Good Afternoon!
Betsy GO TO THE MOUNTAIN! Life is such a treasure. Enjoy it. I promise Toby will not do your work while you are gone. The sun came out while I was taking a cat nap. Tossed on my jacket and went for a walk.
Jane we have got to focus or something. It is time to move our scales down. Good luck at work.

Sorry for the melt downs guys, might be a spazz tomorrow too. Still seeing 297 through 299 on the scale but I'm not really willing to say I'm "out" of the 300's until the numbers are a tad more secure.

Still feeling down, can't help it sorry so I won't say too much, hope that everyone has a better week!

Ubee ~ Thanks for commenting on my walking. Yeah the calorie counting is going good. I've been able to stay within my range.

Betsy ~ Yeah, 3 hours of walking in a mall both 1st and 2nd floors is alot of walking, Im proud of myself.

Good Morning!

Starting the day with "carrot cake" coffee this morning... Looks to be a good day, but I've got a TON of work to do. Oh well, maybe that'll distract me from temptation!

Have a great day!

Dean

Good Morning!
Dean carrot cake yum! I hope work distracts you from temptation. I use eating as a form of procrastination.
Terra that is so wonderful that you can stay within your range. You are very lucky. How is Clyde?
Silent 298! So happy to see you posting. It is not like the rest of us ever get in a funk. Keep posting and one day the sun will shine, the chill in your bones will be gone and a smile will be on your face. We love you!
Today I have a fun filled day of ironing to enjoy. I will get a walk in and take a peek in the consignment shop. The hard part will be figuring out meals.
Have a peaceful day!

Silent Spaz is totally ok. Love your scale numbers though!

Ubee Shhh! Don't say ironing. One of these days my bf is going to get a day off and want to go out in a nice shirt and I'm going to have to! Usually I can get away with just tossing it in the dryer with a steam ball.

Stuck at 372.8 My body's new fave number. It's all I see lately. Think the weekend kicked me out of ketosis so I'm going to do a meat and egg fast today and see if I can get the heck out of these stupid 370's.

This is an aside, but this week marks 10 years since my dad had his weight loss surgery. I was reading about John Pinette, the comedian who just died, and it bummed me because he reminded me so much of my dad. Well I found out later that he'd had WLS and gone back to work too early, which probably compounded his health issues and led to the embolism. Dad went back to work too soon and ended up having a stroke.

I've been focusing on the "10 year" thing a lot, although I seldom think of April, I think of July 04, when he had the stroke and everything fell apart. I feel this huge motivation to be able to get to July and not have it be 10 years later and I'm still unhealthy and bad with money and all that jazz...

Blah. I'm getting annoyingly introspective. Time to go figure out these stupid tax forms for the non profit. Annoying as all get out.

Have a good day everyone!

Good morning all. The sun is out again today......we're on a 2 day roll here. We've been short some regular posters on here for the last few days -- hope everyone is doing ok and just busy with all the things that come with spring.

Ubee Didn't go to the mountain, but my wonderful next door neighbors came over and cut my grass for me (remember, I'm on a 13% grade, so this is a BIG gift). But I looked at the mountain, and contemplated my navel for a few minutes. And Toby was allowed to have Becky over for most of the afternoon for a play date. I sort of remember ironing. Did you get it all done? Any great finds at the consignment shop? Enjoy your walk?
SilentArctic I must have missed your melt down 'cause I don't remember reading any rants from you. Ubee is right. The funk will pass and in the meantime, you're doing a wonderful job of keeping the weight off. I'm not in a funk and haven't been successful with doing that so you're way ahead of me! (That's the green with jealousy emoticon and it's sticking its tongue out at me, not you!).
Terra You should be -- I'd be in the hospital if I walked that long. And broke from shopping!
Dean Do you have a Keurig as you have some wonderful sounding coffees?
Jane First I can tell from reading your posts this last year how much you miss your dad. And sometimes these moments of introspection are good. There are so many excuses you could have made, but instead you're trying to get healthy through eating right. I imagine your dad would be very proud of you. And the 360s will appear.

