My turn to start! Everyone did so great last week, y'all are such an inspiration! Welcome to our newcomers

I'm not looking forward to this morning's walk to the bus stop, we're having severe thunderstorms today. On the positive side, it's bringing in cooler weather, high only in the mid to upper 80's! I've been eating bland, soft food which is helping the tummy and keeping the blood sugar down. Last check it didn't move the scale though

I hope everyone has a great week!

Well, had a wonderful day and then BAM, got hungry really late and before I knew it I was grazing. I had some chips and some granola, not a lot, but enough to know this is not what I should be doing and its like it ruins my whole days worth of work.

So.... either I need to save more calories for night time, or I need to eat more because I am not consuming enough.

Oh well, I will figure it out. I am determined.

This is a new thread, a new beginning! I plan on seeing some results, because anything is better than my complete mindless eating I can do all day sometimes.

Yoo Hoo!

dmc2009: Julie & Julia is on my list, thanks! I'm rewarding every 5 pound weight loss with a movie and it's time for my reward!
Lunchtime ideas? Hmmm. I'm guessing that you're packing your lunch?
Chicken salad is a favorite for me, too.
I like using wild salmon in a can to make salmon salad sandwiches since salmon is ridiculously healthy and I'm not that good about eating it other ways.
Homemade hummus also makes a good sandwich and gives me a vegetarian option.
For sides: veggies (sometimes with dip), tossed salad with homemade dressing, fruit (apples are perfect for a packed lunch).
I did tend to pack the same thing day after day, back when I was last packing a lunch. Once I've made salmon salad, for example, it feels like I should eat it!

Marie: the stained glass piece is beautiful! The design is great -- I'm amazed at the detail on the wolf-dogs and the clouds.

Hydra: congrats on fitting into the smaller jeans!

CruiseCAT: take care of yourself! Those fires are looking really scary. I have an internet friend who was prepared to evacuate yesterday. No word from her today, so I'm guessing that she may have left.

Onmyway: LOL at the pants with you AND your daughter! You should take pictures!

Primm: Welcome to 40-something! Congrats on the 10K! That is quite an accomplishment.

Jacque: so glad that your mom is doing well!

The scale finally nudged into new territory. This journey, so far, was a precipitous drop in weight over 5 days, 11 days of no movement and, now, I hope gradual decline for awhile.

Marie - your stained glass is beautiful! I'm so sorry your dd is having a tough time.

Primm - Welcome! So far, I like my 40's better than my 30's. I guess it's because experience does make a difference.

Jacque - you sound relieved. I'm glad your mom is doing better.

gardenerjoy - I like your idea of rewards every 5 pounds. Maybe it will make this journey easier to break it down a bit. I rewarded myself last week, just for fun, by seeing Star Trek at the IMAX (huge screen). It was a great distraction from what was going on in my life - better than mindless eating.

weightlosswanted - I hope you make it through the thunderstorms without getting too wet. It's good that your tummy is better, too.

I'm taking ds5 and ds6 to my gym today. There is a daycare I can use for a small cost while I work out. I'm proud of myself for arranging it a couple of weeks ago (plan to succeed). I'm so glad it's getting toward fall, a much better time of year for me.

Welcome to our new comers!!! I think you will find the ladies here a GREAT inspiration.

OnMyWay - Surgery was a breeze and I was back to normal after a couple weeks. Good to see you back here, we missed you.

Jacque - Love the new avatar; you look GREAT.

DMC - I had a craving for chili the other day and made a awesome alternative. I used a can on santa fe beans, chicken, tomato, peppers (green, red, yellow & orange), onion, garlic, mushrooms and a sprinkle of mozzarella (.5 oz); it was chunky, delicious and only 350 calories.

WLW - Sure hope you are feeling better soon.

The fire that is causing us trouble here in the high desert in the Station Fire. It is over 60 miles away from us and is effecting air quality as far as Las Vegas. I took the dogs out this morning and to my surprise there was soot everywhere; needless to say I brought them in and we will spend the day inside. The last time it was this bad was the Old Waterman Fire back in 2003that was here in our county and kept Mack VERY busy keeping communications up. Here are some pictures that he took during that fire:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/9...hdFkei?start=0

One of the biggest problems with that fire was all the damage the bark beetle has caused. Basically the bark beetle sucks the life out of a tree and it dies. We saw evidence of a lot of this yesterday on our hike. You can see dead trees everywhere and the tell tale sign (see picture #13) that the beatle had been there.

