Hey everybody! I am so excited today! I am packing and getting ready to go to Belgium tomorrow. I'll be having a week vacation with my darling boyfriend. He's in a tizzy, he worries too much.

So I am going to go play all week and see old builings and art museums. Yay! I'll tell you all about it when I get back!


CG- yes, it's disappointing to be weak and do the thing that you don't want to do...But I try to tell myself, 'perfection is not required, but persistence is'

My kitty will miss me.

I'm going to do this!!!
 

Morning all. Will try to type fast as I have to get going. I spend so much time on this forum but it IS most definitely worth it. Thank God for ADSL. Before I used to have a dialup connection and it was so expensive and bothersome.

shanberg -- I'm so sorry I didn't get right back to you yesterday but I didn't want to just say thanks and then run off and I typed so much that I ran out of time and had to put off replying to everyone. I tend to be from methodical because I don't want to miss people. I feel bad when I've typed a ton and then get no comment on it. Actually, though, other times I'm glad people have just let all the blabber go by. :lol: You will know me better the more you write, Shan, although hearing as you were a longtime lurker! you probably should already. I think people should be generally less touchy. It's arrogant and egoistic to be touchy about what people say to you, I think. Be glad people bother to talk to you at all is my philosophy. It's like here, people are the champion eggshell walkers of the world and I think it leads to enormous and serious problems. You get people unable to express their emotions, no, unable even to FEEL their emotions and then on the flipside you get a lot of talking behind one's back, backstabbing and a general malaise of passiveness. That I think is the worst. People don't DO anything. They have to follow others. This is the land of no initiative. This is one of the things I love about Americans. They are (or as I remember them) still relatively awake, or willing to be. They still have a good bit of curiosity about life.

Loved your dog story. Animals know what they want and try to get it. I hate to see the way people here relate to horses and animals in general. With the horses especially, they are always trying to shut them up, never communicate, never listen to what they're trying to say and eventually the horses stop trying to talk. I see the horses come in from Europe and they are dying for someone to talk to. Most Japanese think of them, well, as they do their children, put them in a mold, tell them not to stray from it, and don't try to ever talk with them. It is rare to find people who have explored their thoughts and feelings enough to be at all interesting. They like me because I am "so frank" but really I am much more reserved than most Westerners. The older I get though, the more I say. :lol:

I have four cats, by the way, shan. I can understand your liking kittens but not cats. They are very different at first glance, but once you get to know them, you'll see they're not really. And all animals will reflect their owners if they have been with them long enough and not traumatized or deeply influenced by someone else from an early age.

Quakes we have all the time. I'd look like an idiot if I panicked about them anymore. But inside, I am panicking big time! All of Japan has tremors constantly. The other day I was at the stable when all of a sudden all the horses (about 25) kind of startled in the barn. My horse was in the wash rack and she startled too. I couldn't feel anything but one of the stall doors was open and started banging so I figured it was a tremor. I went inside the club house and turned on the TV and sure enough there had been a tremor. They immediately put the report on of how big it was and where it was centered and if there is danger of a tsunami. Since Japan is surrounded by ocean there is always danger of tsunami for the coastal areas. A couple years ago, a whole little town was wiped out up on the north island of Hokkaido by a tsunami. Of course, we all know about the recent one. Japan is up on report and warning systems for them that's why they offered to help. Unfortunately, tsunamis are really rare in that area. That's why they was so much devastation. People didn't realize what could happen.

So, shan, how was your weigh-in? It sounds like you are doing great with your steps and eating less, working on things you can change without putting on too much pressure. Keep it up! You're doing great! :flow1:

stormy -- Hi there. Yeah, the scale, obviously it is just registering water weight with you, there's no way you've gained four pounds. You have the incentive of actually having gotten so near your challenge goal for VDay. You'll do it for Easter. I did get to the gym yesterday. Didn't do all that much except the weights, which was chest and back and I do go heavy with that. I got on the bike for 15 because I figured my knees needed the rest. That makes it four days straight to the gym! At all hours too, straight after riding twice, once early morning before work and yesterday after other work but not late. I feel tighter. I am really like a rock with all this padding on me. I look in the mirror and see the fat but know there's a ton of muscle under it and I just think I have to melt the fat off the top. Instead of getting down about looking like a hulk, which I do, get down about it AND look like a hulk because I'm strong, I have to realize that the fat is from my weeks of slothful ways, NOT what I'm doing NOW. I tend to do well and then see the fat and get discouraged. . . like it was going to disappear all of a sudden just because I've gotten my sorry butt to the gym for a few days! Thanks for your encouragement storm!

doinmybest -- have fun on your trip! Take care and come back and tell us everything!

Crime Girl, grass, NBK, kjk, Jacque, anyone I've forgotten! looking forward to hearing from you real soon!! :wave:

Okay...okay...
 

I admit it - I freaked out and frankly I am still freaked. Thanks for all the kind words- they help more than you can possibly know. You all had some good points and I think maybe I am sabatoging myself by expecting perfection in my diet routine. I will try to give myself some breathing room and chill out a tad. :grouphug: Thats from me to you because you guys keep me in line and I can see a glimmer of hope even when I am at my lowest. :D
I can only be on for a minute- I have a midterm next Tuesday and need to study like a fiend until it is over. Sorry I am not responding to each of you. I hope you are all doing great and life is treating you well. I may not be on much until next Wed but I am fine and will try to get back on track and back in a tolerable mindset.
Need to go- thank you all!

One last check in...
 

Jumped on for one last check in before I head out.

Doinmybest - Belguim!! Wow!! That sounds great! Try to remember everything and give us the 411 when you get back! Bring your kitty a present back since he (she?) will be so miserable without you!! Have fun and be safe!

Crime Girl - Glad you posted a quickie! I was a little worried you had decided to hibernate in the sand! Glad you are at least a little more calm! Hang in there with the studying. Good luck on your exam!!

