Hi all, great to read your posts. I, too, get nervous waiting for mortgage and other financial approval. Hang in there - perhaps all this snow in the east has slowed down things in the west as well. I'm home to day with two sick sons and one who is overwelmed - so I'm letting him take the day. It's really hard to be here and not chow down. I have such a connection with cold, snow and food. I'm back to 1500 cals a day and I know that's a better amount for me to lose weight (I've heard that's about 24-26 ww points - I think).

We had two feet on the ground and today we're getting another 6-10!!!! It has everything slowed down. Good thing I bought a workout tape - "body sculpting." It looked good, the store didn't have the pilates tape and I knew I'd be needing one now with all this snow. I'll shovel, then I'll put on the tape and exercise with the children.

Went to my health class. She emphasized the fact that calories count! That's why I'm back down to 1500 - she thinks 1800 was too many and that's why I'm not losing weight. I'm still at 175 and hoping to drop below it by Saturday - impetus to stay on task even though I'm tempted not too. I keep thinking if I stick to this during the cold, snowy winter I'll be in great shape in the spring when it's easier to get out and exercise and one is not as tempted to eat right. I'm going on and on. Good luck today. Keep in touch. Thanks for being here.

Hello, my friends!
 

Just wanted to check in w/you today. Things here have been good. I've done well w/eating although I've been fighting the "munchies" all day. I think it's b/c I'm not feeling well. Comfort food, you know. when I was little and got sick, mom always bought me 7up and nilla wafers. To this day, when I'm really sick-not just puny like today-that's what I crave! My whole family knows if I'm sick enough to be in bed, it's time to buy 7up and nilla wafers. What was your comfort foods?

TOF-let me know how you like the video. I think I probably need to introduce a body sculpting video soon. I wish you could send some of that snow down my way! Glad things went well w/your health group. Keep us updated. Right now, I'm doing 26 points which is around 1300 points. I think they calculate it as 50 calories per point. I feel full at this number, ususally. Unless I'm PMSing! then, I never feel full!! :D Hang in there, girl. you can do it.

Marie-let us hear from you. How's work? I wouldn't sweat too much abou the bear claw. We all do it sometimes. Just realize your choice wasn't the healthiest and move forward. Always move forward. I'm glad you thought about us though. Like I said, it's saved me more than once knowing I'd have to fess us to you guys. I guess we're your little angels sitting on your shoulders, aye? Those bad food choices are the devil on the other shoulder. Surely us two angels can overtake the devil! :D By the way, you sound a little stressed. (Is that an understatement!) How long has it been since you've done something for yourself? Maybe you need to schedule some "me" time. give or get a manicure. Treat yourself to something nice for all the hard work you've been doing. Buy a book. Soak in the tub. Be kind to yourself. I believe it will help relieve some of your stress.

Well, gotta run. Have a great evening. Talk to you soon.

Hi all, things are going here and I figured out another component of our web server. The uploading now works - thanks to my son. He stopped by after class this morning and I was telling him my whoas about the uploading. He looked at it and told me to put a / behind the directory and then it worked. I was so close but it's cool to have Robert teach me. So the day was successful.

I called the mortgage co. yesterday and was told that they haven't received the appraisal and that's why they haven't contacted me. He re-iterated that the loan was approved and that's all they're waiting for. So I felt way better. I'm not obsessing about it anymore.

I exercised for 30 minutes on the Gazelle last night. DH did it with me. He came inside from his "prize" and I just mentioned that I was going to exercise in a few minutes and he said he'd join me. I just can't exercise right before bed and he understood that. I got a good workout and I was pleased I did it on my off day. Today is an on day and I'll be exercising again when I get home. I'm thinking of using the exercycle but I'll decide where my mood is when I start.

I finished the day off good eating wise. I didn't make the chicken recipe - too tired after work and exercising - so I grilled them on my George Foreman. They were okay, but I'm not a meat person so they weren't great. The baked fries I liked a whole bunch more.

I can't wait until spring. I want to eat fresh fruit again. I miss cantaloupe and strawberries. I've always felt those were God's gift to dieters. I've had a bit of canned pineapple and an occasional apple, but I miss the fresh, good stuff. Besides I'm sick of January. This month is always long and cold.

I don't envy you, TOF, about all the snow. If we had it, DH would shovel it, but I hate driving in it. Alos, sick kids doesn't sound fun at all. Are you able to grade homework while you're home so you don't have to do it in the evenings?

Skinny, I'm glad your hubby is doing better. That is a good sign that he cares about the finances again. Sounds like his meds are working. Keep us posted.

I suppose I should get back to work. DH is taking an online course for work and is using the computer every night so I need to message during the day. If I wasn't so lazy, I could turn on my laptop at home and still message in the evenings, but I'm lazy.
Marie

Hi all. It is so great to come home after a long day and have some friends to communicate with. Also you are friends who understand this journey towards a healthier lifestyle and weight loss.

