exactly the way you are with the late night snacks. I can eat very sensibly all day long and not feel hungry, but once my son is in bed and it's time to watch tv or read or just relax, I get so snacky! And it's not hunger, it's just bad habit. My husband is the same way, so we tend to make it worse for each other. Sometimes I feel like we just plain binge! If I could cut that out, I know my calorie intake would be so much less. And last night I didn't do it! I finally started using my FitDay account online, and I added in all my food choices for the day. Just before sitting down to watch 24 (which was great, by the way!), I looked at how many calories I'd had for the day, and instead of having popcorn for a tv snack I had an orange instead, felt so much better about myself, and stopped! (Now, it helped that hubby wasn't there because he wouldn't have stopped at an orange!)

Exercise is really mental for me. I've always been able to push myself once I start; the problem is getting started. I just gave away my treadmill through Freecycle last week because it wasn't working quite right, and I really miss it! Although I hadn't used it in months because the program I like wasn't working any more. But I used my iPod, too, and I have an exercise playlist with really motivational songs. And watching tv is good with the treadmill for me, too, if there's something good on (which is rare).

Right now I'm doing Tae Bo and I really like Billy Blanks because he always says something inspirational, even if I've watched the dvd 10 times already, it still lifts me up. And I feel I'm getting better at doing it already.

Walking outside is good too, but now that my son is no longer all that thrilled about staying in the stroller, I can't "power walk" like I used to. THAT really took off the weight.

Take care, ladies!

Cindy B.

Hello all -

Nice to have a few new ladies to replace the "lost bunch". I have been awol a few days, mainly because I have been swamped at work, as usual.

But, I have made it everyday to the gym on my lunch. I find that it is the best time for me. If I can control a TV I watch Days and makes me stay on the treadmill for at least 45 minutes. I do not mind the treadmill, especially since I am either watching TV or listening to my IPod. I am going to just teach myself the Nautalis (sp) items I want to use and make up my own workout. I just don't have the energy to deal with the obnoxious trainer again.

As for eating, I realized how bad I was last week, not evening thinking I was that bad. I had a Pampered Chef party on Thurs and I ate cake and dip and crap. I think that screwed my week up. So I am being more attentive to what I am eating this week.

Hope everyone has a good day!!!!

Steph

Hello all!
Hope you all had a good day. I'm feeling better each day, but not yet completely there. At least I can sleep now, no more fever and I can breath most of the time. Looking forward to shaking this off.
I dont have much to talk about. Just trying to get better and eat sensibily, getting lots of OJ.
Got a little good news today, a friend of mine emailed to ask if I would like to workout with her at least one night a week. This will be a big help, its definately easier to get myself to the gym if I know I am meeting someone.
Now all I gotta do is get over this cold!!

Have a good night everyone!
Heather

Good morning ladies!

Hi Steph. Good for you for going to the gym every day at lunch. You just have to keep doing it and pretty soon it will become a habit and you won't want to miss a day (at least that's what I keep telling myself....).

Heather: Glad you're getting better. You're doing what I usually do when I feel I'm getting sick, and that's drinking lots of oj. I just can't bring myself to take any medicine, except Advil on the rare occasions I have a headache. I have this crazy idea in my head that orange juice can cure anything!

I have a new love... FitDay! I think you ladies have talked about it on this thread already. I had an account last year but didn't use it much, but right now for me it's a lifesaver! I had no idea what I was eating or how much, but this really helps me hold myself accountable. I like how you can add a custom food, too.

Take care today, talk to you later.

Cindy B.

Hi all, just thought I'd pop in today. Yesterday was not a good exercise day for me as I had a huge fight w/my 10 yr. old b/4 she left for school. Basically just did 2 miles on the TM but fumed the entire time and didn't enjoy one second of it. But, I did it anyway. Not the best workout but at least I pushed through. Today was much, much better (for everything!). I now have the confidence of knowning that I can do 3 miles in 45 minutes on the TM. Next goal w/be to whittle that down to 3 miles in 40 minutes. Little by little I'll get there. Weighing in tomorrow and am hoping it's down. Oh, and I reached my goal of 70 miles for the month of January. Nice NSV!

Steph, kudos to you for getting to the gym on your lunch hour! Having a soap always makes the time go by faster. I used to watch OLTL but after the umpteenth time that Todd and Blair got back together just to break up I gave up! Still catch it sometimes if I ever think to turn the tube on during the daytime!

