Marie - Your bbq sounds great. Nothing like fresh chives right from the garden on a baked potato (a little butter is good too ) I think we'll fire up the old bbq next weekend if the weather's good. I like your idea of "saving" some calories so that I can have some of my favorites.

cacmsc - Thanks for welcoming me on board. I'm envious of your trip - I love fishing (catch and release - they're too smelly to keep! ) We live on a river, but there are too many snags in it. When we first moved in I lost about 6 rigs before I gave up! I bet you burned off a lot of calories with all those outdoor activities.

Nikki - Don't worry, the 2 lbs. is probably due to TOM. It will probably come off soon.

Freda - Pleased to meet you! I'm with you on not taking stuff like Vioxx. I guess we just have to grin and bear it!

I went to the docs today and, sure enough, I have shin splints . Don't know why - I haven't been going crazy with exercise - just the usual. At least it's something that will eventually go away (I was a bit concerned the leg pain might have been artery problems, which run in my family). I've dusted off my orthotics and will start wearing them again - much as I HATE the things! It's odd, but my doctor said the shin splints are probably what's also causing the foot pain. Hopefully they'll both clear up soon.

Have a good one.

Hi everyone, now that DH is working in the evenings, the internet is now my pal for the evenings. So I'm back. DS, DGS, and DS's GF are here and now that I started to write, they came out of their room. Timing???

Penpal, I would get new orthotics if yours aren't comfortable. My podiatrist said you shouldn't be able to feel them. I don't feel mine so I think he was right.

Freda, I agree with living in vacation land. I love having all the areas I love near by. I miss the ocean - which I know is only a few hours west, but since the Pacific is so cold, it's not the same. I miss the Atlantic (I used to live in Virginia). Other than a swimable beach I'm in heaven here.

Nikki - definitely we can do it. No sweat - oh no, I guess that should be lots of sweat.

I didn't make dinner so DS and GF are in my just cleaned kitchen making hemselves food. How much do you want to be it won't be clean anymore. Sometimes I miss the idea of empty nest... Anyway, they asked when dinner was and I said I had frozen lasagna and a salad and was done. If they'd only get I don't want to be their servant if they'd only help, it would be so much better. But they don't get that.

I did financial icky stuff all day. Yucky!!! I think a huge piece of chocolate cake should be my reward - just kidding. I got it done and that's all that matters. Besides I left room in my calories for a small ice cream cone. I get that in about 1/2 hour.

The hiking was great and my doggies are exhausted. I love taking them into the mountains so they can run free. I have sled dogs so they pull like crazy on a leash so hiking is much less painful.

Well, that's about it. I'll chat with you tomorrow evening.
Marie

Penny we almost all have had those awful shinplints at one time or another. Not fun so sorry for you. Yeah fishing is kind of fun and relaxing. I enjoy just being outside within the touch of nature.
Scales down 1.5 from yesterday yeah!!!!!! I must of been holding onto some water wt. from salty foods etc. Maybe the exercise this weekend helped too. At any rate I am not sad! I was a good girl yesterday stayed within my cals. and ate well for the day. Grilled steak last night and had a 1/2 baked pot. with a little butter and salad. We all are in the steak mood. My current wt. today is when I had my nice loss on 5/2 I ck'd. Nice keeping a intake journal you can look back for the good and the bad. So if I keep this off I only need to lose 2.5lbs by the 8th. Not bad maybe I will even beat my odds if I try hard. I posted a note piece of paper on my ref. with the number of lbs. on it. When I open the ref. it is a reminder of my goal not anyone else knows what it stands for or has asked yet. So its working for me. I also drank lots of water yesterday it was near 90 its going to be one hot summer.
Girls living near the mountains and the ocean sound wonderful if I didn't have children and an aging mom I would love to move. But this is where I will spend the rest of my life most likely. But my son keeps me traveling for sure.
Continue to make healthy choices and when you want the goodies save room in your intake for them. We will all meet our goals. I can say girls on the Tom subject he has been leaving me alone and I am pleased. Haven't had to worry about that since 3/06 and before that it was months. So I hope he is gone on a long trip with a no return in order. Have a great day. I might not ck in until saturday. I will be off for my conference on Dementia and Alzhemier disease. At least maybe we will get some good info. such awful things to have to deal with. We work are whole life trying to relax when we get a bit older and get hit with all this stuff!!!!!!!!!!!! Be good!

Morning everyone. I am down 1 pound from yesterday woohoo. I am hoping to knock back down below 158.8 friday. I was 158.8 last friday. If I can do that it will be 6 weeks of consistent weight loss. Grant it I usually only go down a pound a week or so but I will take it.

Marie -good for you on the dinner thing. I think it is awesome that you can go hike with the dogs.

I still am not at my TOM I am right before it waiting. I can't wait to get that over with.