Red - You are da bomb, girl! You are so great! I cannot believe you live where there are quake tremors and threats of tsunami's!!! I can't wait to tell people I talk to someone that lives in Tokyo!!!!

I am glad you are so good to your horse (and the others, too, I am betting!!). I am like you. I hate it when people get animals, then treat them so terribly. And I don't just mean abuse! Animals are smart. They love people and communicate in their own way. I hate it when people ignore that, or, like you said, try to break them of that! What's the point in having an animal if you aren't going to bond with it???

And you are right about animals taking on their owners personalities!! My dog would tell on me! Actually tell and try to get me in trouble!! I'd tease him with his treats and he'd look at my mom, bark once, look at me, look back at my mom and bark again. He'd keep doing that until she got on to me! It was so weird!!!

Your work environment sounds dreadful. I am not sure I could work there. Then again, I did work at Wal-Mart for five years! There was definate backstabbing, backtalking, and some undbelieveable vendictiveness...and those were just the employees!!! No wonder you have so much stress over your job!

I was thinking earlier about what you said when you are proofing and have to sit in the floor. I saw on tv an advertisement for this tray that you can adjust. It has special legs that slide under the chair you are sitting in so you can use it anywhere. I think it is 20 or 30 dollars, but the offer was you buy one and get another one free (plus shipping and handling). If I see the commercial again, would you like me to write the info down? Is that something you'd be interested in?

I haven't weighed since Monday. I only weigh once a week. I'd go crazy if I weighed every day! I think I am doing okay. My eating is pretty good. It always gets pretty bad during TOM, but I try to keep it under control if I can!!!

Okay, guess that is enough for now. Will be back tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great afternoon!!!!

Tootles

Crime girl, yeah!! glad to hear from you! Hang in there, kid, you can do it all!!

Shanberg, you are the sweetest!! You make me laugh you're so sweet. How have you ever survived in this cruel world!! Take care and I'll write more later. Off to the horses. :wave:

Crime girl - you FREAK!! ;) this is a great group to freak out in! You'll be in great company any time it happens :) :) I'm glad you're feeling a little better. Good luck on the midterm and don't sweat the small stuff. You're doing a great job!!

Red - 4 days in a row, huh? That's GREAT! Maybe you can rub off on me some? I haven't been all week - yet. I'm going tomorrow....:) I'm glad you're feeling tighter too! Isn't that GREAT feeling!!!!!

Stormy - I had chocolate cake this weekend too. It wasn't as good as I'd hoped - so now I still want chocolate cake! Ug. Good for you for not freaking out and just hitting the gym. After all, none of us got to our current weights with one cheat a week - or even two or three.....:)

Shannon - I'm glad you're here! Lurker huh :) So you had us all pegged before you even got here :) :) Well you're one of us now :) You're right, the people on this board ARE great! I couldn't make it without them!! I have two dogs and one of them (the only one with a tail) is sitting by a rubbermade box wagging her tail - only everytime it hits the box she scares herself. She still hasn't figured out it's HER OWN TAIL! :) That poor girl is scared of everything!

doingmybest - wow - have a great vacation!!!! That sounds wonderful!!! We look forward to hearing from you when you get back!

okay guys - I had a LONG day. Longest in my history as a massage therapist. Good day just very physically taxing. I need to ice my arms and get a hot bath to soak the sore muscles! Talk to you all soon!!

Oh, eating has been good - except that I'm having Boar's head salami right now - I can't help it!!! I need to cheat on something...at least it's not sugar :) I will allow myself this kind of junk THIS week only - while I get back on track. Exercise has not happened at all!! I am going to the gym tomorrow and kick starting myself back into gear.

Also, am getting a soil analysis and organic seeds for my garden. I'm DETERMINED to have one this year! I love fresh veggies from the yard! Best kind :) See you all later tonight.

Shan-Yes it is me who does Tae Bo. When you have a minute can you find out the name of the bootcamp DVD from your brother? I have one by The Crunch that I love but I would not mind another one.

Doin-Have a great time on your vacation. Enjoy every minute of it.

Red-it is great that you have been to the gym 4 days straight. Does this gym have a swimming pool?

GH-take it one step at a time. Also get back to that gym, it will make you feel so much better. Last night I met a massage therapist and I thought of you. My first connection with one since we moved to Nashville so now I'll have someone to refer my patients to. Maybe I should get a massage first before I refer people to her.

CG-hang in there...do you have a daily countdown to graduation?

Stormy - I would HIGHLY recommend you get a massage from her first! I keep working on people that have had bodywork before and they have never had textbook stuff done to help their pain....like checking glutes when there is low back and hamstring pain - or checking pecs when there is scap pain! There is a huge range of training and we all fall somewhere inside of it. I just hope I fall closer to the effective end. My best friend finds a new massage therapist every 3 months when she ships to a new job location - only 1 out of 6 has treated the areas that are most effective in rehabbing muscles, creating lasting improvement and getting rid of pain - and all have been recommended by hospital staff! (she works at hospitals).

I hate to talk bad about my field but I'd also hate for you to send people to a therapist and have them not be treated as well as you expect! This is your field too though - you're probably more experienced in that area than I am!! And I haven't found a PT here either - so we're kind of in the same boat with different paddles :)

okay guys - I have to get to bed. I watched WEST WING - CRIME GIRL :) And now it's time for beautiful sleep!!! Tomorrow comes way to soon!

Hello. I am new here and stumbled upon your forum by accident. You are all very encouraging. I look forward to reading more posts. Keep up the good work!

Subpremeprincess -- Welcome! :wave: Come on in and chat with us. We'd love to hear from you. Wow, look at you go with the weight loss! Congratulations. We would all love to hear how you've done it. We need all the inspiration we can get!!

Hi there. I made it five in a row at the gym!! I am on a roll. Hope I can keep this up more or less. I feel tons better. Spring was in the air today and I felt great. Tomorrow it's back to cold and rain and it looks like I'm going to be rained out of riding. That always puts me in danger of depression for not being able to go see my horse but let's hope I can keep up my great attitude and get through any down times.