Sorry to hear you are not well Skinny. Make sure that you get lots and lots of sleep - that will help you to get better and stay strong with your healthy eating. Treat yourself to nonfood treats! Great job exercising Marie. I'm motivated by your exercise reports.

Marie when you mentioned the food wasn't satisfying you hit one of the points I've been thinking about which is what foods are satisfying and what foods are not. Interesting enough at 4pm a nice healthy meal is so satisfying to me, at 6pm all I want is comfort food like a smoothie. In the morning I'm not that fussy as long as I have my coffee. At the health class that's a topic we're thinking about. If you eat and are satisfied you don't want to eat again soon. If you eat and you don't like it, then you want something else.

Tonight I went out to Friendly's, a local hamburger joint. I ordered the fajita - I only had one wrap, skipped the taco and sour cream. The chicken, steak, veggies and cheese were all a great portion and it tasted great - that's satisfying!

Skinny, yesterday I just wanted comfort food. I made myself a big bowl of rice pudding. I used a banana instead of sugar and used less brown rice than called for. I ate so much that it ended up being my dinner too. No big problem as the ingredients were really healthy, it fit my cal total and it was very satisfying. So that's one comfort food for me, another is the smoothie as you all know.

Great workout this morning - 3.1 run on the treadmill. Slow start, but strong ending. I'm starting to really crave my exercise - a good sign!

Have a great day everyone. Thanks for being here.

Hi TOF and Skinny, hope all is okay with you both. TOF, I know what you mean about the exercising. It does start to become a habit. But for me, that habit has been formed before and once I miss a couple days, I totally lose the desire. As loong as I stay with my regimen, I stay on track. I did exercise again tonight and worked up a little sweat. I do need to increase my resistance because my heart rate isn't getting as high as it should.

Eating was okay today. I've done better, but I've been way worse before. So I'd say it was so so. TOF, isn't Friendly's the ice cream parlour? When I lived in Virginia we used to go to one all the time. I'm sure it contributed in no good ways to my diet, but they sure were good. Friendly's was always good memories.

Good job on the exercise and food, TOF. You really sound like you've got your act together. You're motivational and enviable. I still haven't gotten my act all the way together - food still needs improvement.

I totally agree with you about satisfying and not satisfying foods. I had bran cereal for breakfast today and I wanted everything including the kitchen sink to eat this morning. Luckily I didn't stray too badly.

We started making a coffee at work that is really good. Many less calories than starbucks. We take an envelope of Swiss Miss Sugar Free Cocoa (the one with splenda) and put in about a half a tablespoon of caramel sauce, then fill the cup with hot, fresh made coffee. It is wonderful and it only has about 100 calories. It has become a ritual with my two friends. Very tasty and so cheap - calorie and money wise. At this point there isn't anything at Starbucks that I'd rather. Pretty cool, huh?

Well it's bed time. I did turn on the laptop tonight since I didn't have time to write at work. I will talk to you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Marie

Good morning Marie. I'm curious Marie and Skinny what are your real weight-loss goals beyond the pounds? For me it's wearing nicer clothes and being able to have more energy and a longer life hopefully. I really want to maximize my ability to live a good life - I feel like I've been weighted down (literally and otherwise) for too too long!!!

This venture has me feeling a bit like I'm a visitor to a new country. First I feel some guilt for leaving my old ways (Am I selfish now? I know the answer is no, but that's not always how I feel) and I feel like a foreigner in this new place where I actually get a look or two from men and think about wearing nail polish and being the kind of girl I used to draw pictures of all the time, but was too afraid to be - a feminine girl - strange thinking for an gal of 45. Any thoughts?

Hi TOF, I agree with you on the strange land when men give you looks or come on to you. It's the only thing about losing weight that I don't look forward to. The last time I lost 80 pounds, I had men everywhere. I'm hoping now that I'm 43 instead of 33, that will be different. I don't like men noticing me. I notice that when I diet and feel good about myself, I want to wear makeup and look nice instead of grungy. It's always interesting to see what else changes when eating styles change.

My goal beyond weight loss - that's easy - it's the only reason I'm dieting because I'm happy where I am right now - is diabetes. My grandmother who I look just like had it and my sister was diagnosed this past spring - about the day I started my diet. I don't want to be diabetic. It's a strong fear - stronger than the urge to munch. I'm glad you brought that up because I had let that slip my mind. Today though I woke up focused. There was such a noticeable differenct than over the last two months. I was offer doughnuts at one school and politely refused. What was interesting is I had no desire to fall off the wagon and instead felt sorry for the people eating the doughnuts since they weren't going to be feeling as good as I would be for the day. It was like the finally curtain was drawn and I was back on track. It's awesome!!!!!!!!!! I'm back and I'll stay back probably through November when the winter doldrums start again. So I'll be losing weight, exercising and eating healthy. I feel so relieved.

