Carol - Let us know how the 'ab thing' works. I saw one advertised recently that is like an exercise ball except it's bean shaped so you don't fall off as easily. It looks easy to use. They are a bit expensive - around $75 for a blow up bean-shaped ball basically. Good for you upping your exercise. I'm really feeling it today after my yoga yesterday. I never thought it would do much as it's just stretching, but the backs of my arms are so sore today - no pain no gain as they say. That's an area that needs firming up, so I'll be glad if it helps.

Nikki - Good to hear from you - I hope everything is going well for you.

Judy - I'm sure you're enjoying being home for a while.

I had my tooth prepared for my new crown today (a big molar). Anticipating the shot was the worst of it and just sitting there with my mouth wide open for an hour wasn't fun. The worst is over now and fitting the crown won't take long. The most painful part is the $750 bill!

My DH met me for lunch afterwards and it must have been comical to watch me eating sushi with my frozen mouth. I was slurping my tea so loud people were looking around! NOTHING will stop me from eating! :lol:

Nikki I know what you mean with being busy and never is there enough time to do all we want to. Glad your doing okay!
Penny I read an article recently about if your sore should you continue. Your right no pain no gain. It kind of referred to that in a way unless your so sore that you know you need to slow down a bit or you'll hurt yourself. So good luck and keep it up. My friend and I are going to split the cost of one. Try it before and after are walks. If we really like it we will put in to buy the second one and both have it at our houses. We live right next door to one another. My hubby's brother is coming for a visit he hasn't seen him in at least 10 years. So he moved my treadmill from the bedroom. Now I need help to get it downstairs and I will have my exercise room. So the abs thing will just be one more piece of equipment and the vcr player is down there too. Maybe I will get a dvd and wow it will be helpful spot to get stressless. Take care and we should of all been dentist they make a bundle. My insurance helps but still I would have to come up with over half of that. I need a couple of crowns myself and go to the dentist at the end of the month. Maybe we will go for number 1 to get started. Last quote was the same as your wow the going rate no sales or blue light specials at those places. Well gotta go! Food intake yesterday was with in my limits fresh fruit for dessert last night.

Hi, I'm here and doing well, just in lots of meetings lately and a bit distracted. I will need to spend much of Friday figuring out new systems to keep track of everything at work.

I'll try to remember to send the turkey stew recipe this weekend. It also has carrots, sweet potatoes, red onions and a little cabbage and corn meal that you throw in at the end. A little higher on the glycemic scale than I normally eat, but lots of protein, fiber and other good stuff.

I went to my first meditation class last night, and it was fabuous :) .

Carol, an exercise room! How cool!

Penny, the worst thing about the dentist is the novocaine shots. Although I guess it would have been really miserable a hundred years ago, when your only options were chloroform, whiskey or gutting it out. Which is what I tell myself when the dentist says, " okay, you might feel a little pinch here..."

Nikki--I hope you're crazy busy-ness has been good...

Gotta run--judy

Carol - Your hubby must be looking forward to seeing his brother after all that time. It's nice that you're getting an exercise room set up. Sounds like you'll have a real mini-gym there!
:tread: :ebike: :exercise:

Judy - What kind of meditation did you do? I like to unwind in the evening by listening to calming music or 'nature sounds' CD's. I especially like one called Bushland Dreaming - it's the most relaxing music I've ever heard. That's funny how you mentioned the dentist always says "you'll feel a little pinch". How did they come up with "pinch"? I guess it sounds better than 'jab' or 'stab' :lol:. Actually, the shot didn't hurt at all as he numbed it good first with some novocain jell.

I had my IBS thing pretty bad today so I just had some oatmeal for dinner to give my insides a bit of a rest. I'm going to try acupuncture for that and for my arthritis.

Our son is off to Idaho tomorrow for a job interview. I hope it goes well for him, but we'll sure miss having him around if he decides to take the job. It's fun to see how excited he is about it - oh to be so young enthusiastic!

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Girls having one spot for all my stuff is an exercise area for me! So don't get to jealous hah hah just one spot to do it all. Wish we could all be in one area together to do some yoga and mediatation. I think I could use it. Yesterdays intake was good I did have garlic chicken and broc. for lunch from a chinese rest. with the rice of course. But for dinner it was really light and breakfast was bagel with lite veggie cc. So I think its okay today didn't totally add up unsure of the chinese cals. Well I Penny glad for your sons opportunity to get a good offer. But it isn't so easy to have them out of town. As much as the visits are cool and fun the everyday contact and weekly gets tough. How many hrs away will he be? Mine is way too many and thats tough I am sure your situation will be a bit easier for contact not the time chg. miles, oceans etc.... Oh how I miss those kids. Soon they'll be here for the wedding fun times. With all the snow melting so quickly then the rains we had some flooding problems in my area and my poor daughter got hit once again. Not as bad as before by any means but still what a mess loss of time at work etc. Just the whole thing stinks. I got brave yesterday and finally confronted my office mate whom has been acting very distant and ignoring me lately keeping things at a real low. I got so I hate beening in when she is. So I confronted her yesterday of course she said there was no problem with me just pissed at the upper hands in our dept etc. but didn't go into it. I told her I really didn't want to know the less is best I just wasn't pleased with the atmosphere in are room. So we'll see how today goes I mentioned that her and I had our differences in the past and that I wasn't going to put up with it or go through it again. She kept asking if I know anything and I said no something else is bugging her and I really don't want to get into it. Less is best! Judy when ever you get time for that recipe it just sounded good.
cc

Penny, this meditation class is sort of an overview of mindfulness or insight meditation, but our teacher is very much in the Buddhist (Vietnamese) tradition. Most of our time will be focused on silent and walking meditation. Just thinking about the class is relaxing :) . There are only six classes, and I'm trying to rig my travel schedule so I don't miss any of them. I have guided meditation CDs from Kripalu at home, but I don't use them often enough. I would very much like to establish a daily meditation routine, and hope that this class will get me rolling in that direction. Sorry about the IBS, it sounds miserable. Hope you're feeling better today.

