Morning gals,

Its Monday and as usual, I'm running low on time. One day I will be more organized. I did 40 minutes of exercise this morning. I have a 7:45 doctor appointment this morning so I need to get out of here by 7:15. That should be my goal every day.

Fifty pounds by Christmas sounds like a great goal to work towards. I'm working towards 178 by 7/2/08. I need something seemingly impossible to motivate me.

Charlotte - for your brother and for you. Take care and prayers for the doctors to get him all fixed up again.

Lori, Heather, Val, Lilion and everyone else -

Time to feed the dogs and hit the shower. Make today a great day!

Terri -- Good luck at the doc's! I'm jealous of you being able to do something before you feed the dogs. My pugs get fed first thing because if I don't do that, they are just CRAZY.


I have a manicure and pedicure scheduled today! yay!

But I did poorly at the cookout yesterday. I overate by a fair margin -- I WILL learn to stand AWAY from the appetizers!

Today is a new day, however. I should be back on track!

Good Morning Ladies!

Hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was fattening. Again. I just was craving food all weekend! And DH brought home fried chicken. I love fried chicken. I love it hot, I love it cold, but most of all, I love the fattening crispy skin. I ate THREE thighs yesterday. And I wasn't even hungry...I just wanted it.

I didn't get on the elliptical all weekend either, although I did get out and do some yard work yesterday.

On the up side, I did 15 minutes on the Infernal Machine this morning. So that's something.

Must run! No time for the wicked...or for me either.

Hi,Everyone
I'm back from camp. I tried to log on from a local library but they put in a new filter and it was a hassle trying to get permission so I just decided to wait till I came home.
The good news is that I actually lost weight this summer The bad news is it was only 1 pound! However, that is amazing given that I ate like a pig at camp. Although I did eat a lot of salads - the food at camp is actually pretty good and since I had to be at meals 3 times a day, it was hard not to eat what was there right in front of me. And we didn't have ANY fish. At home I eat a lot of fish which I think helps. I must have worked off what I was eating.
Camp was amazing as usual - lots of fun activities, some swimming, cool weather most of the time until the last 3 weeks. I could have walked more but it was easier to use my golf cart because I had to haul around a lot of stuff.
I'll have to read the posts to see what's going on with everyone. School started this morning and a group of us retired teachers met at a local diner for breakfast and to watch the buses go by! too funny. Now I'm unpacking from camp and cleaning house. That should burn off a few calories.
Take care! Hope everyone is doing well.
I'm glad to be back.
Bearcub

Down five pounds from my last visit to the doc on 7/20. I go back to at the end of September to see how I'm doing. My goal is another 7 pounds by next weigh in. She froze off a couple of sun damage places. Felt more like acid and hurts now. Better that than becoming skin cancer later on. Also did bloodwork to see how bad my cholesterol is this time.

Lilion -- If you like the crispy skin on fried chicken you should NEVER try real Peking Duck. I have never had anything like that skin. It is just amazing. And no, you probably don't want to know how they do it...

Bearcub -- Welcome back! Congrats on maintaining/losing a pound!

Terri -- on the scale victory!

Yes, I am a skin-a-holic! Which is just really gross when you think about it. Actually, I find eating meat, when you think about it, to be a little gross. But that doesn't mean I don't do it! Funny really, you'd think that attitude would turn me into a vegetarian - but it doesn't.

Bearcub - Welcome back! What camp were you at? (Sorry, can't remember.)

Heather - I'm sure I DON'T want to know how they make Peking duck. I've always wanted to try it - but I think I won't. Why find another favorite, fattening food!

Terri!

LORI, Well, I did the math, and 50 pounds by Christmas, or even New Year’s, is perhaps a ridiculous goal, or at least really rigorous for someone my age. BUT, I’m going to try fiercely for it, and if I don’t reach it, I’ll at least be better off than I am today. Somehow saying it to myself, sometimes out loud, many times a day helps me stay focused on the fact that I have a big, long-term goal, and just how important each day is to the final goal. Unless I want to spend next summer the way I spent this one, sitting on the sidelines, watching and wishing that I could ride too, then I need to get busy. I know that it took 50 pounds before anyone noticed I was losing last time. I want to have enough off for family to at least notice at Christmas. I’m already wondering how to get out of seeing them at Thanksgiving to give myself another month to work on it, but that’s just silly I suppose.

LILION, Every time I read that you’ve taken on the accursed infernal machine, I feel challenged to pull my TM out from the wall and climb aboard. If you can do THAT wild machine, I should have the umpf to use my own little machine!

BEARCUB, A one pound loss is 25 pounds NOT gained. It’s victory. It’s burning more than you take in, which is a wonderful habit. It’s a step in the RIGHT direction. And I’ve been at camp. I bet you’ve been active enough to have exchanged some raw weight for muscle! Welcome Back!

HEATHER, New day. Better choices. Different consequences. Onward. You are the Queen of Commitment to Better Choices… or at the very least, a member of the Royal Family. I love that you’ve kept the exercise thread not just alive, but thriving. I’ll be reporting in there today, since I even went walking on my lunch hour today.

TERRI, Ouch! That freezing off stuff sounds awful. Reminds me of when I was a kid and they tried to freeze off a wart on my toe. Too painful. Scarred me mentally for life. Sniff, poor child. BRAVO!!!!! On that 5 pounds down, and GO BABY GO on burning off the next 7! Our ponies will love us for this! (Personally, I’m dying to be able to get on from the ground if I need to.)