Crime girl -- like I said before I am glad you stopped in for a post. Good luck studying and I hope you will at least stop in here to say hi occasionally! :wave:

shanberg -- How are you doing? It must be hard always writing at work. That's where you write from, right? Can you sneak in writing time or are you not watched or doesn't it matter? In any case, I'm glad you can write to us. I know we all love hearing from you. Thanks for your suggestion for a table that fits on a chair. That would be rather neat but it's OK, I can get a foldup table. I have a few of them but they're all low to the ground. I saw a tall one the other day fairly nearby but don't know how I can get it home. Well, I do know but I just hate putting out any money right now. I will just have to improvise and I do know a way. I just haven't gotten round to doing it. Thanks so much for your offer though :thanks:

grasshopper -- yup, isn't that awesome!? Five days in a row to the gym! I do feel so much stronger and fitter. I have more energy again once I get into it. I think getting off sugar is doing it too. What's your dog without a tail? Was it docked? I guess so, right? There are no tailless dogs naturally are there? I have two tailless cats, Japanese bobtails. I mean, they have tails, just very short ones! Hope you got some rest. Massage therapist work must be really tiring. Good exercise though, right. You must have very strong hands, arms, and torso, no? Your garden sounds great! Good luck with it.

stormy -- no, the gym doesn't have a pool but that's OK as I don't like to swim. It's just so much bother and I'm not very good at it. I'd much rather swim in a pond or lake I guess. The chlorine is very strong here and really hurts my eyes and throat. Do you like to swim?

*****

Well, I should be doing some work but I'm tired. Going to turn in soon. Drinking night tomorrow night. I will try to restrain myself. Sunday and Tuesday I have to meet people for drinks as well. Sunday maybe I can get out of. Tuesday is a must. Drinking is an important part of work here, the socializing is really an offshoot of business and if you want to cultivate connections you have to take part. No problem there but it's a bummer when I was just getting revved about the weight battle again. Alcohol is a real downer even if you have fun. After all, it is a depressant and it is a poison. Ugh, I used to have so much fun drinking. Oh well, I will concentrate on making the people feel happy without chugging myself, maybe. . . maybe. . .

HI everyone,

LGH-I will get one from her first. She works at a very popular day spa here in town. How is getting back into your routine coming?

Red- I love to swim. I am a water baby. I rather swim in the ocean than a pool though. I was just thinking of it to relieve some pressure off of your knees. Running in the water is VERY effective. It gives about 12-30% more resistance than regular running. Be careful with that drinking. Major empty calories. You saying that about drinking and business reminds me of an old episode of Seinfeld. All of these Japanese men get drunk and it is hilarious.

Supremeprin-You have done AWESOME. Tell us your secret! Wow! How long has it taken to lose that much? Are you working out too? Welcome and please try to post so we can get to know you. WE have had several people join us in the last couple of weeks.

Good Morning!!!!!
 

How is everyone????

Things are okay for me. I am having a really stressful time at work. It is making me very irritated, so I am having tobe very, very careful with what I say. I get mouthy when I am irritated and I don't hold back!!! :devil:

Little Grasshopper - That story about your dog was great! Made me laugh! Dogs are sooo funny!!

I wish I could grow a garden-I have such a black thumb!!! I planted some plants last year on my vacation. All but two of them died! I am going to have to replace them! Some of them died right away! Poor plants!!!

Stormy - The name of the tae bo dvds are Billy Blanks Bootcamp. You can get them at billyblanks.com. It costs 49.95 for the set (plus shipping)...came to 55.00. He was very excited about it. He is starting it full blast on Monday (it didn't arrive until Tuesday of this week). I looked in the box and the resistance bands looked very well made!

Red - Wow! You are really kicking serious bootie with the gym!!! You go girl!!!

I do my writing from work. Luckily, nobody hangs over my shoulders or anything. I can pretty much hop on whenever I need to. The afternoons are a little hectic when everybody starts getting back in. I tend to have a high traffic volume through my office-people needing help or just stopping in to talk! I have such a tight budget that I can't afford internet at home. Not to mention my pc is extremely old and would take forever to load!!! I'd just end up shooting it!!

Can you still go visit Heidi even when it rains? You might not be able to ride her, but seeing her and giving her a little love might keep the depression at bay!

Subpremeprincess - Welcome. Great job on your weight loss!! Drop in for a few posts when you can!! This is a great thread!

Okay, gotta go do some work for a while. Will check back in a little later. Have a great day!

Tootles.

Shan- I hope your day is going by a little better. Hang in there! Thank you for letting me know about those tapes. Once your brother starts them let me know how he likes them. Like I said I may be interested if it is different stuff than his old videos. I'll check out the site.

going for six!!
 

Good morning. Restless night last night. Kept waking up. Sign of overtraining I know but here I am again planning to get to the gym before work this morning. I have other work I should be doing at home but I'm on a roll and just want to go. It's so hard to put the things I WANT into my life while doing the things I HAVE TO do in order to keep the things I want. Not fair. Not fair! But I CAN do it all and I WILL.

Bad dreams last night too were making things unpleasant. Work-related and how they had written me out of the schedule, just like that, no notice, no explanation. I heard they heard I was thinking of joining a publisher's and so they figured I didn't need the job. It is so like them that it could well have not been a dream. I was pissed off in my dream because I wanted to leave on my own terms and the reason I stay now is because of the money. If I can find something to replace it I will be gone! Anymore, it has sunken to new depths of absurdity. We had formed a union and I was reading the minutes from the last week with top management and I could not believe (well, actually I believe ANYTHING at that place now) and it was just insane. They are true idiots and there is no hope for that paper. I want to go in and scream to them they have killed the paper and it used to be a good one. They are literally killing it allowing it to become a rag (not that it was anything great but it had its days and I was there then). I think I was saying that in my dream too so you see it was all real stuff too. Ah well, I was thinking yesterday that whereas a month ago (or less) I was still feeling nostalgic and sad about leaving the place, now I truly don't care. I have lost affection for my coworkers as well. Funny, how circumstances really show what a person is made of. I think I had sunk so low recently but now I'm on my way back up and I am going to use the power I have (and that is GREAT) and pull myself from this place. Something is helping me, I think mostly discipline. I am getting more and more of it. Wish me strength!