Nikki

Marie - Yes, I might need to get new orthotics, mine have never been real comfortable (podiatrist said I'd get used to them!) Too bad I wasted five hundred bucks! Your puppies must need a lot of exercise - which means you get a good workout with them too! I'd love to have a dog (we have two kitties). One of these days when I can walk a bit further I'm determined to get one!

cacmsc - Congrats on the 1.5 lb. loss .
Looks like Tom is about to be history! I haven't seen him for four years now and I'm glad to see the back of him!!!
It must be so hard to have a parent with Alzheimers or Dementia. I'm lucky that my mom and dad (both 84) are still doing ok - especially as they live so far away in England. I'm thankful that my sister and brothers live nearby and visit them all the time.

Nikki -WTG on the pound loss!! It's awesome that you are losing so consistently. I'm lucky to lose .5 a week - usually less. I've just started eating a bit more protein and I think it's working as I'm down a pound from last Friday. It won't be "official" till Friday, but I'm hoping it won't come back!

Way to go on your loss Penpal. I know I always see a loss when I up protein. In fact today I had chicken for breakfast and will have meatloaf for lunch and more meat for dinner. I am hoping it will hep me lose on fridays weigh in .

Nikki

Nikki - Yes, it seems like such a simple change, but it works for me too. I log my food on Nutridiary, otherwise I wouldn't have known I was low on protein. It's supposed to help build muscle too - which is good!

I'm feeling a bit blah today, but reading your posts have perked me up. Thanks...

Carol , Penny and Nikki, hooray for the weight loss! My TOM is just starting, so I'll ignore the scale for another day or two, and use Friday as my official weigh-in day this week. I'm glad that so many of us are using the same dates to set goals. I used to join the "fourth of July"-type threads, but I don't consistently have enough time to keep up with more threads than this one.

Marie, your last post cracked me up. I hope that you have an understanding with your son regarding when he and his family will fly from the nest. One of my aunts now allows her daughter, her grandaughter, her little great-grandaughter, her son, and now her son's girlfriend to live with her...along with her hubby and her dog. They say my poor uncle spends all his time in his bedroom or in the garage, trying to get some enjoyment out of his crowded retirement.

Freda, as far as I'm concerned, watermelon is a fine dessert...but it has to be really good watermelon. Nothing disappoints me more than biting into fruit that doesn't taste right. Well, that's probably an overstatement. But really good watermelon on a hot day can't be beat. Congratulations on making good choices at the BBQ.

All of a sudden it's turned tremendously humid here. Even at 7AM it was draining to do a Turbo-Jam workout, and afterwards I was sweating like a fountain. Guess I'll have to break down and turn on the AC so I don't pass out! Even so, it felt good to get through the workout. I worked too late to go to Curves last night, I'll go this evening. Eating has been on program, but when TOM's around I tend to mindlessly snack at night. Now I have a little book about not eating at night on the table next to my favorite chair, which I hope will keep me on track when the urge strikes.

judy

Hi everyone, it was a busy day at work. But I sure did work out today when I wasn't at work. I got up at 5:15 this am and WATP 3 miles. Then after work, I stopped at the post office and my TurboJam package was there. So I did the intro moves and was interrupted (like usual) by DS, DGS and GF. It was cool though. I enjoyed chatting with them. Then DS suggested that DGS wanted to go on a walk and it was too bad I was exercising. I said, no problem, someone go with me and I'll take my doggies out for a walk. So DS's GF and I took DGS and the doggies on a 2 mile walk. I'm a little pooped now. Tomrrow I hope to do a little more of the TurboJam. Judy has me motivated to get into it. And Judy, you're so right about blah fruit. I like it when it's flavorful. Especially peaches - my favorite food on earth.

Carol, great job on the 1.5 pounds. Here's hoping that your conference doesn't throw a wrench into your plans.

Nikki - you are awesome, chickie!!! Maybe in a year or so, we'll be maintainers not losers. I'm looking forward to that. I really want not to be fat anymore. It's very motivating.

Penpal, my orthotics were about 500 and my insurance paid for them. They didn't pay for all of my sons' (both of the kids) but after I paid the 250 deductible, they paid 90%. Check with your insurance. Your podiatrist was doofey if he thought you'd get used to the fit. My dr. said I had to get used to wearing them (sort of slippery) but that they shouldn't hurt.

Food was good today - about 1400 calories. Water is above 75 oz (which is my goal) and exercise is a little overboard. So I guess I'm doing good. Work will be busy tomorrow again but that's not a bad thing. I have a couple reports to do then I get to design web pages that are driven by a database I developed last week. In other words, I get to PLAY!!!!
Marie

Mmarie - you are doing awesome with your exercise and everything.