Carol, I'm glad that you're sticking up for yourself. Sometimes I worry that confronting someone will make the situation worse, but this has gone on for quite a while, and life is too short for this kind of nonsense. Are you getting one last blast of snow?

I just had a big lunch--corned beef, cabbage, peas and carrots :irish: I guess that will be my tribute to those long-ago Irish (and Scots-Irish) ancestors who are a mysterious part of my heritage. No carousing for me, though, I'm too old for roaming the streets with green beer.

I haven't worked out very much this week. I'm blaming it on the time change, but I think I'm still just tired from the past few months. This will be a weekend for decluttering my house and preparing for my sister's visit later this month.

Have a great weekend!

judy

Happy Friday everyone!!! I am back - I had a great time. Bodysurfed, exercised, ate reasonably and didn't touch a computer. Not bad for an IT person. It was in the 80's and sunny everyday. The ocean was 76 degrees and very swimable (except that on Monday apparently a guy was bit by a shark about 10 miles up the beach. Good thing I didn't know that till I was leaving. :)

Today, DH, DS2 and I went to Crater Lake and went snowshoeing. It's about 60 some degrees and sunny. Absolutely beautiful. I'm thinking a nap sounds good. Florida irritated my asthma and the snowshoeing in the heigh altitudes was difficult so I got a little tired.

Carol, I'm sorry the office mate isn't moving on. What a tease. To raise hopes then to dash them. I don't know what I'd choose, but I'm thinking probably sharing the office with the other 3 and bringing an older laptop of my own. Irritating people make life hard and life is too short for that. I look forward to seeing the dress but you'd have to post a direct link to it since Chadwick doesn't work with searching by the item number if you don't have a catalog.

Judy, the meditation sounds nice. I did a little (little is a very appropriate word) in grad school. Always helped me clear my mind so I could sleep. If I have trouble these days I rely on the old ZUMS. It really does work for me.

Penny, sorry about the upset stomach. I hope you feel better soon. How would acupuncture work for that? I really don't know how that type of alt care works.

Nikki, hope you're doing ok.
Marie

Marie - Welcome back - we missed you! It sounds like you had a lovely time. Snowshoeing must have been quite a change of pace and scenery after Florida. You have so much energy - you must be doing all the right things. My tummy is a lot better today. I took some deglycerized licorice tablets and they helped calm things down. I was surprised to find out that acupuncture can help with stomach problems too. I've no idea how it works but if it does I'll be happy as a clam.

Judy - I see you got an early start for St. Paddy's Day. I have a little Irish in me too, but I'm not all that keen on corned beef. I love cabbage, peas and carrots though. I'm partial to a sip of Guinness now and then - my grandmother swore by it for curing all kinds of ailments and in fact they gave it to her to drink when she was in the hospital as a pick-me-up (I doubt that they do that nowadays!)

Carol - I hope you can soon resolve the problem with the troublesome co-worker. It's hard to be in such close proximity to someone you don't get along with. I have a similar situation with an ex-buddy that I have to see quite often at social events - thank goodness I don't have to share an office with her or I'd go batty!

I was up a pound today :(. Maybe when my stress level goes down I'll start losing again. I found a very cute beige Bill Blass linen jacket at the resale store where my friend volunteers. It's size Medium and fits perfectly!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Hi Ladies -

Penny - Hang in there.

Marie - That sounds like some time body surfing and all.


I am doing well I maintained this week thank god. I am trying to unsubscribe and resubscribe to the thread to see if I have better luck with the emails. If I dont see an email I get so busy I forget to pop in .

Hope all are well

Nikki

Oh, an easy-going Sunday...I'm feeling the need to declutter, so I've piled some things I never use--like a sorta rickety set of tray tables--by the door to take out back and deposit next to the dumpsters. I'm supposed to be clearing up the paperwork in my home office so I can do my taxes, but I haven't been able to focus on that yet. Yesterday I got my hair done, which pretty much took care of Saturday.

Marie, I'm so glad that you had a nice trip and that you weren't bitten by a shark--that would have really put a damper on your vacation.

Hi, Nikki! I wonder if when you subscribed to this thread, you've set up your notifications correctly. It really helps me to get some of the posts by emails (they come to my Blackberry), especially when I'm feeling "too busy" to check in here regularly. Hearing one of your voices on an email always brings me back.

Carol, the recipe was in the January-February issue of Weight Watchers magazine. It's a little on the long side, so I'll put it in a separate post.

