Thanks for the welcome!

It is a beautiful day here! It is a wonder how the the weather can really affect my mood and energy level. It has been so cool and cloudy and raining this spring, but this morning.....the sun is shining, the birds are singing and all seems right with the world! :) I think I will get busy today and do some laundry and hang it outside, and get a start on washing windows.

About the diet......I have NOT had a good past week or so...there is a fair going on just a block from my house, so the corndogs and cotton candy have been calling me! Here is my dilemma……I am leaving on June 8th for a 13 day trip to Europe with a girlfriend. I have tried hard to lose weight and had a goal of 220 by the time I left, but just didn’t make it….It is sooooooooo hard to lose after 40! So know that the trio is just around the corner, and this is my last week of work, and I am going out of town for a few days for work, I find myself say “what the h311!” I will start over when I get back! Not a good attitude at all! Oh and to top it off, I got too nasty blood blisters on y toes, the last time I walked the track a the Y so I am thinking I should let them heal and not exercise……..I feel myself falling into the big pit of slovenly behavior!!!!

Lilybutt, hanging on by the fingernails

Oh, I hear ya sister! I'm over 50 and it doesn't get any easier, I assure you! But I really do feel that consistency is the key. I put the hard work in to build good habits and then I try to stay on track (with both eating and exercise) the majority of the time and then treat myself every now and then so I don't feel deprived.

I hear your frustration, lilybutt. First, if you got blood blisters from walking, I think you better take a look at your shoes. Are they old? Are they still giving you adequate support? Do they fit properly? Maybe you need a new pair or a better fitting pair or a pair that is specifically for walking (shoes used for exercise should be replaced yearly). Also make sure you have good socks--I know the right socks make all the difference in the world in my comfort when walking. I wear Reebok socks that I got at Kohl's--they're wonderfully padded on the bottom and very comfy!

If you have to worry about getting blood blisters when you walk, you will naturally tend to avoid walking. In the mean time, while the blisters heal, you could try some other forms of exercise...like abs/core work or balance ball work. Those can be done laying on your back or sitting on the ball so that your weight isn't on your feet.

Have a marvelous trip! I'll be travelling to Florida myself on June 4th. Sounds like Kathy will have the thread to herself for a while!

Yes you are exactly correct about the shoes......they are new New Balances.....I always buy good shoes since I have heel spurs and they keep them at bay....I buy the same size and th same style everytime, but this time they really have bothered me.....usually I can put them right on and just go....not sure what the difference is. I do have orthotics, so I took them out and that was better. I also just bought a pair of Ecco sandles that are WONDERFUL!!! so I wore those all day. I plan on wearing then in Europe...they will be great! I will get out the balance ball and weights later...need to work on the upper arms anyway! ;)

Lilybutt

I do the same thing! And I wear New Balance as well! Unfortunately, though, they stopped making the model I had been wearing for the past 7 or 8 years. I am so bummed. I've tried 2 other models and didn't care much for them so I don't know what I'm going to do now. I started buying New Balance cuz I was diagnosed with heel spurs some years ago and the podiatrist took forms of my feet and sent them away to a place in New England that recommended the best style/brand of sneaker for my foot--it was the New Balance walking shoe (I think it was the 550).

Sorry to hear that your new ones are bothering you. Hope you can get them broken in so they are more comfortable! I have a pair that I am rotating among some other pairs to try to break them in a little at a time. I am now to the point where I can wear them for aerobics class, but the first time I wore them there, I almost fell down a dozen times tripping over the step. LOL

I'm Baaaaack...
 

Hi all,
I've been reading the last couple pages of posts and am feeling sufficiently guilty :^: that I am one of the losers who dropped out. I've not posted since last December! I don't really have a good excuse, but I hope you will all forgive me and let me back!

SheriaVa and Kathy - you guys are the inspiration for this thread and I thank you for keeping it alive. I am also glad that you didn't change it or move it or I would never have found you again! I do find it helpful and I have stopped in periodically to check up, but was feeling weird about joining back in. I know that's irrational, but I felt embarassed :o that I let my life get away from me and let you guys down.

The weight loss has actually been going pretty well. I am down a total of 72 pounds since last August. I am doing the Weight Watchers thing with varying dedication depending on the time of month and stress level in my life. I go to the YMCA 4-5 times a week where I do cardio and weight training :wl: 2-3 times a week. I generally get up (at 4:30AM!) and go before work, that way I can get the dreaded exercise out of the way and spend the day being true to my inherent nature - being a slug!

I'm with you, Lilybutt, the weather has been the pits. I'm in the Twin Cities area so our weather has probably been pretty similar. This weekend was supposed to be a wash, but luckily the weather reports were totally off and yesterday and today were gorgeous. I got outside to do much overdue yardwork, and spent about 8 hours outside. Woke up and could barely move this morning, so I gave myself the day off. I've got alot of work to do out there, but I made a dent - a very small dent, but a dent nonetheless. I'm tired of cringing at the state of my lawn everytime I pull into my driveway. I have alot of pine trees so my yard will never make it on the cover of Landscaper's Digest, but it could certainly look better than it does with a little TLC. Now that I am getting the weight off, I find it much easier to physically handle the work required. Just a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to handle more than an hour or so, and that feels great in and of itself.

