Weekly Chat: August 23-29
 

:carrot:


New Pages!

Hi Everyone:

I've been awake for an hour for no good reason. But, like the last time I did this, I've done my ironing. Now, I'll catch up on some newpapers that I didn't read this weekend.

I've got some new motivation for this week. In a month we'll be at a high school reunion and I'd like to get a few more pounds off for that event. I'm going to go for broke and try for 2 pounds a week, the maximum I think anyone ought to lose. I'll see if I can dig really deeply and do this.

Rhonda

Hello Tejas. I'm in the UK and it is just gone 11am here. I did my ironing this morning too. We have high humidity at the moment and even with 2 fans on it nearly finished me off.
I too am retired. Living on the borders of wales on one of the most beautiful rivers in the UK
The very best of luck in getting down to what you want for the reunion. I have my fingers crossed for you

:welcome2: Jojo

Congratulations on 5 years as a non-smoker, the best thing you could ever do for your health! And, good luck on your goal. You're welcome to join our corner of the website. We're a small group of women who are very supportive to one another.

I'm off to Latin Heat at the gym, my first try at this class.

Rhonda

Good Morning Ladies:)

"RAINY DAYS & MONDAY GET ME DOWN",but not this morning "I'M SINGING IN THE RAIN." We're going to get rain for the next 3 days,and i happy that my garden veggies & flowers will get the watering that they disparately need.


RHONDA-Thanks for the pages.Oh I hate that When I wake up early the days seems to go on for ever. That's nice to be able to go to a high school reunion. Our High School never had one for the class of '58.But then again the neighborhood has changed and I won't go no matter what. I really have to get back on the ball again,thinking about going back to the old flex Or core plan. Counting calories is extremely mind boggling,so I think the core plan with 35 pts is the way to go. Going to take my books out & my old web sites to see if its possible to get a hold, on a real plan again.


JOJO-:welcome: to the thread.My FIL came from Brighten,and my DH best friend lives in Worthing. We had humid days for the whole summer without any rain,but TG we're getting the rain now and its going to be here for the next 3 days.


Have a great day, as I heading out to get some shopping done and than going to tackle my upstairs living quarters.

Oh Gosh... what a lovely welcome. I feel really at home. I'm 60 (May 31st) married 35 years and a retired nurse. Our daughter, for whom we had been carers for 32 years, died on May 26th and that is why I am here. I ate and ate and ATE! I'm back on track now, still get good days and bad days. Some days all hubby and I want to do is shut ourselves away, but that is no good to anyone. So we pull ourselves together and take our daughter's labrador for a good long walk.
Look forward to getting to know you all.

Well, Jojo, first let me offer my condolences. What a terrible loss for you and your family. Most of us here have lost a close loved one also.

We'll do what we can to help you find a healthier response to your grief and I hope we can help.

I'm a month away from turning 65 and am a retired public health professor. My current passion is strength training so you'll hear all about my times at the gym.


Rhonda

:welcome: JoJo. We are so happy to have you joining us. I am very sorry for your loss. Please let us help you if we can. I 63 and am a retired teacher, so forgive me if I get too bossy.

Rhonda, I wish you the best of success on reaching your personal goal for your class reunion. I know you can (and will) achieve it.

Maryann, I'd be singing in the rain, too. Do you think you'll go "FLEX" or "CORE"? I actually like both programs.

Ya'll have a Mahvalous Monday. I'll catch you later.

JOJO- My Name is Maryann and I turned 70 this June. Retired & Moved from my children 13 years ago.I also want to express my sympathy for the lose of your daughter I lost my DH last November to Lung Cancer.

Just stay with us we'll help you with the programs and group support.
I was counting calories for a long time since I left WW and now I think I'm going back to WW again I need control of my portions by weighing & measuring my foods,even if I go on the core plan

SANDRA-Haven't made up my mine yet. The flex is count calories and the core is eating until your satisfied,with 35 extra points. Going to read up on the information that I have when I was on the plan back in 2008.

