GOOD MORNING EVERYONE hope your all well, glad to hear your in better spirits today Roll congrats on the lb lost every one counts and if you keep up the way your going there will be plenty more, my scale is on holiday this week says same as last week guess Ive hit a plateu I hate those , my 10mle walk I think was a one of I think I,ll stick to my 6mle indoor bike ride three times a week and my nice 30min walk with hubby after dinner each night from now on ,today I feel so sore and half dead for the encouragment and for just being there, I,ve started the day off not to badly see how the rest goes I,m off for a and after my walk yesterday I think I,ll make today my rest day instead of the usual Sunday ,stay focused be good bye for now I,ll try to check in later for an update, BLESSED BE REMEMBER WE CAN DO THIS, WE ARE DOING THIS

BREKKI/ SMOOTHIE AND AN APPLE AND OF COURSE A
LUNCH/ HOPEFULLY A TOASTED MULTIGRAIN LOW FAT HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICHE
DINNER/ PLANNED MONGOLIAN LAMB STIR FRY AND BROWN RICE

SW 172
CW 165
GW 132

Hi Julie and Roll, It's so nice to hear from both of you. I agree with Roll Julie, your walk was terrific. You entitled to a day off. Yes, by the way, I've had "me" time this week. I also keep saying to myself "slow down, what's the rush, I can't do it all." That's helped and I've been able to have more QUALITY time with family and students. Fitting into old clothes and feeling better about my body has helped too - I just don't feel bloated and blah like I used to. I know it's because I'm eating so much healthy food and little to no junk! Thanks to all of your encouragement and care. It's been a while since I've been to the gym or on the scale, but maybe again soon. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all tomorrow.

breakfast: strawberry, banana no-fat yogurt, low fat milk smoothie (400)
lunch: salad bar: lettuce, other veggies, ham/turkey slices, some grated cheese (300)
(no dressing - cutting out the dressing, croutons and bread with salad has been a really helpful choice and now I'm used to it.)
snack: 1/4 cup almonds - very filling, very healthy (170)
dinner: beef stew - lots of veggies, yummy broth (cals??? I think fairly healthy - I made it so I know I put only healthy, low cal ingredients in)
dessert: A really terrific strawberry drink - I simply blended about 8 frozen strawberries with water and it made a very low cal, very delicious, long lasting frozen drink kind of like a frozen strawberry daquiri without all the sugar and alcohol. I'd recommend it. Last summer I bought these really tall, big, easy to hold plastic glasses at BJs and they are terrific for the smoothies and frozen drinks.

I'm looking forward to seeing how you all do tomorrow. Thanks again for all your tremendous support - you're definately one reason why I'm losing weight.

Way to go Tired you sound as if you,ve got yourself a plan and its working for you , glad you got some you time in thats important just because you have to be there for others does,nt mean you neglect yourself , great to see your old clothes are fitting its agreat feeling when that happens is,nt it I think your going to get a nice surprise when you do get on those scales , bet you can give yourself a big , your stawberry drink sounds good I,m going to give it try I love strawberries, sounde like you stayed on track with your eating and cals well take care I,ll catch up with you again later bye for now BE GOOD, STAY FOCUSED, BLESSED BE JULIE

Guess what! A friend stopped by to drop something off and I did as I threatened to do, I enlisted her as a walking partner. We started flapping our gums and I said, "Lets walk while we talk". We walked (slowly) for 50 minutes. She has lost 50 pounds in the last 6 months. So, I feel as though I've started moving and even though it doesn't feel like I've done much, it's a start and I'm REALLY pleased with myself. I didn't finish my salmon this morning so I had a cup of soup when I got home. I floated one tablespoon of toasted pine nuts on the soup. Yum.

I feel so much better now that I'm not bloated with all the junk I was eating. I keep thinking I'm thin because I feel thin.

While I was walking with my friend I mentioned how far I had to go to lose all this weight and she just said, "Stop it". That kind of thinking/talking sends me to the refridgerator.

I have a meeting tonight so I'd better rest up. I"m starting to cough again. Better take it easy.

Congratulations, both of you, for doing so well.





Keep up the good work.