Just ordered 80 bags of mulch because they are on sale. They will sit in the driveway for several weeks while I move them one bag at a time down the hill. I will be so glad when the riding mower gets fixed so I can attach the cart and use it to haul things up and down. Still plodding along on the diet. I did get to thinking about what Jane and SilentArctic said about having maintained for a long period. I realized I've been within the same 10-15 pound point for almost a year now. Not happy about it, but on the other hand, I haven't gained it all back and more which has always been my pattern previously. That does say something. Actually, that says a lot. Maybe it's time to not be so hard on ourselves. Have a great day.

Jane your dad must have been awesome to raise a daughter like you. Sad anniversaries are so complicated.
Betsy nothing like having a good neighbor! 80 pounds of mulch??? I thought you were retired. Ironing is still looking at me... Not having a regain + feels so good most days until I get impatient and want more off.

I haven't been able to give in to the powerful draw of the keurig yet... When I have the time, I like to grind my own hazelnut beans, and I usually make enough for two. I'm told the re-usable cups for the keurig can be hit-or-miss?

I'm sure I'll give in to the dark side soon enough, LOL.

Bummed to hear about John Pinette. Loved his stand-up routines...

Pretty weather here today, so I'm hoping for a nice walk around the neighborhood with the doggies tonight.

Dean

Ubee ~ Clyde is doing good

Betsy ~ Yeah, Luckly Im not broke from shopping even though I spent too much LOL.

I walked 3 times total, 2 regular walks and one long distant walk 4 or 5 blocks.

Evenin all,

Time got the best if me yesterday and I completely forgot to post. Did my HIIT last night while DH made dinner.

Today I had my first OBGYN appointment in 4 years. I last went when I was first diagnosed with PCOS and didn't go back because of the way I felt and lack of info on my doctor's part. I went to a whole new office and saw a new doctor and it was by far the best doctor's visit I've ever had. Everyone was so nice, and kept me well informed. My doctor is having me come back on the 1st to do an ultra sound to check my ovaries and see what my cysts look like now. I was a little hesitant but she prescribed me a very low dose borth control pill to help regulate my cycles. She also wants me to see an endocrinologist to see what they say and how they can help. She said depending on what my blood tests come back saying they may have to put me on Metformin. I really hope that doesn't happen because of the really bad side effects that usually come with taking it. My gran takes it for her diabetes and she has a really tough time with it. The doctor was also very pleased with my weight loss thus far and told me it sounded like I was doing everything right to get my health on track. That madee feel good to get the affirmation from a doctor.

I hope everyone is having an awesome day! I'll do personals tomorrow

Howdy folks! It's really starting to be gorgeous here: daffodils, forsythia, redbuds, magnolias, dogwoods, the famous DC cherry trees...I could go on and on. The colors of spring where I live are mostly yellow and pink and white, and of course that heartbreaking soft green of the tiny new leaves on all the deciduous trees...

But have I gone for a walk lately? No, no, no. I've been cooped up inside, working like a fiend all weekend and Monday, too, on my biggest collage ever: 11" x 16", both sides. Zillions of gnarly little bits to cut out, layers and layers of background and foreground, and even an elaborate border design. All, I repeat, on both sides.

'Sounds weird, I know...why would anyone make art on both sides of a piece of paper? Because it was for a fold-n-mail project, where you fold your art into thirds, so that the inside becomes the "message" part and the outside becomes the decorated envelope part. You tape it together, arrange a little collage of vintage stamps for the postage, and in the only spot you left bare, write the recipient's address. I took it to the post office today to get the stamps hand-cancelled: it's on its way to Maine.

I'm not complaining about all those hours and hours of work, though. Not in the least: I loved every minute of it! I'm so happy to have enough energy to do this kind of stuff. I used to be depressed about three days out of four—not big-time painful depression, usually, but draggy and low, especially in the afternoons. But not now! I don't know quite why I've entered into this phase of being a driven artist, but I'm betting that being mostly off carbs, especially 100% free of sugar, has a lot to do with it. I seem to have a brain that functions best on a diet of protein and fat, especially butterfat. The only downside is that it's taken me nearly 60 years to figure that out. Better late than never, I guess.