I am in a slump today I actually got my TOM and weiged in at 159.4 not bad hopefully 2 lbs of bloat is on me. I have walking less because I've been achy but I'm going to try to start again after my TOM . I think maybe I should get indoor walking tapes since it seems like it will be a HOT summer. This weekend we are getting our pool set up so by next week I should be swimming daily. That is bound to help me lose.

have a good one
Nikki

Marie - WTG with all that exercise! You're doing great with the calories and water too!

About the orthotics - we have lousy insurance (we are self-employed and pay a fortune for our premium - currently $8,500 a year - plus we have a huge deductible of $3,000 per person!) We can't change companies because I've had cancer so they hold us to ransom upping our bill by 25% a year I dread going to the docs now because you never get out of there for less than $150 these days and then if there's any tests.....

Nikki - I hope you feel better soon - take it a bit easy till you feel up to more exercise. Your pool sounds great - it will be a nice refreshing way to exercise in the summer.

I haven't lost any so far this week, but I did get a new pair of pants in a lower size (14) yesterday They are real comfortable and I couldn't believe they fit so well!

Hi All, WOW!!!! Everyone seems to be doing so well! Way to go team! It does help knowing you're going to have to "fess" up or have someone to cheer you on when you do well!

I love fruit too! Heck, I love most things! Cherries are my all time favorite and Michigan cherries will be comming in soon. I can't wait! I buy huge bags full and eat them untill I can't. They aren't in season for long. Thank goodness they aren't terribly high in calories. This was the first watermelon we bought that was really sweet. We had gotten one other one that was just blah! So disapointed. After a hard winter that first fruit of the season is SO.... good!

Ok, ladies, now you have me wondering about this Turbo Jam! is it a tape, certain kind of exercise? I'm always looking for something new to try. I get bored with one thing and besides, I think the body gets used to the same thing and isn't challenged after awhile.

Am I the oldest person on here? I haven't seen TOM in years and good riddence! Couldn't wait to see the last of him.

Take care all, Freda

Hi everyone, today's been a good day. Work passed in a blur and I babysat my DGS. He and I took two of the doggies for a walk. I must be insane. Here I have the big jogging stroller with a baby and two pulling dogs on leashes. I must have looked like a fool. But DGS has been cranky today and he NEVER cranks in the stroller. He loves going on walks. I think he likes the bumpy mountain roads. So I figured I'd pass 45 minutes on a walk. It worked, then I fed him, then my DS came home and I was off the hook.

Freda, TurboJam is a DVD workout system I ordered when my internet was down and I zoned out with infomercials. I ordered it - I was a sucker... Anyway, I just did the teaching of the moves and haven't done a real workout yet. Maybe tomorrow. So far, walking after work with the doggies and DGS has ranked higher. And in the mornings I do the WATP.

Nikki, our pool still has the winter cover on it. We've pulled it back a few times to add cholorine and algecide, but it's been so cold, why undercover it? We have solar panels mounted on our house to heat it and without sun, it's not warming up. I used to swim laps, but then I started to see my dream pool as a punishment, so I stopped that. Now I just play and dive in it (I hav e a diving board and love doing back dives - strange passion). Anyway, I did notice when I did laps 2 years ago, I always weighed heavier the next day. My guess is that I was water logged? I sure hope you feel better. Since you got me started on this healthy diet/eating I haven't had TOM symptoms. Mine came on Monday and no PMS or anything. Very cool.

Penpal, congrats on being a cancer survivor - that's awesome!!!! Health insurance is a horrible necessity. At least you have major medical and they can't cancel you. But yes, I can see them holding you hostage. If you can afford it, I would get the orthotics though. It might help with a lot of the other aches and pains. And the SIZE 14 pants - WAY TO GO!!!!

Talk to you later.
Marie

Morning everyone-

Today was my weigh in day and I weighed in at 159.8. I am not surprised. Last night at about 9 I was craving salt and grabbed a handful of chips. I am sure next week after TOM I will b back down. I won't meet the June 8 goal but I will meet the July 17th one. I hope everyone is having a good day.

Nikki

Hi Everyone, I had to turn on my computer before work and tell everyone that I lost another 2 pounds. YEAH!!!! Can you tell I'm happy???? That's 10 pounds since we started on April 25th. Double digits.

I also logged my walking and I'm cruising. Since I started on January 12th, I've walked 349.7 miles. To me that's a miracle. My May Goal was met and past. The was 65 miles and I walked 89. So far for June - 8 miles. I'm a walking maniac.

Nikki, good luck with the salt craving. I rarely have those - thank goodness - they really screw up your weight tracking.

I've decided that I like seeing a 2 pound loss. Really like it. I'm going to weigh only once a week - on Fridays because they're always good days. The Tuesday weigh ins are going to stopped, at least for now. I like the big chunks of progress. Eight more pounds for the July 17th goal. We can do it!
Marie