Well, the bad news is that I didn't make it to the gym yesterday. The good news is that I stuck to my calorie limit. I wound up at 1450.

I'm pleased about that because pot luck parties are so focused on the food. I just had tiny (normal) portions and didn't try everything. I didn't "park myself" close to the food. The other thing that I am apt to do at a party is engage in conversation standing near the buffet. I didn't do that. I was able to stay conscious of what I was eating. I knew that I was planning on writing down what I ate, so I didn't want to clutter my mind.

Normally, I think it's okay to attend a buffet and to not track but consciously refrain from trying to eat everything in sight. I just feel like it's the first week of getting back on track and I need to keep my guard up. I certainly didn't suffer. I had lots of fun and I did some floor exercises and gardening when I got home so I didn't really neglect my health.

I really need to up my water intake. I know that I think more clearly and it's easier to make clear decisions when I'm well hydrated.

I hope you're all having a fun and relaxing day.

Here's my food plan for today:

breakfast: strawberry smoothie

lunch: broccoli fritata

snack: pineapple, yogurt, walnuts and coconut

dinner: barbecued beef (with rub, not sauce)
3 bean salad

Take care, all,



Roll

Well, I'm still thinking...Actually, I'm in the office at this moment (yes, on Memorial Day!) trying to get a head start on what will most likely be another difficult week at work. The constant aggravations and petty politics have sapped my energy like a low-lying fever. I found myself nipping out to Starbucks a few times last week for chai and pound cake, which are on neither low-carb nor low-fat diets I haven't been sleeping well, and I because I'm struggling to get out of bed in the mornings, I haven't been working out or meditating on the days I don't go to Curves. But I've been called in for a second interview for a job I'm excited about, so positive changes may be not too far away. If I can just get through this period without falling off the wagon and all the way down the hill!

My food and workout plans don't need to be changed, I just need to follow them. So I've started a new food journal, with more room for misc comments. My biggest challenge is still emotional eating, so my only goal for the Fourth of July is to be mindful about how my emotions affect my eating, sleeping and working out. I'm also tracking "brain meds" like quiet time and coming to this site (despite the privacy issue). So far today I've had a berry smoothie, a apple and some almonds, a spinach salad and a protein bar. I had a short walk (25 minutes) to the office, and plan to walk back this evening.

I hope that you are all enjoying your weekends! Roll, it's so nice to hear form you again. As long as we are mostly pointed forward, not backwards or off to the side, we will make it!

Tired, thanks for the pep talk! Being reminded of how much progress you've made in less than a year is really inspiring.

Carol, I hope you're having a great time and not eating too many s'mores!

judy

Hi again,

Hi Judy, I'm trying to get some work done today, too. I'm by myself this morning, my daughter is at a sleep-over.

Lack of sleep does it to me every time---that and not enough water. I heard an ADD doctor say that lack of sleep makes people exhibit ADD symptoms. I think that the first step toward healthy behavior is awareness and it sounds like you have this characteristic in spades. Keep up the good work. I hope you'll pamper yourself when you're finished with your work.

I've been using the fitday.com website to track my food and exercise. I don't know if you all have tried it but it's free and I find it useful and kind of fun. I like that there is a section for making goals and evaluating what nutritional requirements are or are not being met. It has a graph for tracking weight loss and it's kind of interesting to go back and see what I ate a few months ago.

Just a thought,

Roll

Rollmdl I was so glad to see you've come back! You will make it girl we all slip a bit but recognizing our steps is part of the program of losing and changing our life styles. Sounds like your now balancing things just fine. I found when I made a weekly chart and added my exercise on it. At first I put 3 exercise times a week than inc. to 4. It helped me to have a set goal and as the end of the week came sometimes I had to push to make that goal let me tell you. But now that the nice weather is here its easier.The fitday.com I should do again it was a good spot too! Oh try to add some fresh lemon slices into your ice water it flavors it and satisfies your taste buds.
Judy good luck with that interview and I hope you get what you want! Going to work everyday needs to not only get us a paycheck but meet our needs too. Sounds like you need to give yourself a break you've been so busy. Its easy to do so much an neglect ourselves I do it too! You know the way to lose so I know in no time your going to be right back on track.
Tiredoffat camping was a lot of fun and so much easier with the camper now. It was easy to pack and unpack. Just bring in the coolers, dirty clothes and personal stuff an your done. The weather was beautiful and we did some bird watching, fishing I caught a lot, boating and some relaxing, exercise too! I had to hike to the bathroom which was up a hill about 1/4 mile up and back each time. By yesterday I was ready to have my own house back. I was in bed by 8 and slept til 6 so I guess its almost time to go to work. I laughed a lot , ate alot of naughty stuff and only 1 smore but some marshmallows, snack stuff. Back to the real world today and the doctor. Oh bad planning on my part after a weekend of intakes................. That will fix me huh? Exercise today at the gym. Well any ways: intake cheerios whole wheat/little milk/sm.banana
Lunch: salad out of the office
Dinner: chicken/ broc/salt potatoes 3
strawberries fresh w/ lite cool whip

