Robbin...I'm so happy to hear that your Hubby will not be going to Iraq. I know from experience that a very big weight has been lifted from your shoulders.:hug: How many more years does your Hubby have left till he retires? The years do go by fast except when they are on deployment, then they creep by. We are extremly cold today and it's suppose to get even worse by tonight. They are saying that we could hit -50 with the wind chill tonight and talking about closing the interstate, which I don't think is a bad idea. I would love to be able to plug a small heater in the car to keep my feet warm. The heater just wasn't doing it today. I wrapped up in the blanket we have for the dog.

Tina...Isn't it amazing how much houses have gone up in value. Your home sounds lovely, but I totally understand wanting everything on one level. I live in a 1910 two story farm house with a partial basement, but would love to have a single story home with a full basement if we continue to live in North Dakota. We have a reenforce stormroom in our basement to go to during a tornado, but it is only big enough for four peolpe to stand in. I would like to have something big enough that we could sleep in,if needed. I'm also like Robbin, we have 10 acres and our closes neighbor is a mile away. I love the peace and quite!

Diane...Congrats on the weight loss! You are doing GREAT!!! For Super Bowl, try to eat low point meals for breakfast and lunch so you can enjoy the party. Don't forget to drink plenty of water and have FUN!!!

Liza...WOW! You are doing AWESOME with the exercise. I'm so proud of you:hug:. Robbin gave you some good advise for the leg cramps to eat bananas, but don't forget to drink plenty of water. That will also help with the cramps.

Linda...Yes we have a groundhog and the darn thing saw his shadow the last couple of years and we had an early spring. Today he didn't see his shadow and they are saying spring will be early. Not holding my breath!! You wait and see, I'll be telling you all about the April blizzard when we get one. Not to mention that we are having our coldest temps in five years.

Robsia...I was watching International House Hunters and they were in England. What a shock! I couldn't believe how much homes/flats were going for and how small they were. Of course homes here in the US are very high as well. We would love to move back to Oregon to be close to family, but we are looking at 250,000.00 for a home, and that still doesn't get us what we have now. May still stay in North Dakota where rural homes are reasonable. Only have to deal with the cold six months out of the year.:D

Well I need to get a casserole made for a potluck we are going to tonight, if the weather holds out. Have a good weekend.

Cheryl :val1:

Does everyone else change their ticker as soon as they lose a pound or two or am I the only one that wants to jump right to it?? I've lost another pound or two....but am becoming skeptical about changing my ticker....I don't want to have to move it back up. :(

This is kinda changing the subject, but I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who posts here. You all are such an encouragement to me....I know that I'd never be able to do this and make it through each struggle of a day without the support of each of you here....even if you don't speak directly to me, I find encouragment in the words said to others. I don't have anyone personally that I feel comfortable talking to about my weight. I can come here and say the things I want (and sometimes need) to say. I talk to my husband about most of it, but it feels good to come here and be able to announce that I weigh 230 lbs and not feel uncomfortable about it. My husband has no idea how much I weigh...I mean, I'm sure he has an idea, but he doesn't know for sure. Anyway, thanks everyone....for sharing, for going thru this journey with me, for listening, supporting....You guys are awesome and I'm glad I have each of you "in my life."

Okay, enough mush.....I think my pms is really kicking in....Gotta run get some stuff done before hubby gets home and thinks I didn't do anything while he was out! :) Take care everyone....stay warm and eat smart! :)

Diana

aw diana, i know what you mean, its good to have this place for support. it sure helps me stick to it. i also dont have anyone who i can talk to this about in real life so having you gals to talk to who know how im feeling and how hard this weight loss journey is really means a lot to me.

re tickers i weigh in once per week and change my ticker to whatever it is that day. if i sometimes have a peek at the scales during the week i dont change my ticker cos i know i fluctuate a lot throughout the week

Good Afternoon, Chickies . . . :hug:

It's fairly mild here today (well comparatively) and that's probably why the sky has been dribbling ice tears all day. We seem to have been missed by the really bad storm they were threatening all day yesterday so I guess we are ahead of the game overall. :) But I hate ice . . . it scares the everlovin' beegeezess outa me. :mad:

CHERYL . . . :hug: . . . Guess that explains where our extra cold weather is hiding. So very sorry . . . but I hope you can keep it for a little bit longer. :^: Try to stay warm.

DIANA . . . :hug: . . . You can get mushy on us anytime you like, girl. You know that we all feel just about the same way. :love: It is absolutely amazing around here, the way the love oozes out of every post.

LIZA . . . :hug: . . . Oh yes, that's exactly what it is . . . the "we're all in it together" feeling that everthing you say is really understood.