Oh yes, yesterday I had a good lesson in that my teacher only had to tell me to keep my head up twice! I have a habit of tilting it down when I ride because this is a habit when I'm thinking. It affects your back muscles, which have to stabilize you and keep you torso totally still. I hadn't realized just how much it does affect you but when I was jogging on the treadmill I finally realized it. It was much easier to run with the head up and the back steady. So I did it on the horse and it must have been what she wanted because she didn't have to correct me. Hurrah! Small progresses.

**********

stormy -- that's right. I remember now you said you love anything with water. Yes, swimming would be good for the knees. Even riding the bike is not the best for me because I am often sore in sensitive places from the saddle (on the horse) that the bike saddle hurts. I wish I could run in the pool, or just tread water but all the pools here are very shallow. They make them that way I guess because it's cheaper. There are deep pools somewhere I guess for athletes but they are rare and I've never seen one and couldn't go find one, it would be too far. Really, they are really shallow. I'm only 5 feet and the water only comes up to my chest. I know about the empty beer calories and you know it's really putting a damper on thoughts of meeting up with people tonight. I arranged this meeting (and next week's) when I was still in my pigging out phase and it sounded great. But whenever I go off sugar I find I don't want to drink at all really and that's where I am now. Oh well, I'll just try to have some nice conversation. A beer or two will make that flow more easily. I have to be really careful though on the way home because with the alcohol in me my resolve plummets and the tempting convenience stores are all around. Wish me luck please!


shanberg -- Sorry to hear you're having a lousy day. You sound like me these days at the office. It's sad. I used to be so quiet and contented-like. I put up with lots of **** but it was never like this these days. Maybe you're in a similar situation and need to move on. Any thoughts in that direction? I can visit Heidi when it rains but really I think I will just have to buckle down and do the work that I've been putting off these past few days because I've been determined to get to the gym. It's a long way out to the club and eats up tons of time. Sometimes I do work on the train but it's probably not worth it. I will get by. Hope you feel better.

lookin' up. . .
 

Just listening to what has become my favorite song of late, "Counting the Days" by Collective Soul. Love the chorus . . . I see myself rising from my rut, totally empowered, totally rockin'!!

". . . Counting the days (yeah)
Until some freedom can scream my name
Counting the days (yeah)
Until the gods break these chains. . . "

The next song on my iTunes list is Janis Joplin's "Half Moon." We're just past the half moon now and last night as I was walking home, I get into my neighborhood, which is full of little shops in narrow streets. As I walked past a shop I saw a young father holding his little girl in his arms and at the same time I hear the shop people across the way asking him, "What are you looking at?" He was pointing into the sky and I heard him reply, "the moon. The moon is out." And sure enough I look up, knowing it was a half moon and there it is hanging big and bright in the sky. He'd been showing his little girl the moon. Pictures of life caught passing by. I thought, what a great dad, what a lucky little girl. . .

Red-what a sweet story about the little girl and her dad. It reminds me of when I was little. I would look up at night and say "Look it's a pizza moon". They would tell me over and over it is a piece of moon not pizza. I am sorry that work is not going well. So many people are not happy with their jobs. I hope that things work out for you. I am glad that you are going to the gym on a regular basis. Hang in there tonight during your beer drinking meeting. Try not to go overboard. Like everything keep it in moderation. I have friends who smoke when they drink. Only when they drink. Sounds like you are tempted to eat. Usually when I drink I do not like to eat. I just like to talk and unfortunately drink more. You have worked hard so don't go crazy! Try to enjoy yourself!

Hi everyone!

Shannon - I hope your day got better! It's hard when you really really want to say something but can't! I'm not that great at keeping it inside either...I can but that usually comes with not even dealing with whatever is wrong at the time - it's all or nothing sometimes :)

Stormy - I love your pizza moon story! Very cute!!! I use to love to eat "pie Rust" They told me again and again what it was called but I said it the wrong way for so long that I couldn't change it....You asked me if a picture had made it on the board yet - It hasn't. I took my camera and 2 rolls of film with us this weekend and asked BF to take ONE picture of me - that's all I asked and he kept that darn camera for 2 days and didn't take one picture!!! I've been distracted lately too and have forgotten to get one taken. I'll work on it. It's still the best hair cut I've ever gotten and total strangers ask me about where I got it done. Wal-Mart :)

Red - You're on quite the gym streak!! I'm glad you're feeling so pumped and motivated!!!! We have this stuff here called "butt butter" that cyclists use. I use to use a ton of it when road riding!!! It was the greatest stuff in the world but it probably preventing something different than you're experiencing, huh? It was to prevent rubbing. Keep you from getting "saddle sores" - I got ONE and was a religious butt butter customer from that day forward!

Well guys - I'm beat. Did work out today and did a lot of scouting around for my garden. Found a little old man with a tiller - he is coming out next week (I think) to till the ground for me - now I have to get all the stuff I need mixed into it ready to go! We have clay here but I'm told it's a bit different from clay everywhere else. I didn't know this - but I'm glad I asked someone because if you do what it says to do for clay in the books you'll turn you soil into really dry, hard stuff that no plant can get through.......or so I'm told. I may have bought the world's best sales pitch? :) Anyway I'm very excited and even bought some seeds today. I'm ordering the rest this week. I'll have all kinds of stuff growing :) Talk to everyone soon! Meri

Umm HI, I hope you all remember me. No time to catch up, just snuck into work to see how bad my inbox is (102 emails!!) before monday. I had a wicked holiday.. the Velvet Revolver concert was supreme.. as was meeting Scott Weiland and Slash.. yep that's right!!! he he he he he he he

Well just had to share. I hope you are all well. Welcome to all the newbies. I'll try to catch up properly on monday my time unless it rains and then I'll come in and do some more computer stuff...
Take care
Tiff
(p.s i can't believe no one missed me! lol)

Happy Friday!1
 

Finally...it's Friday!!!

