cals-1795, exerc-step class at the Y. Veggie Report-Potato Leek Soup, spring mix salad, and tomato sauce and a few veggies on my small slice of pizza. Okay day-I'll take it!

Marie-Your quilts are beautiful. What a wonderful talent. Thanks for sharing the pics. Your cals look good also! We are on our way.

Good evening all,

I am doing ok ~ kind of struggling with the eating and exercise. Lately, it is like I eat good one day, then not so good the next day. I am up and down the same 3 or 4 pounds.

Today is a new day ~ not giving up ~ I guess hoping for more "good days" than "not so good days".

I did the walking in the house thing again today. 30 minutes worth.

I'll try to add my vegetables (maybe fruits as well ~ I don't make bad choices all the time

Lettuce, celery, cucumber, carrots, tomato, mushrooms, cabbage, apple, orange.

Now, if I can just keep my hands and mind busy this evening and keep them out of food.......

cals-2215 (280) exerc-none.Veggies-not many-a carrot and some lettuce on tacos. My tummy is all messed up-I think I have a bug but still managed to eat-but it did make my tummy hurt-probably not a good idea. Just goes to show how crazy I can be about eating. I ended up skipping the Y though and took a two hour nap after work instead.

Marie-Another good day for you-excellent. My knees are just starting to bother me. I used to wonder what people were talking about-now I know. So far it is still doable though.

Gayle-I can relate to the good days/bad days cycles. For me, I just try to focus on my goals. I have high hopes I will get it back together. In the meanwhile, at least we are working on it.

Hello all,

It was a beautiful sun shiny day today. Nice temperature ~ low 70's ~ just right. I sort of wanted to go out and ride my bike, but it was my son's day off so I hung around hoping he might drop in. If it is good weather tomorrow, I think I will go ~ try out a path I have not been on before.

30 minutes house walking (broken up into two 15 minute chunks) walking makes my hips hurt and my low back ~ so by breaking it up like that, I can tolerate it for 15 minutes at a time.

Fruits/vegetables today: lettuce, celery, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, apple, orange, blueberries and strawberries.

I almost gave in to stress eating tonight, but a phone call saved me.

Hi gals! I know, I know...long time no see...BUT, I haven't fallen off the wagon, it's strictly a lack of sleep/long work nights that has kept me from visiting. I apologize! Actually, I'm working now but decided I couldn't wait another day (or it would turn into another week LOL), so I dropped in to say hello. :-) Week before last was horrid....31 hours of time in bed over 7 days....I was barely coping by the end. My "off" weekend hit and I accomplished nothing...but I did discover how wonderful 9 hours straight in bed could feel. :-D This past week was bedtimes of 4 or 5 a.m. but my youngest two were on spring break, which meant I didn't have the school lunchtime job, which meant I got 6-7 hours of sleep a night before my long weekend hit again. Wish I could break the cycle, but we take what we can get, I guess, when it comes to having a job.

Weight wise, as of this morning I was back to where I was at the end of February....I had been up 2 lbs and fluctuating there for a whole month and got frustrated. I started reading too much about BMR, TDEE, etc. and was confused as to what I should be doing, what number I should follow for calorie goals, etc. and thought I must be doing something wrong. I wrote to someone who seemed to have this all under control (maintenance for 2 years) and she wrote back and confirmed it really should be simple. It gave me a renewed mindset and I've been more motivated to keep at it the last few days...and today I had dropped those 2 pounds. What tomorrow brings, who knows..but I'm not giving up!

I also know this gets much harder as I get older (which of course my GYN and internist were more than happy to reiterate <G>), so I need to practice patience...why is that SO hard sometimes? LOL I think the stress came from my doctor wanting to see weight loss at my 2-month checkup, and being worried the few pounds I had lost wasn't enough. But, I had my appointment last week and he was happy to see anything less than it was, which made me feel good. My fasting blood sugar was 120 (had been 130) and my A1c dropped only a tenth of a point, but he said it was enough to keep me off of starting meds for diabetes, so in the grand scheme of things it's all good. Oh, and my cholesterol profile, thanks to starting Lipitor 2 months' prior, blew me away....My LDL dropped from 116 to 40, HDL rose from 44 to 49, triglycerides dropped from 140 to 50, and non-HDL cholesterol dropped from 144 to 50! I don't have to return for 4 months. Yay!