Where did our Sloan get off to? She must have fallen victim to the back to school week.

I was bad at dinner :devil: but could have been worse. DH had to have fried catfish. I had some, but not much, which is why I say it could have been worse.

I did, however, do a lot at the gym today. I did the "latin heat" class, saw Todd (Jojo, he's my personal trainer for weight lifting), and did 20 minutes on the recumbent bike. So, about that, I feel virtuous.

All I have to do is give Kyra her evening stroll (and they are short in this heat), and fall into bed.

I hope you all have a good night.

Rhonda

I'm exercising too! My husband had a coronary in March 2009. He says it is the best thing that ever happened to him. He has a totally different outlook on life and still goes to the cardiac gym at the hospital. I went along with him last week (relatives are always welcome, and it is a free service under the NHS) They started me on a 10 minute gentle routine and I will build up slowly to the more taxing ones... mind you I was sweating like a bison after the first. I can do 10 minutes every day, the only equipment I need at the moment is the first step of our stairs. Over the next few weeks I will gradually build up to half an hour a day.

Thank you for your messages, they really help.

Good Morning Ladies:)

Another rainy day,but I'm going to go on a dry run to the nerve doctor this morning,so I know where his office is, when I go to him next Tuesday.Shoulder seems to be better but the tips of my fingers are still tingling.

We have on more thing to worry about this week along with the eggs now it Boars deli meats[cold cuts] are now being recalled from Walmart. I was going to buy some deli meats ,but I guess I 'll have to find something else for sandwiches.

Another wonderful thing in the news its that Boston's hotels all have bed bugs. They investigated and found that people that vacationed in Chatham brought these bugs with them to the Boston Hotels. Blaming it on the homeless that are being housed in motels out there.


RHONDA-Sometimes we have bad eating days I do the same especially in the evenings. The best for me to combat this habit if I could go out doors after supper but with this hot humid stuff and now the rain I get out. Hoping for some better weather,to get out of this practice.

JOJO-Sorry about your DH having a coronary,but a least he going to the gym and working on it. EXERCISING in in my playbook also. If I can walk I go on my stationery bike for indoors. I also have like of WATP'S tapes and some Kathy Smith that I use also.


Have to go and get ready to take a dry run to the doctors office so I know wheres hes located for the appointment I have with him next Tuesday.

Hi everyone:

My cold seems to be coming back so I'm staying home this morning.

Jojo, it's good to hear that your DH used his health crisis to his benefit. It's true that a heart attack wakes a lot of people up.

I've had a good breakfast (Uncle Sam cereal, strawberries, skim milk) and am baking a whole wheat bread made with olive oil and wheat bran, which I love.

Yesterday it was 107F here, the hottest it has been on that date since 1952. I felt like I was in a convection oven when I was outside (not for long!).

Have a great OP day.

Rhonda

Good Morning Chicks! I'll be spending the whole day and probably tomorrow trying to remedy the hacking of our AOL email account. I apologize if any of you were sent the spam email. I'm trying to close the account, but AOL is not very helpful with the free email folks like myself.

In the meantime, I have to figure out which email to use and change ALLLLLL of my accounts. Trying not to stress eat and also trying to ignore my smokey smell migraine.

VICKIE-I'm having the same problem with my e-mail also but I'm on Yahoo. Some how they have me in a face book account and I don't belong to them.When my dd gets back from vacation they are going to work me into Google's instead. My DS says it safer than yahoo.

Hope you will be able to work out your computer woos!!!

Welcome JOJO..:welcome:

I don't post as often as others but try to check in every few days.

I just took my youngest child to college so I am :cry: about that
but also seeing this as a good time to explore more hobbies & see my friends
more.

I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter.. This group is great at listening
& encouraging so feel free to tell us about the good & bad days !!


Everyone ...
I am doing good this week at eating a strict 1200 or less . That was the plan
to get back on track when my son was off to college. I was afraid I would
eat more because I was depressed but I seem to be doing good with the eating .

