cals-2380 (580), ex-long walk, body sculpt at the Y. F&V: grapefruit, blueberries, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion. I can see where my problem is here-the 580! Well, at least I enjoyed it.

Marie- The elliptical will wait for you, no problem there. Good for you for increasing the intensity of the dog walks. Kudos on the coffee plans also. That should put you in the proper mood for a snack free transition from work to home.

Hello all,

I'm sorry I haven't been here ~ I tend not to come around when I am not doing well ~ which is exactly the time I probably should be here the most. I could at least be here and be supportive of you all.

Struggling with the up and down the same few pounds. Frustrated with myself because I get to the lowest I have been in a while, then eat something I would have been better off not to have and zoom ~ the weight is right back up. How come it goes on so quick, but takes several days to come back off?????? It's my own fault. Oh well.

I haven't been doing the exercise either. Consistency and self discipline has never been my strong point ~ probably a lot to do with why I am in the mess I am in.

The bicycle riding in the afternoons kind of fell through. It was getting too hot and the park Maddie likes to go to (because she meets up with a little friend there) has no bathroom. I am thinking maybe I will go do water walking in the pool at the "Y" late mornings ~ or if it is chilly like it was this morning ~ ride my bike.

Marie and Tera ~ you guys sound like you are doing pretty well. Keep up the good work.

Tomorrow is another day for me to try and get it right.

Have a good rest.

cals yest-2345 (680), ex-hike up Kennesaw Mtn. F&V: carrot, cabbage, blueberries. I had such a wonderful time on my hike yesterday, I ended up going out again this morning-this time to the Chattachochee River. It was fabulous too. Still working on the junk food problem. I need to get it out of my house but I am too weak to throw it away. I need to promise myself not to buy anymore. For real this time-no more moments of weakness. I went shopping yesterday also and was not fond of my hips in my reflection in the mirror. Nothing like clothes shopping to remind me of my weight loss goals.

Anne3-Why do you think weight loss is essential?

Gayle- It is okay-just keep trying. Perhaps pick one thing to work on-like giving up some food item you know is too high in calories and gives you trouble. The baby steps add up when you stick with it. For example, I have been working on my calorie total all year and although it is not where it should be, it is better than it was by about 200 calories a day. Plus I have stopped gaining and lost about 2 pounds. Nothing to get excited about but I feel I am moving in the right direction. I had to change some things to lose the extra 200 calories a day. The latest thing I "gave up" was chips and crackers. I miss them but not too much.

cals-1765 (375), exerc-short walk around the neighborhood. Saw a bat!

cal-1560 (390) exerc-90 minute hike at Kennesaw Mtn. F&V: mango, kiwi, carrots, tomato, corn on the cob. I am hoping I have hit my stride now.

Good afternoon to you,

Tera ~ I'm glad you've hit your stride ~ and way to go on your hikes ~ keep up the good work.

Marie ~ exactly ~ even if I am going up and down and not really getting anywhere very fast ~ it is better than giving up completely and that scale going up, up, up. Belated Happy Anniversary to you and your husband.

Darcy ~ how are you doing?

I didn't make the goal I was trying to reach ~ for being under 200 for my dr's appointment. I had splurged a weekend or so before that and messed that up. The weight goes on in the blink of an eye, but seems to take eternity to come back off. At the Dr's office, the weight had come back down enough to where it looked like I had just stayed the same. I have another Dr's appointment at the end of this month, so am aiming for under 200 for that one. That one is 2 ½ weeks away, I am at 208 this morning, so I don't know if that is do-able, or just wishful thinking.

We had a nice day yesterday ~ wandered around the park with Maddie ~ there was a water conversation program going on ~ aimed at kids. That was interesting. Even though it was pretty warm out, it was by a lake, so there was a nice breeze that made it seem like it wasn't so warm. Then we ran some errands and went down by the mall where they have a waterway. There is a nice walk along it and a boat ride that our swim passes allow rides on. We had been wanting to try it out, so we did that. We got on at one end and rode the boat to the other end by the mall. We got off then and went inside the mall to wander around and kill some time before getting back on the boat. We wanted to wait until dark so we could see the twinkle lights. It was pretty.

The pictures are of the waterway in the daytime, and a view from the boat on the waterway at night.

Hope you all are having a nice weekend and a nice Mother's Day.

Take care

cals-1990 (630), Ex-walk with DD. Happy Mothers Day! I hope yours was as delightful as mine. I did not realize how much I would enjoy being the center of attention from my dear family. What a treat. I think I did okay with the calories today despite all the festivities-I hope I am not underestimating although it does not change anything either way. All kinds of stressful job stuff going on around here for all three of my kids. Hoping and praying that everything is going to sort out well in the next few months. All three are very smart and well intentioned young people-we just need the right circumstances to come together for them. In the meanwhile, I am hoping to stay on the right path with my calories and exercise and hopefully, maybe lose a pound by the end of the week before an out of town excursion planned for next weekend.

Marie-Love your plans for the week. Good luck with losing the chips and pretzels. I usually find it only takes a bit of time and then it is not so bad at all. This week I am going to work on not eating out so often. I have been pretty bad with that lately and it has led to some pretty bad food choices.

Gayle-I remember I was in Weight Watchers once and was just getting nowhere so I quit. Then I ended up putting on another ten pounds very quickly. I was really sorry I had not just stuck with it even though I was not losing. You are so right about the ease of putting on weight as opposed to taking it off. It is so easy to go over on the calories but very difficult to create enough deficit to actually impact the scale. Just hang in there though. With focus it can happen, even if it takes a while and in the meanwhile you are being very effective at staving off a gain.

cals-1900 (80), ex-step class at the Y. I know I shouldn't brag-but look at that total for my junk calories-woohoo!

cals yest-2030 (500), ex-step class at the Y. No bragging today, lol. I have actually lost a few pounds but I cannot record them on my ticker because I "failed" to record that part of my gain I am not always perfectly honest with that thing!

Marie-Please share some of your strategies from the good doc. How exciting that you are taking that step. Happy Swimming!

Hi Gayle & Darlene!

Hello all,

Been doing a little better ~ have ridden the bike some. Back down to a little below my signature weight. My ticker isn't always accurate either. I go up and down so much that it is a pain to keep up with it, so I just have been changing it when I go down.

I get on the ball and do the bike riding, but when the next day rolls around, I struggle to make myself do it. So, I have sort of come up with a plan. We'll see if that works out any better. I am going to try to walk for 15 minutes in the morning. Then if I can ~ maybe around 6 pm go out for a bike ride ~ the 30 minute one. Or, if I have access to the car ~ go to the "Y" and water walk. Sometimes I ride my bike to the park with DH and Maddie, but Maddie's favorite park doesn't have a bathroom, which makes it hard for me. I figure ~ in the afternoons ~ with Maddie here, I can't get anything else done anyway, so I will save the morning time when she isn't here to get stuff done, and do the exercise in the afternoon or early evening when I can't work on other stuff. If I don't make it out for the 30 minute ride or to the "Y", then I will still try to get in a 15 minute ride sometime in the evening. That way, I will at least get my 30 minutes in, and if I do the 30 minute bike ride or get to the "Y", the 15 minutes in the morning will be a bonus.

Hope I will follow through and not be just playing "head games" with myself.

Marie ~ I'm glad it is warming up enough that you can enjoy your pool again.

Tera ~ congratulations on the loss ~ way to go.

Hello Darcy

Hope you all have had a good weekend.

Take care