OnMyWay - cool beans on getting in walking and avoiding the goodies!

Penguin - wow, rowdy group, eh? I hope they can help you with your glasses. That's got to be so frustrating the back and forth.

Maggie - great job on not only avoiding the candy, but staying gluten free

ICU - Lesson learned, put it behind you and move forward...good job registering for your swim meet - keep going, keep going!

Marie - LOL, I'd take miles on the road over mins on the elliptical! I don't see the pic...

Hydra - glad all is okay, and just keep moving girl, one day at a time, and your goal will be here and we'll all be celebrating with you

CAT - 80's all week...JEALOUS! We're looking at mid-50's, but i'm a 70s-80s kind of girl. Man, you guys just keep going and going...it's totally motivating to see that by the way!

---

Not sure if reality has set in yet - but hey! i'm going to do something BIG....yeah. Yeah, about that....it's real. WOW. That's about how i feel right now. Now it's time to not talk about it, and move and keep moving.

From what i've read on training and what many, many others do, they do a 4 min run/2 min walk kind of thing through the entire course...improves your endurance and time, and lets you "recover" and then go again - so you'll keep a more consistent pace. For now, I'm going to finish my c25k, then start with the book Marathoning for Mortals and train to about a 4/2 thing.

I'm oddly proud of myself, and that's a nice feeling to have - to say...so what if i don't finish, at least i tried. Nice, I like this attitude.

Lost another pound, another 1/2 inch off my hips/belly area - and feeling great.

Lambchop - the way I learned to run was with Jeff Galloway's methods, which are exactly what you describe. He's got a number of books out if you'd like to check them out. C25K does the same thing. I trained for a 10 mile race (Flint's Crim Festival of Races) several years with the groups, and it made running (something I'm not that fond of) much, much more fun because it was never miserable and it's just amazing how much ground you can cover.

Marie - funny, my User CP shows that the turtle is gone. I'll try to figure it out tonight before DS and I head for swim practice.

Cindy - Thanks for the encouragement! I think November is going to be good for me also. I didn't record any weigh loss for October, but I did lose another inch off my hips, and at this point, the inches are more important to me. The return to the pool added about a pound of muscle already (per a "relative" calculation).

OMW - Great job ducking the junk and sticking to plan!

November's off to a good start. I worked in the yard for 3 hours yesterday and will be in the pool tonight. Zero unplanned feeding, and it looks like clear sailing to Thanksgiving. There are 25 days to Turkey Day, and I'm going to go for 100% On Plan.

Thank you, I looked at that one also...I went with this one because of 2 reasons...

1. it's the book a lot of women in the group who have done it before used and liked, but think most are pretty similar

2. learned about "The Penguin" John Bingham earlier and am currently reading one of his other books - his site (Waddle On.com), etc

I remember something like Hal Higgdon or something and Jeff Galloway, a lot of people used those after the c25k - i'll be reading tons and looking at them all...i love to read.

Thanks again for the info

Hydra, excellent job on exceeding your goal by 2 pounds. That is awesome!

Cruise, excavating for hidden historical treasures would be a blast. You’ll be in top shape to do it. I love the comment about saboteurs bigger issues. Without a doubt.

Lambchop, you’re 4 min run/2 min walk, aka interval training is great. I do that with my elliptical. My dr. recommended interval training for upping my nearly dead metabolism. It definitely helped as I’ve lost 31 pounds since I started last March.

ICU, YEAH no more turtle (no insult intended to the turtle population…). BTW, I rarely actually lose weight swimming but the inches do come off. That inch off your hips is fantastic.

Back at work and it is definitely less stressful. I’m even being honestly pleasant on the phone calls instead of forcing myself not to bit people’s heads off. I did the elliptical this morning and plan to walk the doggies after work. It’s supposed to be ~60 degrees and sunny. As those days are coming to an end and it was 28 degrees out this morning, the choice was simple.
Marie

Hi ladies,

I'm back after a long time and looking forward to be with all of you again.
As I can see you are all doing great . I was going up and down 5lbs this whole summer and kept wieght under some control.
In october I went back to good old : exercise + eating routine and lost ca. 6lbs .My next goal is to lose ca. 12 lbs until Christmas.

Have a great day.
Nell

Yesterday and today turned into rest days{code for 'no workout"]. Hubby and I slept late and didn't have much to do today. The porch is looking much better; Hubby got the first coat of paint on the floor/steps. its too light in color, but the sand/non-slip is very nice; worth that extra dollar.

My glasses are working out okay. I think the top portion is great. I think the bifocal line is too high, but depending on how close what I'm looking at it sometimes I look under them so I guess its in the right spot. The 'readers' part seems weak, by the time I push the words far enough away that they are in focus the print is too small, but there were a lot of things I couldn't read even with my stronger readers. I had intened to storm into the office and demand they change them but I thought I'd give them another week. I am enjoying being able to see clearly more than 30-40 ft!

Nell, Welcome back!

ICU, I like the new avatar.

Hydra, glad to have you back. I like your new avatar also.

Marie, I can see a lot of you in DGS. cute pic.

Patch, glad your glasses are working out better. A day off every now and then is good! Time to get back to work!

Nell, Welcome back! Hope to see more (or less!) of you!

Marie, DGS is a cutie! Glad you enjoyed your visit!

ICU, Glad to see the turtle is history! I'm with you, 25 days on plan! We CAN do this!

Lambchop, You should be proud of yourself! I like your attitude!

Cruise, Hope you enjoy your time by the pool. I always feel better when I have a little color, just be careful not to overdue!

Hydra, Keep coming back. You are doing great! Half way to goal. WAHOO!

WLW, We'll be here when you need us!

Newleaf, Wherever you may be, we miss you!

Presmaggie, We love our Wii! We all enjoy it!

