Good morning, Ladies.

First, Jacque, EXCELLENT JOB ON YOUR LOSS! What a wonderful way to start the new year, huh? Keep up the momentum!

Jolly: Man, you are really struggling with Acid Reflux lately, huh? My hubby suffers from that and is on medication for it. I have no idea how it feels, but I see how he is in so much discomfort at times, I can only imagine!!!

I did well this morning. Back on the treadmill after my day off. Man, I felt so guilty all day long without having the exercise done first thing!

I got 3.2 miles in this morning. It's funny, but I'm really starting to see the difference in my thighs. Not so big and they don't make so much noise by rubbing together when I walk!

I have a question....what do you all snack on at night when you get "sweet" cravings? I have been having really bad cravings at night for sugary stuff. Just wondered what you all did for it.

Happy Wednesday!

Chach

I usually have a bowl of cereal. Not Capt Crunch or anything, I try to only buy whole grain healthy stuff.
I finished up yesterday with 1200 cals. Not bad. Today is going to be low too, and then I'll go back to 1500. Now I have to exercise a little more. DH will be back tomorrow. It's easier to diet when he's away, but harder to exercise. It would be a good thing to get both going at the same time. I might actually lose some weight. Have a good day everyone!!

Hey all. Quick post before bed. Having a hard time getting on at work these days. I did make it to the gym this morning, but it was a struggle - the couch seemed so much better. Rode tonight too - even though we are in the middle of a thunderstorm. I have been drinking my water, but not cutting back on soda (ok, so I float). And my eating is horrid. I need a lock on my fridge and duct tape on my mouth.

So, in answer to your question, Chachee. What do I eat when the sweet cravings hit??? Good day or bad? I use Craisens, sugar free fudgicles, or sugar free puddings on good days. REality? M&Ms and ice cream. Lots of M&Ms and ice cream.

HELP!

Good morning everyone!

Hi everyone, just trying to catch up a bit here with a quick post. Heh, has anyone heard from Raven? Where is she? How worrying. I sure hope she's OK, after being fired. Jeez, if you hear let me know, OK?

Derry -- great going on your perfect day the other day, totally in control, eh? Congratulations. Yes, you should be proud of yourself! Derry, why are you saying this is "your last weight loss plan??! Just because you're almost 50? Do you mean that you want to reach your ideal weight once and for all? I'm like you with the enthusiasm, in fact, I don't usually have any. I just do it anyhow. I would like to have some enthusiasm though. Guess I'd need a tantalizing reason for that though.
*

Apple -- How are you doing? Sorry about the preg test, that is, if you were looking to get pregnant. I wonder what is going on with your metabolism. Sounds like mine, though I think mine is mostly from sloth, the weight gain that is. How did your day go? Did you stay on track?

Chachee -- hope you have some better nights. And if you haven't worked out only twice this year, I'm with Jacque, you are doing great! Maybe that's why you had a hard time falling asleep. Your heart might be getting quite a workout. Doing great with the food it seems. If chocolate isn't calling your name you must be doing OK!!

Oh, and I see later that you're back on the treadmill and seeing changes in your thighs! Wow, that's great. I was just noticing the changes in mine tonight and it was nothing I felt good about! These past four or five months have been **** and I lost so much muscle and put on so much fat. Oh well, that's why I'm here, right? I'm going to try to report to you when I'm seeing changes in my thighs as well. Keep us posted on yours!

What, by the way, is the Big Losers? Is it a weight loss program? Sounds like fun. I'd like to see something like that.

Jacque -- that is so great with your 4-lb loss! You certainly did make huge changes. And look what they've done. Excellent going. A big hand!

Jolly -- how are you doing? Did you get to the gym? Too bad about that acid reflux. Do you know what causes that and will it get better? I certainly hope so. It sounds very unpleasant! Good you got to ride. In a thunderstorm though? Isn't that really dangerous?! Wow, glad you made it home OK. You know, if you can, you really should try to keep the stuff out of your fridge. Is that maybe not possible though? You're not alone, are you? Well, good luck. You've lost a lot of weight already, right? You can do this. Just keep taking those baby steps. Do you try to drink diet soda at least. That would reduce the calories by a ton.