Anyway, I resolve to do my part to keep our thread at the top of the page.

Hi all,
Nice to see a singles thread! We singles do have our own challenges in this couple world. I am 41, divorced for about 3 1/2 years now after an 11 year marriage. I just graduated from college with my first four year degree. I do not have any kids, well except my dog and my cat. :P I am now trying to focus on getting healthier, particularly in the eating department. A challenge to be sure and one I'm definitely struggling with right now! UGH!

Of COURSE! It's so good to see you, Janet! Glad you found us again. :)

Hey, don't you worry about it. We're just glad you're well and that you've come back to see us! I understand about feeling weird about staying active on the thread when things aren't going well...that happens with a LOT of people! As you've probably seen me post, I've gone back and looked up the posting history of people who have posted here in the past (wondering "is it just us? are we that boring?") and found that most didn't just move on to another thread on this site, they completely stopped posting on the site. I've been on another healthy eating website for 2 years and you can definitely see a cycle of people going away when they fall off the wagon and coming back to the board when they get back on track. So it's a very common mindset! Just know that we support you no matter what because, Lord knows, we have ALL had times when we aren't doing our best!

WOOHOO! You go girl! That is AWESOME! 72 lbs! What an achievement!

Ditto for me! I am a couch tater by nature so if I don't get it done early in the morning before work, I will find a million excuses not to do it later! When people say "Wow, I wish I could do that." when I say I exercise 5 days a week, I say "Hey, I'm no athlete...I'm just a couch potato who happens to exercise 5 days a week."

Welcome, Annie! Congrats on that degree! I didn't even start college for the first time until I was 35, so I can relate. :) Good job on the focus on getting healthier. As we age, it gets even more important! I was diagnosed with hypertension when I was 42 and that was the start of my focus. Then, the summer before I turned 51, I made a commitment to healthy eating and regular exercise and I'm still going almost 2 years later. Haven't lost all the weight I want to lose (been plateauing a lot), but still living healthy. I try to never give up, even when I'm not seeing the results I want on the scale. I think that consistency is really important to long term results & health!

Good to have you here, Annie!

Thought I'd share two things FYI:

1. If you don't already know this, there is a way to add this thread to a list of favorites so you can access it (and any others you like) quickly to see if there have been any new posts since your last visit. This is a lot faster than coming through the menu system and thread list to find the thread. To add this thread to your favorites: a) Scroll up to the first post on this page and click on the box/link called "Thread Tools." b) Scroll down the Thread Tools menu and click on "Subscribe to this thread." Now, to test it, use your browser favorites to get you back to the main menu or wherever you end up when you first come to the 3FC website. Now at the top of the page, look for a link called "User CP." If there has been a new post since your last visit, you will see Singles Supporting Singles listed there. If there hasn't been a new post, you will see a "no new posts to this thread" announcement.

2. I have been a part of a great online community dedicated to healthy living for two years. There are MANY members there who, like myself, have been a member for 2 years. People tend to be very consistent there...they post when they're up and they post when they're down but most of them stay around no matter what. The potential for emotional support and for getting information about healthy cooking/eating and exercise are tremendous...all you need to do is ask (and of course to give support and information as well as get it). The members are mostly women and range in age from 20s to 70s. The majority are married women and mothers but there are some other singletons besides myself. If this sounds like a place you might like to visit, here's a link to Kathleen Daelemans' Website. Kathleen is a chef and Food Network show host who has lost over 70 pounds herself and maintained it for over a decade. When you get to the site, click on the FAN FORUM button on the menu bar and you'll get to the board. My name over there is SheriaVa also, so if you check it out (like here, you'll have to create a screen name and password), please post a hello there and let me know you're from here. I credit a lot of my being able to keep going with healthy living for two years to these people. They are like my family.

Hi all...I found this singles forum today and I think it is awesome. Was having a hard time relating to the challenges that the married mothers were facing as I was not in thier shoes....but I think this one I can relate to. :)

I have been excerising at home for about 3 weeks now. Started all gung ho and as it went on I found myself coming up with "very legitimate" reasons :rolleyes: as to why I couldn't fit in the time. So I got my butt up to Curves today and signed up.

Couple questions: How do you find the motivation to get up at 4:30am to go to excerise? I was told at Curves today "we open at 6am" and my response was "Well I do NOT open at 6am" :D

And how long should one be awake before they go and do excerise? Is there a length of time that you should allow your body to wake up and let your heart come out of the resting state before you start to pump it mercifully?

I know myself well enough to know that I need to do the excerise in the morning..just need to find a way to get myself out of bed....I am soooo not a morning person.

Looking forward to this forum and all the great support I have seen in it.