Have a great day and I'll check in this evening.
Marie

Hi Marie, it's so great to hear your resolve. Preventing diabetes is a great reason to get healthy. Your positive outlook helped to spring me back to life. It was a challenging day at school - nothing out of the ordinary just a little more challenging. I stuck to my healthy eating today. I've been back to 1500 this week and feel better, it's just a nice calorie amount for me - I'm not hungry and I feel good.

Had pasta tonight and tomorrow I'll be weighing in and doing my super Sat. morning workout. I'll write then. Take care.

Hi TOF and Skinny, since you two were so nice to let me rant about the mortgage and waiting, I wanted to let you know that all the documents are with the Title co and now I just have to wait (patiently) for them to contact me about signing the documents. So yippee!!! I know that the financial stuff will work out. I was expecting our tax return today (since the IRS said so) but it did show up in our account. That was disappointing, but it was just going to go to buying a new bread machine and paying off bills. I can wait on the bread machine - my old one still works, I just hate it.

So three good things happened this afternoon. The mortgage, finding my long lost keys and getting my ski jacket. The keys have been missing for 3 weeks. They fell out of my pocket during a snow storm so I didn't hear them fall, and they were shovelled and plowed away. We found part of them at work a couple days ago, but the key to the building was still missing. Since I work with the mothership servers and lots of computers, we were all really concerned about the keys. So today, enough snow melted that I found them. A little rusty, but the remote control for the Durango still works. YEAH!

Then my ski jacket was supposed to come last week, but I got a backorder notice that it now would be in until the 20th of February. I stop at the post office and there is a package. I nearly fell over at the sight of the bag. So I got my new black and light pink ski jacket. It's so pretty and versatile. It is a wind breaker type of thickness with a removeable down liner. I just love it.

So today has been a great day. I had fun at work and then when I left, it only got better. I just feel so much better food wise and mentally. I think that even though it's still winter, I have spring fever. I can pretend, right?????

Have a great night and I'll talk to you soon.
Marie

New to goup and looking for some support
 

Hello to everyone in the group! Hope you are all open to a new member. My weight has been all over the map for years. I am great at weight loss. I am not great at weight maintenance. I'm forty now, and I am beginning to get that freaky feeling that if I don't do something fast, I will end up old and fat way before it's time. We are stationed at an American Military Post in Germany, and the weather has been so dark and dreary. It is hard to get out and exercise, and I spend a lot of time at home with my son, snacking. My weight has reached an all time high of 187. Thus, fifty pounds need to come off. I will appreciate all support as I start over, yet again. I'm on my way to the gym, yet again! Thanks for all -

Hi all. Welcome Rachel. I love to meet new people and the more people the more support for all! It's very interesting that you are in Germany. I love to travel and have always thought it would be interesting to be moving from place to place. A friend of mine is living in Japan right now.

You can lose that fifty pounds despite the dreary weather. Do you have a gym that you can work out at? How old is your son?

Marie, great news about all your good luck. That's a sign that you're on the right track and weight loss will come with it. I, too, have a bit of spring fever. I keep having this image of myself running down my favorite beach and jumping into the waves at 150-160 lbs rather than 210 lbs like last year! That image kept me going during a tough workout this morning. I ran 3.1 miles at 5.0 on the treadmill at hills - it was hard for me, but I'm glad I did it. I have a busy day today - lots of chores, a baby shower and I'm having my parents for dinner. Since I'll be out I'm ordering pizzas and a nice big antipasto with plenty of great veggies for me (and anyone else who wants it).

Have a great day all. Skinny, where are you?

sw210 cw 173 (weighed in today - I finally broke 175 after two months!) gw 150

Hi TOF and Rachel, hope everything is okay. Welcome to the group Rachel. Do you find it harder to diet in foreign countries than when you're living at home? I suppose it depends on the country.

TOF, I love your image of a 150 you splashing in the waves. I have a pool and I think I'm going to work on that image of my svelte and lovely playing on my diving board. Those flips were getting hard at 200 pounds. :) The imaging is a great idea. I need to work on it.

Hope your dinner with your parents went good. Sometimes guest, even when it's family, makes staying on track harder. I know I have trouble when guests come over.

AND, CONGRATULATIONS on the 2 pounds. That's the biggest motivator of all. 173 is fantastic. Way to go!!!!!!!

I agree with TOF, where are you Skinny?

Yesterday was a chore day. We had to go Costco shopping. Our little town doesn't have a lot and it's cheaper to drive over the mountain to Medford to shop. So that's what we did yesterday. We did Costco, the stained glass store and Michaels. Oh, and Dairy Queen. I substituted a Blizzard for 1 meal. It was fabulous. I'm definitely doing better eating wise, but I admit I had some oreos this afternoon. Now I have to make up the calories in my dinner. I should be able to do it all right.