Food wise, still sticking to 1200 calories a day and with the exception of being over 3 or 4 days (not more than 150 calories), I've stayed at or under that. Definitely need to increase the veggies though, especially reading about all the great things you all eat! Wish I was more adventurous and liked more variety! Walking has been hit or miss, but I'm doing it the days I can and not stressing over it the days I can't (new mindset for me). Would love to make it more consistent eventually, as I know it would help with the weight loss. :-)

As for all of you, it sounds like you're all really on a roll....calorie counts and exercise seem to be finding their balance. Way to go!

Lucinda, congrats on the 30 pounds lost this year. That is AWESOME!

Marie, glad to hear the asthma flare-up is subsiding and you've been able to walk the fur babies and get back on the bike again...not to mention skiing! Hope your pulmonary system continues to improve. Your quilts are gorgeous! You've got so much talent between quilting and stained glass!

Tera, I really hope the job situation stabilizes for you so that your stress level is manageable and you can find some joy in what you do. What a frustrating situation to find yourself in!

Gayle, congratulations on the new grandbaby! So glad you've been able to get out on your bike. Sounds like you've found some nice routes and parks, and an exercise that is kind to your body! It's great that you're able to include DH and Maddy - you're setting her up for a healthy lifestyle! :-)

I will seriously try to not be MIA for so long! Thanks for being patient with me! :-)

cals-1700 (160), exerc-none, veggies-none. Today was bookclub after work so I missed cooking and exercise. Oops. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better report. I have been successful so far at reducing my chocolates from six a day to 4 a day.

Gayle-Wow, I love your F&V list-awesome job. Good idea to break up the exercise to avoid straining your muscles. Slow and steady works.

Darcy-I love your posts. They're like little stories. Congrats on the great results on your doctor reports. I admire your ability to stick to your calorie total. Good goin'

Good evening all,

I hope I can keep up the good eating and exrecise ~ it seems sometimes like I sabotage myself. I get to the 207 (lowest I have been in a while) then I do something to mess it up (not a horrible big gain, but Grrrr at self ~ a gain) then have to work to lose it all over again.

Fruits/vegetables today ~ lettuce, celery, cucumber, carrots, tomato, mushrooms (my lunch salad), apple, orange, blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, cabbage. You all have been my inspiration for this. I think it helps to be able to have something positive to write, and helps me to see, that I do the right things part of the time.

Walked in the house 15 minutes this morning, then this afternoon, rode our bikes to 3 of the nearby parks ~ 60 minutes.

Just had to share, from before dinner today......hahaha....Guess calories really ARE evil! :-)

Hello all,

The day just kind of flew by. One of those days ~ just kind of puttering around doing little stuff. Looking for something, and one thing led to another as I straightened up the area where I had been looking.

We have had Maddie overnight the last few nights (mama had to go out of town for work) and have been getting up early (6:30) am to get her ready and on the bus. I guess those early mornings caught up with me ~ I layed back down and slept another couple hours ~ I guess that is why the day was short.

I missed the morning house walk, and hoped to go on a bike ride again (another beautiful day here) or an afternoon house walk, but got to working on a project and before I knew it, it was time to fix supper.

Fruit/vegies today: Lettuce, celery, cucumber, tomato, carrots, mushrooms, beans, apple, blueberries, strawberry, raisins, cranberries.

cals-2835 (1570), exerc-none. Today was a very bad day calorie wise. No reason except it is very easy for me to do when I ignore good common sense and eat any goodie that happens to cross my path. I have a whole bunch of food events coming up over the next two weeks. I will just have to be more sensible. F&V: Orange, lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes and a pear.