I am doing better than I expected after taking my son to college.
I am either in denial , dealt with it ahead of him leaving (cried a lot this summer just knowing he was leaving ) , or it is going
to hit me ..We'll see.



My brother got good results on a heart murmur procedure today to
rule out anything serious. They said it showed some cords that were broken
causing the murmur ,which sounds bad but they said it isn't dangerous unless it gets worse.

We had the same heat yesterday as Rhonda. It's very depressing--and dangerous. Looks like the heatwave is breaking. Life is good.

I stumbled this evening and ate a larger dinner than I should have. On a positive note, I did not eat any of the homemade brownies that I baked for Curtis. (I had pimiento cheese on buttermilk bread. (tasted decadent)

Vickie, one of my former students just had the same problem with her AOL account. I hope you get yours settled soon. Don't let it get you down.

Nancy, sounds like you're doing well with your eating and also with you adjusting. You're a steel magnolia.

Maryann, you're a lot like I am. I like to know exactly where I'm going and what to expect when I get there. I like your "dry run."

JoJo, that's great that you and your dh are exercising together. Makes me smile.

Got to go. I may fling some arrows in a few minutes when my gf gets here. But I may just watch her shoot and visit.

OK, Nancy, I'll join you in the 1200 calorie routine. But, no more protein shakes for me, after realizing that they are unregulated and that some have heavy metals, and, are you ready, hormones (!) as "fillers." Really, this is ridiculous.

I ate well today but did not go to the gym. I will do a few core exercises tonight, and I will go to aquafit in the morning and see Todd in the afternoon.

It rained for 2 hours this afternoon and we got a break from the heat. It feels very nice outside, finally.

Rhond

Rhonda ....

The whole protein shake info was while I was not paying attention .
I have the Optimum Nutrition Gold standard Whey from GNC.
Do you know how they scored???

Hey chickies! I'm still alive :D I have been very busy with school, cleaning at my mom's house, cleaning out my MIL's things, and my new painting class. I am still eating like a maniac, but have made some plans. This weekend I made and froze about 18 meals that were all core. I now need to make some snacks like the yummy pumpkin bread and/or some oatmeal cookies to freeze for when I get home from school. I plan to make a triple batch of a core meal every weekend, so I can stay ahead with pre-cooked dinners. I really hate to come home from school and start dinner right away. Hopefully having these meals available will keep me on track. I'll keep you posted.

Jojo-:welcome3: I'm so glad you are here!! I'm sending you hugs as one who has suffered a recent loss, too. About 12 weeks ago, my father passed away. Three weeks later, my mother in law passed away. Needless to say, it was a difficult summer, but the chicks here were awesome through the whole ordeal. I am a 51 year old registered nurse who teaches high school Health Science subjects. I hope you stick around; sounds like you have a lot in common with us.

Nancy-I'm proud of your resolve! I don't think anyone has won the five pound challenge, so you are jump starting us! I'm glad you are feeling better. Maybe you are not in denial at all but are realizing that you will be just fine, and that your DS will be just fine, too.

Maryann, I smiled so big at your "singin' in the rain". I'm glad your veggies will be happy, too :) I'm also glad to hear that your neck is not hurting as much. Maybe your fingers will feel better soon as well.

Rhonda, what is your new class like at the gym? Is it some kind of dancing? I am always so amazed at your strength and energy. Also, I hope your weather gets better soon. We have been in the upper 90's for a few weeks, but this morning was actually a little bit cool. Hope that keeps up, and that y'all cool off soon, too.

Sandra, sounds like things are going well for you. How was your visit with your friend? Have you done any subbing, yet? My classes are going pretty well. The students are behaving, so that's always good ;)

Vickie, your stories about Brodie are so cute! I know he is awesome. My DH and I always marvel at how you can love a little creature so much. Since I remember how you love technology, I wanted to tell you that my DS just gave me his iPod touch. I have already started to put new "apps" on it. I have been using my little nano to listen to books, so now I will listen on my new fun toy.