I had a popcorn binge last night :( . I haven't done that in a long time. otherwise I'm eating okay. Still not in my usual workout pattern, just 20 minutes of cardio this morning, but I will lift weights shortly, while I watch basketball on TV, I promise!

judy

Here's the recipe for Slow-Cook Turkey Vegetable Soup, from WW Jan-Feb magazine:

2.5 pounds of bone-in turkey thighs, skin removed
1 tsp salt
Half tsp pepper
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
6 thin slices fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1.5 tsp curry powder
Half tsp allspice
1 cup chicken broth (low-sodium)
4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
2TBS cornmeal
Half head of small Savoy or green cabbage, thinly sliced

Skin the turkey, remove the bones, and cut into small pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spray a nonstick skillet and cook the turkey in batches on medium-high until browned, about six minutes. Place the browned turkey in slow cooker.

Add red onions to skillet, reduce heat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. add ginger, garlic, curry powder and allspice and cook for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any bits that stick to the pan.

Add onion mixture to the slow cooker, then the carrots, then the sweet potatoes. Cover and cook until fork-tender, 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours low.

About half an hour before cooking time is up, gently stir the cornmeal and sprinkle the cabbage on top. Cover and cook on high until the stew thickens and cabbage is tender, about half an hour. Remove the ginger before serving:

Per 1-2/3 cup serving: 290 cals, 4 g fat, 624 mg sodium, 37 g carb, 7 g fiber, 27 g protein, 108 mg calcium, 5 WW points.

Note: I had to use drumsticks instead of thighs, but that worked out fine, but buy closer to three pounds if you do. Also, you must debone the turkey first, especially if you use drumsticks--otherwise the bones splinter and are a drag to pick out of the stew.

Mangia!

judy

Hi -

Judy- I am hoping I fixed the problem.

Last week I did not weigh in because I had TOM. I will get my official weigh in this week on Wednesday. I am noticing that my body is reshaping and I feel if I lose another 10-15 I may be happy and not need to lose the full 27. I would really love to do the 15 by Summer. 3 months should not be a problem if I just stay focused !!! How is everyone else doing? I feel like I have alot of catching up to do.

Nikki

Morning everyone, I had a BUSY weekend. DH and I drove to Portland (sorrry I didn't have a chance to call Penny) and bought a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4 door. Oooo, it's the one I fell in love with skiing a couple weekends ago. So I guess we'll have a car payment for another 4 years. BTW, we didn't trade anything in. We're up to about 7 vehicles for the 2 of us. I guess I'm a glutton in more areas than one. :)

But the drive was incredible. Penny has SPRING!!!! The pretty purple trees were in bloom (apple trees???) and daffodils were being gorgeous everywhere. DH and I stopped at the halfway mark on the way home and walked through a literal rain forest like places. Moss, ferns, lichen everywhere. But now I'm back to where snow is in the forecast tonight...

I'm not doing great on eating these days. Nothing like in years past, but I'm not as in control. I must get that munchie out of my system. I'm up to almost 500 cals so far today and it's only 10 in the morning. Boo-hoo I need to get control.

I walked 2 miles this morning before work - yes I'm back at the daily grind. Since Florida I've had asthma problems. The abuterol is making the breathing better but making my arms and leg muscles fatigued. So I'm letting the maintenance drugs do their thing and not overdoing.

Nikki, maybe you and I need a new challenge. How about we follow our plans to the letter for the next week. What do you think?

Judy, I'm sorry about the binge wiht popcorn. I can relate, really I can. I'm into coffee treats lately - the fat free mochas with a scone or biscotti. I think I'm fine with the coffee, it's the treat that gets me.

Penny, good job on finding a nice Medium outfit. it's amazing how that label can help so much.

Well, my desk looks like Judy cleaned her home office onto it so I better get back to it.
Marie

Marie sounds good to me :)

Nikki

Happy Monday! It's still a bit brisk out but the sun is shining, and I can tell that this is the last little bit of cold weather, quickly losing steam...yaay! I am still sluggish in the morning. Maybe if I stop trying to get up so early (5:45AM) and just set my alarm 45 minutes later, I can still do all my weekday morning stuff, plus workout and meditate, before heading off to work. I'm lucky in that I have some flexibility in the morning, and if I come in a few minutes later than usual it's not at problem. But I do have show up at a reasonable time.

Nikki, maybe it would be helpful to set an aggressive goal for us all as a group. I've not been able to build any momentum for more than a few days at a time. I think I'm still psychic-ly tired, and have benn for the past few months. At this rate my '50 by 50' campaign will be more like '10 by 50,' which isn't nearly as inspiring.

Marie, I'm jealous that you've already experienced a little spring already. I think I'll see more blooming trees by this coming weekend. Wonderful for the eyes, hard on the sinuses.

Penny, I think I read something recently about scientists finding specific benefits to drinking Guiness.

Okay, must run, day is getting away from me.

judy

Judy - Thanks for posting the recipe - it sounds delish and I'm definitely going to try it. Not too many calories either. I know what you mean by psychic-ly tired - everything seems so much harder when you're stressed out.

Marie - Congrats on your new auto. Spring seemed to arrive suddenly around here the last week or so and it's great to see all the flowers out (not so great for my allergies!) We got a fair amount of yard work done yesterday before the rain came back again.

Nikki - Maybe that's a good idea to lower your goal a little bit. You've made great progress so far and your diet seems to be working for you.

Carol - I hope you're having a good Monday.