I'm on Day 8 of back to basics and I couldn't be happier. I have a good routine and I am confident I can get this done! Bought Wii Fit plus and am enjoying some of the new activities. Wii Fit was starting to get a little boring! This will help me through the winter! On the plus, DD likes to do it with me so we have lots of good laughs together! I'm back to ticker weight and am hoping to make a change here real soon! Hope everyone has a great day

Welcome back Nell! What is it like living in Croatia? That's a country I'm not very familiar with at all - will have to do some research : ) It's great that you managed to maintain over the summer, and seems like you've gotten back on track. Good luck meeting those goals, you can do it!

Marie - Glad work is less stressful this week for you. I hear you on the weather, I'm not loving this colder weather...boo!

Nell - hi, nice to meet you - I'm Deb - Good luck on your next goal, and congrats on losing those other 6 pounds

Penguin - I hope you adjust to your glasses. Porch done, rest days over...now what?

OnMyWay - Yeah on being back to ticker weight, and that's great your DD does it with you to keep it interesting. I've heard a lot of ppl rave about the Wii Fit Plus, etc.

---

The plan is to just stay on goal, do what needs to be done, and move forward. I am hoping that by creating these patterns, they become habits, and after enough time - I don't even think about some of the choices i make. I'm focusing not only on now, but on future lifestyle, and I see an active and healthy lifestyle continuing into my future.

just trying my new tracker thingee...

Hi everyone! Welcome back, Nell - a summer of maintaining is great practice for the rest of your life.
OMW - it's only day 3 for me, but yes, it does feel good to get back into the routine that works, I'm with ya!
Patch - I only have to deal with weak progressive bifocals, and I didn't like adjusting to them ... glad to hear you're making progress and seeing better!
Marie - I'm happy that your job is returning to "normal"! It's not fun when the job eats your life. I miss having a dog to walk - their enthusiasm is so motivating, and their way of just "being" in the moment with all the great smells and sights and sounds. We'll probably get another Gordon Setter puppy in the spring (spouse loves bird hunting), and I'm almost looking forward to it.
Lambchop - nice tracker! They're fun to play with - when they're going in the right direction! I changed out my big one because there was something about being too close to the end of it that messes with my head and makes me lose focus ... going to have to work on that.

2700 yds in last night. It still feels like the water is fighting me, but I'm getting stronger quickly. And last night I wasn't even wobbly climbing out, so that's a positive. I can tell I need to get going on some yoga or stretching ASAP ... that will be the next priority.

You chickies would have been laughing hard at me this morning. I was packing some potato chips for spouse's lunch, and holding the bag away from me as far as possible so that I didn't have to smell them. (I drool just thinking about potato chips). Hey, it worked ... one fell out of the bag, and where I would have been on it like a vulture, I just backed up further, picked it up, and put it back in. I will confess to washing my hands immediately, which might be a little over the top, but one little taste of grease and salt and I would be in a bad place. Live 'n' learn!

Nell, welcome back and great job on your October loss. Maintaining over the summer is awesome as well.

Patch, don’t settle – if the glasses for reading aren’t right, march in there and demand they get it right. That’s their job. And you want to easily read all your Christmas cards. So if you get them fixed now, you’ll be set.

OMW, I am SO proud of you getting back to basics and sticking with it. Enjoy the Wii with your daughter. Not only are you doing great things for your health, you’re creating lifelong healthy habits for your daughter and making memories. That is a win-win if I’ve ever hear of one.

Lamb, looks like you got your tracker to work. You are doing great. I would say my eating on plan is a “habit” but it’s the easiest one to dump to the wayside. So I don’t trust it will stay a habit without constant focus on it. Since I can now live with that (I couldn’t at earlier attempts), that is fine.

ICU, good job on no spaghetti arms last night. That was a heck of a swim last night. You’re just rockin’! BTW, if you’d like me to lend you a dog, Sasha is available for walks. She builds arm muscles as well. BTW, I was laughing at your description. Vulture – ah, that was so me in so many instances in my past life.

I ended up getting up early this morning and did both the doggie walk and the elliptical already. After work, I get the entire evening to play except fur recovery from my floors. I’m very excited for four to roll around.
Marie

Holy Moly Marie! that's crazy and a ton of calories! Thanks for sharing...

Great job on getting your walk and thigh killing machine in

ICU - wow, that's quite a swim! food smells, ah yes, my son got a cheeseburger on Friday - and for some reason, that's the one smell that is getting me....I just told him to get it over with! LOL - chips are one of my past triggers too, so i can relate -we keep them out of the house - my husband knows

Our computer is acting crazy this weekend. We think we picked up a virus that made the computer delete its usb ports. No printer, no camera! so I can't post the pics I promised. I wanted to post before and after pics of the porch also.

The weather was nice over the weekend {about time!} I was running around in short sleeves, jeans, and sandals yesterday. Its a tad colder today however.

Because of the glasses I was able to reduce the size of the print on the computer to 125%. The 150% just looked way too big! Progress! I discovered that the eye dr will just order new lenses and replace them in the office, so I wouldn't have to give up my glasses.

Our house is a 50's starter home. The front and back porches are part of the foundation. The paint is peeling and slick when it gets wet. Hubby replaced the wooden posts, repainted the iron rails, painted the ceiling and trim, and is in the process of painting the floor with porch paint that has added sand/grit. The porch has been the traditonal light blue but we are painting it terracotta to match the brick. The color is too light so well get a darker color as a topcoat then paint the foundation/crawlspace to match the porch/brick.

Marie, interesting about the numbers and calories... boggles the mind.

ICU, my dad tried the progessive and talked me out of them.

Lambchop, yay on the new tracker.

OMW, I like you 'back to basics' comment. I may have to steal that.