hey singles! how is every little thing?? i'm doing pretty good today. i just finished a 2 mile walk with leslie sansone, so i'm a little pooped as it's the first real exercise i've had in a bit.

meg - i'm glad to hear you are getting better. i'm not sure i could eat "dried wors and biltong" just from the sound of it. i'm not one for eating new things. what kind of work are you doing there??? also i wish summer was on it's way here too. unfortunately it's on it's way out.

shere - how was the family reunion?? i hope you had a good time and did a lot of catching up. make sure to read a couple of back post when you get time. i posted to you about my book i'm reading.

well, i am famished and the ol' stomach is actually, truly growling very loud. i am trying to be more concious of my hunger scale. have a good humpday!
kathy

The family reunion and the overall weekend was much better than expected (we'd been having issues with my mother since the June family vacation in FLorida, so I was afraid this weekend was going to be anywhere from really awkward to openly hostile).

The food at the reunion was better than usual...taste-wise...but tremendously unhealthy. There wasn't even a veggie tray or salad or any kind of identifiable vegetable (other than potato). There were 3 cheesy potato casseroles in a row and 3-4 fatty pasta salads in a row plus yummy pulled pork sammiches and loads of desserts. Since my only option was to eat fatty or not eat, I chose small spoonfuls of the things that "spoke" to me the most...sauerkraut and 1 bitesize piece of bratwurst, notoriously yummy baked beans, a little potato casserole and some pasta salad and a pulled pork sammich (they actually had 1 package of whole wheat buns in among the many white buns, so I felt like I got a LITTLE something healthy LOL). For dessert, I had a piece of chocolate cake w/o the icing and one of Cousin Sue's also notorious peanut butter & chocolate Rice Krispie treats--so good they make your eyes roll back in your head.

Got a cold as soon as I was home. Ugh. Feeling crappy but at work today because we are interviewing for a new person on my staff.

Hello Everyone,

New to this thread. Started my healthy journed this past summer. I live in Las Vegas and looking for support. I have quiet a bit to lose 125lbs. I particularily enjoy the Leslie Sansone Walk Aerobic dvds.

Look forward to getting to know you!

Welcome, Allie! I used the Leslie Sansone tapes a LOT in the first year of my journey. I own 5 or 6 of them. My favorites are the 3- and 4-mile express ones where they have a big group of people behind her who range from the 20s to the 70s. I think the 3-mile uses stretchy bands but the 4-mile is just walking without the balls or the stretchy bands.

Sheria, I have 4 various 2 mile dvds, 1 - 3mile, and 1 - 4mile dvd. I am working on mastering all the 2 mile ones first. I do all four each week. I know which groups you are talking about I have those as well, She has a 2 mile Brisk Walk that also uses the stretchie band, also. Do you have any of the ones with her and the step?

Are you still using the tapes?

I don't think I even knew she had any with a step so no, I don't have any of those. Most of mine are just walking, but I do have one with stretchy bands and one with her walk away weights (the little weight balls).

I have not used any WATP workouts in a few months because I'd started to have a problem with my hip so I started varying my workouts more and found that, when I eliminated WATP, I didn't have the hip problem anymore. A friend of mine thinks that it's not necessarily that WATP CAUSED the hip problem, but that I had too little variety in my workout regimen at that time and therefore was just doing the same movements (WATP) too much. That's very possible because, at one time, WATP was the majority of my workout regimen.

I do plan to re-incorporate WATP (to a lesser degree than before) at some point, esp. during the winter when I can't walk outside. However, some of the WATPs I have...the 1- and 2-mile DVDs I started with, are just not challenging enough anymore so I probably won't do those anymore unless it's to include them as part of a workout that includes other elements (like a 40-minute workout of which 15 minutes is WATP).

Sheria,

I hope your hip gets better.

I saw the Pilates stretchie bands that have 3 bands for $29.99. Does the stretchie band work?
Yesh she has one called WalkBlaster Set with Ramp. You can see a demo of it at www.collagevideo.com .I am thinking about getting it.

You can actually do a lot better than that on price, depending on what you want in the bands. If you're looking for bands to work upper body, you can get a set of Therabands on amazon.com for under $10 as I recall. If you're looking for the circle bands that are used for lower body, I'm not sure there is a cheaper alternative.