Welcome Tazia!! I'm not the one who gets up at 4:30 a.m., but I do get up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. to exercise, so I thought I'd put my two cents in! When I first started losing weight, I was working out after work. Now, I work a 10-11 hour day, so there isn't a lot left for me to give at 6:30-7 p.m. when I'm rolling into the driveway from work. So the folks on another board kept at me to try morning exercise. I was resistant...I said I CAN'T GET UP ANY EARLIER! and they said YES YOU CAN! So I did. And I promised them I'd try for a few weeks to see if I could build the habit. And I did. And I am still doing it over a year later. And I wouldn't have it ANY other way.

I used to spend the day GRUMPING about having to work out after work. I'd DREAD it driving home. I'd MAKE EXCUSES once I was home NOT to do it. Now, by 6 a.m., it's over. It's done. And I can go to work and not think about it again until the next morning.

As for motivation. I just do it. The alarm goes off and I roll out of bed and into my exercise clothes. I just do it...in that second that the alarm goes off, or it will be too late. I can't lay there and think...not even for 5 seconds. Like Nike says I "just do it." Give it a try...at least 3 weeks, which is as long as it takes to build a habit. And see if you can hack it. Maybe you can't...and that's okay. But do try!

Well, I don't know what a doctor would say, or an exercise physiologist, but I've been rolling out of bed and going right to it (within 3-5 minutes anyway--gotta hit the bathroom first and get the clothes on LOL) for over a year now with no ill effects that I am aware of. I'm not always doing high energy cardio stuff, though. Generally, I go to the gym twice a week (when I'm not working) for high energy cardio and weight training and then the stuff I do in the mornings before work is abs, balance ball, leg/bun and arm toning, stuff like that...I do maybe one day of cardio a week straight out of bed.

I would strongly suggest that you put at least a third or a half of your focus into weight training and/or toning/conditioning not only because muscle burns fat faster but because you will be more toned as you lose the weight. The first thing that my guy friends have commented on is my thighs/behind because, as I've lost weight, I've worked out a LOT and have tightened things up considerably muscularly as well as shrinking fat-wise.

Hi all!

Welcome to FlannelAnnie & Tazia! Stick with us and we'll get this thread going yet!

Today was not a stellar day in the diet and exercise department. I am the head of a department of 4 people and one was on vacation and another called in, so that left me trying to juggle the duties of three people. Of course, I allowed the stress to get to me and started reaching for the chocolate. I don't keep any close at hand, but I know where to find it in the building... that inherent chocolate homing device never seems to fade, does it? So I ended up indulging, more than I should. Feeling a little guilty, but I'm trying to get over that. Guilt over little slip ups is such a wasted emotion. Tomorrow is a brand new, clean, mistake-free day. If I've learned anything this time around on this weight loss see-saw, is that perfection isn't as important as perseverence.

Tazia, in response to your question about how I stay committed to getting up at 4:30am. Simply put, I hate exercizing in the evening more than I hate getting up in the morning. In the morning, there is not as much competition for the equiptment at the Y (although the "eye candy" is better in the afternoon for some reason...). And I'm with SheriaVa. If I don't exercize in the morning, I spend most of the day thinking of excuses not to go after work (I have a headache, my feet are tired, I'm hungry, I had a hard day, I'm too tired, I deserved a day off...the possibilities are endless, and believe me, I've come up with the most creative excuses). If I get it out of the way in the morning, then it's done and over with. I almost always leave the gym singing "I'm done! I'm done! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, done, done!" to the tune of "When love comes in". Sad but true. It helps that my three cats are now on the 4:30 wake up schedule so if I am tempted to stay in bed a cat climbing on my head looking for breakfast helps persuade me that it's easier to get up. I still don't make it every day though. I have been known to get up, get in my gym clothes and then crawl back into bed. Also sad, but true. Just try it for a week or two. If you still hate it after that time, at least you tried.

I'm a strong proponent of weight/strength training too. I've noticed increased definition in those muscles that aren't still covered by a layer of fat. Boy are my abs going to be cut when I finally get rid of this belly fat! I have no proof of that, I can just feel it. My endurance is so much better than it was, and I know only part of that is the weight loss. And most reliable sources about weight loss supports keeping the metabolism up by building lean muscle which makes alot of sense if you think about it.

Anyway, I ramble on and need to do some laundry (fun!fun!). Hope all is going well with everyone and I'll check in tomorrow.

Hello all…..

I am so happy that all of you are here! I feel so good to know that I am not the only singleton in this battle….I knew I wasn’t but it is hard to wade through all the problems of those with kids and hubbies to find someone who knows what being single and trying to lose weight is like! In some ways easier…no one else to feed, don’t have to buy kid food or unhealthy snacks…..and in some ways harder….no “encouragers”, no one to cook for, therefore…graze the kitchen, no on to see you eat, so go for it sweetie, hard to cook for one, and midnight binges are easy! It is not necessarily harder to diet being single, just different challenges!