Thanks for missing me, y'all. I sure have missed you chickies! I'll try not to be away so long, next time. Nighty night :dz:

Hi, Sloan. I am subbing this Thurs/Fri Senior AP English and Concurrent College English. Should be fun. I had a good time with my gf tonight. We stayed out till after dark shooting. Fun!

I'm ready to "eat right" again tomorrow. I feel really bad about the way I ate tonight. Guess I need to get over it. Tomorrow's a new day.

Night night, everyone.

Wow Sloan !!!!

You never cease to amaze me !!!!

How many different recipes did you make to get 18 meals.
Are they individual meals or family meals??

Sometime when you have extra time I would love to
know which Core recipes freeze okay.

Me too, Sloan!!

Nancy, I didn't read the Consumer Reports article but I saw the chart on-line. Now, I can't find it. But, you might search to see if there has been a recall. Costco recalled Muscle Milk, which was my favorite. Anyway, I'm going back to the straight goods...skim milk, low-fat, no sugar yogurt, with fruit, etc.

Anyway, there are lots of ways to get protein.

Rhonda

Hey Nancy, I just googled "once a month cooking" and looked for recipes that had only core ingredients. I also made diet coke sloppy joes and bbq chicken. I used a total of six recipes and tripled each one. It ended up being 3 chicken and 3 ground beef. Besides the sloppy joes, I made a shepherd's pie (you can successfully freeze mashed potatoes), beef and noodle casserole, chicken with a sauce made with sun dried tomatoes and ff evaporated milk, and lime marinated chicken for grilling. I have a large stand up freezer, so I have plenty of room. If you look at several sites, you can get a lot of ideas.

I have been doing this type of cooking since my kiddos were little, and I was working in surgery. Back then, it was not unusual for me to get stuck in a case, so I had food ready for my DH to pop in if I could not get home on time. Even though it is hard work (some people cook to have meals for one month), it is worth it to come home to dinner that is almost done. I got the idea for making the triple batch meal once a week to keep the stock up from a site that I visited.

Hope that helps!

Good morning all.

Hope your cold came to nothing Tejas. A summer cold is an absolute misery.

Vickie I feel your pain! For me, a computer is a bit like a car. OK until something goes wrong and then I don't have a clue.

Beachbum I'm on Yahoo here in the UK. In my experience, I've found that the more they improve it, the bigger the problems become. When my husband was in the navy he sailed past Cape Cod many times and said it would be a lovely, lovely place to live.

On Target Don't you worry about being bossy. My brother in law and his wife are, or were, both teachers. Instead of bossy I call them good
Organizers. They live a good 300 miles away and can still be very
Organizy on the phone. We both love them to pieces.

Nancy That's really good news re: the heart murmur. I like to start the day hearing something nice

Sloanie Could you find your way out of the kitchen after all that cooking? When my family was bigger, I used to have a 'cooking for the freezer day' once a month. I made my own bread in those days, and the smell made us all feel very hungry

I have a lovely (not) day in front of me. Washing down paintwork prior to decorating. What my husband and I need is a Lottery win so that we can pay someone to come in and do it all

Good Morning Ladies:)

Its unbelievable how its raining right now,I had to ware my slick to take the garbage out to the curb. I guess its going to be another day of using my bike for exercising.

Lost 1.5 this morning so I don't think it was the method of counting calories w) portion control that was doing it, It must have been that I was too high on the carbs. that was causing me to stall. So I'm planing lean more on the Core Plan than the Flex.

SANDRA-Oh my wish it would cool down for you guys we feeling comfortable with all this rain dropped the temps to a wonderful 75-80's with no HUMIDITY,that the killer. I also did that when I was going to a place that I never been before.

RHONDA-Glad you had some relief from the heat.You're really the exercising queen with all the exercising your doing. Wish I could be as active as you but with this arm shoulder I afraid to do so.

SLOANE-I can imagine on how busy your are now that school is started again. and than you still have time to find Core recipes to boot. You're amazing.Glad that I made you smile,just came into my head when I was typing.Thanks hope so,that the doctor will be able to help me one way or the other.