When it comes to 'moving the ticker', I have to admit I often hop on the scales every day or so, just to see how stuff is going, but I "officially" only record my weight after my WWI . . . and that sometimes means record it only in my Excel program. Because my ticker only goes in one direction -- downward -- to the right. The human body works only on its own schedule. Many is the time I've seen it down on a Sunday or Monday and back up again on Wednesday. :mad: Or, conversely, up on Monday and back down on Wednesday. I try to be a little logical about it . . . as we all know it takes 3500 calories to move a pound . . . so unless you "know" that you have been extra good or extra bad to the tune of that many calories, the pound (or pounds) in question cannot be real. For example, on Wednesday, I was up for the second week in a row and I put the 241.2 into my Excel program. I know I really did not 'deserve' to be 4.6 pounds above ticker based on what I'd been eating -- in my case, I think it is a reaction to the anesthetic in my system from that little surgery on Jan.26. Lo and behold, this morning (only 3 days later) I weigh 235.4 for a loss of 6.2 pounds (a 217,000 calorie deficit). . . I don't think so. I certainly hope today was the more accurate number . . . but only the scale:devil: knows for sure what the number will be by next Wednesday.

Sorry for running off at the mouth like that :o . . . guess what I'm really trying to say is the number on the scale is really only one indication that you are succeeding on the great winding journey to better health and fitness. As long as it keeps moving in the right direction over the long haul, everything is fine. :D

Have a great moving and shaking kind of day, girls. See you soon. :carrot:

just realised i havnt been updating my exercise ticker and cant remember what iv done so just gonna reset it a day early, i've done more than my target tho so gonna increase it to 30mins per day target. had a bit of a chocolate binge on friday hopefully that wont have ruined this weeks scales result. yesterday did 30minutes on treadmill, did 40minutes this morning. weigh in tomorow morning. fingers crossed!!
hope y'all are having a good weekend xxx

Fingers . . . toes . . . eyes . . . all crossed. Hope things go well for you tomorrow LIZA :hug:

Well gang . . . :hug: . . . wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope it is lots and lots of fun. :D

I did a big bunch of filing today . . . bad, bad habit of letting it pile up until I can't find the top of my desk and everytime Mouse swishes his tail he knocks something on the floor. He's gone to sit someplace else now . . . can't stand things this neat I guess. Hey -- it won't last. :o Everytime I clean up the mess, I promise myself I'll 'never let it get like that again' . . . just one more promise I know I'll never keep. :(

Guess it's about time to make the big salad and figure out some proteins to go with it. Have a great moving and shaking evening, everybody . . . see you soon. :carrot:

4lbs lost this week!!

Well girls, GOOOOOOOOD Mornin'! I'm swollen up this mornin....too much salt when I overate last night at our super bowl get together! :( But, I'm not going to stress over it AT ALL!! I'd had an otherwise awesome weekend (food-wise...and otherwise, also, I guess). It'll either not matter to the scales and I'll keep the loss I'd already had, or I'll go back up to a non-loss for the week. I think I'm okay with that either way! :) Next weekend will also be a challenge....we're going out of town with the same family that we got together with this weekend. They're definitely NOT health conscious people.....pretty much the only place they like to eat at is McDonald's...or what we call "Heartattack in a bag." Haven't figured out what I'm gonna do yet. Guess I'll try for a really, really good week and just try not to blow it this week.

Hey, everyone have a wonderful Monday! I"m sure I'll be back later........

Diana

im finding willpower i never knew i had, took my son to macdonalds today and all i had was a bottle of water, the other day took him to burger king and again i had water. just a few weeks ago i would have been stuffing myself with burger fries coke and icecream! im so proud of me!

just done 40minutes on treadmill, 5minutes on stepper and 100 reps with weights. off for a shower now, catch you gals in the morning XX

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee...[/QUOTE]

I love that story.

Hello, everyone, I haven't lost any weight yet, so far as I know, but truthfully, I still need to buy a scale. How often do you guys weigh yourselves, I generally think that once a week is a good amount.

Good Morning . . . :D Woke up just about frozen this morning. I don't have the heat on in my bedroom and I had shut the door last night because one of the cats was driving me insane. Guess the wind shifted overnight and the temperature dropped way down. Brrrrrr . . . outside says it's -30C (-22F) this morning. At least the sun is shining. :cool:

Finally gave up on my cordless telephone/answering machine yesterday and moved a land-line phone upstairs to my computer room and then bought a sweet little answering-machine-only which i just finished setting up. Now I'm short one phone -- downstairs in the rec room but that room doesn't get used much in the Winter anyway, so I'll worry about that in the Spring.

Well, I had a chocolate meltdown yesterday evening . . . :mad: . . . ate about 125 grams of nice, rich, dark chocolate. Boo . . . hiss . . . and I am paying for it with a runny-tummy this morning. :o Today WILL be better. :yes:

LIZA . . . :hug: . . . Great loss, girl and great work with keeping up the exercise and avoiding the pitfalls at McDonalds and Burger King. You are really doing good stuff, Chickie.

