Ya' Ateh? That's Apache for "Yo, What up Suckas, how u do?" or something like that. Hope this here message finds you all well. Finally, this afternoon, we caught a stiff breeze and it blew all our smoke east. Thank you Lord. All my cloths smell like I been camping or drinkin around a bon fire...Bon fire? is that right? is that French? Nah, its prehistoric. Possibly Celt, english perversion of Bone Fire. Anyway, a breath of fresh air and an afternoon walk with my best dog, Huckleberry, of coarse, and my best girl, KC. I heard something profetic today. The guy on the radio said "remember, even on bad days there are happy moments, if we pay attention." Thought that was pretty cool. Picked a ton of plums and apples today, I do love fall. Remember that sugar free cake I got? Well, you know what sugar free cakes and regular cakes have in common...NOTHING. Haha, not really, it was pretty good, just way, way to much frosting. I find myself constantly making "deals" with myself. Dont eat this and get this. eat this now and dont eat anything else for 6 days. U know. 2020 sucks *ss. but today i feel happy to be alive and I feel hopeful for better days to come. I appreciate everyone in our group and am constantly humbled by your amazing insights. Dropping weight pretty well, I am finally seeing the number on the scale go down. I have a closet full of cloths that are way to big. What a victory. Headed into the weekend, lets do this team. Man, I sure love my Momma


Good Night everyone!

RIP RBG

Respect Existence or Expect Resistance


9/18 315.2

Good morning!

William47: Good to hear from you and know that you're feeling good about the day. Clean air and being able to see the does wonders for a person's spirit. We've had a stretch of clear days and clean air this past week that I hope relates to better fire containment.

Trade-offs in eating aren't a bad thing. I think this is part of a successful eating plan. It shouldn't be used as form of self punishment but it does allow for one to stay on plan, feel proud of their progress, and not feel like they are working from desperation mode. I have a friend who only eats dessert if it's something extraordinary and she knows she won't make or find in other places. You'd never find her eating a candy bar or even a homemade cookie. This approach keeps her sweet tooth in check and removes any guilt for the indulgence. Clearly, the trade-offs you're making are getting results as you're seeing a drop on the scale. . What a mark of success to see your now too big clothes in the closet! I'm just the opposite, I have a bunch of cute clothes that don't fit!
*****
Aside from my weekly Zoom chat with my Portland friend, nothing but a bunch of mundane tasks on my list. That's fine by me. Stir fry for dinner tonight. I found a recipe for how to make quick pickled onions that looks delicious and will try at a later date.

Happy Saturday!

Hi Everyone. Its an up day and I'm dragging butt per usual after eating. I just get lazy. The day has flown by as usual but I didnt really want anything today. We are having chorizo, rice and salad for supper but I'm not starving for it like I would if it was a down day. It was colder here today. I closed the windows and put on my winter puffy socks. I'll give it another week before I did out Winterish type clothes like flannel.

Carol - I LOVE pickled onions. I am going to be making some homemade spam and a jar of pickled sausages next month. Getting things ready for December. I love having alot of homemade stuff that I only eat one month a year. Like Coquito, Pickled Stuff, cheese balls, mead just foods that are too heavy or rich to eat often.

William - Glad you guys have a break from the smoke. I like the name Huckleberry. I love foraging. Not sure if you picked the plums and apples from your yard or out in the woods but I love free produce to keep my hobbies going. I'm waiting for the day I have clothes that are too big in my closet. The complete opposite is the case right now. LOL.


Other than that nothing new to report. I'm up .6 of a pound but that's hormonal water retention.

Good evening, just popping in. Still hanging at the same weight but I had a couple of days off exercise this week due to last minute stuff that had me changing up my schedule. Chest and back sore today and that's a good thinkg. Did something right with my weights since they are being pushed a bit now.

Shaybelle - I used to feel tired and sleepy after lunch every day and realized it was my sugar jumping up then dropping after an insulin release. I know your plan is up and down but may simply adjusting your protein to carb ratio at meals might positively affect your tiredness. Just a thought. I love that you have a smart alecky son. I have two of them! They are smart alecs in different ways but having them kid me means they love me so I'll take it.

All right -- I am off to make a few necessary phone calls tonight but will catch up more tomorrow.

Good morning and Happy Sunday to all!! I am getting restarted this month; had some family health emergency that are still on going, but it shall pass. I am looking forward to holding myself accountable and getting back on track. I have been stretching, taking walks getting in more steps. I stepped on the scale yesterday morning now down to 228.2 from 234.9 on the first of September. So I am happy about that. Haven't exercised much, just more conscious on the kinds of foods I intake. I have to push myself harder, and stop succumbing to my pain to quickly when doing cardio. I plan to get some weight lifting in this afternoon.