JOJO-Moved to the Cape 13 years ago when we retired.Love it up here,but we never visited here during a married life,the only thing we knew was Patty Pages song "Old Cape Cod" My DS is going to put me on Google instead he says it safer there. Hope he right.


Well I guess it about time to get going,have a nice day

OK, I've had 800 calories so far today. I think that I will actually eat more than 1200 on days when I exercise. I've been to aquafit and still have Todd and the recumbent bike to do.

I joined "fitday" and that will really help keep track of nutrients and calories. I've already had enough carbs, so that is interesting in itself. I would never have guessed it.

Rhonda

Hi there, Chickies. We are enjoying much cooler weather today with our high around 90*. (That's our weather report for August 25, 2010.) :lol I am OP today after a bout with higher calories yesterday. (That's our news report for August 25, 2010.)

Seriously, all is wonderfully cooler and I am OP again. Life is good. My gf is coming out to shoot shortly. Curtis is working with a new male friend now tweaking his bowhunting gear.

Just saw on the news where they are making "fried margaritas, fried frito pie, and fried beer along with fried chocolate for the state fair. Hmmmmmmmmm.....wonder why there's an obesity problem around here.

JoJo, I love "Organizy." I'm going to use that tomorrow when I'm subbing. And as to winning the lottery--sounds good to me.

Sloan, you're wise to cook ahead. Sometimes I make a big dish of something to have on hand especially when I'm subbing. We like having Taco Soup on hand. That's one of our favorites and it's almost CORE.

Rhonda, I hope you're feeling better. Those summer colds can be really miserable.

Got to go. I'll catch ya'll later.

Hey chickies, I just got home from my painting class. I started a new painting tonight. It is of some little birds chillin' in a puddle. I hope to be happy enough with it to hang it over my bed.

Sandra, glad you are having cooler temps. Fried margaritas? How do you pull that off? Let us know :D

Rhonda, how many carbs are recommended on fit day?

Maryann, congrats on the loss!

Jojo, I love the term organizy, too. It is a really good term to use for my mom! Her motto is "somebody's gotta be in charge, and it might as well be me". I'll admit to being a little organizy myself:o

Hope you all are having a relaxing night. TTFN

Sloan, I don't have a clue how they do the fried margaritas. They just mentioned them on the news. I found the following on the net:

"Deep-Fried Margaritas: Coming Soon to the State Fair of Texas?
By Sarah DiGregorio, Wed., Aug. 25 2010 @ 6:30PM
Categories: DiGregorio, Edible News

'Dallas's State Fair of Texas is officially the Fried Food Capitol of Texas (TM!), and every year it throws the Big Tex Choice Awards to determine what new batter-dipped concoction will join the fried peaches and cream, fried pecan pie, and fried butter that now tempt fair-goers.

Eight finalists have been announced today, and they all sound impossible!

The deep-fried s'mores Pop-Tart is definitely the easiest one to get your head around. But then it gets more...interesting: Pretzel-coated fried beer, fried Frito pie, fried club salad, fried lemonade, and yes, fried margaritas. Drunk and bloated? Where do we sign up?

We don't know how these things are made, but the fried Coke that won in the past was actually Coke-flavored batter that was then deep-fried in balls and topped with Coke syrup and whipped cream.

The winner will be determined on Labor Day weekend by a panel of members of the media, hopefully those with hardy constitutions.'"

We have had rain for the last 24 hours. I know there is a huge water shortage in south east England, but enough is enough. Summer (which has been hot and humid) seems to have gone and we have gone slap bang into late autumn(fall)

Does anyone know how the BP clean up is going? I can't possibly tell you what
BP stands for over here these days, but as for the chief exec standing down, he should have been fired and possibly shot. It's not just the loss of livlihood for those poor, poor people but also the horrendous damage to wildlife and coast. We are all fuming.