I'm currently doing all I can to reduce stress because I know for sure it affects my weight loss, but just when things even out something else hits. Today one of the other people organizing our fund raiser blithely handed out a couple of free tickets to people she feels sorry for. We are all busting our butts getting this thing done and it really rankles me that one person takes it upon herself to basically give away our hard work - which is supposed to raise money for charity. We all agreed not to do this anymore as we ended up giving away six tickets last year - that's $120 less income. I hate having to be the 'bad guy' and bring this up with our group but nobody else seems to want to say anything. I'm really craving some chocolate or cheesecake but I'm not going to cave in as it will just make matters worse :mad:.

Judy thanks for the recipe. I will make this soon. Your meditation program sounds devine. I work with a youngman whom is from India. His mom I have known for years she used to work another position with me. She always meditates daily. Maybe I should try it. I also had the cornbeef and cabbage the only one whom in this house likes cornbeef. So I bought a small one and took part of it to mom yesterday. The rest of the meal they liked pot. cab. etc. Oh well can't please them all but did myself this time around. Yes sometimes you can ignore office politics til they start effecting you daily. Then yah have to do something this worked well and now she is at least acting better towards me. I think sometimes people forget how their treating someone and in this case she said anyways that it wasn't me but the upper hand. Well I share an office and whispering, ignoring etc. was getting out of hand. I am feeling better now even though the whispering and something is still going on she isn't treating me badly and thats important. We are suppose to have a 100% harsment free work environment. Hah hah! Not so really but the upper hands would like to think so. Marie glad the shark didn't get yah scary though. Right before we went to Hawaii right at one of the beaches we went to a girl had gotten hit by a shark too. The kids never told me that if it was your Tom time they can pick up on that from miles away. What a dum move that was for me. But thank goodness I didn't have a problem. Body surfing you go girl! I got the dress but haven't tried it on yet. My daughter was suppose to come over but they when to the SU basketball game last night. I painted my front hallway sunday. Its yellow a bit brighter than I thought it would be. I have to do one more coat because of shadows. Wondering if I should tone it down a bit or leave it add some garden charm with some pictures etc and see how it looks? Nikki if you and Marie challenge I will too sounds like a movement we may all need. I think I am doing okay but haven't visited my scale have increased my exercise wish the snow would stay away. Gym day today after work. Let me know girls count me in! Penny oh how these menopause days are tough the hot flashes at night are crazy 6 times etc. waking up is not fun. I did go to the health food store and bought some drops I started last night. Things weren't great but a tad bit better. I do 3-4 drops on my tongue 3-4 times a day. Its suppose to help even out my hormones and moods etc. Then once your stable you lower your dosage. We'll see the lady says its the best and liquid gets in the system faster. Anyone ever hear of such a thing??? Leave it to me! Penny hope your feeling better soon I am sure spring time will make us all feel a bit better at least. Gotta go think I may be sick on friday and paint! Opps did I say that???

Hi All-

It sounds like we need a challenge. I graduate with my Masters degree May 20. My goal for myself will be workout 3-4 times a week and lose 15 pounds by graduation. I have 8 weeks from today ! Lets have a Nikki's graduation challenge instead of a summer challenge lol.

Today is my 2nd day in a row of working out this week and day 2 of going back to the diet. I plan to watch my carbs and eat healthy 6 out of 7 days a week and on the 7th only have a little of what I want and only if I really want it. I won't eat just to eat !

Nikki

Carol, if you were a true SU fan you'd paint your doorway bright orange :D . A good friend from college grew up near Syracuse and was a rabid basketball fan. In the late '70s and early '80s, I was forced to watch their big games and root for them (although I was secretly a Georgetown fan, but kept that to myself).

Penny, I have been in and around nonprofit fundraising for a long time, and have heard your story many times before. All you can do is make sure everyone comes to an agreement re comp tickets at the start, including how the committee will decide when to break the rules, and repeat it over and over. People are funny about money, which is why fundraising can be such a grind. You aren't being a bad guy--you're helping the organizers reach your goals of raising a certain amount for a good cause. And whatever you do, step away from the cheesecake :dust:

Marie, have you cleaned your desk yet? I have more stuff I need to pile someplace :joker:

I'm signing up for Nikki's graduation challenge. I want to permanently graduate to a lower weight decade:goodscale ....May 20 is also my mom's b-day so it's an easy date for me to remember. So for these two months I will work out at least five times a week (cardio, strength training and yoga) and plan each day's eating. I've fallen away from my daily menus, and it shows. I'm doing well on giving up chocolate (and candy in general) for Lent, but other than that I've not been in a good overall rhythm in two months...and that shows, too!

judy

Woohoo Judy we can do this :)

Nikki, Okay, I'm in but in a slightly different way. I stopped setting weight loss goals. So I'm setting an average of 1550 calories per day through May 20th. That means I have to be better at logging - I will log everything. Since I alreayd exercise everyday, we'll at that as a goal. :) That's the easy one. Logging daily is the hard part but other than tomorrow when I have to go to Salem for the day, I'm not going out of town in that duration. I sort of like the average idea so I don't always have to be perfect but overall in control. I'm definitely in.