GOOD ONE ROLL, 50 minutes excellent you sound more positive all the time, glad you roped a friend in to walk with you great idea of walking while you talked instead of sitting down for a all these things help, why not see if you and your friend can make a regular date of it, I know the feeling you mean when you say you feel thin I do to I think it is that you do,nt feel so bloated when you cut out unhealthy food and start eating whats good for you , the pine nuts in the soup sound different I use them in stir fries but not much else I,ll have to give the soup a try well keep up the good work catch you later bye for now BLESSED BE , STAY FOCUSED,WE CAN DO THIS, WE ARE DOING THIS

This day has just gotten away from me. It's been a busy day. my daughter homeschools so there are a few days during the week that I do lots of carpooling to classes and driving to lessons.
I slept late- I needed the sleep- and then it was off and running. I don't feel comfortable skipping a morning check in, even if it's brief. I had a late (12:00) breakfast of chicken salad and a late (3:00) lunch of french onion soup. I bought lots of healthy food at the grocery store. I even bought ground turkey instead of hamburger. I'm not sure how I'll prepare it but I'm really taking a look at how much fat red meat has. I'm not giving it up, I'm just planning on trying to incorporate more "light?" meats into my diet.

I wanted to exercise today.............

We are going to go to the movies tonight. Maybe a short walk before we go......

I'm finding it difficult to eat in a healthy fashion when I'm on the go. It requires planning.

Dinner plan- How about---ground turkey meatballs --curried--yoghurt sauce
salad with raisins and walnuts---sweet curry dressing.

I'll let you know how it turns out.



I'm feeling kind of beat up right now. I know I'm not projecting much enthusiasm but I don't want my having a flat day to stop me from posting.
I think a movie is a good idea.
Hope I get my personality back.

Thanks for listening.
Keep up the good work.

G,DAY ALL just checking in it,s a beautiful Saturday morning here downunder not much to report, weigh day today have,nt lost but have,nt gained either this week so I suppose thats something, feeling a bit discouraged though I seem to be going nowhere fast hope your all well , I,m not in the best of spirits today, not much else to say ,you guys keep up your good work I,ll catch up with you later bye for now BLESSED BE REMEMBER SLOWLY BUT SURELY YOUR DOING THIS SO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK STAY FOCUSED FOR READING, JULIE

BREAKFAST/ SMOOTHIE AND AN APPLE ABOUT 350 CALS
LUNCH/ NOT SURE
DINNER/ HUBBIES TAKING ME TO LOCAL CLUB FOR CHINESE TRY TO HAVE SOMETHING HEALTHY
SW 172
CW 165
GW 132

Hi Roll and Julie. Thanks again for the great ideas and encouragement. I love your honesty! I appreciate it!

It is hard to keep on track when you're on the go. One thing that's helped me is stocking the car with seltzer and sugarless gum.

Fairly good eating day. School field trip - not the best one. The children had more energy than the presenters. So at the end of the day I gave in to a couple of glasses of wine. I'll be on track again tomorrow though - I've done it before. Plus I ate well the rest of the day.

I'll be checking in often this weekend as I'll be on the computer working on my course work. Your positive energy has infiltrated my body - I feel so much better this week - thanks, thanks, thanks!

breakfast - strawberry/banana smoothie (400)
lunch - almonds and 2 apples (440)
lots of seltzer
snack - more almonds (170)
dinner - pasta, broccoli, parmesean cheese and 2 glasses of wine - cals probably about 1,000 so I'm high today, but I was very hungry and now I'm done. Thanks for listening. Take care.

G,day Roll we must have been typing at the same time, I finished clicked and there you were, glad to see your staying on track, your meatballs with curried sauce sounds yummy hope you enjoy the movie, and I hope you do,nt get to frazzled , like I,ve told Tired you have to have you time I hope I do,nt sound like a know it all but I have just about finished my diploma in counselling and I know how easy it is to burn out if your not careful, anyway I was feeling a bit low in spirits then I read your post and you sound very upbeat today and you,ve put me in a better frame of mind your an I was just about ot go and eat something naughty, so I guess we must have been on here at the same time for a reason I,m going to have a and some grapes instead thanks again for being there bye for now catch up with you all later . JULIE

G,day Tired looks like we all got on here at the same time , hope you enjoyed your wine ,you do,nt sound like you went to far overboard and like you said there is always tomorrow fresh with no mistakes in it , well you stay focused I think we,re all giving each other the encouragement and inspiration we all need to see this journey through and with the right nudgeing and praising for our efforts we give each other along the way I know we can succeed, bye for now BLESSED BE JULIE

Hi afternoon everyone , hope your all well , I,m not doing to good today just things in general I guess, I,ve been trying to stay focused and positive but the last couple of days have,nt been that crash hot, and I don,t want to bring others down if I can,t encourage myself I can,t do that for anyone else, I,m going to take a break from posting for awhile, maybe catch you in the near future, you are both doing really well TIRED AND ROLL so you keep up the good work and stay focused and be there for each other, YOU KNOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS, BYE NOW BLESSED BE JULIE

Hi Julie, please know I'm there for you. Maybe you don't feel well because you've been giving so much here at the posts and to your coursework. I hope you'll be able to find something to bring you peace. Maybe you're still exhausted from that long walk you took. Exhaustion often brings me down. Hope your rest period goes well.