DIANNA . . . :hug: . . . Good girl . . . one day definitely does not make or break the whole adventure. Actually McDonalds is getting a little better. You can now get a small salad as part of a meal instead of the fries; and the deli-sandwiches are a lot better than a hamburger . . . still not the healthiest food in the world :( , but better than before.

RHIANNON . . . :hug: . . . Welcome to the group. Afraid I can't place that quote? . . . tell us more. :D I agree that once a week is often enough to let the scale-:devil: know what is going on although I have to admit to sneaking a look at other times. Just so long as you realize that the human body fluctuates wildly and you have to ignore the short-term and look at the long-term pattern, you'll be fine. Hope we'll be seeing you regularly now that you've found us.

Okay . . . everybody else . . . where are you all hiding . . . come out, come out, wherever you are . . . we miss you. :hug: Anyway, gang, I'm off to try to do something constructive with the day. Keep things moving and shaking and here's some :dust: to keep us all heading in the right direction - downward. See you again soon. :carrot:

Sorry I wasn't here yesterday. I was in a state of depression. I was very bad over the weekend and my scales went up to 225, yep 6 pounds up from ticker. YUCk. Today they are back down to 222. That stupid number I can't seem to get away from.

Hope everyone is doing ok. Check back later.

Awwwww, Robbin....don't let it get you down. YOU CAN DO THIS! They're just scales....show 'em a thing or two!!!! Don't let 'em win!

Rhiannon, I'm not as obsessive this go 'round with weighing as I've been in the past. I do weigh probably every couple of days, atleast, though. I can't make it a whole week....I think it's physically impossible for me to wait that long. I'm not getting discouraged as easily this time either. I don't know if it's aging and maturity or what....but I know it's going to come off slow...no more than a few lbs a week at best so when it jumps around, I just generally don't stress about it. You need to get scales, though. You definitely wanna keep up with your progress to keep you motivated!

Linda, I'm finding that I have usually one "bad" day per week and it's not effecting me. Don't let it get ya down....your meltdown may not even "show up."

Liza, WOW! I'm speechless....your willpower amazes me! I don't think I could ever go in McDonald's or Burger King and NOT eat anything! Even if it was a grilled chicken sandwich or a salad. And your exercise is awesome! I'm curious to see what this does for your loss over the next few days.

Anybody know where everyone else is? I know all to well what happens when I slowly let more and more time pass in between my posts....I eventually quit coming. I'm hoping that's not the case with our folks who aren't regularly posting. Where are you guys? We miss you!!!

Well, today is WW weigh in for me. I think I've lost atleast 1/2 lb. I've had PMS for a week now, so TOM must be getting really close, which hopefully will make for a really, really good weigh in next week! :) :) :) This close to TOM, I"ll be happy with any loss at all!! Last month, when TOM finally came, it was good for a couple of lbs.....so I'll be happy to weigh next week. I was on track yesterday...and hopefully will be today, although I had one bite of chocolate this morning...a kid at my son's school had made chocolate last night and insisted that I have some this morning. It was tasty! But surprisingly I only wanted the one bite. YAY!!

I"ll let everyone know how weigh in goes....may be tomorrow though. Have a great day, ladies!

Hey girls, sorry I've been MIA these past few days. It's been really busy and stressful. We've put our house on the market saturday so I've been digging things out and clearing things that have been "swept under the rug" type thing. Trying to keep in "show home" order is very tiring. I had an agent open house this morning, which wasn't all that successful. I've been amazingly good even through all this stress, I haven't endulged once! I even came out on the other side of a weekend lighter than when I entered it. Trust me, that rarely ever happens!!

Now, lemme try to catch up!

Cheryl, oooh gosh...sounds like it's awful cold where you are. Hope you're keeping warm. I hear ya about spring...it's about time already!

Liza, congrats on the loss! You're doing so well. I can tell there is such a difference in you this time. Seems like your heart is totally into this. Keep up that great work and we'll be seeing less of you more often! ;)

Robbin, have you ever had your thyroid checked? Just a suggestion as to why your scales seem to be such a bugger. You work so hard and I would love to see you get rewarded big time!

Linda, another one with cold weather! I'm glad our weather seems to be hovering around the (-) teens. But I'm so ready for some nice WARM weather the kind that melts the nasty ice! We've had freezing rain and it's just awful out there!

Diana, I think you're about the only one I hear that's excited about winter weather. LOL! There is plenty up here that I'd be glad to give away! It's the same here with regards to buying a house using what money you'd make selling your own. Be awesome if you were to move outta town or like you said buy smaller. I mean if we'd sell now we'd make 208 grand, I'd love to take the money and run! LOL!

Rhiannon, I weigh everyday so I can try to keep myself in line when I have to. I know a lot of ppl can't handle the fluctuations but it doesn't seem to affect me too much as long as I know that I'm doing everything possible to change my weight.

Well, have a great day everyone! I'll try to be more of a presence more often!
TTFN!