I'm sorry I didn't post again yesterday afternoon. I started one, but kept getting interrupted, so I just gave up!

My day was terrible. I tried to do something to help out a team leader and instead it back fired and he got in a little trouble. Not a lot, but I still felt awful! He said it was okay, and I know it is, but I still can't help but to feel very guilty! I felt so bad I had two chocolate cupcakes from the machine in the break room!

Red - I cannot believe you remember your dreams in such vivid detail. I can never remember mine! Sometimes I can remember feelings, but not details.

Great story about the moon. I used to have a telescope when I was a little girl and I would spend hours sitting outside staring at the sky. At one point, I wanted to be an astronaut...until I found out how much math they had to take! That ended that dream right quick like!!

Hope your drink nite went well...what do you drink? I work for a Budweiser distributorship, so I am a little curious about what everyone drinks!

Stormy - I'll give you the 411 on what my brother thinks of the tae bo dvds! He is supposed to start them on Monday. They looked pretty good to me, but I've never done tae bo!!!

Little Grasshopper - Glad your garden project is working out so well for you. My boss has a garden every year. She always brings in the extra veggies she has and they are always so tastey! She and her husband work it all summer. They always have an abundance (her husband gets a little carried away with the number and types of things he plants! good for me, bad for her!!). Are you doing just vegetables, herbs, or a combination of both?

NBK - Glad you are back! Glad you had a great time!! When you say you met Slash, do you mean slash the guitarist from Guns N Roses? Does he still have all that hair??

Good luck getting back into the swing of things! Hop on whenever you get the chance and let us know all about your trip!!

Gotta go. Got get the computer set up to recieve orders. Then am having lunch with some of my guys! Will check back in this afternoon...if I can get left alone long enough!

Tootles!

Hello everyone! When you feel like quitting, know that you are not alone. We can all hang in there together! I have fallen of the weight loss wagon many times but somehow manage to get back on. I have just tried to work harder. I lack self-discipline and have really been trying to stick with my program. I have found that it is very helpful to keep a food journal with my exercises in it. I also am sure to keep a rewards page in the back of it as well. I reward myself for the small things because the small things equal weight loss. If I keep my food journal I reward myself with a new lipstick or cd. The posts that all of you write have also been very helpful. It is hard to stay positive and upbeat when it is 10 degrees outside! Thank God for Leslie Sansone! I also run the stairs in my apartment building too. Remember that we can be our own worst critic or we can choose to be our best coach. If only I could work on that snack before bedtime....

Hi everyone. One last check in before I leave. Will try to check in over the weekend, but not sure if I can.

Today was much better than yesterday! I am excited that it is the weekend, finally!! I have plans to go see my brother this weekend and maybe catch a flick!

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Tootles

Yo!!
 

NBK, welcome back!!!! I missed you big time!! Get your butt in here toute suite and tell us all about your adventures, you groupie you!!

NBK - welcome back!! Sounds like you had a great vacation! Can't wait to hear the details :)

Shannon - I hope things smoothed over with your co-worker. It an awful feeling when you think you've let someone down or gotten them in trouble. I'm sure he knows you're the goodhearted person you are and has forgotten it already! (just in case - open no ticking packages for a few, okay :) :) ) I'm sure he'd fine. You were probably much harder on yourself than he was.

Guys - the garden thing is overwhelming me. I have this HUGE space and so much needs to be done. I know I can't do it all now but it's just so hard to figure out where to start! I keep seeing things are getting excited - only to remember that I CAN'T do that either....this year :) I do intend to have the veggies garden though. Just a lot more that needs to be done to the yard....gaps in the privacy trees - landscaping around our house and around our back deck......figuring out what to do with this slope that grass seed won't grow on.....ug. Sorry for whining - at least it's keeping me busy and I haven't had time to eat bad food.

okay, BF and I bought board games tonight and we're going to play now. Check in later :)

Hi everyone! i am at school right now. So just a quick hello!

NBK, I want all the details about the meeting with Scott and Slash. Did you get pictures? I hope so. By the way, we did miss you!

Shan, I ordered a couple of the bootcamp ones from the Billy Blanks store. I broke down. I guess I am addicted to these home exercise videos.

GH, good luck with your garden. I am sure it will turn out great!

Subpreme, you have done wonderful in your weightloss so far! Keep it up!

Wow, no action around here again. Where is everyone? Losing momentum it looks like. Stormy, glad you popped in. Sure wish I had room to do videos and stuff at home but there is absolutely none. :(
I am losing enthusiasm again. Mainly because my routine has been disrupted for work that doesn't pay and I don't want to be doing but feel it is linked to possible work in the future. Have to go to the racetrack today, which means I can't ride. Was going to ride yesterday but was rained out. I hate not being able to go out and see my horse and ride. Also, can't get to the gym. Really depressing. :halfempty On top of that the light in my room is broken so it's really dark. There is no light coming in to the room. I don't have time to try to find a light and getting it home on the train is a problem. Really, I was at a store last week trying to get a little table and they only deliver on their terms, which means it's impossible for me because I'm rarely home. The only other way to get it home is to have it mailed by special delivery service, which is expensive. Really, life in Tokyo really sucks a lot of times. Oh well, rant, rant. I am down on life again, my life. Really wish there was some talk going on here that would help lift me up. Guess everyone has other things to do. Grasshopper, your garden dilemma sounds enviable. Just take it section by section. You don't have to have a giant, blooming, vegetable-packed garden right away. What kind of veggies are you planning to grow. We always had the easy ones, cukes, stringbeans, tomatoes. Pumpkins are fun and easy too. The ground was very claylike where I was too. Really, putting in all sorts of stuff can be avoided if you stick to plants that do well in the soil you have. If you want other things though, that's when you have to change the ground. Well, hope we get some people in here soon! :dancer:

Hi guys. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I had fun all day today playing in the yard. Did I tell you BF gave me a Tree Pruner for V-day. I used it all day long. I'm so tired now!! Worried because there are diseased trees all along the property line and it's on a line that the neighbors seem to think is their property - it's clearly ours....we have several different ways to prove this but they are old and they don't care about our "proof" :) I hope we don't have to take those trees out...it could get messy. We don't need that part of the yard..not like we're using it. I'm fine with leaving it there and letting them grow old in peace, thinking it's their yard....but if the tree is sick enough it's making the rest of my trees sick - it's got to go.