OK, all, I must get some sleep, just as most of you should be getting up. Bye for now and take care.

Hey all. I made it to the gym again this morning. I did 30 minutes of cardio, and 2 sets of upper body weights. I know I should do more, but I really don't like upper body - though that is the area I need it the most Sad and pathetic, I know. As for the diet, Red, i have been drinking diet soda since birth. Fresca and Tab - that's what mommy drank. I probably had a diet pepsi in my bottle as a baby. I never voluntarily drink regular. Yuck! As for the food, I make a menu before I do my grocery shopping. The stuff I buy for the menu is healthy - or healthy in proper portions. The problem right now is two fold. I am eating as much as I can, and not measuring portions. And, I am stopping to buy extras. And I am doing it even as I tell myself I don't need it. I know part of it is stress. I am worried that I can't find a part time job, worried about money, so I am spending it. And of course spending it on my favorite stress reducer - food. i know this sounds crazy, but it is the whole scarcity thing. Just like saying you are on a diet tends to make you want to eat more because you think you are never going to have it again, when I worry about money, I spend it poorly. Sigh. That's why I say sometimes that I need to slow the choices down. I need to slow down that panicked "ohymygoshwhatamIgonnadospendspendspend" response, so I can listen to the voice of reason. I know she's in there somewhere, because I dipped her in chocolate and ate her.

Have a good day all.

Good morning, all.

Okay, I'm picking myself up off the floor, Jolly. That was so danged funny about dipping the inner voice in chocolate and eating her. Way too funny, because I could SO imagine that picture. Visualize that b**** getting dunked and swallowing her up......way too funny.

I was slow on the treadmill this morning. I did about 40 minutes and got 2.05 miles in. Not 100% effort, but for some reason, I just didn't feel like it. Maybe because I did 80 crunches, 100 leg lifts and 30 push ups last night before bed? Muscles are a little sore today.

Red: I can't wait to hear about your decreasing thighs. (Decreasing fat, increasing muscle) It's the little things in life that we can really measure our accomplishments, huh? I know sometimes it's a bit monotonous, but I guess perserverance pays off.

Jolly: Riding in a thunderstorm? Doesn't that spook your horsie? Just curious about that. Glad to hear you got the exercise done also. It's the things we hate to do that help us out. Craisins,huh? I can't stand regular raisins, so I might have a hard time with those. I feel this way about raisins--nothing more than shriveled up humiliated grapes that no one wanted to eat!

Apple: Cereal is a good idea. I keep it here at work for snacks, so I might want to measure some out for at home. I just can't do milk, so sometimes it's a bit dry.

Alright, back to work for me.

Oh, and I have spoken with Raven. She's okay, just hanging out for awhile.

Happy Thursday.

Chach

Hey, Chachee. Some exercise is better than sitting on the couch. The way I look at it, you are at least developing the habit of exercising. You can always increase the intensity.

The horse was not thrilled about the thunder storm, but he actually only spooked twice. once when the rain and thunder picked up, and the other when the fragile little darling got some drips (the roof leaks) on his precious a$$.

As for the craisins, I burned some calories laughing at your raisen description. craisens are not humiliated leftovers though. They are cranberries that got out of the pool, and sunned themselves for awhile. Think of them as Hollywood cranberries.

Have a goodday.

Yesterday went well too! 2 days in a row of low cal. I can't say that I feel any different, except that I'm kind of proud of myself!
No, I'm not trying to get preg, I have 3 beautiful kids and though I'd love more I'd also go insane and they probably would too. I already feel like they are not getting enough individual attention. My 5 year old is begging for a story right now....I think the cramping and lack of weight loss is because I might be returning to the good old monthly cycle. Ugh
I've been pretty active even if it's not specifically exercise. I walk my kids to school everyday and thats about a mile, maybe a little more per day. Or I do yard work or house work, that counts, right? I really need to lift weights, but I despise it. I was hoping there would be some good New Years offers from the local gyms but I haven't found anything.
Baby's about to eat Lego...Bye!