Jojo: how the cleanup is going "depends".....on whom you ask and when. CNN has good coverage of the matter, in my opinion, and likely there is information on their website. If it's not obviously available, look under "Anderson Cooper" who has done most of the reporting on it. The Wall Street Journal has also just published an investigative report, probably on their website, but I haven't checked yet.

I had about 1300 calories yesterday. Sloan, I'll check the site more carefully about carb recommendation. But I was at 40% fairly early in the day. I was surprised that the site gave only 171 calories as the expenditure on weight training. That, I don't believe.

I also just took a quiz on life expectancy, putting my weight at 160. At that weight, I'll live to 102. Really now. It also said the "ideal weight" for a 5' 4" woman is 133 pounds (sorry Jojo, we Yanks are stuck in pounds, inches, etc. I lived in Toronto for 34 years and never learned the other system!)

BBL,
Rhonda

Hi Ladies:)

Sorry I wasn't around this morning had a lot on my plate and than I want out to find my Doctors office for Tues appointment. I don't know what I was worrying about I found it right away and than I headed out and than got back from an appointment with my financial adviser.


SLOAN-Thanks for the congrats hope keeps until Sat. W-I

Have to go watch Dr Oz and eat my supper

Ok, I need help!!! My eating is out of control. I keep planning to get on track, but then I don't. I have all of those core dinners in the freezer, and I'm having those, but I am not doing well otherwise. Can somebody come to Tennessee and kick my butt? Aaaaaaargh!!!

I had my first day subbing for this school year. Most of the kids remembered me an I remembered a lot of them. It was sort of a reunion.

JoJo, thank you for what you said about your feelings on the BP oil spill. Your weather sounds wonderful. We need rain but I understand how 24 hours gets to be too much.

Rhonda, 102 sounds wonderful. So does weighing 160. That does sound really low for calorie burn. Ask Todd what he thinks.

I feel really really good being back OP. Have a good evening, everyone. I'll catch you tomorrow.

For Sloan: :kickbutt: :kickbutt: There, my friend, just as you requested (without coming to Tennessee).

I could not find a place on fitday that gave breakdowns for food, so I looked at the Mayo Clinic site. It says: carbs, 45-65%; protein, 10-35%; fat, 20-35%. That's quite a range. But, I'm trying to keep carbs at less than 40%.

I will ask Todd about calorie expenditure.

We had a busy afternoon with DH's grandkids. Tired!

Rhonda

Sloan, we must have been posting at the same time. First of school creates a lot of emotional excitement. (been there) You have all the tools and know what to do. I'd come up and kick you and you can kick me, but I think we just need to work on our mental game. I love you, girl. You can do it. (So can I.)

Thanks Rhonda and Sandra, I love you gals, too! I know we ALL can do this. I just need to grumble a little.

Sloan, :frypan: but what you really need is :cheer:

think through a few good breakfast options and a few good lunch options and stick with those for a week to keep you on track. The core dinners will help you through the dinner tme.

My dog just scratched so loud against the floor that my husband thought someone was banging on the door, He jumped up from bed and threw the window open and was yelling "what,what" I told him I thought it was the dog but I was half asleep too so I thought he might be right,

With 1/2 a sleeping pill I may be typing things that make no sense like :dance:
because he's cute,,

Sloan..I just realized I copied your tracker bar. I will change mine a bit

Sloan If we couldn't cheat a bit here and there, Mother Nature wouldn't have given us the ability to be sneaky now and again would she? Just hit a bump in the road that's all, don't be hard on yourself.

Tejas I keep a calculator by my laptop so I can convert back to stones and pounds (14lbs=1 stone) I did my midwifery training in Coventry, and we had to weigh the babies in kilos and measure in cms. The first 3 things a new mum wants to know are 1) Is the baby OK? 2) Is it a boy or a girl? and 3) What does it weigh? We had a conversion chart by the scales so we could give mum and dad the weight in good old fashioned pounds.

By the time you read this, I shall be in the heart of mid Wales. There is a huge superstore there. We need new dinner plates and we love this store, so will combine a day out with a shopping trip. Much quieter to go in the week than the weekend