This thread is a sub-set of the 300+ thread.

This group is for those dealing with the challenges of having a significant amount of weight to lose and being fit which becomes harder after age 40. If you're an old or new friend and not over 40 and feel this is the place to post, jump right in.

Morning ladies,

Back to work for me. And back to the healthy routines. No point waiting another week. I'm ready.

to all!

Good morning chicks, Hi Terri, Don't work to hard.

Well chickies, time to kick the excuses to the curb and get serious about this weight loss thingy. I am really going to have to tape my big old mouth shut or wire my jaws. The things I have stuffed in my face, oyiiiiiii! I think I have told you all that I have a hard time trying to figure out what I can eat and not set off one of my many ailments. I think gout is the worst of the lot, so I am trying to do that diet. Not easy! There are so many things you need to avoid eating, and so many things that you can eat that I don't need to eat. Oh well, I will figure it out sooner or later.

Barbg. So glad to see you have joined us again. I missed all of your cute graphics!

I would love to stay and chat with you, but I must move on now. Things to do that won't do themselves.

Ta for now! Ruth

Hi and happy monday!
I have did my walk video for 2 straight days and cant wait to do it again today. I am sore from it!...it feels good to be sore again. Scales are up 4 now instead of 5lbs.
I am so glad i decided to get focused again. Eating right feels so good! I do admit that I woke up at midnight with my tummy growling. Guess it got use to more food.
have a great day everyone!

Ruth, tell me about the gout diet. I've never heard of that. If you need to do it in a PM,that's fine. I realize I've missed a lot in the last few years!!!

Well, the long holiday week/weekend is over (mostly) and here I am back at work. I walked in to the report of an irate phone call because someone is still waiting on their order. They'll be waiting a while; I still have a month of people ahead of them! And my office is jammed with things people did on Xmas eve while I was off. Life at my office goes on.

I faced the music on Saturday and went to WI. I managed to gain SIX POUNDS in two weeks. I'm not surprised and actually expected more. The last two weeks have been a long binge of cookies and munchies and eating out. I'd love to say I did better this weekend after that horrible WI, but, while Saturday was not too bad, Sunday was dinner at the in-laws and as always I hit the dessert table....hard. On the up side, there is only a bit of pie left at my house and the only other left-overs are some ham from yesterday and liver and onions a friend came and made Friday night. It needs to be eaten today (tomorrow at the latest) so that's lunch today. I do still have to eat out with a friend one day this week and exchange Xmas gifts and then there's New Year's eve. But after that it's smooth diet sailing. I'll just TRY harder. Try, try again!

Barbara - Wonderful to see you again!

Ruth, Terri, Heather, Barb, dgrannie, and everyone I'm forgetting: Here's to a healthy New Year!

I have exciting news to share...My brother who had WLS surgery earlier in the month and almost died from being septic is coming home today. We are so excited!! His kidneys are still not working on their own but are starting to show slight improvements. He has a long road ahead of him. He is still very weak and barely able to walk with the help of a walker. It has only been 3 weeks since we didnt think he would make it. Thanks for the prayers!!

Hi everyone -- Good to hear from all of you! I'm doing okay, but generating a TON of phlegm today. Hopefully that will clear up soon as we have to get things ready for a visit from the inlaws.

I have this week off from work too. Hopefully I will enjoy it as much as last week!

Re the Biggest Loser challenge, I think ALL of us who post in the 300+ area are eligible. I think Debbie wants to make sure it's our smaller group and not open to all 3fc.

Back on line after 2 days with no power - what fun we've had! You've all heard about the high winds in Michigan - it took out over 100,000 homes, including us. Woke up yesterday AM to a very cold house. We have a well, so we also had no water, and our stove is electric, so no hot food. The house was colder than the inside of the refrigerator, so food should make it. My husband works part-time at the local Panera (the leftovers, are sadly, excellent), so I packed up DD and we went and drank tea all day. Then we went home, and fed the dog, and went out for dinner, then we went to see Despereaux. Getting the theme - we spent much money to go to warm places and sit. Got home and got all the covers out of the linen closet, put hats on, and crawled into bed. Man, that hat made it possible.

This morning, I had to go to a funeral. So we set the battery alarm clock, and I went to the rec center, where I showered and dressed. It was a tough service. Janet was a 36 year old librarian who was diagnosed with guaranteed-not-to-spread cancer 5 years ago. Turns out they were wrong. She and her huband never had kids, and this was unexpected -- they-d just bought tickets for Ireland in January. **** BC Awareness, we need a cure! Anybody want a Tee-shirt - they-re for sale on her website.

We are now in a motel, and when DH went to get the dog (can't leave her all alone in an empty house, right?), the power had just come back on. But we are having another high wind episode, so we are going to stay here and take hot baths and showers, and hopefully go home to a warm house with warm water tomorrow.

Being cold makes me hungry, and I haven't changed my sig weight, as I fear that I have put back on the lb I lost this weekend, but we'll see how it goes.

I'm off until the 5th, and I am hopng that I can get a little vacation in. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but there is a massage therapist at the rec center ... or maybe a hot stone massage.

Oh, got my test results - I have dropped my cholesterol by 36 points since my diagnosis!! Yeah!! I'm planning on living, and this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Dgramie - so glad that your BIL is getting better. Those stories are one of the motivation I need to use to make this weight come off.

Heather - hope you're better.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Sue

Still a phlegm machine here. But I'm having productive coughs, drinking TONS of tea and other hot liquids. And yesterday I didn't eat a lot, at least... This will improve...