Hi,
I've been having such a hard time getting to the gym! I have lots of good music on my new ipod and no good excuses for not going. I know I feel much , much better when I weight train. I keep finding things to do that seem more important. My outlook is so much better when my body has been tended to.
It's 5:45 and my calorie intake is up to 1400 so far. I just got back from Trader Joes and feel like I've made a commitment to eating a large meal tonight. I think I'll have a smoothie with protein powder and go to the gym while my daughter is doing her swim practice.

I appreciate you're kind welcome, Carol. Your camping trip sounds like so much fun! The hike to the bathroom? Not so much fun. We're going on the 20th of June to Bodega Dunes. Tents. A few dogs (4) 4 women and 6 children, excuse me, teenagers. We like to set up camp and play cards, eat and gossip---mostly about ourselves, I guess that's not technically gossip but it feels like it.

Thanks for being here,

Roll

I made a mistake in my calculations. On fitday, I forgot to adjust the amount of food in a catagory. I had 4 walnut halves and I entered it as 1 cup of walnuts. Good Grief.

Well, I made it to the gym during my daughter's swim practice and I feel really good.
I kept my intake to 1650 and I don't feel tired.

Thanks for listening.

Roll

Hello girls well I am confused a bit. Yesterday I put a post on here and it isn't here whats going on. Oh well maybe it will show up?
At any rate jumping back into my healthier life style after a weekend away wasn't too bad. I did pretty good. I did get into a handful of chips still laying around. But that was the only real no no! I do need to go grocery shopping that would help I am sure. Rollmdl keep up the good work its so nice to have you here again. Judy when is your interview? Is it within the same company? Good luck!
Tiredoffat your summer break is getting very close you must be excited. My little grandson whom is 3 is graduating to the 4 year old group at Pre K today. I am missing that one but the hubby will attend and my other daughter. I am attending the little 5 year old graduating up to kindergarten in the fall. Also got one graduating from kindergarten this year. Oh so many things going on and I thought I was all done! I love it all though. I did start to post on the fitday.com to come up with my intakes. The only thing is sometime the quanity is a different amt. and you need to adjust. Unless I am doing it wrong? Rollmdl is there a way to add calories of things you already know. For example a english muffin 100 cals? Oh I will keep trying until I figure the system out.
Take care oh I didn't get to the gym yesterday. The first day back was busy and I had the doctors appt. By the way my thyroid is still out of wack a little high now. bUT The good news is that my trig. were down by 200, chol down 70 pts., bad chol 40 pts. good hdl same okay. I know that in my family we all have this trouble no matter what your wt. is. but I can't help to think that my better eatting habits and exercise helped. I can't remember ever getting a report this good in the past 10 years. So girls we need to keep up the good work it does pay off. We will live healthier lifes. The doctor said taking off the wt. slow is the trick and is so much better and then maintaining becomes easier. As our bodies have adjusted along the way. So I will catch you all later. I did do a lot of in and out of the office and up and down the 20 steps. Better a little than none at all!

Just a quick check in. I have a busy day today. I'm headed off to the water aerobics class, my daughter has her biology class and then the computer guy is coming to help me figure a few things out.
Carol, you can enter custom foods and the computer will remember them for you. It's a little tricky finding foods first but once you get used to the format it goes pretty quickly. You can enter percentages of foods in the drop down marked "serving size", ex. .5 for 1/2 an ounce of cream. Play with it a little bit. It's pretty fun and useful.
Judy, did you have that second interview? I hope it goes well. I hope you've been able to sleep.