Anyway…good to see everyone…….I had a blood draw for work today…all very good news! YEAH!!!! Blood pressure: 128/2, Triglycerides: 58, Cholesterol: 144, Blood sugar: 90, HDL: 64, LDL: 68…all very good numbers for a 43 year old…….I laughed though…with good numbers like that, I have little incentive to improve my diet……but part of the Wellness plan at work is to get emails from a health counselor to follow up on goals. I set my goal to lose weight of course…..so that may help…..the counselor did talk to me about calorie intake and exercise too…so for a free screening…all good info!

Janet…..I am so impressed you get up early! I am an after work exerciser….first of all I just choose not to get up early and second of all…..after work is my hardest time…..I want to eat the most then so a brisk walk or bike ride or trip to the Y helps me eat up that time between work and dinner, helps me plan to eat something healthy, and takes the edge off……we all do what works best for us! I am not that far from you…just down interstate 35 in Mason City across the border!

Welcome Tazia!!!

Sheri….thanks for being there and responding!!!


Have a good one everyone!!!

Lilybutt

I hear you about the chocolate--I am a lifelong chocoholic myself. In fact, when I started eating healthy, I said to myself "You KNOW that as soon as you try to deny yourself chocolate, your new eating plan is going right down the toilet because you WILL rebel." So I bring 1 bite-size dark chocolate Dove Promise to work in my lunch cooler every day and that is my "dessert." Allowing myself good chocolate on a regular basis almost always keeps me from going overboard--though there was that weekend in Delaware at Easter with the chocolate truffles so it's not foolproof. LOL

As for going for a "mistake-free day," I would caution against setting yourself up for perfection. I hear you saying that perfection isn't as important as perseverence, and I agree with that...but I wonder if you really believe it in your heart because we're all human and expecting a mistake-free day may just set us up to have quite the opposite experience. Just a thought! :)

I have said that to myself too...about what a body I'm going to have if I can ever get all the fat off. Cuz man I can feel the muscles under there and I think I'm gonna be one buff chick...for a woman in her 50s anyhow. <G>

WOOHOOOO! Look at those numbers! Congrats, lilybutt! I'm envious, cuz it took me some kickin'-butt hard work with eating and exercise to get my cholesterol and triglycerides down and mine still aren't as low as yours! Then again, I have massive family history for high cholesterol so my doctor is just happy that my numbers have come down and that I'm losing weight, eating right and exercising regularly.


P.S. Re blood pressure of 128 over 2--is that a typo? That bottom number is generally somewhere in the 70s or low 80s. Maybe 72 or 82?

Hi, I'm back off holiday. Yes she did notice, and I'm sure what was more impressive was how much fitter I was than last time we went on holiday together. We used to puff up hills slowly together, this time I was leaving her far behind, racing back down for her and then racing up again.

I'm also an early morning exerciser. My alarm goes off at 6, and in winter it can be tough. In summer I'm usually awake at 5 and doing other stuff (surfing the net, reading) waiting for the alarm so that I can go to the gym. No point getting up any earlier as the gym only opens at 6.30.

Now it's my routine. I park somewhere free that fills up by about 8am. If I go straight into work, to park there means I have to get into work early. If I go to the gym I can leave a bit earlier, miss the traffic, get a free parking space instead of paying a fortune later, have a shower at the gym instead of at home and eat my breakfast when I get to work. It works for me. It's so much routine I even get to the gym if I feel ill. On one memorable occasion I managed to get to the gym and dragged myself round the pool for an hour or so before work, on getting to work I was informed I looked terrible and got sent home. I did feel terrible, but the habit of going to the gym was so ingrained I didn't realise til I got there! I hurt my foot recently and couldn't work out. The lie in felt so unnatural, and I was tired all day because the workout really wakes me up.

Hi all!

Things were quieter today and I felt a little more in control. We even had a birthday patry potluck at work and I resisted the cake which was from my favorite bakery. I knew I could have a piece and still stay on plan, but I have such issues with sugar, that I didn't even want to get started down that road. So I thought about it, then passed. There will be other days when I just have to have a piece, but I'll wait until then.

SheriaVa - I hear what you're saying about perfectionism. I have had problems with this most of my life and I think I have gotten much better about this in the last few years. What I meant was that mistakes, slip ups, whatever happen and you have to look at tomorrow as a new day. Believe me, I have very few "mistake-free" days and have found that if I am good most the time, the weight still comes off. That is a very liberating discovery for me because I have quit diet after diet because I slipped up. So yesterday was a "bad" diet day and I found myself slipping into bad habits, but I can regroup today and move on. Make sense? My question, though, is how do you keep from eating the whole bag of Dove Chocolates?? I'm just not that strong - yet!

Lillibutt - We'll be your encouragers! Congrats on the good bloodwork results! I haven't had my bloodwork done since I started dieting last fall. My labs were in normal range, but high normal. Don't let your good health take away your incentive though. The blood work shows is that you are healthy at a cellular level, but the big picture can't be overlooked. I'm not going to recite the litany of reasons that being even a little overweight can negatively affect your health (sorry, I'm a nurse...). It sounds like you're on your way though. And I think you have a good strategy in working out in the evenings. If that is your "weak" times it makes sense to keep busy during these times. Good thinking.