Have a great day everyone and much happiness and success to us all!!

Gz - Its not just the one son, turns out. One is the smart alec and the two other ones are trolls. LOL. I worked in radio for a while and from time to time I was asked to do some commercials. All the broadcasters had to pitch in to make commercials for non-profits so that it wasnt a burden on just one of us. So I was looking for a piece an interviewee had done and while looking through my archives I found a commercial I did about 10 years ago when my youngest two were little. So my thoughts was since it was a volunteer event I was doing the commercial for that I wanted families to come out and so I put my kids in the commercial and another broadcaster came in as well. So I found it and messaged it to my DD along with a photo from that time and she says to me from her dorm room

"Ma’am this is harassment I’m going to have to ask you to not load my phone up with all of these photos"

Every time I try to share home videos of their childhood all 3 of them act like I was the one forcing them. They were all hams and begged to be recorded and filmed but they dont remember that I guess. Or have selectively forgotten as my DD is now in a conservatory acting program and my DS does production lighting and stuff for theatre. So now I'm saving it for their blackmail reels at their wedding receptions. LOLz. Also, on Sunday mornings its my duty to wake them up with Lovins. LOL So that's usual Sunday morning banter. My DS and DD both texted me back "Ewwww" at the same time this morning and they live in different places. DS lives with his GF. Even my DS's GF goes Ewww because I sent photos of her and my DD when they were in grade 6 in Quebec and she and my DD are best friends. So I couldnt let her feel left out of these Sunday morning lovins. I dont get it. They are all over IG, SC, TT but if I send them photos and videos privately they act like I'm about to steal their souls with the camera. smh.

rdanielshanner - Hi! back. Sorry to hear about your emergency but glad that it shall pass. Congrats on the weightloss. I havent exercised much either. I'm trying to get a short walk in each day but its hard to just up and go. Idk why. But the desire is there and I walk more than I used to. I too succumb to the pain. That's why I dont walk as much. I keep saying let me lose a few more pounds and it'll hurt less. I dont know. I guess its excuses. I have to just do it and not think about it being exercise.

Today is a down day and I'm doing good. I was up .6 yesterday morning and still there this morning. Other than that, I'll just keep an eye on it. Dont want to start an up trend. Down days are quiet productive days. I look forward to them now. Never thought I would but I do. Its like some sort of freedom. Well, I will be doing more homework today. I like the clear headedness of these days. ttfn

I hope everyone has been enjoying a wonderful weekend. But really, where did it go?! Well in my case, it's easy not to see time fly by when you spend all Saturday afternoon napping...

rdanielshanner welcome to this thread! Keep concentrating on your food choices, it's responsible for about 80% of the weight loss. It's great that you want to exercise more, that'll help with the remaining 20% and it's good for your overall health.

Shaybelle love how you "torment" your kids with pictures and videos from when they were little. And love their comebacks as well. Wit is intelligence that found its humour.

gzgrl22 I took a page from your book and pushed harder on my upper body set today. For the first set of each exercise, I went heavier than usual, before going back down to my normal weight to finish out the other 2 sets. My arms are like jell-o right now.

curvynotlumpy have you ventured out to a farmers' market again this weekend? If so, any more adorable finds like the mini butternut squash? I have some leftover squash from the casserole I made and I'll be trying a butternut squash mac 'n cheese later this week.

William47 that is such great news that winds helped with the smoke in the air. Breathing is so necessary. Now I can't say that I could get behind the idea of a sugar-free cake. And for me, there can never be too much frosting on a cake, unless said frosting is inebible. It's funny because I don't have a sweet tooth at all. What a fabulous NSV to have clothes that are now too big Time to make some room in that closet for new items, me thinks.

So as I had feared, that awesome workout I completed on Wednesday left me hurting for a couple of days. As much as I think my hips are improving, my body is telling me to take it easy still. So after a few more rest days, I decided on a different approach for the next few weeks. I will be doing the Flex program from Fitness Blender again, which consists of 3 days of upper body training each week. I'll choose workouts to fill in the gaps, a mix of cardio/core/flexibility workouts, and I'll avoid lower body strength training for now.

After a half a day spent sleeping yesterday, I got more done today, including making apple butter for the very first time. Is there anything easier to make with apples? And why had I never purchased an apple corer before in my life? I still have a lot of those apples that we picked 3 weeks ago, gotta start baking and freezing. The apartment smells amazing right now
Now time for some enchiladas for supper.