Penny, I would be irritated too. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do non-profit. I can't ask anyone anything about money. I don't bargain with the car sales person, I don't sell girl scout cookies, I never let me kids do fund raisers. For me, asking for money (or savings) is so uncomforable. So if you have people wanting to pay for tickets and some dingbat gave them away, that would set me off.

Judy, my desk is cleared off (for the most part) and I'm out of the office tomorrow so it would be a great time for to you to send more stuff my way. :)

Carol, no harassment??? Yeah, in our dreams. Harassment comes in all shapes and sizes. Subtle or blatant. You friend sounds semi subtle and just stays on the line. I'd move offices.

So I went to the podiatrist today. The wart on my foot never went away. So he's treating it, but not aggressively. I told him my exercise routine and he said, "Then I'll put you in my high school/college athletes category so that we succeed but without hindering the workout". Cool, huh? He's going to treat it with acid (didn't hurt at all) and redo it every 2 weeks until he SEES it's gone. My reg. dr. didn't follow up. I was very happy. BTW, he's an exercise fanatic and older hippie. I liked his philosophy.

I walked 3 miles this morning and it was a harder routine (the Walk Slim WATP). Lots of upper body and very fast paced. I very much liked it. Tomorrow I have to get to work by the time I usually get up so I'm concerned on the exercise front. To get up 3:30 to get a couple miles in or get up at 4:00 so I get there by 5:00????? Hmm, I could exercise when I get home but I like starting my day off right. I bet when the alarm goes off at 3:30 I'll decide.

Well, off to my exercise thread.
Marie

Carol - I guess it's hard to find a 100% harassment-free work environment! If you ever find one let me know :lol:. I like the sound of your nice bright hallway. I like some country touches too - nice and homey.

Nikki - Like Marie, I'm not into setting goals anymore (I get too frustrated when I don't reach them in due course). I will try to limit my calories though and I'm going to aim for no more than 1600 per day, which will basically mean cutting out a snack (or two!)

Judy - Thanks for your advice re non-profits. I could also never ask anyone directly for money, but at least our ladies get an excellent tea and a fashion show for their money. I've gotten over my hissy-fit today and will just be glad when it's all over and I can get back on an even keel. I did manage to stay away from the chocolate and cheescake by the way.

Marie - I'm glad you've found someone who seems to know what he's doing regarding your foot problem. I had the same thing done when I was about 14 and I don't think the treatment has really changed much since then. Funnily enough, I used to kind of enjoy going to get my foot scraped - how weird is that but it didn't hurt a bit. It took several months, but eventually the plantars were gone.

I did my yoga class today. Boy was it hard, but I felt great afterwards. My instructor is very patient and knows my limitations because of my arthritis. She works around it suggesting slight changes in the poses. Luckily there's only two of us so far in the morning class so we get a lot of one-on-one attention.

Tomorrow I'm going to really make an effort to stick to 1600 cals. My intake has been creeping upwards and that's not good.

Hi Ladies- Penny/ Marie I understand. I am looking at it as if I lose 10 and not 15 I am at least 10 lbs lighter.


I am very happy to report that on Monday I was weighing in at 164.6 and today I am back down to 161.4 for my official weigh in. Today is my 3rd day this week working out and eating better.

Nikki

Thank God my meditation class meets tonight....my brain is spinning! :dizzy: I had to be in early this morning (although not as not as early as Marie, yikes!) and was very disorganized, so I had no time even for a short workout. It's been a go-go-go type of day, and tomorrow will be the same. I hope to leave in time to make a rare stop at Curves before my class. I won't get home until nearly 9PM, and I'll be ravenous, so going to Curves will be my only opportunity to work out today. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink cancelling my membership :chin:

Nikki, I am also ambivalent about setting weight loss goals in the short term. I guess it's all a matter of what works for you, and what helps you stay positive even you "only" lose ten pounds in a certain period. Congratulations on your latest wiegh-in :cp:

Marie, how are you logging? I just didn't take to web-based logs, and using little spiral notebooks, like I did years ago, just makes me sigh. Maybe you could invent a voice recorder that I could talk into that would also calculate calories and carbs? I would invest in that :D .

Penny, your yoga class sounds ideal, almost like a personal session. Waht style of yoga are you studying?

Carol, I hope you're having a very good day.

Okay, playtime is over, time to get back to my stack of things I must read today or ele.

judy

Thanks Judy I understand it just helps me to stay on track. I only suggested this challenge because a couple of you ladies wanted something for a chalenge. I will stick to this one maybe you can come up with something else.

Nikki

Nikki - I'm glad you've encouraged us all to shake up our eating plans. We may all have different ways of going about it but we're all in the same boat! I've managed to stay under 1600 calories today so hopefully I can start losing again. Congratulations on your loss - you are an inspiration! :carrot:

Judy - I'm learning Hatha yoga (I think it's the most common type). I'm sore today after my workout yesterday. We worked on abs and legs and although it doesn't seem like you're doing much of a workout at the time, I can definitely feel it! I like the meditation aspect of yoga too. I need all the help I can get in that department.

I went to talk to an acupuncturist today for the treatment of my arthritis but I was put off by the fact that she wants me to also start taking a bunch of oriental herbs. I'm already taking so many supplements I think I'd gag if I had to take one more! It gets very expensive too, as it's not covered under my insurance and I'd have to go at least twice a week for treatments.