Pictures 1-26 are from our hike up Gold Mountain yesterday:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/574263020gZWXGI

Morning, ladies!

WLW - hope your thunder-y walk was okay!

DMC - a buddy from another thread recommended a protein snack (like, a few slices of smoked turkey and a piece of cheese) to battle the late night munchies (instead of salty, crunchy things that you just want more of) and that seems to help me a bit.

Gardenerjoy - congrats on the loss! It does seem to come in waves, sometimes. Those plateaus are so frustrating!

presmaggie - I'm impressed by your planning and discipline in getting in your workouts despite childcare challenges - that's great! What do you have planned as far as workouts?

Marie - thanks for thinking of me earlier in the weekend. I'm back to focusing on the positive after a major TV binge day yesterday (let me clarify - no food bingeing, just lots and lots and lots of CSI:NY episodes and no workout). I think it was partly in response to needing to be so social at my buddy's bachelorette party on Saturday.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/wei...calculator.htm I was playing with this calculator this morning and thought some of you who calorie count might find it interesting.

Hydra, way to go getting into slimmer jeans. Progress is everything.

Cruise, I am very impatient and that I can do stained glass amazes me. Once, about 20 years ago, I was so mad a piece of glass broke wrong, I picked up the remaining sheet of glass and threw it back on the table. Needless to say I had to re-cut all the already cut pieces because it was a one of a kind sheet of glass. I learned my lesson.


DMC, have you ever tried Orowheat whole wheat sandwich thins? They’re 100 cals and taste great. I hear that Pepperidge Farms makes the same thing. It would snazzy up the bologna.

OMW, ah my instructor 25 years ago wasn’t hot. She was an old lady – perhaps in her forties. And way too cool about the pants with DD joining you. You should get a picture. That’s the type that goes on Good Housekeeping covers.

Penguin, you’ll get back into those clothes from last fall. Then it’s like you’ve gone shopping without any cost.

Primm, welcome to the forties. Yes I did the stained glass for a charity. I used to do it by contract but when it was a job, I started to hate it. So now I only do it for fun. You’ll find a great group of women here. It’s amazing how our bodies change in the forties. Having the fellowship of other 40’s women is invaluable. And I agree with Presmaggie – I way love my forties. I’m so content with myself instead of trying to prove myself. I figure the 50’s will be just as great. Luckily I still have 2 years left with this wonderful group.


WLW, the scale will budge eventually. Do you log and measure your food. A good kitchen scale is a must. Sometimes it’s amazing how small real portions are. If you’re not seeing progress, invest in a good scale.

Presmaggie, the trip to the gym will be triple effective – you’ll get a workout, a small break from the little ones and no way to mindless eat. Sounds like a great plan you should use often.

OK, drumroll. The Evil Scale was kind today. I have officially lost 60 pounds! Five this morning I let out a big whoop of joy and my doggies came running, startled. As distressed as I am over DD and DGS, I’m so happy about the drop of another pound. And DH told me last night that they got DD moved from her house and into her new apartment. She feels much safer now. And DH is on his way home!!!! I’m pretty sure no Monday could be better. And the donkey dogs walked like perfect angels this morning. I think that when we walk in the dark, using only my headlamp, they are much better behaved. They can’t see lots of the world around them and so they’re good. Perhaps dark walks are the solution??? Naw, I like weekend walks as the sun rises. Clearly they need to learn.

Marie

Marie - Woohoo!!! Congrats on all of the wonderful news!!!

Cruisecat - Hope you guys stay safe from the fire - how scary!