WEEK 1:
1: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
2: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
3: 43 minutes kickboxing and upper body strength training workout WATERGOAL: done
4: 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
5: 5.2km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.7km/10 WATER GOAL: done
WEEK 2:
6: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
7: 43 minutes lower body strength training + 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
8: 34 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
9: rest day WATER GOAL: done
10: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
11: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
12: 5.4km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.9km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 3:
13: 2.4km walk WATER GOAL: not reached
14: 50 minutes kickboxing and core workout WATER GOAL: not reached
15: 31 minutes cardio workout WATER GOAL: done
16: 50 minutes kickboxing and lower body strength training workout WATER GOAL: done
17: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
18: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
19: rest day WALKING GOAL: 2.3km/10WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 4
20: 51 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done

Good morning, scale coming back down. 194.4 today so hoping to hit a new low this week. Did arms and a 3 mile walk yesterday. Today is house cleaning and teeth cleaning. (UGH) Another crisp cool morning here but sunny skies- my favorite weather!

Martine - You'll be a bit sore today and maybe tomorrow but the gains are worth it.

Shaybelle - My guys don't even have IG or FB accounts -- probably saving themselves some embarrassment from me. I remember when the tide shifted... #1 sone was in middle school. He would exit the car (we were living in Russia and had to drive them to school) and nod his head slightly-- no more goodbyes. #2 sone would still give me a big hug and a kiss but it didnt last long. After that, Mom just became a social liability! LOL They get better as they adult.

William - I have never had apple butter but it sounds great. I live near PA and it is a big AMish thing in the fall; I love apple anything so it is weird I have never tried it!

rdanielshanner - welcome back. Sunds like you are off to a great start

curvy - liked the story on tradeoffs. I know I will low carb forever, but if I decide I want to have something off plan in Maintenance it is going to have to worth coming off for a meal. I have given some thought to "never" having some things again and a lot of foods I am totally OK with that, but I am actually thinking that maybe having a slice of pizza once a year from my favorite shop may be ok. Or a slice of cheesecake at Chritsmas. But it adds up quickly. It would, however, take the NEVER out of the equation. Was thinking maybe one cheat item per month. That would prevent me from allowing the situation to snowball out of control and yet I wouldn't be facing a istuation where I never again taste my favorite foods. Don't know...will have to ponder all this as I get close to maintenance. Since I tend to do better with abstinence than moderation, this strategy could backfire. It would probably depend on the food. I know a slice of pizza would probably not trigger me, but an ice cream sundae would totally send me off on a binge.

Hope you all have a great week. I am off to babysit this week so probably won't be checking in daily.

Good afternoon

gzgrl22: Good on you that you've thought about your plan once you reach your goal and maintenance. Every single time I've been successful at meeting my goal I was never prepared to reach it so I had no plan. Deep down I'm sure it was because I believed I would never get there. Even reading your various options tells me that maintenance will not find you unprepared. Stay safe and have fun babysitting.

Martine: Apple butter... What kind of apple corer did you get? Is it the tube kind that you press into the apple and it pulls out the core, or is it the kind with a turn handle that you clamp to your table or counter and it both peels and cores? A corer is a nifty gadget to have especially if you're needing a lot of apples. Why do I feel like William47 has extensive apple knowledge?

I haven't been to the farmer's market for a couple of weeks. The mini-avocados I bought were a complete waste and letdown. I purchased when they were fairly hard and as they ripened I opened to eat them. All but two were rotted on the inside. They felt just perfect on the outside but black and mushy inside. Too bad because they were the perfect single serving size.

Shaybelle: Great stories about your young ones and their hammy ways. Hold on tight to those ; they're not only warm and fuzzy memories, they're great leverage for weddings, graduations, and any other special occasion for which you may need to bust them out.

rdanielshanner: Welcome! Congratulations on your September success. You are off to a great start. Your wise words about being more conscious about your food intake is on point. A poster from another thread has "you can't out exercise poor eating habits" as their signature. Ain't that the truth. Exercise can improve your health and mindset, but it really is about the food.
*********
Happy Monday! I am dragging today. I did not sleep well at all. I went to bed around 9:30 and woke up around 2:15 and did not go back to sleep until 4 a.m. Nevertheless, it has been a productive day. I'm working with my staff for the safe re-opening of the veterans center next Wednesday. What that means is than the work site plan I developed will now be put to the test. Our plan is solid but we really won't know what works or doesn't until we see it in action. We're opening only by appointment and will keep the door to the entrance locked, among other things.

Our transfer center will remain closed. The campus itself is in final preparation for the return of a limited number of students. By and large they are going to experience a very "un-fun" campus and I'm not sad about this at all. I know that staff will be gracious and helpful but any of the places that are re-opening are doing so on the business only model.