Okay enough about trees. We have decided to not do a full garden this year. Mostly because of cost and the other things that need to be done here. There really is a lot that we want to do - basic landscaping stuff to make our yard more private and nice. For one thing - there is a HUGE pile of dead tree limbs mixed with leaves that borders one side.....HUGE! We burned stuff all day today and it doesn't look like we made a dent in it. Oops - I'm back on trees again....sorry.

garden - too much money in soil amendments. RED - you're right about the native plants doing better - that's true anywhere, but our clay is so hard that it chokes out the roots of new plants pretty easily - it gets to dense - so we have to add all kinds of stuff to give it space and drainage. I'm going to focus on my rose garden (already mostly done) and a border that doens't have much for privacy right now - I've already picked the bushes and will pick them up next week and get them in the ground.


okay - as for food - not great. Cheat day today though. My weight is up but after vacation and then weekend away, I was expecting it to be. I have been good about exercise though. I am going to the gym this week every day - like it or not....I have a light schedule this week. Also I added a veggie mix to my daily stuff - make sure I get my veggies. I have a habit of coming home and deciding I only want meat for dinner. I'm hoping this picks up the slack.

Red - I hope you're feeling better. I'm sorry the weather and work are mucking up your plans! I wish I could send you some of our weather. It's beautiful outside!! Don't let this derail all the great progress you made last week!! You're doing great - good luck with the lamp too! Living in the dark isn't good :)

Everyone have a great weekend!!!

hello! Umm welll I can't stay too long here right now, I have like a billion things to catch up on at work and my boss is being very friendly (i am scared). Anyway Yes I did meet Slash of G'nR fame and Scott Weiland (oh yeah) from STP, but being the kiwi that I am, I was breaking enough social protocols here to even talk to them, let alone ask for a photo! (we have this whole ignore famous people thing happening in NZ) but it was awesome...the concert rocked too. Anyway i think I'll do red's trick and write up a holiday report in word, (so i looks like I am really doing proper work) and then post it. But I'm pleased you missed me! he he!!! ooh yeah, despite feeling like a fat pie the whole time I was away, I got back and I was 73.6 kg!! and am still 73.8 this morning.. now I was up to 75.4 before I left, so either I have lost a truck load of muscles or being on holiday agrees with me!!

toodle pip
Tiff

Heh, NBK, waiting for that report. Great to hear you lost weight too! I'm just up (out of bed). Have a ton of work to do too. Will check in later. Grass, hi there!
Where is everyone?! Crime girl, still studying hard?

Hello everyone! I am so sick of snow! I am ready to do my walking outdoors, but the weather has been rather uncooperative. I can't wait for spring. Other than the snow, things aren't going too bad here. It's nice to see that everyone is hanging in there. If you get away from your program, just get back to it. I think that always getting back to my program has helped. In the past, I would just say forget about it and have another candy bar. The thought of controlling my diet and exercise previously sent me running to the fridge until I saw a picture of myself : ) I am trying to get into somewhat good shape by my birthday. If I lose 25 pounds by July that would be nice but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. For some reason, everyone seems to think that I don't need to lose anymore weight, but I am sticking to my program. My next step is to add at least 10% to my cardio program this coming week.
Red- hang in there...you could be buried in snow with very little sunshine like me ... : )
if you can't work out, march in place in front of the tv for a little while, it's better than nothing and it may cheer you up a bit

he he he.. i have this picture of red singing the "grand old duke of york" whilst marching, arms swinging to a really seedy japanese anime program.. or that japanese game show for masochists, ENDURANCE!!!

holiday report still coming..i think i have food poisoning.. nothing wants to stay down today...

Hello Everyone,

Ok I am now ready to get focus on my weight issue. I don't eat alot, I just eat the wrong things. Sugar and I are old friends, however my newest friend is Diabetes :( So I now have no choice but to get it under control. I have paid up my gym membership for the whole year and I now have no excuses.

It's now Sunday night at about 11pm.......So Monday morning I am going to get on the scale and see where I stand. I will start my work out regimine on February 28th and I already have my sights set on a skinnier me. I am real excited about getting started but I know I will need motivation to to stay excited.....because the Hostess Honey Bun keeps calling my name :(

~Tae

13 down, 27 to go!
 

Hi people. Finishing up Monday here. Going to write this, then do some more proofing work before I write some more posts and emails. Otherwise I just sit here writing emails and don't do any work! Have to force myself. Well, I got through the day at work and this is Day 13 of no sugar, no nuts etc. on my four-way Lent thing. Even yesterday at the track, despite lots of beer, I turned down sweets and nuts (not hard because the nuts were in little packs with tiny dried fish. Ugh. So, I've stuck to it and I can't say I feel better because at the moment I don't but that is mostly due to the residual hangover and lack of sleep. The other day I had taken a measure of those pants that I wasn't even able to close the top button on. It was a full handspread (thumb to pinkie) apart. But yesterday I tried them on and I was able to button that top button. Ok, so the zipper is gaping madly but still. . .of course this was before all the beer but I do think that cutting out the sugar is still putting me way ahead of the game.