Helen - I'm glad for you that your Mom noticed your weight loss. It can be frustrating to work so hard and then no one notices. And good job of running circles around her! You must really be an early bird. I can't imagine getting up at 5:00 unless I had a compelling reason (like exercise). Your routine sounds great. I haven't reached the level of dedication though to work out when I am sick. That is one of the few excuses I come up with that I actually don't feel guilty about!

Well went to Curves for the first time tonight. It was AWESOME ! It is somewhere I am going to enjoy going to. I couldn't believe how fast the 30 minutes went. Going to go in the evenings for the first week then committing to giving the early mornings a try for a week - going to find that motivation inside to get out of bed. :dizzy:

ahhhh yes.....I see that now.....blood pressure was 128/82. I am very happy with my numbers! I does show that my hard work has paid off in ways other than losing weight! Another piece of info theye gave me was a weight range that would work for my body....thye said 199-179 given my height and body composition.....this made me feel good because that is what I would say I want to be too! I have been down as low as 140 and had a terrible time maintaining it and being healthy....at 170-190 I was healthiest.....so NOT that far away! I can do it!!!!

I leave tomorrow am for an overnight trip for work....so all have a good few days!

Lilybutt

hi
 

hi singles! not much new to report here. i had a nice holiday weekend. i had a friend from CT come to visit. that is where i grew up. it was nice to visit with my friend.

sheri-i hope you have a nice vacation in florida.my mom says it's very hot down there. :devil: still working on getting the new house in shape. i have to get it all done before my mom comes to visit in july. i have to prove i can handle it all so she doesn't worry.

i will keep us to the top while you are gone. :)
kathy

Hello all,

Chocoholic...yep...I too am one of those too. I still have as yet to learn how to eat it responsibly...SIGH. As for exercising in the morning...uhhhh...never gonna do that. I have tried in the past. I have now faced truth...I am not a morning person and exercising in the morning is just not gonna happen for me. But I do actually like exercising in the evening. I mean sometimes it is hard to get out there and go (like when it's 20 below out for sure), but I find that exercising at night burns off all that stress from the work day. So for me, exercising in the evening is the only way to go. But sometimes I do envy you morning people a little. :P Hope you all are doing great! ~ Ann

I just have to start out by saying I am SO excited to see this thread thriving again. See, Kathy? It was worth it for us to keep hangin' in there a while! hehe Thanks for hangin' in there with me! :)

YP1: Welcome back! Good to hear that you mum noticed your hard work! Good for you for being so dedicated to your workouts! It is pretty much a routine for me too at this point, but I don't exercise when I'm sick...or if I do, it's something gentle like balance ball where I'm not jumping around.

Janet: I'm a lifelong perfectionist too...it's something I have to fight against all the time (and not just in terms of eating & exercising). I've improved a lot with my perfectionism too, but still have a long way to go. Your discovery that being good most of the time can still lead to weight loss is an important one! I quit diet after diet for years, too, because I thought I had to be "perfect" every day...NEVER eat anything fatty, ALWAYS make the right choices, etc. The philosophy that I subscribe to is the 80/20 rule--eat healthy at least 80% of the time and allow myself some treats. There is no way I could still be living healthy almost 2 years later if I tried to exist on ONLY healthy food and never treated myself. It's a very important lesson that it took me until age 50 to learn! So glad I did, though. :)

As for the Doves, well, when I started eating healthy, I just knew I couldn't make this a lifelong journey without including chocolate. I met Kathleen Daelemans (Food TV host I posted about the other day) in person right as I was starting my journey in summer 2003...this is a woman who lost a lot of weight and has maintained it over a decade...and she said to me "I could never keep a bag of chocolate in my house." So it's an individual thing. We all have our triggers. You probably have things you can control yourself with that I never could. So we each have to decide what is that one thing that I can control myself around and allow to have in my life as a treat? There are things that I could control myself around a year or two ago and no longer can. This makes me very sad and I don't know why that happens, but I have had to stop buying several "treat" products that I dearly love...like Yukon Gold potato chips, which are 40% less fat and 1000% more flavor than regular chips. I used to be able to eat a handfull and that was it. Now I want to eat the whole bag. What changed? I dunno. :(

Tazia: Congrats on starting Curves! Great job! I can't wait to get back from vacation and hear about you starting to go in the mornings. I sure hope that works out for you but I know it's not for everyone! :)

Lilybutt: I hear ya on the maintainable weight. There's the weight we might want to be and the weight we can live with and sometimes they aren't the same! Like I once weighed 94 pounds when I was 19 years old. But I KNOW there's no way I could maintain that now. Plus, I am SO much more muscular now than then because I never worked out then at all!

Kathy: Glad to hear you had a good visit with your friend from CT. I'm not looking forward to the hot part but hope at least that it won't be pouring rain or blowing hurricanes while we're down there!

