Hey everyone, Once again I have wandered back. I'll try to keep up. I've gone back to taking my lunch to work. I do better if I take lean cuisine or ww. I tend to make VERY bad choices when I eat out.
March 7-11 Curves is having their food drive. So I am joining next monday. I don't have the money for the full service fee, so this is great. I can help others and myself. I am very excited about it. I hope it is the motivation I need. I have been doing some better staying op this last week.
I miss everyone.

Goals for March:
1. loose 5lbs
2. measure food to reaquaint myself with portion size.
3. post here daily
4. be kind to myself.

welcome to everyone new.

BIG HUGS TO ALL

Girlie - That's awesome to know that someone else my size is out there participating in 5k's too! It's a very empowering feeling to complete one, isn't it? I completed 4 5K's in 2002 with my last one completed in 39min22sec. Not the best in the world, but I was very proud at 190 lbs to complete it in that time!

Thanks to everyone for being so welcoming. I'm finally getting back on track today!! I've brought my lunch with me. Someone else said that if they didn't bring their lunch to work, they made bad choices. I do the same!!! So far I've eaten 200 cals for breakfast, brought a 320 cal lunch with me and brought some mini carmel rice cakes for snacks!! Those are 60 cals for 7 mini cakes. And they taste great!! I'm so happy to be back on track again. Maybe this evening I'll even get some exercise in! I'm so looking forward to seeing 225 lbs. Maybe I'll get there by Monday!!! That would be awesome!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

Steph~ I didn't say Hello and WELCOME yesterday!!!!! Glad to see you back today!!

I need a kick in the pants!!!
I have been terrible with eating at night. I have reasons and excuses but it is hurting me. I sat down with a giant bowl of leftovers last night to read journals. I ate til my tummy ached. I was tired but was too full to lay down. HELP!!!!

My days are good. Exercise has mostly been shovelling and lots of it!!!!! Last night I did a full hour of it .The snow was light but up to my knees.
The shop cats frolic about when I am out there. I LOVE it. Very peaceful. The littlest one kept diving into fresh 3 ft snow and would tunnel through and pop up across the yard. I was scared he was going to sufficate but all is well.
DD went out yesterday aft and the snow was up to her armpits. She was jumping off the swing set into it.
It is still snowing BTW. Not storming though just steady fluffy flakes for the past 24 hours. The snowmobilers were out in full force yesterday.
I digress, I am feeling physically run down form that flu bug and then I came down with a head cold. I am busy with kids, school council and SS stuff. That mostly uses my brain so I am not sure why I think I need to eat more to keep me going.

Last night at TOPS we took measurments. Last Feb and then again this Feb. Here’s the good news. Chest down 3 1/3 in, waist, dwon 3 in, hips down 4 in, thigh down 4 in! This is great. My weight loss for last year is around 10 lbs. This here shows that the yoga( mostly) and WATP is doing something.
SO STOP EATING SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT!!!!!!!

Debbie: Nice to see you! I didn't know Curves did a food drive -- what's it all about? Sounds like a good deal.

Stephanie: That 5K sounds like a great goal. Something really tangible. It's so easy (for me, anyway) to get caught up in the abstract of numbers and forget to have lifestyle goals. Good for you!

Holly: I too have trouble with eating at night. I think it's because I get into this "time to relax" mindset, and it makes me feel like eating. Don't know why I think eating and relaxing go hand in hand! Sounds like that shoveling is keeping you busy! What a great workout -- good for the body and practical too!

Not so great on food yesterday, unfortunately. Hoping today will be better. I have to go get my teeth cleaned in a few minutes, and that always keeps me from eating much because I don't want to lose that clean-mouth feeling. Hope everyone i having a good day!

Judy:
Yes, I'm with Spores...tell me about your bariatric doctor. I thought they deal with things like gastric bypass surgeries? Hope all goes well with your weigh in. Also, about jeans...my favorite pair are these Tommy Hilifiger boot cut. I splurged...but I look and feel great in them. They are in the women's section of nicer department stores. They were called low-waist boot cut. The waist isn't super low on me, because I'm short, they fit in the right spot. Plus, they aren't stretch - I don't like stretchy jeans because they don't fit me right. I've broken this pair in perfectly and I can wear a heel with them. They hug my booty just perfectly. I carry a lot of my weight in my behind!