Hi all, well I did get up early to exercise yesterday. 3:30 am is just too early. But I did 2 miles walking and 1 mile jogging. I did that routine again this morning. I'm hoping to take the doggies for a walk after work so that would add another 1.5 miles. I did not stay under the 1550 calories but since I was away from a computer and I blew it, I will start today.

Judy, I log everything with Lifeform (you can google it). It was about 40 bucks and it runs off my USB thumb drive that I always have with me since it's on my keychain. I didn't like web based because I didn't always have web. But I suppose with the blackberry you would - but I bet there are small databases that you could load onto your blackberry. I know if I use lifeform, I don't overeat. And so far today, I've logged!!! YEAH.

Penny, I used to take supplements up the ying-yang. I started choking on trying to swallow them and my stomach started to throw them up. Now I take Flintstone's vitamins. :) That's all my stomach will allow - that and my calcium and prescriptions.

Nikki, I'm on board with a challenge so don't get me wrong. I'm just challenging how many calories I average. so we're in this together. Great new on getting back to 161.
Marie

Hey, Nikki, sorry if I sounded critical! I was just speaking for myself here, everyone has to decide for themselves what markers motivate them. I've done so poorly using pounds lost as a goal that I need to stick with things I can control--like my own behavior, which hasn't been great--before I can go back to the traditional pound-a-week goal that I want for this year. We will all support each other's success with these challenges, and cheer you on to graduation!

I'm just popping to say hey, 'cuz I doubt I'll have a chance to come back today. Except for the meditation class, which is a lifesaver, I haven't had much time to relax or zone out. I'm glad that I'm taking most of next week off when my sister visits. I need a break!

judy

Oh Penny when the sun would shine I felt I had a canary in my hallway a big yellow canary. So I put another coat on last night and added one half of whats called heavy cream its my new kitchen color. It softened my look and now looks more calm. With life so crazy most of the time that lemon canary yellow was just to rough! But now its pretty and peaceful the look I needed to walk into after a crazy work day. Which to speak of I am off today using a little MH time. I think I deserve it after the last few weeks. Also have been helping train our new girl. I think she will work out just fine. Judy thanks for the turkey recipe and I am planning on picking up the stuff maybe sundays dinner. I am up for the challenge Nikki. But will do mine as intake journal 6-7 days I like that idea, 3-4 days exercise does painting count??? Also will do the scale thing once a week fridays. Start date today:3/23 also watching the carbs, adding fiber and protein. Does anyone know how much protien we are to have daily?? Oh a friend had chol. issues and the doctor advised her to use the Atkins diet said after lots of research it is found to be one of the best??? What do you all think?? I never really tried that one maybe I should? Well Marie congrats on your new jeep baby. Did you know anyone for a discount? My SIL works for the company whom makes those. Someday I would like to get myself one. I just bought 4 new tires yesterday to the tune of 400.00. Good thing I won 100 on a scratch off the other day a 2.00 one at best! Next its back brakes and rotors. Then I will be set for awhile again. Hurray! Penny I am taking some herbs for my hot flashes its in liquid form a few drops on the tongue. I do think its helping so far I feel like it is and its suppose to be helping with the moods etc.. So lets see! If it works its well worth it. Sometimes I think when we take so many different things how does one know what works and what doesn't?? They did tell me this doesn't work against any medications one may be on so that was positive. I slept much better last night than I have in a week. Well girls I gotta go get painting the sun is shining and its going to be a lovely day here!

Morning -

i'm just feeling in a defensive mood. Life here is crazy. Anyway today is day 4 of eating right and working out.

Nikki

Marie - I checked out Lifeform. It looks good, but unfortunately it's only available for PC's. It looks fairly similar to Spark People. It would be handy to have a good food logging program that is not dependent on being online.

Judy - I'm glad you're getting some time off - you deserve it. Your meditation class sounds soothing. I enjoy the last part of my yoga class where we totally relax in a Savasana pose - I nearly fall asleep. I'm still sore in my legs and abs from last week's class, so it's definitely doing something to my body.

Carol - I can see where a very bright yellow might get on your nerves. I'm glad you could change it to a creamier color. Better than living with a color that drives you nuts! What kind of drops are you using for hot flashes, etc.? I still get them and have trouble sleeping sometimes.

Nikki - I hope things quiet down for you soon. Good for you to be sticking to your diet with all the extra stress.

I didn't lose any today at my weigh in, but I'm sticking to my intake goals a bit better, so I'm hoping for a loss soon. Once all the stress from the fashion show is over, I think my body will be willing to let go of some fat!

It's a nice day, so I'm going to do some yard work this afternoon. The weeds are humungeous this spring. We're supposed to get a week of rain starting tomorrow, so I have to get out there while I can.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Penny - Hang in there girl. I'm sure your changes will cause weight loss soon.

Okay, day 1 of the "personally tailored" challenge: yesterday's calories was 1576. Not too off the 1550 goal. So far today I'm doing great!!!! Yeah!!! and I walked 2 miles and jogged 2 miles this morning. Yesterday I did add a doggie walk of 1.5 miles. I promised the little angels I'd take them out again today. So today will be 5.5 miles. I'm so into this challenge (see Nikki you did motivate me back on course) that the 1550 is no longer frightening. I can do it. since TOM is here I'm not weighing in until a week from Tuesday. No need to throw the scale through the window.

