TO was a lot of fun. Family get-together was excellent. I did pretty well with food. I'm going to start seriously cutting down on carbs and tracking calories. I can't take Ozempic or similar - TMI to explain why - so I'll have to do it the "hard" way. I'm watching a documentary about some of the people who were on "Biggest Loser" and someone said "the weight always finds you". That's true for me at this point.

Dagmar

Hi folks!

"The weight always finds you." That's good!

I'm looking to do two things: (1) Start intermittent fasting seriously again. It primarily means not snacking in the evenings. We haven't eaten breakfast in years. (I know some insist it's "the most important meal," but I think that's hype. For me it's just 300 calories I don't need.) (2) Get physical activity, also known as exercise, every day if possible. Walking is my current favorite, but I also do some weight lifting.

I would like to get down 10 pounds.

The reason is that my last blood glucose test was high, and so was my A1c test. Not by huge amounts, but enough that I would like to do something. I have a family history of type-2 diabetes.

JayEll nice to hear from you and good luck with your plan.

I'm trying the 1500 cals for 2 days then 1800 for the next to try to get the 20 lbs. or so off. It's going to be a long, slow process but that will work best for me I think.

Dagmar

Lost the bloat from my 4 days away. Am now 150.6 lbs.

Will stay away from the chips, ice cream, and tea pastries this weekend so that I'll have a good weigh in next Friday.

Dagmar :

It's a week since I last posted, and I am down 5 pounds. I know better than to get excited since I'm sure there's water weight involved.

It's finally cooled off enough that I can swim in the mornings again. Yay!

for the 5 lbs. lost and for being able to swim again Do you swim in a pool or the ocean JayEll?

Dagmar

Hi JayEll, and congrats on the good start to losing 10.

Dagmar, it's always easy to forget what a win maintaining is. You haven't lost any ground.

I've gained 2 pounds for a scale reading of 133. I'll be joyful to get under 130, but realistically I think I should lose 10 since my muscle mass is less than it was 5 years ago. I know I have to lose it slow and lift heavy things to maintain the muscle, or at least as much as I can. Losing slow is never a problem for me

Go Alice go! Sounds like a good plan!

Dagmar

148.4 lbs. today

Dental surgery and stitches resulted in my not being able to eat solid food and being hungry for 4 days. It worked as a kick-start to weight loss. Not sustainable though. I have to rethink my dinner and eat waaay less to continue the loss. No hugely caloric snacks with my afternoon tea will also help. Can do!

Haven't been under 150 for a long, long time. That's part of the reason I haven't been weighing regularly - too sad.

Now I will weigh every Friday and look forward to the number!

Dagmar

Hi all,
it's been 1 month now since I decided to make losing 10 pounds my goal. I have lost 6 pounds so far. After the initial 5, I stalled (of course), but am now apparently losing again.

It's all about consistency. Consistent exercise/activity, consistent adherence to my eating schedule. That's what I need to watch, not the scale.

Not snacking in the evenings (after 7) has been a good thing, although hard at first. I also find my digestion is better.

I hope you're all doing well!

JayEll! I too find consistency to be key. I have also stopped snacking in the evening except for one item of 100 cals or less. I watch one hour of TV in the evening and that helps too. I found myself starting to get bored with any more than that and that triggered snacking. Those patterns are so hard to break but the results when we do break them are great.

Keep at it JayEll

Dagmar

149.4 lbs. this morning. That's fine. I am eating solid food again and am back to a more realistic way of eating for me. I am back on weight loss mode starting today. Short term goal is to get to around 145 lbs. by Oct. 22. I am going to TO for a vacation then.

Long term goal is to get to around 135 lbs. That has been a comfortable weight for me that I could sustain in the past. All of the clothes in my closet will fit then. I hope to reach that by my next birthday in March of 2026.

I am also looking into going to a gym for some personal training and then using the machines on my own. I have been doing the same routine at home for 10 years and it's time to try something different to retain strength and muscle as much as I can.

I walked some puppies yesterday and will do so again today. That is where I find peace and joy - with my animals and with some of the animals at the humane society. I so enjoyed seeing the puppies out engaging with the world. I forgot all of the awful stuff going on in the world for the time I was with them.

Dagmar

Yay for finding tranquility by walking puppies, Dagmar. I share your desire to avoid all the awful stuff going on in the world.

Thanks for reminding us about consistency, JayEll. I could use a little of that myself.

Yep, accepting "losing slow" is reality, Alice. Even, verrrrrrrry slow, LOL.

I thought we were going to lose Natalie this last week. Turns out she has something that can be treated and we are in recovery now. I haven't really been overeating but I haven't been vigilant either. I cried rather than ate. That is a step forward for me.

I have to deal with an "emergency" cleaning of carpeting and floors today. Hubby likes to eat packages of frozen cherries and something went very very wrong last night. There's a trail of "cherry blood" running from the kitchen down the stairs to the rec room that I have to clean up.

I'm going to go and walk the puppies at the Humane Society first. We have had a stretch of absolutely gorgeous weather and I'm going to take advantage of that. Holly is going to get two great walks today too - off leash at the beach this morning and then on leash in the woods.

I'm starting to get the hang of this retirement business. I can sometimes put fun first.

Dagmar

Super good news, "I can sometimes put fun first." Also good news that Natalie can be treated.

Attended Hamilton in downtown Boston last night. It was one lively evening. We were asked, almost condescendingly, "Is this really your first time?" by the woman sitting next to us who'd seen it last time it passed through town.