Hello everyone! I'm trying to read back through last week's thread and catch up. In the meantime ...
Jacque - LOVE your avatar! You look fantastic!
Marie - the stained glass is gorgeous! I have a little appreciation for what an effor that is - my mom does it. How awesome to be recognized for your artistry!
Cruise - Be safe in the fires! Sounds like you've been around it for a while. It's unfortunate but necessary that Mom Nature has to clean house that way. Bark beetles... such fun. Invasive species only have us and our rabid globalization to thank. Here in Michigan, we're dealing with ash borers, Asian carp, gobies, lampreys, zebra mussels, purple loosestrife, wayward bamboo ... just to name a few.
penguin - I'm waiting anxiously for the pics of the bathroom - it must be a thrill to see it all coming together. I love to take progress pictures on all the renovating and decorating projects. And it doesn't hurt when you're calculating capital gains later on, either!
OMW - Loved the story about you and DH getting into the fat pants - that would have been a Kodak moment for sure!
WLW - Much as I like thunderstorms ... I like them from inside my house.
Primm - welcome!
pres - that's great that your gym has childcare available. The only ones that have it where I am have ridiculous membership fees. But DS10 is a cool and levelheaded dude - he doesn't mind spending a couple hours alone in the house so that problem can't be used as an excuse for me any more. (darn!)
dancer - every now and then, I do a TV-binge too. I ran into a "House" marathon that had all the episodes I'd missed before I started watching it - I think that was the only time I've eaten in front of the TV in years.

Not much to report. The weekend's canning involved pickles, more salsa, and more ketchup. Berries and corn were vac'd and frozen. Cleanup has been constant!
I did get the lawn mowed. We haven't used any herbicides or pesticides in a couple years now, and with the wetter weather, we've had an EXPLOSION of leopard frogs. I had to have DS10 "scout" for me and escort the frogs to the safe spots- we spotted 22 frogs in barely an acre! This is a bellwether species, so I am thrilled to have them in residence.

ICU - how cool about your frogs! So glad there are a lot of them as it sounds like they've had lots of troubles in recent years.

Hello Ladies!! Sorry I haven't been posting. Been out of town, LIA for Puter, and getting ready for school. I remember teh days when I used get excited to go to school in Sept. Now I am scared!lol

Dancer: CSI Binges are allowed!!lol NO CALORIES!! If you need extra episodes I have all the seasons of CSI:Vegas on DVD!!lol

ICU: Congrats on the Frogs!! They are considered on the "Endangered" list up here. I got paid by the government to loan them my farm pond to do a 5 year study. They couldn't figger out why I had so many frogs in my pond but other areas didn't. It's because of the way I tile drained my hay fields and how clean my water table and water shed were. I love the leopard frogs! KUDOS TO YOU for being Green!!!

Marie!!! Congrats on the Total Lost!!! I am VERY proud of you!! You are an inspiration!

Cruise: I love your new picture! Please stay safe in the fire area!! And thanks for the info on the Bark Beetle and the Pictures!!

PresMaggie: Good job of "Planning to Succeed"!! And what a great job of finding a gym with daycare!

GardnerJoy: Great job on the start of a new "Decline"!! Keep up the good work!! I find I go BiG DROP.. then nothing for a long time.. then BIG DROP...Maybe you are in the same boat as me!

DMC2: Welcome to the board. And YEs.. Today is a New Day.. and for you A New Start! Keep up the good thoughts!!

WLWanted: WOnderful Job on starting this week's Thread..I'm going to have to get up and on the Puter early enough to start a Thread one of these weeks!!lol Good Job on keeping the bloodsugar in check! That is the big trick!

Hotsplashes - I love your enthusiasm - glad you're back! If I have another CSI binge, I'm aiming to incorporate the elliptical or the rowing machine as the couch potato look just isn't a great one : )

Hello Everyone:

Well I am not new to the boards but I am new to the big "40" *smile* I have actually been away for a long while. Last time I was on the board was Aug 2006...and at that time I was at my goal weight 155...well lets see 3yrs later I will be 40 in October and I now have a wonderful blessing in my life my son. He is 18 months old and I have finally realized that I can't use the excuse oh I just had a baby...hmmm he is 18 months old...so I now need some support.

I have lost the weight in the past...at age 28 I was 252lbs....by age 30 I lost 90lbs...then I proceeded to lose that last ten lbs and I was able to keep it off until I got pregnant. When I got pregnant in June 2007 I was 156lb...and very happy. But I put on 42lbs...and now I am at 180lbs...ugh

I am looking forward to chatting with you and for the support...

Welcome, Gabby!!

Gabby, welcome! We're good at that post-baby weight that won't go away.

Hotsplashes - Yeah Froggies! My lawn might be an interesting collection of green vegetation (mostly weeds), but it's clear that somebody likes it that way! That's cool that they like your pond. I have a creek - it's dominated by bullfrogs that find leopard frogs to be yummy snacks. No wonder they hide in the grass!