I'm so happy the week is basically over. I hate the week after a vacation. The emails, piles of reg. mail, and voice mail was too much. As well as getting last week and this week's work done this week. But I survived and conquered it. :)

Nikki, you are doing so great. Just a quick question - are you relatively young? When I was in my 20's - 30's I was able to set pound goals as my body knew how to lose weight. Since I hit my 40's I can do what I was doing back then plus all my exercise and not be able to lose (I'm thinking pre menopause hormones and the such) at a steady rate. Since I've met Penny, I know my age, Judy is 50 by 50 and Carol's a grandma too, the 4 of us are in the slow metabolism boat. Please don't take that we altered the challenge to fit us wrong. If I were 20 years younger I'd be setting pound goals. For me setting calorie goals is what I still can control. I hope that makes sense to you. And you're a step ahead of us - you lose your weight now as a youngster and you won't have to set slower goals later on. :)

Penny, gee, be glad you have weeds. That means you have spring silly. :) Spring is peaking out occasionally around here. My tulips/daffodils are about 6 inches tall. no weeds yet but I just figure they add green to my brown landscape. :)

Carol, very good move to repaint. If you don't like it on day one you'll hate it a few weeks down the road. Soft yellow is soothing. Bright yellow is yelling. My old Jeep is bright yellow and it's meant to yell but I'd hate my entryway that color.

Judy, enjoy your visit with your sister. i'm glad you'll be able to relax a bit. Next week is my school district's spring break but since I took it last week, I'm working. BUT many others aren't so it should be quiet and I can get thinking work done.

Well, tomorrow DH and I going to go to Crater Lake before sunrise. So tht should be cool. We're going to snowshoe. And DS1, almost DIL and DGS left for the coast for 5 days. A mini vacation. :) (for me and them).
Marie

Marie -

I am glad you are doing well. Yes, I am younger 28. I want to drop to 135 before I hit 30, preferablly before I hot 29. I realize it is a lot harder as you face menapause etc. I have gotten stuck in the same spot everytimeI've tried losing. I get down to like 158 and stall. I am hoping this time I can blow past 158 and get down to 145 by May.


Have a great weekend everyone
Nikki

Nikki, I know about stalling. From early Nov to late December I was stuck at 172. For some reason I dropped a pound over Christmas then am now at about 168. I will be happy when I get more towards the 165 mark. But my body will do what it wants. BTW, the challenge is helping tremendously. Knowing I have to stay in the 1500 to 1600 range has put control on my munching. This is very good.

Yesterday DH and I did go to Crater Lake and snowshoed but missed sunrise by about 4 hours. :) We packed a picnic and the day was beautiful. We went about 2.5 miles. This morning we took the huskies to Hamaker Mtn and let them run free. Kodiak was running down a rocky hill and hurt himself. After examination he peeled back part of his big pad on his front paw. DH and I cut the peeled back part off and drugged him so he's sleeping be me at the moment. I'm hoping that it'll heel quickly as he's too impatient to be sidelined (as was proof he wouldn't lay down when we got home - he'd limp and cry). DH even had to carry him in the house from the Durango. BTW, I jogged back to the Durango from where he got hurt - .5 miles. I did that outside and with hiking boots on and after walking mountain roads for 3.5 miles. Not bad at all if you ask me. I was a little proud of me. :)
Marie

Nikki your doing great and keep us motivated with this new challenge. I have my youngest daughters wedding on 6/23 so your valued outcome date is great for me.
Penny the drops are from the Natural Food Store- brand name= Newton homeopahics / relieves hot flashes, night sweats, nervousness, depression and anxiety related to menopause. So far they seem to be helping it took about 4 days. I also have been taking a motrin before bedtime it could be the comb. of the two but I am sleeping much better. Only wake a couple of times and am able to go back to sleep. The mood thing also might be better too. I think maybe its helping in that area as well. Let me know if you want to try it and need the address of the company whom makes it. Maybe your health food store will have it. Its so much easier than taking lots of different herbs there all in these drops. I am told the drops are more effective with getting in our systems quicker etc... Good luck. Judy I picked up some groceries last night and I am off to make my turkey stew sunday. I think I will invite my mom for dinner as well and serve a nice salad with it. Thanks for the recipe. I had the March/April addition. My painting project is moving right along nicely and I think burning cals as I worked up the ladder down the ladder reaching , lifting etc. Oh but it looks great I am very pleased . I have a great room kitchen, dining and livingroom with an island which seperates the two. My kitchen and dining area are heavy cream soft look, hallway soft yellow cream, and my livingroom is smokey slate which during the day looks lighter and at night a different effect. With all my woodsy look it goes great. Now I am looking for some of my flower pictures to take and turn into black and white and get some black frames for the livingroom behind the couch. Boy for 100.00 bucks lots of new look. I love it! Also spring cleaning to get the house ready for Easter company and wedding company too. Oh Oh I am so very happy to tell you all I am going to be a gram again! My DS and DIL in HI are going to have a November baby! How cool is that?? Anyways I need to save some vacation for a trip thats for sure. Either December or January time. They are so happy and I will get to celebrate with them in June when they come home. Challenge for this young gram I will say! I did great yesterday though so busy forgot to eat lunch gotta go.

Carol, a baby, how wonderful! You will be the best grandma ever.

Nikki, I hope that you had a chance to relax this weekend. you're doing so well on hanging in there with your program :) .