Good morning! Glad to see people are posting. And Chachee, so glad to hear you have talked to Raven and that she is OK (relatively speaking I suppose.)

I am sitting here (I just got on the bike for a mere 10 mins) and feeling absolutely disgusted with myself for having let myself go over these past four months. I can only hope I have learned something from this slide into lethargy and glutton, anxiety-driven bingeing to be sure, but nonetheless, I see myself as having been the major loser in this battle between workload and schedule changes and it just makes me so angry, with everything, including myself. Rant, rant. It's so maddening I want to go out and drink and that's the kind of thing that got me here in the first place! Oh well, I should be glad I've staved the escalating weight at this point!

jolly -- Good for you for getting to the gym. This is the kind of victory we need for ourselves, nearly every day. I am the same with not liking to do upper body so much, well, chest and back I like doing but not arms and shoulders.

It's good you're drinking diet soda, at least as far as the calories are concerned.

I don't know what to tell you about the eating. You are doing exactly the same as I was doing for the past four months, eating out of anxiety and stress. I am worried about work and money all the time as well. And I am deep in debt as I spend too. How to stop this? I don't know. I don't know if it's possible until things settle for you, until you find a job or something. I hate to say that. I really hope that just realizing what you are doing will help you to eat better and keep exercising. Perhaps you should be happy to maintain during this time. If I had only maintained I would not be so disgusted with myself now. I refused to weigh myself and that is why the weight gain is such a shock. Really, it was a shock. I thought that because I had lost muscle, even if I had gained fat I would weigh less. I honestly never imagined that I would have gained this much weight. Oh well, live and learn is perhaps all I can say. Good luck, jolly, and yes, I love your inner voice dipped in chocolate as well! And sunning cranberries! You have such a great sense of humor!

Oh, and I understand about the riding, now. You have an indoor arena. Lucky! I was going to ask what craisins were but you explained it. Wish I had something like that here. You can't even get fresh cranberries, only frozen and they are SO expensive.

Chachee -- up there in the frozen north. Good for you for getting on the treadmill. 40 minutes is a long time! And great going on the exercise the night before! Oh yes, the thighs. I was looking at them last night as I was doing leg presses and thinking of how they had looked four months ago when people were saying they looked good (of course these are bodybuilders saying this so it meant they were muscular but they had definition, now they are just blobs). Perserverance is the only thing, isn't it?

I agree with jolly, the habit of working out is the most important. It is SO easy to get out of the habit and that means a drastic reduction in the number of calories expended. I forgot that all the time involved getting to and from the gym and NOT eating was part of my workouts, so when I stopped going to the gym I was losing a lot more than just the in-gym workout. Don't be fooled. You'll end up like me, disgusted and in shock!

Apple Blossom -- Good for you with two days of low cal! You should be proud. Keep it up. You're getting close to goal so things will probably be harder. Just don't slide! Of course, all sorts of exercise counts, and I think it's so much nicer when the exercise comes in the form of sports you enjoy just for themselves or chores. I get so sick of working out for working out sake. I am so glad I have riding, even if it is the reason I have to work so much and have such an irregular lifestyle.

Derry -- Where are you? Are you doing OK? Hope to hear from you soon.

Anyone else I've forgotten. Sorry and let's hear how you're doing. It's good to get in here when you're down too. So don't stay away!

Good morning all. It is a cold one, and early here. I have to be to work early, and to my group home that is furthest away. So, I decided to get up early so I could work out first. didn't want to reset the alarm, but I also didn't want to try and work out after work, when my gym bag had been in the car all day. The high is supposed to be 5 above today, with wind chill factors we won't even think of. Though, I still have to go to the barn tonight. Work ran late last night, so I didn't make it. Darn it! Unless the weatherman was seriously deluded with his prediciton, I won't be able to ride anyway. But I have to go at least groom him, and walk him.

Anyway. not much new to report. My eating has been AWESOME so far today. Of course, I just got up 5 minutes ago, and haven't made it to the kitchen yet.

Have a great day all.