As for chicken skin – yes, both yum & ugh. Yesterday I discovered and defrosted some chicken legs I had in the freezer. They were bought at a meat market, but I could tell WHICH market when I went to cook them just now. Good grief, there was more fat on those thighs than on my own… well, almost. I would have been tempted to leave the skin on, but with all that disgusting globules of yellow goo? Not. I almost never go to that particular market because everything they sell has tons of fat on it. When will I learn that it’s just not worth it to buy anything but boneless/skinless? Between the extra preparation time and all the waste that’s not (or shouldn’t be) edible, I might as well spend a little extra money. And I’ve just been reminded never to shop at that market again, either. Sorry, but after this experience, I’m just a bit off my peking duck for a while.

Like I told Lori, my current goal is tough if not impossible, but I find I don’t do well with little changes and gradual progress. I find that if I throw myself in to it full tilt, focusing everything on the process as well as the goal, I do better. When I try the one-change-at-a-time approach, I wimp out. I get distracted. I cheat. I make excuses. I fudge. I ignore the truth. I let exceptions rule instead of allowing exceptions TO the rule. I can't seem to give it something - It's all or nothing. So, I’m going to make the most of my fiercely competitive nature. I’ve got the bit in my teeth, so to speak, and I’m going to run with it. I have everything I need, all the focus & motivation in the world, and I think I’m ready to take on the enemy within and win.

O.K. Let’s see how I feel tomorrow.

Off to the barn. Gotta love those four-legged puckie machines!

Valerie, I'm with you.... little goals are good, but bigger ones help me think about how big a project this is and take it seriously. August hasn't gone as well as I hoped, but I think having a 10 pound goal for the month has kept me more focussed than I would have been otherwise.

Welcome back bearcub!

Valerie - I got it in my head a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to make my goal of being down to 178 by my next birthday. I have my sister and mom who is supposed to be trying to get down to the same number as well. I'm working on DH to do the same. I have the most to lose. It could be a really daunting goal but you know, instead of being intimidated as before, I am encouraged.

I keep reminding myself of when I got the hare-brained idea to ride in a charity bike ride that is 100 miles one day and 50 the next. I hadn't been on a bike in a long time - as in many years. Plus I was out of shape and 250 pounds. I started training in March for the September ride. My first training ride, I could barely do the ride which was mostly flat ground. But I kept determined (or terrified). I sabotaged myself. I worked hard. By August I was riding 4-5 hours a day on the weekend. And to ride the last training ride was a killer 65 miles of rolling hills. But on that weekend, I started out (at 225 pounds) and for the first time ever, I rode 100 miles. Granted it took me 8 hours but I was by no means the last person in. That was 10 years ago. I look back at that and wonder why I don't get that determined again to get to my goal and stay there. This is my year to make that happen. It will take a lot of hard work. My fear that time was what would happen if I couldn't do it. I'm beginning to get a little afraid of what will happen if I don't get this weight off once and for all. Guess I need that fear to get me going.

Valerie -- The thriving exercise thread is because of all the 300+ members! I just post it and advertise. I'm glad you're rejoining us!

Terri -- That biking story is inspiring! I've never done anything physical like that!

Morning gals,

The hounds and I were up early. I've been setting the alarm for 5:05 and that way when I hit the snooze a couple of times, it still isn't 5:30. I love that I'm waking the dogs up now. They go out for a few mintues and then join me in the exercise room. I did 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then did some ab work on the resistance ball and some toning work with hand weights. They even curled back up to snooze a little. Wimp dogs.

I am really encouraged to have been down the five pounds. It gives me hope that this can be done. I'd been having that negative thought in my head that no matter how hard I try, it just isn't going to happen. However, I can see that with planning and taking enough food during the day, that I can do this. And I can see that it would have been even a better loss if I didn't quit exercising on about Wednesday and quit journalling then too. I do great at structure until Thursday and it all falls apart. That is a big bad habit that I have to break if I am going to achieve my goal.

I need to go see what Daisy is destroying. Paper of some kind. So much for my clean house. The joys of puppies. I do have to tell a dog story. I was sitting in the recliner with Daisy on my lap on Sunday morning. Duke was laying on the floor, facing the other direction, chewing on a bone. Daisy looked down at him, leaned back and lept off the chair right onto his back and head. Duke yelped because that had to have hurt a little bit because she isn't light anymore and he didn't know what hit him. I almost fell out of the chair laughing. I've never seen a dog pounce like a cat so much as she does.

Re: chicken skin. I find it grotesque when its a baked chicken. However, its to die for when its extra crispy KFC or other fried chicken. Definitely a downfall food.

Okay girls, we've set some really tough challenges for ourselves. Let's get moving and make today a terrific OP day!

to all!

Terri -- What a great report and shows how much of this is in our danged heads! Keep up the great work!!!!

Good Morning Ladies!

While waiting for parties to either show or default on a hearing I thought I'd pop in. Overslept today, no Infernal Machine. I'm blaming it on the Flexeril I took last night for a very painful sholder/back that still hurts, but I slept well. I did get out of the house early enough to park 1/2 mile away, so I got a bit of a walk.

I can't wait for it to cool down, as it's supposed to this week. I took Suzie Q to the vet yesterday for sneezing/reverse-sneezing and such. The vet thinks she may have inhaled something that's irritating her nasal passages, but mostly - she's just WAY too fat! My poor little 16" tall baby is 31.6 lbs! I feed her exactly the same amount of the same food as Mac, but she just keeps gaining weight. (Must take after Mommy) So little Suz is on a diet. I told the vet, if I'd known she'd get this fat I'd have never named her after a snack cake! Anyway, as soon as it's cool enough to do so we'll be taking some nice long walks in the evening too!

Food yesterday was so-so. I didn't write it down. Didn't help that I got ice-cream cravings, but at least instead of getting a Blizzard, which is what I planned on, I went to the store and bought some individual sugar-free and low-fat ice cream bars. Still 4 pts, but better than God knows what for the Blizzard!

Time to run! TTFN and I hope you all have a wonderful day!