Good Morning,
Hope everyone has a wonderful day. We are suppost to be warm again today. Im planning on taking the little ones to the playground across the street today. This is the only day i have to work this week. I have lost 2 of the 5lbs i gained . I have exercised daily for 3 days now. Food is back on track as well!

Hi ladies,

Looks like everyone is doing well at getting back in focus.

Yesterday was an almost good food day. The good part was that I logged everything in Calorieking. The almost part is that I was only a little over 1800 calories. My goal for this week is to log every day. Beginning next week, my calorie budget will be 1700.

I started studying last night for retaking the auditing section of the CPA and for the Business & Econ (BEC) part. To make it easier for DH, and me too, I studied at the dining room table for a while. Its hard on DH when I'm gone all day and he's home all day and then when I do get home, I'd disappear into the other end of the house. My goal is to study auditing from 7-8:30 in the dining room where I can occassionally talk to him and then disappear to study for the BEC part. This also gives the dogs more room to run and play and I am not directly visible to them when they are outside. I have to break them from acting like the back door is their own revolving door while I'm trying to study. This schedule leaves me room to go to the fitness center on the way home or leaves me time to do cardio work at home in between study sessions. This pretty much eliminates stupid TV until the weekend.

Valerie - Where are you? I saw you peeking in over on the BL weigh-in thread.

Sue - Great news about both your tests of last week and your cholesterol. The hot stone massage sounds wonderful and well deserved. I'm very sorry to see about the young woman that passed away. I've always wondered about the theory that you don't need mammograms until you're 40; I've always wanted to say, tell that to the women in their thirties that died from breast cancer. Gosh, you're having a rough week with the weather too. Hope you're all tucked back at home with heat and no winds.

Debi - about your brother. Great news there too! Good job on getting back to the exercise and getting a start on those 5 pounds.

Heather - How about a good job for coughing up all that phlegm? Hope you get that behind you soon. Yucky.

Lilion - Six pounds is a good smack in the face. Good job for facing the scale. I think Dr. Phil would say that it isn't about TRY harder; its about DO harder. I've been watching a lot of Dave Ramsey lately and he talks alot about it doesn't do any good to try to solve money issues if you aren't making permanent spending changes. That is really true about the healthy living too. You do a lot of events and gatherings that are food related, maybe this year can be the year to figure out how to still enjoy them without the detriment to your weight loss goals. They shouldn't have to be mutually exclusive. You can do this!

BarbG, Ruth, BarbPA - to all!

Let's make this next year a year where we examine what isn't working for us and figure out how to make permanent changes.

Me again,

So far this evening, the new routine is working out pretty good. I went to the fitness center on the way home from work. 30 minutes on the elliptical again! Although, it was a mental struggle a couple of times but I hung in there and finished my time. After that, I really wanted to just lay down on the floor for awhile.

I've had dinner, done some studying, and just logged all my foods into Calorieking. I'm going to go study the other course here in a few minutes.

Oh, the good news and the joy of our day, is that a Septic tank guy found our septic tank. The great part is that it isn't underneath the pool or under the dog kennel concrete base. I was beginning to sweat the the possibility that we had inadvertently put either one on top of our septic. Fortunately, it is between the two! Now we have to have the guy back out to do a cleaning (horrors of horrors!) and bring the access port up to the county code while he's got it uncovered. Hope that's all done while I'm at work.

I'm off to study and then to bed. to all!

Howdy Chicks!

Just poking my head in to say hello. I'm in a bit of a funk tonight. I think it's just monthly hormones. Food and exercise are great, my mood is just not where I'd like it to be. Right now I'm overwhelmed with the house, work, kids, hubby.... Just life at the moment. All is good..tomorrow will be a great day!!!

Night my friends....

Barb in Dallas?? Back on the thread?? Howdy, girl!! I'm back too. I've missed the great office stories you shared!

Heather, I sure hope you're feeling better! Never a good time for a cold, and sinus weather has certainly attacked many people I know, inc DH.

Lilion, Bravo woman! Good for you heading back to WW!

DGramie, I'm SO relieved to hear that your DB is recovering! I hope now that he's home, the road will be somewhat easier for him, although no matter what he has a challenge.

Terri, I'm back to watching other people ride my horses. Even Gabe. Between the weight packing back on, being at a new barn with no indoor arena, and breaking this dad-gummed ankle, I'm sidelined. Not for long I hope! I wanna hear all about it when you ride in that clinic this Spring!!

Well, if I didn't fess up before, I will now. The day after Christmas I topped out at 302. Over the forbidden line. We had the big family get-together on Saturday, and I wasn't good, but other than that I've been really working at it. As of this morning I'm back down to 295. Today was my 3rd successfully day on the Beach, hardcore. Every time I've tried to do it with 'modifications', I've failed. Miserably.

In a few days I want to start exercising again. That should help immensely. I'd like to break the 200 barrier by the end of the year. I'm challenging myself to 10 pounds a month. I can fall short sometimes without blowing the big goal, but little 'power goals' might help keep me focused. I'll give it a shot.

So far I've been challenged with a gift of chocolate which I passed on IMMEDIATELY to a family of skinny folks. Then my lunch salad was delivered to my office with some awesome grilled garlic flat bread - which I deposited safely in the ladies room trash can. And finally today the boss bought pizza for lunch and filled the candy jar RIGHT next to my office door with a variety of M&M's. I thanked her and ate the salad I'd brought, and to be honest, the M&M's are already losing some of their pull.... well TODAY they were. Not taking any bets on tomorrow yet, but I still won't have any of them.

I hope everyone is geared up for a year of success, and the joy that it will bring to each of our lives. Now c'mon, let's go do something we're proud to come back here and share!