Heather, glad to hear you're over the worst of it. Sleep as much as possible; it helps alot! I'm like you w/advil and stuff. Won't even take it if I have a fever cause I feel that the fever is doing it's job killing the bug. Headaches though, now they're a different story!

Cindy, I like Fitday too. I used it a lot when I first started cause seeing the amount of calories I was actually eating was surprising! I'm not always logging into it now adays but I keep track of it in my head. Watch it on the exercise though. It seems to be way under on calories burned. Here's a link I found on this site that seems pretty accurate to me. Plus you can plug in a big variety of activities and times/speeds/distances unlike Fitday.

http://caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.html

Hope everyone is doing well! Talk to ya later!

Jo

Hello all -

Well it is the last day of the week, YIPPPPEEE. It has been such a long week, I feel like hibernating for the next two days.

I skipped out on walking yesterday, so I must motivated myself to go today. Other than that, nothing new. OH, wait, the annoying Personal Trainer called yesterday. He is pushy and annoying. No wonder why I don't want to deal with him. I will just teach and motivate myself and I should be ok.

Hope everyone is hanging in there!!!!

{bump, bump, bump} Another one bites the dust;
{ba da bump, bump, bump} Another one bites the dust;
And another one's gone, and another one's gone, another one bites the dust;
Hey, you're gonna lose one too, another one bites the dust -- YEAH!!!!

Jo

Hello Ladies!
Just checking in before the weekend! I will be out for most of it so I may not check in at all.
Supposed to go shopping with my mom and aunt tomorrow. I would really be looking forward to it except for two things, first is the cold sore on my lip (YUCK YUCK YUCK!) Second is the weather! We are having some of the coldest weather of the season right now, and of course we are going to one of those outdoor outlet malls. Still, I'm just going to dress warm and try and have a good time, I am so sick of being sick and couped up in the house.
So my eating has been all over the place this week, from not hungry to ravenous. My appetite came back yesterday with a vengeance! So its back to journaling!

Cindy- The only time I ever drink OJ is when I am sick, for some reason I can't get enough of it when I don't feel well!

Jo - I noticed the same thing you did about the FitDay calories burned thing. thought it was kind of strange, glad I'm not the only one!

Steff- What did you tell the pushy trainer? Hate those "used car salesman" kind of pushy sales approaches. Tends to make me run the other way. Were you able to figure out the machines on your own?

Gotta get back to work now, hope you all have a good weekend! Next week should be an exciting week for me, will have a new nephew coming into the world on Tuesday! Can't wait to meet him!

Stay Motivated Everyone!
Heather

It's 8am, I've been up for nearly three hours, am still in my pj's and am most unmotivated to get changed and workout. Still have to get the youngest out the door but really, really want to crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep! I need to get changed and get on the treadmill -- aacckkk, where to find the motivation? It's zero and windy here; every shade is closed in the house trying to keep warm. Must get changed and go work out; must get changed and go work out. How do you guys get your butts in gear when you are having these kinds of days?

Jo

Hi Jo. It's not easy, is it? I'm having one of those days myself. Sometimes I tell myself "You can take a nap AFTER you exercise", then I exercise and afterwards I never really want a nap, and I feel so much better about it. And if I still nap anyway, well at least I exercised first.

I've been getting up early every morning to do some calisthenics, and the last two mornings have not had the energy to get up before my son does. So no calisthenics. But maybe I'll do Tae Bo today. Hubby has been home sick with a shoulder injury the last few days, and it's harder to get motivated when he's home for some reason.

Jo, get out there and do it! I will make a deal with you, I'll make sure I get my Tae Bo in, so you make sure you get your exercise in. We'll check in later this evening. Deal?

Take care.

Cindy

Good morning eveyone!
I have the same probelm you do when it comes to motivation. I can find pretty much any excuse not to get moving. Sometimes it just helps to do one thing, ie put your shoes on(or in your case get changed). Once you start the process, its easier to keep it going. I'm afraid thats all the wisdom I can offer in that area.
Bitterly cold here too, hasn't gotten above 6 in almost 3 days, lows at night have been around -20. My car wont start at all, so I am stuck at home until the temp gets above 10 or 20, very frustrating!!
On the up side my sis is having her baby this morning(C-Section). I will have a new nephew in a few hours!
Have a good day everyone and for those of you in this cold spell, stay warm!!
Heather