Well, I'd better go or this won't be a short post.

Roll

Hi all. It's good to read so much good news! Welcome back Roll. I enjoy reading your entries. Good luck on the job prospect judy - there's no doubt that you're a deep and thoughtful woman. Carol - great stats from the doctor, lots of positive news. Thanks also for the encouragement about how good it is to eat well and feel good. I'm glad that the camping trip went well.

I had a great weekend. The best part was taking two wonderful bike rides through beautiful country. I LOVED It. I'm so so good when I'm doing what I want to do like riding my bike. I'm so so bad when the energy is zapped out of me after a tough day at school. That's my goal this summer to work towards better balance so I'll be able to be stronger for longer next school year. I know I can do well this summer because I did well last summer.

Take care all. I'll be back.

Hi,

Tired, your weekend sounds so satisfying. I'm the same way, if I'm filled up with satisfying experiences, I'm less apt to fill up with food.

I made it to my water aerobics class and on the way out, I had my blood pressure taken---normal. I'm always so afraid that I'll have a stroke or heart attack because of my weight and lack of aerobic exercise, so it was comforting to learn that at least my blood pressure is okay. Carol, congratulations on your "results".

I'm already feeling more energized by not overeating.

So far I'm at 1100 cal.

I've got to work on my water intake.

Whenever I bend over, I can feel blood rushing to my head and it scares me. I think I'm headed for a stroke. I asked the nurse about it while she was taking my blood pressure and she said that it was probably from dehydration.

Guess I'd better suck up some more water.

Thanks for being here.

Roll

Good Morning!

I think I'm ready to get back on track in earnest. What a battle I've been raging with myself for the past few months. I've been using food for solace big time. I've been simply too, too busy to be thoughtful about my eating. I know I can reach a better balance and that will be something I'll try to learn this summer before the next school year begins.

So what will it be -
1. regular exercise
2. 1500 cals a day
3. Lots of water
4. Patience - not rushing to food right away but taking some time to think through an
issue.
5. Regular posting on this site.
All of this works - it worked for me last year. So here goes. Thanks for being here.

Today's Food Plan
cereal w/fruit, yogurt for breakfast (400)
salad w/egg, cheese (300)
pasta w/lots of broccoli (500)
snack (300 - nuts? kashi bar? carrots?)

I'll check in tonight again

stats
sw: 210
cw: 180
gw: 150 (30 down and 30 to go)
reasons for weight loss - health, longevity, wearing great clothes, energy!, college reunion 2006, doctor's apt, just plain feeling good!

Well girls yesterday was nothing like I planned. I was on my way to see my client whom lives way out in the country and my car stops running. Well needless to say I got a little exercise trying to get to a phone. My clients family picked me up and then I held my meeting. Got into a tow truck and started home. No dinner planned as I was going to pick some up on the way home. But didn't hink the tow truck driver would want to stop! Had a tuna sandwich 1/2 on sour dough bread w/ tom. lett. not too bad. Then went to the graduation that was nice. Took mom home grabbed her car for work. Oh I passed that pizza place my stress just hit a high level and emotions made me lose control I had a piece of pizza at 8:30 last night. Quite a crazy day indeed and still have a broken car. I pray its not going to be outragous. I maybe should of bought a new one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Any ways I hope to get to the gym today the walking yesterday wasn't a feel good one on hot pavement!
Tired sounds like yah got it together girl! Keep going forward.
Rollmdl yah know they say sometimes going up in calories one day and then down again kicks in your metabolism to a different level. So don't kick yourself for going up a little extra once in awhile. I also read about going 6 days with the calories set and 1 day which is your special day for extras. Just a thought! I did good yesterday until that pizza and then it probably only brought me just above my goal by 100.
Judy hope your doing well.

Carol, one piece of pizza is not one whole pizza. I think there is a huge difference between out of control eating and convenience eating. Intention, I think, is pretty important. Good for you. Yesterday sounds like a high stress day and you survived without a huge setback.

Tired, thanks for your inspirational posts. I too am re-committing to staying on a healthy path. I like how specific your intentions and goals are.

Today:

breakfast: 1 egg, sautéed red pepper and cheese

lunch: power shake

dinner: chicken salad

snacks: yogurt and fruit

Thanks for being here.

Roll