Marie, I'm so envious of your outdoorsy life! My big way of celebrating the beautiful weather today was walking 25 minutes to the grocery store:lol: . I'm an urban girl, what can I say? Sorry to hear about the doggie's paw.

Penny, my meditation class is pretty neat. I wish I could get the same effect on my own, but I know I could get there if I practice enough. I'll use my sister's visit next week--meaning I don't have to rush out the door in the morning or work late in the evening--to see if I can practice on my own at least once a day.

A very busy weekend. I went to an engagement dinner Saturday night. It was Italian food, served family style on huge platters, but I did well and filled up on the salads, and just had a little chicken marsala and grilled salmon. I was glad that the pasta, breads, and baked desserts with ice cream were out of the question. But I sat at the same table as the happy couple. I don't know the bride-to-be, and she was distressed that I wasn't sampling more. I think I convinced her that I'd had plenty to eat--trust me, I did!--but only after I convinced her that it wasn't because of dieting, but due to gluten and lactose issues. I guess this digestive stuff is coming in handy ;)

The personal trainer came by yesterday and helped me with a good routine. And I showed him the small second-hand rowing machine I bought several months ago that doesn't work quite right. I thought maybe I was just to heavy for the mini-machine, but no, it just needs some cleaning and WD40. So hooray, on days I don't manage a workout in the morning I can easily row for half an hour while watching Jeopardy or something...actually I'm about to do that now, before having dinner. This week I've worked out at least some every day but one. TOM started on Friday (off schedule again) and I'm convinced that's related to my struggle with evening snacks. This week should be easier.

Let's all have a great week!

judy

Hi Everyone-

Well I blew my diet this weekend. However, I wil go back to it Monday. I had a lot of carbs but mostly good food. Maybe all is not lost. I am kind of disappointed in myself as I know that kind of behavior will not help me loss the weight I want by Summer. I was at my boyfriends and his mom made a yummy corn beef meal as a delayed st ptricks day meal. We also had irish coffee. Today I had a hot dog, hamburger and some onion rings. That was all I had so while not healthy it might not be that bad calorie wise.

Talk to you all in the am,
Nikki

Judy I would almost trade in my hot flashes for Tom! Hah hah! The stuff I bought at the health food store is helping a bit. But its not fun at all. I think that if your body goes through the hot stage for a few min. then cool it like a work out don't yah think it should burn some cals. Now come on gals I am streching for some good to come out of this situation. I worked on my great room the hubby painted a shelf and a little cupboard for me to match the livingroom area. Wow what a difference. I went out to buy some new plants yesterday for the area and was delighted to find some great deals. Now I need some cool pots replant them and the area is complete. Just need to go to the next room now my Adirondack room spring clean make a couple new pillow covers. The little girls came over and my daughters we had a dress try on day. The girls dresses need a bit of adjustment as I knew they would but it will be easy. I don't need to hem them and just change the flowers to add the wedding colors in and wow done with them,. Oh Judy I made the turkey stew it was tasty. Thanks next time I will cut my sweet pot. a little bigger they got a bit mushy. I am taking it for lunch today with a little side salad too. I am going to plan on working a bit later. Gotta take my mom to the doc's on wed. afternoon. Then I am taking her to look for a dress for the wedding. I am still unsure of my dress I got guess I will keep it and if I find one thats better it will go back. I never thought this process would be such a challenge for me guess I am picker than I thought. Well I am off to work and Judy good for you having someone come in to ck out your equipment and give you tips. Marie hope the pup is better. Nikki don't beat yourself up sometimes and increase in cals for a short time and then jumping back in triggers your metabolism. So all may not be lost at all. Good luck. I have to get on the scale this friday. That is an area I haven't ventured lately. Exercise has been painting and walking a little. Gotta get off my butt.

Morning everyone, I hope your Monday is off to a good start. I'm at work and really don't want to be. I guess this is my punishment for having an early spring break - now everyone else is on spring break. :( I do have work to do but I'm on hold till someone else gives me more info.

I did great on the calories this weekend. I actually lowered the average so that was good. For the 4 days since the challenge began, I've averaged 1542. Pretty good. I'm pleased. I'm definitely back on track.

I walked 2 miles and jogged 2 miles this morning. It is easier to jog inside than outside. I'm thinking maybe of trying a little jogging outside again as a regular thing or maybe on DS2's treadmill. Maybe, maybe not...

My co-worker is irritating. There, I said it. I contributed to his hiring and I don't think that was a mistake, but his voice is annoying me. I keep turning up my music so I don't have to hear it. Probably because he was very inappropriate a few months ago and I gave the info to his boss and he got talked to. So now he ignores I exist (which is okay) but he's blatantly nice to everyone else. Ah, work politics. You've got to love it. There are other things that bug me about him and I know he's applying for other jobs as he's driven totally by money (not good in education) so he won't last long. Hopefully.

Enough of the whine...

Judy, I hope you have a relaxing week with your sister. Practice that meditation sinc eyour job is so stressful it would be very good for you to get it down on your own.

Nikki, sorry about the overeating. But today is another day, so get right back on board. We learn from the past, we don't have to stay focused on it.

Penny, I hope your weekend was good.

Carol, congrats on the new grandchild. That will be hard that it's so far away but you'll be a great long distance grandmother regardless.

Marie