Have a great evening!

gzgrl22 boy were you right about soreness! Washing my hair this morning was quite the challenge. Glad the number on the scale is moving down for you again.

So at work on Wednesday, one of my colleagues told me in confidence that she would be working at the regional office for a while, to cover for someone who has been on sick leave for several months and is not returning until at least January. Finally on Friday, my District managers told me this news and they were holding a meeting that afternoon to figure out how to distribute my colleague's 3 districts between the two of us remaining in Québec province, and maybe one person in the Atlantic region who had helped before. Well I learned today that they decided to give me an extra district and give my other colleague the other 2 (she only had 2 districts to begin with). Now I know I can handle it, but I'm not sure that she can, as she's just now coming back to work after surgeries to both her wrists and she doesn't have much patience anymore as she's nearing retirement. And they gave me the one District manager who has a reputation for being difficult, the one I had mentioned my DM had worked so hard the previous week to not have me work with. I think in this case, my DM knew that my colleague would not be able to handle him on top of adding a 4th district to her load, so he had to give in. Only time will tell how this goes in the coming weeks...

So I just now completed a HIIT workout, to give my sore arms a break. I usually have a sense of dread when tackling HIIT, even though I know I've improved, as I don't enjoy cardio as much as strength training. But I actually enjoyed this one and pushed all the way through and managed to jump a lot more than usual. I've also decided to stop weighing myself daily again. You see, when I got my new cell phone, it came with an app called Numbers, where I discovered I could create neat graphs and charts, so I started tracking my weight daily again. But the old feelings of discouragement and anger would creep up when my weight would go up, so I decided to revert back to measuring my success by how I eat and my workouts, and leave the scale for a once-in-a-while check-in, like before.

Hope everyone has enjoyed a great start to this week!

WEEK 1:
1: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
2: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
3: 43 minutes kickboxing and upper body strength training workout WATERGOAL: done
4: 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
5: 5.2km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.7km/10 WATER GOAL: done
WEEK 2:
6: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
7: 43 minutes lower body strength training + 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
8: 34 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
9: rest day WATER GOAL: done
10: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
11: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
12: 5.4km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.9km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 3:
13: 2.4km walk WATER GOAL: not reached
14: 50 minutes kickboxing and core workout WATER GOAL: not reached
15: 31 minutes cardio workout WATER GOAL: done
16: 50 minutes kickboxing and lower body strength training workout WATER GOAL: done
17: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
18: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
19: rest day WALKING GOAL: 2.3km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 4
20: 51 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
21: 40 minutes HIIT workout WATER GOAL: done

Just a quick check-in before making some vegetable and tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for supper. I was dealing with a headache at work from 2pm till the end of my work day, and soreness still from Sunday's upper body workout, so I switched today and tomorrow's workout around, so I could enjoy some stretching today and keep the next uppper body workout for tomorrow.

Happy first day of Autumn!

WEEK 1:
1: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
2: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
3: 43 minutes kickboxing and upper body strength training workout WATERGOAL: done
4: 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
5: 5.2km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.7km/10 WATER GOAL: done
WEEK 2:
6: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
7: 43 minutes lower body strength training + 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
8: 34 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
9: rest day WATER GOAL: done
10: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
11: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
12: 5.4km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.9km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 3:
13: 2.4km walk WATER GOAL: not reached
14: 50 minutes kickboxing and core workout WATER GOAL: not reached
15: 31 minutes cardio workout WATER GOAL: done
16: 50 minutes kickboxing and lower body strength training workout WATER GOAL: done
17: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
18: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
19: rest day WALKING GOAL: 2.3km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 4
20: 51 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
21: 40 minutes HIIT workout WATER GOAL: done
22: 33 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done

Martine- so sorry work is becoming more difficult. As for workouts, I have finally learned to listen to my body and switch things up or rest when it needs it. Good luck on thw water goals---It always takes me a long time to get my water consumption up to par.

Hi Team! how is everyone? I hope this post finds u all Happy and Healthy. Feeling good!


Its been a minute, I've been soo busy. IDK if i told y'all, but i wrecked moms Sequoia after a hard morning of yard sales. lol I took mom to some outdoor sales and on the way home I hit some road debris and broke the tire and windshield. Ooh the drama. I dealt with state farm and we picked the car up yesterday. It looks great and moms happy. whew!