I also hope you're doing well Roll. I'm hoping to make this a really good eating day - lots of water and maybe I'll even fit in some exercise. Take care all.

breakfast -cereal and milk (275)

Hi,
I woke up this morning with lots of chatter in my head about all the things I didn't tend to when I was sick. Overwhelm is one of the states of mind that leads me to comforting myself with food. I think a specific food plan is especially important on days like today. Last night, I was so exhausted, I didn't feel like cooking or cleaning. I almost had a cup of coffee at 8:00 last night. I didn't do it, I opted to cook and leave dirty dishes in the sink and watch a star trek dvd. I didn't roll the turkey into meatballs I just threw it in the pan with curry seasonings and put it on top of the salad. Kind of non-traditional and ugly but good.

I've had plenty of sleep now and am planning on going to a meeting this morning and then spending the rest of the day making a cape for my daughter's Halloween costume.

Julie, I certainly appreciate your up beat posts and I also welcome your posts if you are feeling down. It's encouraging to me when the going gets tough, that we are here for each other. I know that it takes time and energy to post as much as you do. I just hope you're not feeling pressure to always be up.
It doesn't bring me down when others are having a tough time. I have faith that things will get better and feelings don't stagnate. I feel a lot of support knowing that you two are here with me on this quest to get healthy. I hope your time off is brief, julie. I support you in doing what nurtures you. Take good care. Keep up your good work.
Tired, good luck with your course work this weekend. It must be something of a challenge to focus on work while at home with all the distractions.
Now, down to the business of a food plan :
breakfast-tuna salad
lunch- turkey MEATBALLS with red pepper and onion salad
dinner- chicken vegetable stew
I didn't drink enough water yesterday and that may have added to my exhaustion last night. I'm making a committment, right now, to drinking 3 large bottles of water today.

Thanks for the support.

Hi Roll and Julie. Roll, I'm like you when I get really busy I turn to food. I also turn to food when I'm tired. Luckily since I started this healthy eating in August, I've tried to be very conscious of that and mainly turn to seltzer water, sugarless gum, a hot bath, a healthy low-cal comforting smoothie or bed.

Also, like you, I don't mind at all if people complain, vent, express sadness or any other feeling on this thread. We're all human and there's even comfort knowing you're not the only one struggling - we're all struggling, that's part of the journey.

Aren't you a good mother making a cape for your daughter's costume. Since I don't have a daughter I like hearing the stories. I have three rambunctious sons though and my little one looked cute with his spiderman suit on today. He delivered the party invites. We always have a neighborhood pot luck right before Halloween trick-or-treating. It's the one unique neighborhood holiday, so we make the most of it.

Good eating day so far. I'm going out to eat tonight but I don't feel the need for wine or sweets or overeating today like I did yesterday, so I'll make a healthy choice.
breakfast/lunch -cereal/milk (275) smoothie (300) - 575 in total, lots and lots and lots of seltzer today while I studied. Lots of coffee too but I dulled the buzz with all that water. I'm anxious to try tea soon, perhaps I'll have a cup tonight when everyone else if having dessert - decaf of course.

I'm so glad you joined our thread Roll. It's so absolutely wonderful that I have people to share this difficult, but positive journey with.

p.s. My sister thinks we should go on Oprah once we all reach our goals - a funny thought.

HI GOOD MORNING,G,DAY HOW ARE YOU sounds like your both well , I just popped in for a look , was,nt going to post but read such inspiring warm encouragement from you guys, I guess I was in a rut I try to meditate at least once a week if I can but with studying my mind has just been to cluttered to concentrate, which is hard for me at the best of times but last night my hubby took me out to dinner and I switched off all the negative things going on in my head ,and when we came home I took some of my own advice and run a hot bubble bath and slowly switched off and went to my quiet place, my spirit guide came to me and spoke to me of my nature and what I have been through in my life so far and how I have always came through with flying colours and nothing has ever kept me down for long , and while I meditated I thought of you guys , always there with your kind words and encouragement and when I came here today to read your words of understanding and positive feedback, Roll and Tired your warmth and outreaching words , and my meditation and the words from my spirit guide have really helped me so much for being there I,m sorry if my raving on about spirit guides is a bit much for you but I,m one of those llucky people who are weird and can see ghosts too. BYE FOR NOW BLESSED BE, STAY FOCUSED ,JULIE