Bargoo - thanks for checking in and I'm just giving you a virtual hug for the lack of anything meaningful to say.

I agree 6 pounds is a lot - especially for someone who was quite low going into this.

It reminds me of my grandfather who had heart disease and a double bypass. So the doctor was CONSTANTLY on him for years to watch what he ate and stay away from all fats and to maintain a lower weight. Then, tragically, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and his cancer specialist was on him constantly to GAIN weight and was pushing him to eat peanut butter, ice cream, anything to fatten him up!! The poor man couldn't win!

Jen

Seeing you posting makes me happy, Bargoo, just as I head off to spin class.

Six pounds is epic: We get it.

Bargoo, hi. Glad to hear you are getting through it. Ensure Plus or Ensure Complete, at least 3x a day. Also there is a product called Juven--it's a drink mix. Orange is the best, I think.

Your body needs the calories and other nutrients to repair the damage from the treatments. Be sure to check with your medical people about your weight.

:hug:
Jay

Thank you ALL for your warm welcomes.

JayZeeJay, any tips on expunging would be appreciated. Do you think growing up with Twiggy as the girl to emulate is partly responsible for my struggle with body image?

"upper body melting down"
That's funny! Well, I'ld just like to know how ALL the extra weight is in the middle. Do us 50 somethings need to start doing situps with a vengeance?
I am curious if 5 pounds will take it all off and look the same at 145lbs as I did 7 years ago.

Thanks for checking in Bargoo. I wish you were feeling better. Hugs to you.

Good to see you, bargoo. :hug:

I have some news. I had a shower this morning. (No, I do know that this is not news in itself.) I had a shower at home, and then I looked in the mirror. I am pretty certain that my tummy is smaller than when I went away!

How did I do this? I walked every day. I ate fairly sparingly* when we ate out, and at home. I ate very little at any gatherings (mainly because I had to be alert and because alert + too much food = indigestion).

* 'fairly sparingly' does actually include huge fish and chips on the beach (I ate about half) and a very chewy home-made meringue nest and raspberries in a cafe. But I took my time and tried to relax.

Learning points? Walk. Eat very little when I need to (or occasionally). Take my time. Relax.

Still thinking about scales.

:wave: Have a good day, everyone. Very good luck with whatever challenges are thrown at you.

Bargoo - good to hear from you. I think of you often.

Birchie - taking time and relaxing is always a good plan. And I often find myself repairing things as well - I agree that quality has suffered in recent years.

Diana - I think women like Twiggy and Barbie dolls and such do add to our unrealistic body image.

I'm tired this week. It has been hard to get out of bed the last two days, though I have gotten up for yoga. Woo. Weight is up from some sodium and sugar. It needs to come down, but I feel slimmer than last week even with.

Diana-- but did you ever find Twiggy attractive!? I know I always thought she looked too thin.

I forgot to say about Twiggy. She was the "face" of British high street store Marks and Spencer, I think last year. M&S is where most British women buy their knickers and used to have a very big share of the womenswear market. Market share has suffered in recent years for a number of reasons and M&S thought that 60-year-old Twigs was the way to get us older people spending money. I gather it did not work. Not only did we not spend (recession does that to people) but we did not like being reminded of how we still did not match up to Twiggy's looks. That was even before word got out that the ads etc had been touched up.

Saef :wave: How are you doing?

Daily living is a bit hit and miss at present. I do prefer it when things are more streamlined - and when the SO is here doing the washing up. But I am managing to hack out time to clear the decks at home and work. Ah - that means I'm not using that time to exercise.

My dvd player is on the fritz, I can still look at my exercise tapes but they are fuzzy and very blue. On a more positive note last night instead of having chocolate ice cream, my pm snack was a handful of frozen cherries.

Yes Twiggy was impossibly thin.

Siverbirch, good to hear you are getting things done at home, sorry that has swallowed up your exercise time. I have to get up and do exercise first thing in the morning or it won't happen.

Hi to All!

I'm home.

I skimmed, just skimmed, some of what I've missed. If I have more time tomorrow, I'll read it all more thoroughly.

We had a wonderful time! Walked and walked in 100+ temperatures with humidity usually around 80% (we died!). One day, after staying up a bit too late in the casino, we were in Montenegro and I saw a sign for the "entrance to the tower." I suppose I should have done more research before setting out as it turns out the is a 3 mile staircase built of slippery limestone with no shade. I'm woefully out of shape and couple that with a tiny hangover (just the thirst part) and I ended up sick. Thankfully I didn't puke, but it took several bottles of water any my dutiful husband fanning me with his hat before I felt well enough to go back down. My hands were numb as if I had been hyperventilating (which I may have been as we were hiking at a pretty fast clip). The worst part was, two nights later at dinner, the person we were eating with said he'd made it to the top (I managed only 1/3 of the way). He was well into his 70's.

So, I'm back and my 15 days in Europe earned my at least 5 extra pounds (so glad it wasn't more). Tomorrow is a new day. Back at the weight loss thing and getting back to regular exercise so the aforementioned fiasco never happens again.

Welcome back, Allison! The trip sounds fantastic!

Good job on the cherries, Diana. :)

Saef - how are you doing on your trip, honey?

Yoga in the morning before work four days in a row now. Woo. And I am seriously tired this week. I've had a hard time getting going. I've kept my exercise going, did my weights Monday and Wednesday but cut the cardio, ran on Tuesday. Whew.

Hi all, hope everyone's August is going well-

Allison: glad to hear the trip was good! Montenegro is one of those places that has always sounded so incredibly glamorous to me...

Saef: how is everything going on the work trip?

Shannon: way to keep the exercise flowing! You are inspiring me to go for a run after work today. Tired is not a sufficient excuse - if it were, I would never exercise.

I am in the midst of a busy few weeks at work, while at the same time trying to sell my house (that is 80 miles away). I've been renting it and losing money for the last few years. Time to unload it now that the market is improving. My fiance is pushing for us to buy a house here, so we're starting the pre-approval process but having an underwater mortgage is hurting my "fundability".

And my dog has had a strange eye problem for a few weeks, that we've been unable to get a handle on. Yesterday it blew up into a horrible, disgusting infected mess. She has an abscess behind her eye and it is pushing the eye forward. Poor thing, she is miserable and I feel like $#* for letting this happen.