Ann: It's good that you know what works for you and do it! I see people overdoing it in my aerobics class because they feel they have to do what everyone else is doing, despite the fact the others may have been taking the class for years. I know myself and my body and I do what works for me. If I feel my heart rate getting up too high, I march in place instead of jumping up on the step with the class. I think we all have to find what works for us and do it! :)

I better get myself back to work. You guys have a great day! This is my last work day before vacation...yippeeeeeeeeeee! :)

We had such a good run going with postings and then nothing all day yesterday. Was it something I said? (grin)

Anyhow, I'm home today packing and prepping to leave for Florida tomorrow. This will probably be my last visit to the boards before I go, so I thought I'd say goodbye and have a great week. I hope you guys keep the conversation going here and I look forward to catching up when I get back.

Keep doing the good work!

Hello peeps,
AHhhhhh FRIDAY at last. I love Fridays. It's so nice to know I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Although technically I guess it is Saturday morning. Anyway, I had a most excellent day yesterday eating wise. And I exercised. Today, well not quite so astounding. I did okay, but not great and I had apple pie with ice cream which was very yummy. I think it is important to do that though. In recent years I've said to myself, if I can't do this for the rest of my life I'll never keep the weight off. I am absolutely done with roller coaster dieting. Hope you all are doing well and hanging in there. Sometimes weekends can be rough as a single person I find, depending on if I have stuff going on. Trying to be better about making sure of that, but it's not always easy. Take care everyone and keep on plugging along. ~ Ann

Hi all,
It's kind of cool to read over the posts and realize we are all in some sort of exercize or another...that means we are finally putting it all together to suceed this time :workout: . In the past I have lost alot of weight by just dieting, but I could never keep it off for very long...gee, wonder why? Anyway, I am almost to the point where the exercise is more important to me than the eating. I used to have horrible problems with depression and I have noticed since I began to take exercise seriously, I have had a much more even moods and not as many blue days. I guess all those studies had something to them.

Planned on spending the day doing yardwork, but I was only able to get in about an hour before it started raining. It's nice out now, but I've totally lost my ambition. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. I went to the nursery and bought a bunch of annuals and can't wait to play in the dirt!

Tazia, I've heard good things about Curves. Alot of the members at my Weight Watchers meetings have mentioned it. How does it work? I know you go in and do a routine switching from machine to machine, or something like that. How many times a week do they recommend, and can you work out longer if you want? And don't worry about going mornings. It works for me, but I have always been a morning person (ironic that I worked night shift for 5 years). Do what feels best and is easiest, or it will be harder to keep up. And Lillibutt has a good point in that it is an excellent way to burn off a days stress.

Lillibutt - of course you can do it! You have had impressive weight loss down from 305 just 4 years ago. It's nice to have a goal in sight - hang in there you are doing awsome!

SheriaVa - I probably missed you before you go on vacation, but if not have fun and you'll have to fill us in when you get back.

Ann - Eat the pie!!! Life is too short to subsist on celery sticks or whatever! Just make sure you really, really want the pie and not eat it because you're trying to smother boredom, emotions, or whatever. If you just balance those "Pie days" with more "most excellent days" you'll do just fine.

Kat - congratulations on the new house, but isn't home ownership a b****? I love my house, but I find it hard to just sit and do nothing because there always seems to be something to do. But I still remember the day I closed 8 years ago. I slept on an air mattress on the floor with not a stick of furniture in the place (it was being delivered the next day) and just laying there thinking "this is my ceiling, this is my wall, this is my floor..." I grew up in a family of nine kids and all I ever wanted was my own space. I hope your new space is equally as special.

Okay, I'm rambling again...hope all is going well with everyone.

Hello Everyone!

Kind of quiet here!

Had a few days away from home for work….glad to be home, but now I am busy getting ready for my trip to Europe…….I have never been that far away OR gone for that long ….so this is quite the process for me. Today I went out and picked up a few more things I thought I needed and then laid them all out tonight to see what I am missing…I think I got it all, but I am going to pick up some of those Brush-ups for when I am on the train and can’t brush my teeth!

Tomorrow I am going to finish up a few things at work and then lay out all me clothes and see what I need there….I think I have plenty of everything! Then Tuesday get my nails done and pack!

We leave early Wed. morning so it is really happening fast! I did get my TOM today!!! Yeah that will be one less hassle to worry about!

I spent the last few nights with the guy I have been dating......he hugged me goodbye this morning (he left for the week today) and told me to have the time of my life and he will be here when I get back! How sweet!

To everyone else…..keep up the good work…you all inspire me!