As for whether they work--well, that depends on what your fitness level is and what you're planning on using the bands for (upper or lower). If you're just starting out with resistance training (i.e., you haven't lifted weights at all or much and haven't done much toning work), then you will probably see improvement using the bands. If you've already built good muscle tone through weight training and toning, I don't know that the bands will give you much bang for your buck. I haven't used the leg bands (where it's like a big rubber band and you put it around your ankles and pull your legs apart to work the muscles) but recently looked at a set while I was in Ohio. I have used resistance bands for my upper body but only along with WATP or while doing physical therapy in 2002 for a shoulder injury, so I can't say I've got a great deal of experience at using them to build muscle.

Thanks. I hadn't heard of that one...I'll check out the demo.

I am glad that I held off from being them and asked here. Thanks for the tip. I will check out Therabands on amazon.com.

hi singles! welcome allie!! i did post a previous welcome but it must have gotten lost in cyberspace. that has done that to me a few times lately

anyways, i have the 4 mile, but i only do 2 miles of it so far. it's more of a time thing for me. my life should be quieting down after this weekend, so i can get back to concentrating on my efforts.

i had a big wedding this weekend and boy am i glad that is over with. it was my best friend's son's. we decorated the hall fri. nite, then i worked sat. morning, came home got ready for the afternoon wedding/evening reception, helped with clean-up, worked this morning and then went to an post wedding picnic. boy am i pooped. the wedding was beautiful and the reception was fun, so it was worth all the effort. i am not looking forward to my tops weigh-in tomorrow nite. i think it's way too late for damage control.

sheri - how is that cold doing? did you nurse it away i hope?!the kids all go back to school soon and that's when everyone starts catching them and bringing them to work. we go thru this every september. ugh! i haven't finished the book yet. i keep getting sidetracked. i am going to relax and try to get some reading in tonite.

well, i hope everyone has a good week!
kathy

It is still hanging on...the darn thing just won't go away, though it's certainly better today than last week. UGH! I think it is hanging on so long because I HAD to go to work last week when I got back from Ohio. My body tends to shut down and want to sleep when I am sick, so forcing myself to go to work when I wanted to be home taking care of myself was rough on me.

I have only exercised once in the past week, which was yesterday. That is almost unheard of for me to go that long without exercising. I also made some really bad food choices late last week because I was throwing a big ol' pity party for myself. But I didn't completely throw the food plan out the door and that's great news. My weight is actually DOWN from last Wednesday's weigh-in, so that's a relief. I think that's only because my weight was still up with water weight from the Ohio trip last week, but I'll still take the lower number cuz heck it could have been even worse with all the bad eating and no exercise in the past week!

I've got my exercise clothes on right now and am about to go make it 2 days in a row, so I'll shut my yap for now.

Hope Everyone is having a GREAT day!

hey singles! playing hooky today because i was sick all night. still not feeling well this afternoon. i don't know if i got a bug or ate something bad or what. i just couldn't deal with work, this much i know.

sheri - you'll get back into the swing of it. it is hard to do anything when you're sick. i know i'm a big baby when i'm ill. i wonder where all those people are that were posting here for a while??? did we scare them off again?

allie - i hope you are having a great day too!!

well, i'm going to back to the couch where i belong. i am getting some reading done though so all is not lost.
kathy

Hello…I am still here, been reading but not posting….just haven’t felt like I had that much to add to anything. Went to visit some relative and had a good time, then came back and started back to work for the school year…..school started here last week, today was the 4th day, and all I hear is the catastrophes and problems, everyone wants me there RIGHT NOW! And I am feeling torn to pieces and ineffective at my job……I want to just scream at them all….. “IT HAS ONLY BEEN 4 DAYS!!!!” These kids have been away from school and routines for nearly 3 months and you can’t expect them to just be ready to go right away! I work with middle and high school teachers who teach students with severe disabilities……it takes awhile for them all to get back into the swing of things! Anyway…..it will get better, it always does, but this year I was hoping for a smoother start!

As far as ME! Doing fine….TRYING to get to exercise…..either the Y or just a nice long walk outside, but if I don’t get it done right after work, it gets put aside…..I need to try for at least 3 times during the week and then the weekends. Eating has been great too….still the scale does not move….so I am not feeling as motivated as I have been, but not giving up either….just staying the course because right now that is easy and I don’t need anymore stress…..so it goes……

I will try to post from time to time!
Lilybutt

G'day all! I'm happy to be back in the swing of exercising again after a week of no exercise. I've exercised 4 days in a row now. Yay!