Spores:
You sound great, a great improvement on attitude from when you first started coming here. I know what you mean about getting home and not wanting to do dishes or cook! That's totally me. So I try to have simple things around. Sometimes even a Lean Cuisine seems harder than getting Chinese! I get into these ruts. Last night I did cook because I told DH to take out chicken and the thawed chicken was there, staring me in the face. I boiled it for lack of a better idea...then when it was cooked through, I seared it in a frying pan with olive oil, just to get that "fried" flavor but not fully fried. I have these microwave packages of broccoli with low fat cheese sauce and just threw that in the microwave...and there's dinner. I sometimes feel like if I can't cook a whole meal basically from scratch, it's not worth it...but these convenience foods would be better than going to order out...although you can get a lot of veggies in by ordering out wisely.

Holly:
Just realize why you overate last night and admit it and move on You have done a great job! You tend to keep this place peppy with your great attitude!

Stephanie:
Your time was better than mine! Mine was almost 45 minutes. I mean, someone could fast walk that in the time I did it, but my goal was just not to stop, to keep a steady pace and go. Plus the hills were terrible! I walked the 5K last year at the same route and it's not easy! There is a larger-size running group called the Clydesdales that meet up for races nationally. You can google "clydesdales running" and find their site. I think heavier runners are stronger because they have to carry more weight. I'm not up to running yet, but I hope to be going for runs outdoor over the summer.

Speaking of that, I haven't been exercising. It's been a week. I'm going through one of those phases. I spent two hours trying on suits last night with DH. He's all into tailoring and stuff, so I like to take him with me. I went straight to the size 20's to try on the coats and DH said they were all too big. I ended up needing a size 16! Wow. We couldn't find the matching pants that I needed, so I'm going to the same department store in a different city tonite...they were on sale. I am sure I'll need an 18 for the bottom, maybe even 20 for my bubble butt. Who knows, but I'm excited about the 16.

Talk to you soon!

Girlie

Spores - A 5K is very tangible. It's also a very substantial goal. You can complete a 5k and also spend lots of time perfecting and bettering it after that!

Hollyhock - your kitties sound absolutely adorable!! I have 3 indoor kitties. The youngest one is constantly flitting around the house like your little one was playing in the snow. I like to say that she 'runs the rooftops' because she can't go under anything she comes to, she always has to go over it! If only I had that much energy. But then I guess I would have to change venues for work - with that much energy, I'd never be able to sit at a desk!

We have sunshine today! Finally! It has been dreary and snowy all week! It's so nice to see sunshine. The temp is only in the 40's but it still makes all the difference in the world to see it pretty out!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

Girlie - I was posting at the same time you were!! Thank you!! The 'Clydesdales' huh?? I'm a horse person! (I had a GORGEOUS 16.2 hand high GREY Thoroughbred gelding that I sold after my daughter was born -couldn't afford the horse and the daughter since I was a single mom) To be a Clydesdale is so much more glorified than a chunky-butt girl who decided to try to run!!! I love it!! You have totally made my day telling me that!!! Clydesdales are just beautiful too! I will definitely do a search to see if I can find them!!!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

Girlie: Aw, thanks for the compliment. I DO feel like my attitude's changing, at least a little bit. Weight loss seems an eensy bit less impossible these days. It so helps to have support and sharing. I too get into that all-or-nothing mindset where I think I have to cook everything beautifully from scratch or give it up and go our for burgers. I need to find a better middle ground. Stocking up on healthy convenience foods would help. My mom has a big freezer in her basement, and she puts up lots of veggies and homemade things from the garden so they're easy and convenient. I don't have that kind of freezer space, but maybe I could try it on a small scale. I also need to work on my attitude about eating out. I think of eating any food that's not from my kitchen as free-for-all time. I have this attitude that if I'm spending money on it, I should get what I really want. Which is silly, I know. After all, I spend money on groceries too! So I'm going to try to make some better choices when eating out. Just maybe one little choice a week, and go from there. Not getting the "super-size" option, obviously. Ordering a side salad instead of fries. And going to overall healthier places. There's a great Japanese fast food drive-thru near my house, and I know any meal I get there is waaaaaay healthier than Taco Bell, and it's just as satisfying. "Teriaki, not Tacos" shoudl be my motto!

Stephanie: A 5K does sound sort of doable eventually. I always think of that kind of thing as a race -- is there a competitive element? Is it nerve-wracking?

Good day so far today. Did my treadmill, so now I have four whole stickers on my calendar this week! Yay! Hoping to add one more tomorrow -- that would be the first time I exercised every day of the week in, well...ever. Cool. Food okay so far too. Had a Clif bar for breakfast and a lean cuisine and yogurt for lunch. Plenty satisfied. I know I'll need a snack or two this afternoon/evening. I will plan on veggies with peanut sauce or low-fat dressing for one snack. I'll have a peach if I need another snack. I'll bake a whole bunch of chicken breast and freeze them this afternoon so I'll have some easy dinner-making materials. Maybe for dinner I'll make pasta with chicken, zucchini, and tomatoes. Assuming I wash the damn dishes. Sheesh.