Lilybutt

hi
 

hi singles! i am going to try this again! i was right in the middle of a long post and i got cut off so i hope it will not post both. i was saying that i am having some serious problems with my phone service and it is causing lots of problems with my online stuff. i haven't had a phone since last week. aacckk!
when i last posted about my friend visiting all your new posts weren't showing up and today when i finally got my phone service back, here are all these new posts before my last one. i am living in the boonies and all we have is ancient dial up and it's driving me crazy. i don't think it gets everything thru the lines fast enough and when i sign off it cuts the download off.

well, anyways i am soooo happy to see everyone!!!! :D

welcome back janet!! i'm so glad you came back. to make a long story short, i am actually taking over my parents house and trying to sell my house i've had only 2 years. and yes it is a major pain in the a**! i am trying to combine 2 households worth of stuff (mostly junk). it seems that anything that can break or go wrong is!!! this house was only used during the summer for so long that it has ruined a lot of things. it was not built to be a seasonal home with no heat in it during the winter, but that was what happened and i am having a hard time getting things up and running! i will get organized sooner or later!! :dizzy:

hi lilybutt! i hope you have a sensational time in europe!! what i wouldn't give to go on a vacation like that. maybe someday when i hit the lottery. :lol: soak it all in, because i'd love to hear all about it when you get back! stay safe!!

welcome ann! i am not a morning exerciser either. i can barely get up and get to work on time. i have seriously been slacking in the exercise department since all this chaotic moving. i have to get some kind of program going.

tazia - glad to have you! i have a friend that started curves last month and she swears by it now. she has lost mega inches! she goes 6x a week though. she is on a mission to look good for her son's wedding in august.

welcome back yp1!! i'm glad you had a nice holiday! i am lookin forward to my vacation at the end of july!!!woohoo! 10 whole days off from work!!!

a little more catching up on myself.... i am trying to get organized enough to have a little home gym area. i have invested in a couple of items..a total gym, a rebounder and a stability ball. of course, i also have the old dusty items and all the videos i have invested in and used only a few times so i guess i have enough to get my butt movin"!!!!! i have been going to ww but i am having no great successes there either due to a serious lack of motivation! i don't think i am going to spend the $ after my prepaid meetings are gone. i am thinking of rejoining my tops group though. it is much cheaper and i enjoyed the group of girls there. (i had to quit because i got bumped to a nite shift for a few years). so the only thing i am missing is a good swift kick in the pants!! but now that this thread is so hoppin' and inspiring, i have that too! :lol:

thanks so much for listening to all that!!! and thanks so much for all your stories. it helps to know that there are people out there like me sharing the same woes and learning how you deal with them is very motivational!!!

if the telephone service holds out... i will be back to visit tomorrow!
have a great day!
kathy

Well my bags are packed and waiting at the door.....so I will "see you all" when I get back......best to all of you!
Lilybutt

hi
 

hi singles!! now we have 2 vacationers. lucky them! good luck to both!

not too bad a day today. i still have a phone!!! :lol: had to go back to work today after a long weekend and that always stinks. :(

i hope everyone has a good humpday tomorrow!
kathy

Just checking in - our thread dropped all the way to the second page - had to do my part to bring it back up ;) .

Kathy - can relate to the slow internet. I finally gave up on my broadband. I loved it when it worked, but that was only about a third of the time. After working with Comcast extensively to get it fixed, I finally gave up. I was tired of paying for something I wasn't getting. I hate the slowness of dial-up, but at least it's reliable. DSL isn't available in this area yet, but I hear it's coming soon, so I'll give that a try when it gets here.

I can also relate to the slow going/motivation. I haven't lost any appreciable weight in the last 6 weeks. That is to say I have lost weight, but then I turn around and gain it back :^: . I vowed to get back on track June 1st and it's going well so far :crossed: . I've hit a plateau at 270 pounds. I heard once that if you spent alot of time at a specific weight on your way up the scale, that it's not uncommon to plateau at that point on the way down. I'm not sure if I totally believe that, but I did spend a couple years at this weight when I was in college, so maybe there is something to that theory. Weight Watchers can get pricey, and if you connect with the people at TOPs that can make all the difference in the world. I really love my WW leader and find her very motivating so that's why I stick with it. You gotta do what works.

Time to get back to the laundry...take care, all and I'll check back tomorrow.

I haven't heard that theory before, but it sure makes sense. I've been plateauing for most of a year and I'm right at the weight I was for a long time in the 80s. But dang, enough is enough! I'm ready to get movin' again! :(

And, by the way, HI, I'm BAAAAACK!!! hehe

Family vacation in Florida was good...weather terrific. Only a few little family "moments." Started out REAL rough when the parental unit arrived, but things settled down and evened out for the rest of the week. There have been a LOT of conversations, though, between my mother and my older brother, and between both my brothers and myself, that I think have led to a MUCH better understanding of each other and of my mother's "strong" personality. Some individual discussions were also held with her (Mom), but I wasn't in any of them--was just told about them by my brothers. I am hoping that these conversations have enlightened her as to the cause of the tension in our family (i.e., her controlling behavior) and will give her food for thought about her controlling ways.

Good to "see" you all again and I hope everyone is well!

[QUOTE=SheriaVa]
The world is often built for two and if you're looking for a place where you can hang out with other people who are single, you've found it here![QUOTE]

Hi there. I'm new and still finding my footing but I'm glad to see a place for the singles. Lately I'm feeling what SheriaVa wrote (above)... so I'm even happier that y'all are here.