*******

grass -- talk about trees all you want. I love them. hope you can put in some quality time for yourself this week because of your light schedule. It's so nice to be able to do that. Thanks for the encouragement. Though it was hard work, a lot harder than I imagined before, I did see some progress last week so I'm just going to try to keep it up. These past few days, though, work and schedules are really getting in the way of exercise. Still, it's the long haul that counts, right?

NBK -- why do you think your boss is being so friendly? What's up do you think or were you just joking? Male boss? So, you felt like a fat pie, did you!? :lol: Well, glad the scale is down. Probably you weren't stressing and stress eating and you may have been moving more so yeah, maybe a loss is possible.

subpreme -- thinking warm thoughts for you. When is your birthday, July? yes, maybe I'll try marching in place a bit. And NBK, don't laugh!

Tae2tas -- welcome!! :wave: Ouch, diabetes, huh? I'm sorry to hear that. What do you have to do? Do you need to get shots or can you control it with diet? I'm not too up on these things. I am a sugar freak myself and at the moment I've been off it for 13 days. I went off a for a year but slipped back into bad habits. You will have SO much more energy, clearheadedness and few cravings when you go off sugar. I would try to cut way back on caffeine at the same time. They really help each other, the lack of them. The two together fuel each other. There's a no sugar thread over in the clubs forum. I may stop in there as well. Maybe you'd like to be around people who are getting sugar out of their lives. I'm doing it now basically for Lent, but not a religious thing, really just an excuse to get my eating under control. I must easily pack away over 1,000 calories a day of junk sugar food when I'm on the stuff. I'm a vegetarian but I think this is my downfall. Well, good luck. You can do this so just stick with us. We'll help you stay motivated. Remember, Hostess Honey Buns don't love you. They are NOT your friends!!

Morning
 

Hi, all...How is everyone?

I had the worst weekend. My eating was horrible! I came off a stressful week and it spilled over into my weekend. I was so bad, I didn't even weigh this morning! I was afraid of what I'd see. So, now I feel awful and I have a stomachache to boot!

Work seems better this morning. I sat down with my boss on Friday and we talked some things over. Maybe things will get better now...

Little Grasshopper - Glad you are having fun with your tree trimmer...what exactly is that? Is it hard to use? I have a ton of trees around my house and all of them could use some pruning. The previous owner of my house had a plant fetish. I have found flowers and rocks in the oddest places...next to the house, in the yard, and the weirdest...in the woods. Why would anyone want to plant flowers in the woods? He was a very weird man. I had to repaing the entire house b/c he had it painted in the worst clown colors ever. Lime green in the hall, pink and green in the living room, maroon and green in the bedroom. It was a nightmare!

Good luck with the garden/planting. I say do what you can this year and then expand next year.

Stormy - Don't fret the addiction to at home workout dvds! At least you are moving! And, its good to have something you like and enjoy to exercise to. It makes getting up and doing it a lot easier!

Hope school is going well for you.

NBK - Glad you had such a great time on your vacation. Can't wait to read your write up!

Congrats on your loss, too! Isn't it great to go on vacation, have a great time, and come back to a loss! It doesn't get much better than that!

Red - Sorry you are having such a rough time. What kind of light do you have? I hate it when you go to a store, where you are spending your money, and the people won't work with you on the delivery! Do they not understand you are doing them the favor by spending money at their store! What are you going to do? How are you able to do your proofing without light?

Hate it that you couldn't get to the gym or the stables to see Heidi! Maybe you could look at it as a small break from the routine..maybe a shake-up to keep it from getting stale?

Did you bet at the races? Why do they put fish in their nuts? That's really weird and gross!

Hand in there, girl!

Tae2tas - Welcome. Looks like you are doing well with your weightloss beginning. Hate it about the diabetes! This is a great thread, so you will get lots of support here.

CrimeGirl - Guess you are still studying! Good luck with your exam!!

Good morning!

Tae2tas-Welcome!!! Diabetes prevention is one of my reasons for wanting to lose weight. It runs in my family and I do not want it! Are you on insulin or do you take pills such as glucophage? If you start eating the right things and exercising you will get in under control. We will be here for you to help you lose that weight.

GH-I bet your garden will look weight. Plus, gardening is a great way to burn calories!

Red-Hooray on not eating that sugar, despite the beer! Keep it up and do not forget to hit the gym. Remember our challenge!

Shan-so your eating wasn't perfect this weekend. That is okay, just get back to it this week. You can do it!

NBK-are you crazy! No pics! Who cares what they think of you? You LOVE Scott so you should have got a picture. LOL! Glad that you had fun. Where is your trip report?

Subprin-Good luck with your added cardio. You can do it! It will really help the weight come off faster.

CG-good luck with your exam Tuesday. You are half way there!

Ok I am off to work. I'll check in later!

I want to thank you all for the warm welcome. To answer a few questions, I am presently on Glucophage and Avandament, but my doctor just told me last week I will be soon starting insulin( It downed my spirits at first because I really hate needles :().


Soon after discovering I was diabetic, I lost my job, which caused me to go into depression and become agoraphobic. Diabetes doesn't run in either side of my family, however I have recently found out that I may have a condition to where one of the side effect is diabetes.

Let me tell you a little something about myself. I'm normally the upbeat person inspires and keeps everyone else going. For the past year I am the one who has needed to be inspired; however everyone around me has focused more on how diabetes will kill me rather than looking at how I can live a good quality of life with diabetes :?: .


Now that I have depressed you….Let me tell you the good news…….I am now coming out of my depression. I will soon be going back to work and I have now gained control of my life. In other words the “Happy Me” is back. I now want to be apart of a support group where I can help others and keep myself motivated:grouphug:.

Thanks for listening :D

Tae2tas - I am glad you are taking control of your life! I,too, suffer from depression-have for 12 years. Do you take any medication for it? It's one of the hardest things to overcome. Adding that to being overweight and trying to lose weight...it's amazing and a miracle we are still around!

Sorry that everyone around you is focusing on the negative aspects of diabetes as opposed to helping you find the positive. Maybe they are all scared and want the bad things up front and out in the open. You seem to have the right attitude, though!