Spores - like Girlie said, it's really more of a challenge to yourself. She wanted to go through the race without stopping. My goal was to better my times. So I wasn't really competing with the other entrants, I was competing against my last time. And it's really good to just compare yourself to yourself in an effort to better - yourself. The other entrants were always very nice and polite and could usually relate their beginning running experiences to me. We all knew I wasn't there to win. But I was there to complete the distance, get the shirt, and get the refreshements at the end of the race! I even won a trophy for my age group at one race!! It was a 50 degree day in May 2002 and no one else in my age group showed up to even try it in that weather. Isn't that awesome!!?? And it's so empowering to complete a 5K. I would recommend training for and completing one to anyone who doesn't have medical conditions or joint complications keeping them from jogging a little! When you're on your treadmill, see what distance you're going. You may already be doing the distance there! A 5K is 3.1 miles. Sorry to rant so, but you asked and I'm very passionate about 5K's and horses!

Thanks for listening to me rant!!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

well hello everyone!!
sorry i haven't been around much again this week. i am doing my best to keep up with you all though! everyone sounds very well, it is so nice to hear! i've been doing well, not really counting calories but 3 good squares a day and no crap snacks in the evening. i haven't exercised at all this week, i just made excuses every day, shame on me. it will come i'm not going to stress about it, the good food thing is good enough for right now. i had one of those nothing is going right kind of days today that started at 6:30am and went progressively downhill. looking forward to going to bed and waking up on FRIDAY!!! thank goodness another week behind me!

stephanie- welcome!! good luck getting ready for your 5k!! you sound very positive! you are going to do great!!

spores- i hope your dinner went well. i used to have the same problem i wanted to eat out everyday. i finally settled on cooking sun-thurs and eating out fri and sat. we have a family of 5 so i plan all the sun-thurs stuff in advance on saturday usually and then shop and prep everything so it is super simple for me to come home and get dinner on the table in 30mins or less. i stick to the plan i make for dinner unless there is an emergency or something. i try lots of new recipes, my family really loves it. they also like knowing what we are having in advance. i feel the same way about eating out, i'm paying for it i want all the goodies! good luck making your choices, you can do it!! i'm going to borrow your gold star idea i need a big motivator thanks!

girlie- good luck with the interview! and a big congrats on the 16 jacket!!! that is fantastic news!

holly- good job with the inches lost! it is nice to look at the big picture and see progress! i get discouraged sometimes with up a pound down a pound week to week. but when you look into the long term it is all progress! hope you had a good day! boston rob is a cutie but i am not cheering for them, they already have their million!! there is a couple on the race darn i can't think of their names right now but they are "dating on and off" they are from my town. i am cheering for them. such a good show!

mychoice- good for you counting the orange slices, i too let "little" things go uncounted too often and they all add up. good luck at your meeting. you have been doing a great job with exercising pat yourself on the back!

debbie- good to see you back! great idea taking lunch with you to work! it really works well for me to pack everyday, now it is just part of my morning routine. your goals sound great!

i hope i didn't miss anyone have a great night ladies!!

Good Morning All!!

I have been absolutely rotten this week. I cannot tell you about the pilates tapes yet, as I HAVE NOT EVEN OPENED THEM YET. Lazy!! and eating, Mooo is my middle name. I am pathetic! At least I realize it. Let me confess and get this off my chest. It is 8:30 am, at work and so far I have had a slice of swiss cheese, yogurt, baked potato with BBQ sauce (I can eat BBQ on anything), and two stinkin donuts. I need to get in a better place in my head. It is so great reading all these inspiring posts, especially about the 5K run. I have promised myself I am done eating like this, at least for today.!

Stephanie...welcome to the group. Everyone is so helpful and supportive. I had to leave the group for several months, due to various reasons (no internet at home, changing jobs, etc) and came back in a week or two ago. Everyone is so receptive. You will love it here.

Holly...Are you feeling any better? You poor thing, maybe move to a warmer climate? You and me, the beach area? Wadda ya say?

Susie....you and your goals, and how you stick to them, really inspires me. You are an awesome person. I have not gone to TOPS yet, I had to work on the night it was offered in my area, but I AM GOING this coming Monday night. I can hardly wait, I need that kind of support and am excited to get it.