I'm finding it more difficult than I'd like - to be here tho. [Please understand I mean no offense.] To be overweight and single. <sigh>. I'm hoping that in time it gets a little easier...

I don't have huge problems being overweight and single, I quite like it. I actually find it easier to lose weight on my own - it means I don't get support, but I also don't get anyone sabotaging me!

Anyway, I'm meeting a guy this afternoon for drinks which is something I've not done for ages, very scary! We kind of know each other from talking online, but it was only after knowing each other a while that we realised he lives 10 doors down from me so we really should meet in person...

Welcome, wanderlust! I'm glad you've joined us. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to support and help you in meeting your goals!

YP1, good luck in your meeting! Let us know how it goes. I don't tell online guys exactly where I live because, if we meet and the meeting doesn't go well (esp. if he likes me but I don't like him), it can be uncomfortable at the very least or, at worst, he might become a nuisance. Hope it goes well!

hi
 

hi singles! welcome wanderlust! we are happy to have you with us! as for being overweight and single... i am just used to it. my last steady was 1.5 years ago. sometimes i like being alone when i see what others go thru and i'm tired of being the "hurt" one in a relationship. there are also good points such as noone to tell you how or what to do, i can do whatever i want whenever i want without having to explain myself, and sometimes i just like the peace and quiet.

sheri - welcome back!!! :) i had to laugh when you said "parental unit". i haven't heard that in years. :lol: i'm glad you enjoyed your vacation. i am getting anxious for mine. i need a break.

janet -thanks for bringing us back to the frontpage! i vowed with my mother to start doing better this week. so far so good. i love my ww leader, she is so motivational and funny to boot. i am just thinking of the ol" $ signs. i haven't decided yet, but i'll probably stick with it.

yp1 - i hope your meeting went well. you'll have to give us the scoop.

as for me - i got a lot done this weekend. my basement is starting to shape up. i have room to set up my exercise stuff and i got the tv all hooked up for my videos. no more excuses!

well, it's getting late. i'm off to bed. have a good monday!
kathy

Hey ladies! Thought I'd share some good news. My weight was just slightly up when I got back from vacation but, since I nearly always retain water when I go on vacation, I figured today's weight would be a more accurate predictor than yesterday's. Here's the scoop:

Weight day before vacation: 152.4

Weight day after vacation: 152.8

Weight 2 days after vacation: 152.2


I didn't gain at all on vacation! Wheeeeee! I'm really happy cuz I usually put on 1-3 pounds when I go on a week-long vacation and am eating out nearly every meal.

Congrats Sheri!!!!! Double winner... got to enjoy vacation AND maintain your weight!! :D

Grrrr - I had a reply all done and it disappeared! I hate when that happens!!! Where do they go anyway? Oh well.

Sheri - Good job!! :encore: It's a double bonus because not only did you not gain, you lost. You must have made some good choices eating out. Congratulations!!

Kat - Okay the gym is set up, now get you butt down there!!! :tread: Yeah, I know, easy for me to say. I'm kind of in a gym slump right now. I get in the groove and go most every day, but if I miss more than two days in a row, its hard to get started again. So I guess the key is to never miss more than one or two days, but that's easier said than done too!

YP1 - Well??? How'd it go? Come on, we're dying here... ;)

Wanderlust - stick with us and we'll take you places! :D It takes some effort to get going, but I hope we can be here for you to offer the support you need.

Well I better wrap this up - we have some strong electrical storms going through right now and I heard you shouldn't be online or you might fry your computer....hmmmm....I've been wanting to get a new one....

Hi there folks. Thanks for the warm welcome.

I'm re-starting my journey and for some reason this time is emotionally-loaded and it's much harder for me to get in the mindset - so I'm especially grateful for your kind words.

I have an incredibly critical inner-voice. I've worked on calming it and some days are better than others. Something that helps calm it is hatha yoga. I broke my wrist 2.5 months ago while snowboarding so exercise really took a back seat. I'm just getting back to gentle exercise and I feel glad about it.

Exercise always makes me feel good so why is such a challenge a lot of time to get in the groove? (I like that Janet said that - it's true!)

Anyway, I'm feeling grateful for this outlet (which is a big step/leap of faith) and just wanted you to know it. Thank you! :^:

Hi everyone, I've been lurking on this site for a few days but didn't bother to register because I couldn't really relate to the mommies.

Here's my story: I've been the "skinny one" for most of my life until about 2 years ago when I got hit with a double whammy of excessive family stress & turning 30. From June 03 - January 05 I gained about 25-30 lbs. I've always said that the best way to lose excess weight is to get rid of a man and that seems to be proving true this time as well. Back in February I decided that it was time to stop the upward spiral and lost about 4 lbs from then until the beginning of May when a 4 year relationship ended. Since then I've lost another 7 lbs (getting back down to my "dating weight" is apparently good motivation) and I hope to get rid of the other 15-20 by the end of September.

It's nice to have some others in the same situation to share the journey.