Hey, I just wanted to congratulate ALL the May exercisers -- we exercised OVER 22,000 minutes for May and are on pace to beat our 2007 record!!!

But we can't relax -- we tend to do more in the summer and by November and December we don't do so much!

ALL ARE WELCOME TO CONTRIBUTE! It's easy-- just exercise and record the minutes! Check out the exercise sticky at the top of the page!

Good Morning! Just flying by to say Hi! I'm finishing up my oatmeal and then digging into work!

Have a Happy and Healthy Day!

HI...busy day here with all 3 kids. Gonna spend time outside moving...Lets make June a BIG WEIGHT LOSS month. Be sure and drink enough in the hotter weather.

I've just got a minute on lunch hour, as always, but I'm so excited about my May progress I could bust. I've been trying so hard since Christmas to get back on track, and haven't been able to stay sane for more than 3-4 days at a time. I spent a lot of time crying over it, and still just couldn't get my hoo-hah together.

But I weighed in this a.m. for the month, and I'm down 9 pounds. That shows consistant progress that I haven't been able to make in, well, 3-4 years! since I first lost 70 lbs (& before I gained half of it back.) It means that I've taken back control!

The journey is far from over, but I'm planning each day before it can take me by surprise and catch me too hungry to be smart. Tonight the blacksmith is coming, so I know I'll be heading to the barn instead of home after work. So dinner is in the fridge at work, because I know there's a BK, a McD's, Panaras & a Taco Bell all waiting like so many poisonous spiders to snare me on my way to the barn.

At least I'm finally back on right path. I was starting to fear I couldn't really do it again, but the Never-Give-Up thing works, if you just keep trying until something clicks!

Good morning, my friends...first of all, Val, I am so impressed with your progress! I am so happy for you. I shall have to do a happy dance on your behalf. (And that'll burn calories too!)

I'm getting my home ready for the arrival of my younger son, Rhyan. He's coming home, for good, on Thursday. We'll go pick him up at SFO and then I'll have physical custody of both my boys and I am just so happy about that!!! Emotional healing can begin for my family, finally!

Over the last few weeks, I've been overwhelmed with stress, and while I was managing my calories for maintenance, I was retaining a lot of water. My ankles were swollen, my hands, and I ached all over. I gained 16 lbs.! That didn't help with the stress levels. My period was about 10 days late, and I've been edgy and crampy all this time. Finally, today, things are starting to flow, shall we say. I weighed in this morning, and I'm down 6 lbs. I'm hoping this trend is here to stay. I'm certainly going to do everything that I can to maintain it.

Val, I hear you about intermittently staying on plan. It is really hard to maintain perfection. I don't believe we have to. It really is about a way of life, and staying away from BK, McD's, Panera & Taco Bell and all those poisonous spiders with their giant, super-sticky webs. Remember that giant spider in Lord of the Rings? Let's say she's the Queen of the Fast Food Web and we must avoid her at all cost!

If I never eat fast food again, I'll be just fine with that!

Georgia

VAL! Love to hear that!!

Here we are back to Monday again.

Val - let's bottle it for future use. The "zone" is such a wonderful place to be. As for fast food - I am 21 months abstinent from it - I'm with Georgia - if I never eat it again I will be ok. Originally I set out with a goal of no drive thru. It evolved on its own to no fast food.

Georgia - I'm so happy for your family being reunited. You sound excited and peaceful about it all at the same time.

Heather - wow - how bout that - 23k minutes - what is the record for us?

Debi - did you get outside with the kids today? Sun and exercise - doesn't get much better than that.

The first of a new month always regenerates me. New goals, new ideas, new plans. Today I've reflected and am going to see how many OP days I can have - my goal is 30. Summer is my favorite time and want that memory to also include successful weight loss. I've been offered an opportunity to join the hospital fitness center giving me 24/7 access to all facilities - I plan to do that this week and take full advantage of it. My trainer is sponsoring me - I hope she can continue to use me as a successful client.

Let's make it a great week - lots of positive energy here - keep it alive!

Hi Gals!
Popping in for a quickie. I'm tired and a lil blue tonight. I am so hungry today and doing my best to finish my apple/p'nut butter and then stop eating. I know it's all TOM issues. Just come and go already!

Geo - Sorry, I didn't mean to take forever answering your question about the elliptical. I never experienced knee trouble on the elliptical, for me it was more about my feet going numb. I started out doing 10 minutes at a time when I was about 340 and the worked my way to 45 minutes. I was probably around 300 when I hit the 45 min mark. This was still at level 1 and I was taking a quick (15-20) break each 15 minutes to wake my feet up. I will say that all ellipticals are different. I use Star Trac machines. I occassionally use a Life Fitness machine and I like them both but get very different workouts in terms of speed, distance, heart rate.... If you are having too much knee trouble you might be better off working on the treadmill for a bit. Find whatever works for you without putting you in any pain. Pain is not good.

As for the rest of you....Hi, Hug, Love.....have a great night! I'm off to veg in front of the tv for a bit.

Had OP day...food was great!! Lots of veggies. We got outside but didnt get to stay long..we hit 93 and humidity was awful.Im not ready for that!!!! I didnt get as much exercise as I should have...but not a bad start for a new month!

I need to do something different evidently. I am at 269 and stuck!! I was doing well when I wasn't thinking about losing weight, and as soon as my focus got back on food instead of being busy with a relative, (she is now in a nursing facility out of state), I started having problems with said FOOD. Isn't that strange? I was eating anything and everything, just not in hugh amounts. I wasn't eating sugar and still don't. Ate a lot of salads, still do. Not losing now though. I was even eating the dreaded fast food while I was running here and there with her. Sigh! Time for a new plan.

I am going to go back to counting calories as much as I hate keeping a journal. Write it down!

I will be so glad when my tomatoes and squash get ready to pick. Yummy. We also have peas and okra planted. My DH decided that was enough gardening this year. We usually have green beans, peppers, eggplant and potatoes early in the season. Fresh is so much better than store bought.

I hope you are all doing well. Keep smiling! Ruth

Iwillbe-I had my first bell peppers from the garden yesterday. YUMMY I can see small squash and zuc on the plants. I should be able to eat squash within a week.Tomato plants are looking great. We have a few small tomatoes on them but as you know it takes forever for a tomato to get ripe.I am doing eggplant this time and have never done it before. Any advice??

Oh my! Carol asked what our record exercise was, and I think we just set a new 300+ record!!! Our previous high was in July 2007 -- 23,253 min. It seems 23,779 is our new record!!!!!!

Hi dgramie, I love eggplant any way you fix it. Of course battered and fried is the best. Since that is not good for us, I grill mine with a little olive oil on it, salt and pepper it. I have also used it to make lasagna (after baking it), use it just like you would the noodles. It is very yummy. If you were asking about growing them I just try to pick them before they turn a rusty color. I also love fresh squash. I stir fry it with onions. ummm good! Ok enough about food, I am making myself hungry. LOL!

Have you all seen that commercial for the hot fudge cake with the ice cream on top? That is going to be my water loo on nixing the sugar. I should start turning the TV off when that comes on. Keep cool! XO Ruth