I'm aiming for 1700 calories now. I've never had trouble losing weight at 1700 and 1500 is just too low for me at this point. In the summer, I can hit 1500 because fruits and veges will be back in season. For now, slices of fresh made bread is my main staple. I make a Sweet Oatmeal Bread that's to die for in my bread machine (which is going away in a couple weeks and being replace by a more reliable one). It has 125 calories per slice and it's a great snack. I have two lisces for breakfast so breakfast isn't too bad calorie wise.

I exercised yesterday since we were off track on the MWF routine. I exercised in the morning and it was so much harder than during the late afternoon. I used to be a morning exerciser but definitely not anymore. I really like the Gazelle and am glad I bought it. I get an all over workout instead of just the legs on the exercycle.

I'm almost doen with the purple cardigan. I'm making the front facings and I thought they'd take little time. Boy was I wrong. So I have the whole sweater sewn up, but I have to do these facings and one has to have button holes. I haven't figured out that yet, but I will. I'm determined to make it work. The knitting machine is really cool, but it still involves a bit of work. I think it keeps taking me longer since I find excuses to do something else. This definitely isn't my favorite part of making a sweater. Still, the sweater is a grape purple cardigan is pretty. I will finish it soon, just probably not today.

Now as another way to procrastinate, I'm going to take a long, hot bubble bath. I think I'll even dig a candle out for the scent. Mmm, sounds decadent and way better of a choice than the oreos were.

Talk to you all tomorrow.
Marie

Hello, my friends!
 

:wave: Yes, it's me. Sorry to have been away so long. Just a matter of not having time. My youngest DD had a very rough day Friday and I left work early to take care of her and just haven't gotten a chance to check in. Sorry! Glad you missed me, though! It's nice to be among friends.

Well, I weighed in this morning and was down another pound! Woo-hoo!

TOF-congrats on your two pounds gone! :cb: :dancer: Good deal. How was your dinner w/parents? Hope it went well.

Marie-how was your bubble bath? Hope you enjoyed it. I might do that myself tonight. I really like exercising in the mornings but it isn't for everyone. Sounds like you're on track to winning w/your exercise! Yeah. How's the sweater going? Boy, I would love to have a bread machine! Maybe I'll put it on my bday list! I'd love to make homemade bread for my family and have it be easy as well.

Rachel-welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you for your family's service in the military. It's greatly appreciated. Is the gym through the military or one you joined? We're thinking good thoughts and sending you encouragement and strength. You are at the right place for encouragement, honesty, tips and friendship. You can do it!

Well, gotta run. Hope everyone is having a great day! Be kind to yourself.

Hi all, I hope everyone is staying on track today, because believe it or not, I am. YEAH!!!! I came up with this great goal for me. If I'm good M thru F, then on Friday for lunch I get a Cherry Chocolate Chunk DQ Blizzard for lunch. It's the only food I still desire. So I figure the extra 250 calories that I will consume is offset by staying on track all week. So far today, I'm not even tempted to stray. Because Friday is coming. It's my favorite day of the week and I just made it better. I would hate to have Friday roll around and not be able to get my weekly reward. I really think I hit on something that will work for me.

Skinny, glad to see you're back. I hope your daughter is doing all right. How is DH and his job search. If you want a bread machine, all you have to do it pay for the postage, and I'll send you my old one when I get my new one. There's nothing wrong with it, I just get irked at it. And, I want rectangle loaves, not round ones. Also, the seal is broken but it works fine anyway. DH just glued it back together. You are more than welcome to it. I should be getting my new one in a two or three weeks. I'll figure out how much shipping is and I'll give you a few of my favorite recipes.

That's about it for now. Take care.
Marie

Hi all. So good to hear from you. Skinny, I hope your daughter is ok. I'm so happy to hear that you're down a pound - that's awesome, you're on your way. Marie, way to go with the exercise and making incentives to stay on track. Can you still do a flip? I used to be able to, but not anymore - I can do a jacknife dive though so all is not lost.

Yesterday I had an awful day - hit a real low emotionally. I think I was exhausted. That happens to me - I just drop with exhaustion and I can never see it coming. Anyways I ranted and raved and caused all kinds of excitement around here mainly because I was guilty that I didn't have energy to do anything. I managed to stick close to my cal. limit which was good even though my foods were not the best. Today is a new day and I'm back on track. I learned that lots of dieters give up as soon as they hit a bump in the road - many overweight people tend to be "all or nothing" people. Yesterday I was tempted to really get off track, but just knowing that I have to watch out for the "all or nothing" way of thinking really helped.

I'm getting better at portions too - eating smaller portions which gives me the cals for greater variety which makes me more satisfied. There's a lot to learn on this journey. I'm glad you're both well. Take care.