Hi guys! My instant notification of posts here on my thread subscription isn't working and I had a hard time "finding" you guys again....I'm going to have to try, again, to fix this. It happened the beginning of the month and now it's going on again.
I'm ok, don't have time to read all your posts and share, though. But, just wanted to let you all know I'll be back later on as time permits.
Miss you guys!
Linda

Hi Ladies and Happy Friday. Nice long weekend ahead of us, so that is always good.

I wrapped up the week on the treadmill followed by a weigh in this morning. I was down another pound, so that leaves me 9 to go to get back to my lowest. I hated that I gained that much back, but it was my own fault! I hope to have those 9 gone by the time I go on vacation, which is 5 weeks away. I should be able to do it.

Ended up walking 16.23 miles this week, bringing my two week total to 32.56. Very good!

Not much going on this weekend, other than taking my son to the movies to see Racing Stripes. Going with a friend and her daughters. I plan on sewing and hanging out the rest of the time.

Red: Goodness, my friend, I sure hate that you feel that way about how you let yourself "go". You know, I guess it's not easy, this weight loss and healthy lifestyle journey we are all on. If we didn't have those lows and depressing times, it wouldn't give us anything to work towards, I guess. It sure sucks when you are going through it. I think what is important is the realization you have about the situation. You know how to eat/live/feel better, it's just a matter of putting those things into place. Sometimes, if you are like me, it takes a good hard smack across the face to give me the wake up call I need. That's why I'm smacking reality right back in the face!

Apple: I think just moving around more is a good start to exercise. I hate the "concentrated" time frame of exercise, but it helps me in the morning. I know if I get up, before anyone else, and get it over and done with, then I have the entire rest of the day just to do what I want.

Derry: Howdy. Glad you found us again. How goes the battle to get the extra pounds off you gained back?

Jolly: Hollywood cranberries? Nope, nope, nope....no two ways about it....shriveled up, wrinkles, non-botoxed grapes and cranberries. I just can do it. I tried last night. Ick. Maybe if they went on Extreme Makeover or The Swan and lived up to their potential I could, but no way....not now. Isn't it amazing how well we can eat when we just wake up? Here's to a good weekend.

Oh, and I had McDonalds for dinner last night. Not much first choice, but my son wanted it and I didn't feel like cooking. (I needed to sew....priorities, ladies!) Anyway, I was sitting at the drivethru thinking what to eat, not wanting another salad, as I had one for lunch. I reverted back to my old way of eating fast food in a "healthy" manner. I ordered myself a Cheeseburger Happy Meal and ate only half the fries. I gave myslef 10 WW points for the meal and felt okay with it. That is a good tip for any of you--when you want the fast food but don't want all the calories--just a taste, then order the kids meal. How are they going to know it's for you? Good portion control there.

Happy Friday. See you all back here on Tuesday. I'm MIA for three days.

Chach

Hi all. Good save at McDonald's, Chachee. Hope you enjoy your days off. I did work out early this morning. I may not make it to the barn tonight though. Too cold to bother, really. I am sure bubba wouldn't want to get all nekid.

My food choices are slowing down. Less snacking. Able to stop myself from picking up extras. I even threw out part of my dinner last night. I just need to find another, non-chocolate dipped inner voice to listen to.

Ah well. Back to work for me. Will check in more later. I am on call this weekend, so if I am awol, I am going crazy.

jolly, I'm just up here. Saw your light was on. Good for you for working out and glad to hear your food choices are better. You sure have a lot on your hands, having to take care of the horse as well. The cold puts such a damper on things, doesn't it? It just makes me, for one, not want to move much at all. No wonder animals go into hibernation. Well, hope you make it through the hectic on-call day you spoke of. Here's some "fighting" energy coming your way!!

Helloooooo Red. Actually, where I have Chance boarded, they do everything but exercise him. I just don't like to ignore him for too long. He thinks I don't love him anymore and gets cranky. Plus, being with him relaxes me.

I had an interesting couple of conversations today about willingness to change, and how being inflexible effects you. Something to think about, as I search for why I stress eat, and how to stop letting things effect me so much. Flexibility is more than just a yoga goal, I guess.

Hope things are going well for you, and everyone. I'm going to go online and check for any potential frogs.