I've been pressing apples with KC, we squeezed 6 gallons for drinking and 4 for hard cider. we had such a good time. Life on the farm. Im so looking forward to being able to go places. I really wanna take her wine tasting and karioke. She is a blast. A tough, capable woman. Funny, smart, and beautiful. I feel very lucky and I'm striving to be a better person, both physically and emotionally. If for nothing else but to extend our time together. Speaking of mental health, I am seeing my psychologist again, same guy... We explored co-dependency. I know its a buzz word and can be all encompassing but i feel like we are making progress again. I do like the guy but he is not specialized, especially for weight loss. However, I realize my weight is only the manifestation of my emotional/psychological issues. So we will proceed and hope for the best.


We got rain, three days of rain! Oh how i missed it. I opened up every window and door to "let the love flow, like a mountain stream. And let your love go, out to all living things. And let your light shine, shine all around us." I love that song


Got the old root cellar cleaned, added some shelves, and im ready to restock. I drive the Yakima valley and buy all sorts of wonderful, raw and farm fresh produce. It is so great, like a highway of farmers markets. What are u guys doing for Halloween. In our little town we are placing candy in individual bags, out by the sidewalk. IDK if its safe, but we do what we can. The public school here has pushed back reopening til oct. 11th, but private and more rural schools are opening. Kasey lives in one of these small districts and so her two children are gonna give it a try. I haven't told her, but im really worried. I just hope everything goes well for everyone.


OK, so the only personal messages I got are, I love u guys and don't forget to "Let your love shine!"


9/25 315.2

Bonjour Mes Amis!

I have been going THROUGH IT y'all. I totally effed up my french class assignments and got behind then worked feverishly to catch up so I can submit my first oral assignment this weekend. You cannot fake learn french. The french do not take it kindly when you respond with fake french. I've tried. LOL. So I didn't think a fake oral assignment to check pronunciation would go over well although I must say I fake pronounce the stuffing out of these words. I think I sound très chic.

Curvy - My DD is on campus now and in an area that is a hot spot. They are having parties on zoom and all sorts of stuff. Her school admin bldgs are closed but ppl are walking around campus. They find fun.

Martine - Ooo fun, taking over others' work. Joys. I applaud your commitment to your workout despite what you go through at work.

Gz - How's babysitting going?

William - Yay for the rain! I love food preservation. My FIL has a root cellar. I didnt know much about it until I saw theirs. I'd say they'd be freakin convienent! The amount of produce that goes bad in the city is boggling. Great to see you are a fellow Brewer. I'm still unpacking but I have my brewing station set up. I just have to get other no brewing crap out the way. What a wonderful bonding time picking them and pressing them. Amazing. I have thoughts that the farm life is for me. Although I hate bugs. It throws a damper on things sometimes when I want to pick something but dang tree spiders or worms or something yucky that wants to touch me but I don't want it to touch me. As a person who lives with a mental disability I get how important it is to feel heard and validated by your mental health professional . But I'm glad that you are continuing to do the work. My professional retired and because there is a shortage of psychiatrist here, I never got another. They said they say I am stable and so my pcp can manage me and consult the psychiatrist when needed. Stable is all well and good until you're not. But cannabis truly is keeping me sane. Its my doctor and psychiatrist. LOL "Omg what I am gonna do?? These bills?" Eats an edible, then 1.5 hours later "Eff them! I don't need Netflix, Disney or none of this. I can watch YouTube."

Ok Lovelies. Enough procrastination. The day is speedy by as usual on an Up Day. I need to break my fast and get back to the books.

À la prochaine!

A very quick check-in, because it's already 7pm and I just completed a workout and am mentally and physically tired. And it's already dark out and that's depressing.

Hope everyone is well and I will catch up on everyone's posts tomorrow.

WEEK 1:
1: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
2: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
3: 43 minutes kickboxing and upper body strength training workout WATERGOAL: done
4: 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
5: 5.2km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.7km/10 WATER GOAL: done
WEEK 2:
6: 2.3km walk WATER GOAL: done
7: 43 minutes lower body strength training + 3.2km walk WATER GOAL: done
8: 34 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
9: rest day WATER GOAL: done
10: 28 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
11: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
12: 5.4km walk WALKING GOAL: 10.9km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 3:
13: 2.4km walk WATER GOAL: not reached
14: 50 minutes kickboxing and core workout WATER GOAL: not reached
15: 31 minutes cardio workout WATER GOAL: done
16: 50 minutes kickboxing and lower body strength training workout WATER GOAL: done
17: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
18: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
19: rest day WALKING GOAL: 2.3km/10 WATER GOAL: not reached
WEEK 4
20: 51 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done
21: 40 minutes HIIT workout WATER GOAL: done
22: 33 minutes flexibility workout WATER GOAL: done
23: rest day WATER GOAL: done
24: rest day WATER GOAL: not reached
35: 53 minutes upper body strength training WATER GOAL: done