Debbie...Great goals!!

Girlie...great attitude, keep it up, you will get far with this whole thing. Go go Girl...

Spores, jodi, and all I have missed, howdie and stay focused.

Chat at cha next week! Have a Marvy Weekend!!

Anne

Jodi - Thanks. I certainly am trying.

Some days are so much worse than others! Last night I ended up snacking! I blew a great day on some darn crackers!! I ended up eating 1,700 calories for the entire day yesterday. On the upside I did walk for about 12 minutes yesterday (during my 2 15-minute breaks at work) and I cleaned house like a madwoman last night. I broke a really good sweat and got my heart rate up. I'd say I cleaned straight for 3 hours. I actually cleaned from about 6 pm to about 10 pm but I sat down for a couple minutes here and there. I am very sore today from bending over so much! But my house looks so much better. The good thing is that I live in a townhouse, so when I'm doing laundry and stuff, I constantly have to be up and down those stairs putting it away!
Today has started off very good again! I have had my 200 cal breakfast and today I brought a 250 cal lunch with me. Along with my mini carmel rice cakes if I want something sweet. I have to be really diligent during the day to keep my calories down. I have a tendency to consume lots of calories at night. Keeping my cal intake as low as possible during the day leaves me plenty of calories to work with at night. Maybe one day I'll get better about not wanting to eat everything in sight once I get home. But until then I will just go with this approach. I have to say that I was doing great not eating too much last night until I sat down around 10 PM. I should have just went to bed. I was tired. But instead, I stayed up an hour longer and added 630 calories to my calorie intake for the day. I was at 1070 calories for the day before I sat down at that time. And I WASN'T hungry. How silly I am sometimes. I was just craving those stupid crackers. Next time I will just go to bed if I am tired. I will not eat something when I am tired enough to go to bed and it's bedtime!! I will do better!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

Anne - Thank you. I was apparently posting the same time as you. I need the support desperately. It's so hard to stay on track by yourself. I'm glad that everyone is so nice and helpful! We will all get there together!

Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW

Good Morning all. This will be somewhat quick. I'm taking the afternoon off of work and have somethings to get done before I leave.

Stephanie:
My goal again is to complete a 5K. We do Race for the Cure here, we are the hometown of the Susan G Komen foundation. I'm so excited because MEN can be a part of the race starting this year!!!! I will walk it this year...but the fun thing about the walk is that many people jog parts of it too. My hubby loves horses...grew up on a cattle ranch and gave his pony away when he started dating me!

Spores:
Do they do Race for the Cure in your area? There is a 5K run that starts five mins before the walk does. And during the walk, many women walk and jog parts of it as well. Lately though, there have been so many women that there's hardly any room the whole way. Last year, we had around 30,000 women participate. That IS HUGE! And so very exhilarating to see so many women. I love looking up the street at the top of the hills and seeing thousands of women!

Anne and Holly:
I am in an eating rut as well. Let's start anew next week, and just make a goal to make next week "better" than this one.

Jodi:
I'm proud of you for the good eating. Maybe next week, just try to do one day of exercise in addition to your great eating. You may end up with 3 days of exercise or more!


I had a strange night everyone. I went shopping and the store in the next city over was smaller than our department store here and I found no suits. They didn't even have suits in "women's" sizes. I found a matching suit in size 18 but I looked like a penguin, it was pinstripped and the jacket and pants were too generously cut. They had no smaller size and I didn't feel good. I was getting REALLY depressed and feeling fat and ugly. I wanted to cry. Then I had to pick myself up and say that's no way to feel before an interview. I'm GOING to find something that makes me feel good about myself. So after THREE hours of shopping at the same TWO stores, I settled on a great pair of chocolate brown wide leg slacks with cuffs, a nice button up shirt with vertical brown and pink stripes and a pair of brown leather heels. It is quite sharp if I do say so myself DH said WOW when I showed him! I also splurged on some Estee Lauder makeup and got the bonus stuff, and trouser socks. I'm going home at lunch and changing into it then. I will feel really good in this, and do a great job.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Girlie

Girlie - Good luck on your interview. I'm trying to find a job myself. My current job started out as temp to hire, then they decided to merge with another firm. Needless to say, they don't need two receptionists! My last guaranteed workday is March 11th. 1 week from today. It's so aggravating to know that you don't have a job lined up and yours will end in a week! I do hope your interview goes well though. The outfit you've found sounds awesome!
Everyone have a great weekend! I may not get to post again until Monday!
Stephanie
234/226/125
SW/CW/GW