The best part of this thread/group is that everyone here is great at giving support and even better at asking for it. I am like you, I want to be part of a group that is supportive of me and also not afraid to put themselves out there and ask for my help, too. Together, we can do anything!

Subpremeprincess - Sorry I didn't include you in my previous greeting! I didn't mean to overlook you! I was in a hurry and for some reason thought I had you at the top!

How much snow do you get? It rarely snows here and when it does, the grocery stores run out of everything! Even if the weatherman says there is a one in a billion chance it will snow, everyone rushes out for bread and milk! It's somewhat funny, except those few times it fell on my normal shopping day. That was an experience! People can really panic when they want to!!

Okay. Gotta go. Having terrible trouble with my computer program. It rained like crazy here (all day) and the power was knocked off for just a minute. It was enough to completely screw everything up. The line to our Athens branch keeps going down and we keep losing up link status!

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Good morning. Tuesday here. I'm not feeling well. Feel dragged out and like I'm coming down with something. Damn. The drinking is to blame largely and here again I have to meet up with guys tonight. I really don't want to but already canceled once before and as this is kind of work-related I don't think it would be good to cancel. I will try to not drink although again, this is the whole business drinking culture over here. But, a lot of it is me and just not being able or willing to go easy. But I hate NOT wanting to do something and feeling forced to. I will see it as an important lesson in work, business socializing, i.e. pretending to be enjoying yourself and your company when you're NOT!

Today I can finally get out to see my horse and I'm really wanting to cancel out, I feel that bad. One of my cats is sick. Maybe I have whatever he has. Could be the onset of hay fever too. The pollen is supposed to get really bad this week from the cedar trees outside of Tokyo. So many people suffer from it here in Tokyo. They go around wearing these white face masks all the time.

Yesterday I felt pretty sick, dizzy like. It was scary. Don't know what was up. I can scare myself real good too and that just makes it worse. I really wanted to reach for the comfort of the old familiar sugar and sweets but I didn't. I am trying to think of soothing myself with thoughts and words to myself, trying to stay calm and realize that the food doesn't really comfort me. Words are much better, imagining comforting scenarios not food related. That's what I need to focus on, not some mad rush to stuff junk in my face.

***********

shanberg -- Hi there! Good to hear from you again. I missed you. Wow, sorry to hear you had such a bad weekend and now here you are again back at start with work. Well, let's hope things will be better this week at work. It sounds funny with the flowers everywhere. But flowers in the woods sounds pretty. Even if the previous owner was weird, anyone who loves flowers and plants can't be all that bad, don't you think?! :) But those colors do sound horrible. He obviously was into green. Yes, I'm living in the dark. It's awful but I have had no time to try to find a light let alone think of how I can get it home. This delivery dilemma pisses me off too. Everything revolves around the family situation, housewife sitting at home, husband at work. I guess they just don't think there are single working people who can't be sitting around waiting for a delivery person. It sucks and you're right, I shouldn't give a place my money if they can't accomodate me more. That said, I need a light! Right now I have a broken desk lamp that I have propped on my computer and I cleared enough space that I can do the proofing there but the main room is dark, just a 100 watt lightbulb to light the place. Oh well. At least I had that old light to put up. They're hanging lights from the ceiling, fluorescent, ugly things that every little Japanese room has. But they are bright and that's what I want. shan, little dried up baby fish is a snack here so they mix them in with nuts and seaweed and stuff a lot, dried baby shrimp, octupuses, squid. You eat the whole thing, just like that, head, bones, everything. I think it's gross as I'm vegetarian and even if I weren't would think it was gross but I hear it tastes good. You get used to lots of things when you live in different cultures, different countries, you have to and it's a very good thing to be too, open to other ways of life. But I don't want to eat any meat or fish and especially, like someone at work said, don't want to have my food staring back at me!

******

. . .to be continued

Hi, Red!

Sorry you are feelilng so bad. Sounds like you have a bug or something. The flu is flying around here in the states like a kite...is it over there, too? It could also be your sinuses...which is what made you dizzy. You be really careful, since you are in the dark! The fact that you aren't eating sugar is good...it lowers the immune system and can affect your white blood count!

I hope you find a light soon! If push comes to shove, can they not deliver the light to your workplace? At least someone is there that can sign for it if you aren't.

I like flowers, too, but the other owner had so many, my yard and house was infested with spiders. Now, I like spiders, just not that many. They tend to reproduce at alarming rates. I also had dragonflies, beetles, ants, and all kinds of crawly things. I have managed to weed out a lot of the strange plants and put grass down instead. The whole yard looks much better!

I think that putting fish or meat of anykind in with nuts is really gross. I'm not a vegetarian (spelled wrong!!), but I don't eat a lot of meat. I really don't eat anything with eyes. I can't stand that. And I hate going to Red Lobster when its crowded and you stand around waiting on your table and there are all those lobsters and things in the tank. I get so grossed out! I like other cultures and all, but sometimes even the Romans were weird!

Hope you get to feeling better. I am out the door. Just wanted to drop you a line!

Talk to everyone later!

Tootles

Thanks for the out-the-door message shanberg. I have a few minutes till I have to get out the door myself. Just trying to catch up here.

stormy -- thanks for the reminder about the gym. Well, I mean, I don't need a reminder. I always am thinking I HAVE to get to the gym and often I just can't because I have too many other things to do but yes, sometimes I can and just don't want to. It's very hard to differentiate between "not wanting to" and "not WILLING to" at times. I used to push the line too much and then get sick. My head tends to be stronger than my heart, which is a very good thing when it comes to discipline but can lead to overtraining, not taking rests, not being gentle with myself. On the other hand, if I don't WANT to I can just as easily get too lazy. Long run, long run, have to think of the long run. So, yes, thank you for reminding me about our Easter challenge. Please keep reminding me. I really need that. How is your day going? How have you been with the eating, the exercise? Keep us informed. :sunny:

. . more later