And of course the other part is finally figuring out what brings me the most joy. I've had a lot of different jobs—everything from legal consultant to brain researcher to sailing instructor to book reviewer—but none of them compare to the nonstop pleasure of being an artist.

Am I losing weight? I have no idea. I've stopped over-indulging on the muesli, and in fact am limiting myself to a quarter cup a day. I apparently need just a little bit of carbs to keep from getting jittery & generally off-kilter, but I refuse to eat any more than absolutely necessary. Only time will tell whether this diet that fuels my brain so well will start melting off the pounds again.

I'm doing my leg exercises every night, and I can really tell because running up and down the stairs is very easy. But I need to pry my hands off the scissors, paper & glue long enough to start walking on a regular basis.

Terra— Your walking inspires me!

Silent— Hang in there. Say what you need to say, too. I'm listening.

Ubee— Keep that focus! Your new way of eating is in place now: all you have to do is stick with it, and you'll get past your pause in the 250s. I'm rootin' for you!

Betsy— You sound like you've got the high activity part nailed: it's just a matter of coloring in more & more on-plan days on the calendar. And you should be giving yourself a whole lot of credit for maintaining your weight during a phase when you would, in the past, have been regaining.

Sam— You're my hero when it comes to putting in the regular cardio and strength training! I've got my barbells: I just need to start picking them up off the floor. I love building muscle, and I love being in shape! I need to remember that when I think that I can't spare that hour or so a day.

Dean— I am so envious of you that you're getting a Mini Cooper! They are the only things on the road that make me sigh with aesthetic delight. I swear that's gonna be my next car. But my VW Passat is such a reliable tank of a vehicle, it's going to be a long time before I get to that next car. =sigh=

Jane— I was really moved by what you said about your dad: the feelings were comin' through loud and clear. You're already going full-steam in the right direction. I don't think you need to worry about that decade milestone in July. And introspection is a good thing, in my book! I love it when other people are doing it, and talking about it, because then I feel like I have company.

rmcjaug— Please tell us about yourself! We're a friendly group here, and we enjoy hearing about each other's lives.

Good Morning!
Fi what you find fun and relaxing would make me pull my hair out! Wow you are talented! My daughter and I are working on our second collage. Thanks to you it is an activity we can both share and enjoy. Our collage involves a lot of stickers. Hope you find time to get out and enjoy those cherry blossoms.
Sam so glad your doctor visit went well. I hope you continue to get good news. I will wait any day for personnals if it means getting your exercise in! Good job prioritizing.
Terra I hope the sun was shinning for your long walk. Did you buy anything interesting while you were mall walking the other day?
Dean stay away from the dark side. One must be quirky to keep life interesting.
Silent I'ved sent out the mounties!
Rerun time: Today I am going to do laundry and ironing... I mean it this time! I will give myself credit for taking a walk and letting those things slide yesterday. It is not like the kids and hubby are wearing garbage bags because they are out of clean clothes. That may be tomorrows plan but it didn't happen today! I am on a coffeee buzzzz!

372.8 can bite me. Still stuck there. Better only be sore muscles from HIIT in the pool yesterday.

I actually walked the dog morning and night as well as my swim, which was heavy on arm and leg resistance. My eating was ok, but I probably ate a little too much at supper. Still not snacking when I cook, but I really need to get the after meal nibbles under control.

Still no idea on my employment after May 1. We've heard nothing from new ownership, although I'm expecting we'll see termination notices from the old company with our next pay. I'm remarkably calm about it, but that could be because I'm burying all my frustration in this stupid 372.8!!!!

Back for personals later. I have to try and accomplish something today!

Fiona ~ Im glad to know my walking inspires you.

Ubee ~ Yeah the sun was shining while I was on my long walk. I bought a Nightmare On Elm St. metal sign while I was at the mall the other day