[PurplePetal]

Hi Buddy,

Just wanted to send a quick message to check in on you. I haven't heard from you and I am getting concerned. I am really hoping you are okay as well as your family. Sending prayers and we'll wishes. Hoping to hear from you soon.

Missing your messages. ♡

[Cocopops]

Hi Sandy,

So sorry I've been out of touch for a few days I've been quite poorly but I am on the mend now. It's 9.30pm here now and so I'm off to bed but just wanted to check in and let you know I hadn't given up! Hopefully in the morning I will be back to full health and will message in reply to yours. Thanks for sticking with me. Corinne x

[PurplePetal]

No worries. I am just glad you are okay. Just get better. Please take care of you.

[Cocopops]

Hi Sandy,

Thank you for sticking with me and for all of your lovely messages. I woke at 5 this morning and I feel good. I'm allowing myself one more day to ensure my body is fully recovered then I will re-start at the gym tomorrow. No doubt the first session back after having to have a few days of non-training will be painful!

You have been doing brilliantly with your diet and exercise. When you say you go on the treadmill for 45 minutes, do you run for the whole duration? What pace do you run at?

I'm glad your doctor's appointment went well, apart from the anemia. How are you finding increasing your iron intake? My dad was diagnosed as anemic a few months ago but fortunately he has managed to increase his iron levels greatly through his diet.

How much water would you say you had in an average day? You could take a litre water bottle mixed with cordial to work so you can sip on it throughout the day?

I have so many jobs to catch up on today with being out of action for a few days so I'd best say goodbye for now and make a start on my long list of tasks!

Wishing you yet another healthy and happy day today.....looking forward to hearing from you.

[PurplePetal]

Hi am just so glad that you are feeling better and that you're back on your feet. But yes still take it easy and get back at it little by little. Sending you lots of strength and health.

I've been struggling with the anemia issue for a while now. I have upped my lentil intake and spinach intake. Those are the two items in which I enjoy the most. I take an iron pill every once in awhile but they make me gag and make my stomach turn so I cant take them too often. I'm glad your dad was able to remedy the issue. It can be a nuisance.

As for the treadmill I usually do five minutes of high-intensity and incline and in 5 minutes at a fast pace. So during high-intensity I go up to about 4.5 4.8 and during fast intensity I go about 3.5 to 3.8. You know forr whatever reason I hate sweating. I don't like to feel wet. However I cant avoid it when I'm on the treadmill or doing exercise. So I just make sure the first thing I do when I get home is shower. Lol

So overall, all has been going well thank God. Just glad we connected again and that you're feeling a lot better. Like I said take your time to get a hundred percent. Hope the work that was left behind gets done smoothly.

Please take care.

-Sandy

[Cocopops]

Hi Sandy,

Thanks for your message, it spurred me on yesterday. I've decided to have a switch round with my gym times. Usually I go straight downstairs into the gym as soon as hubbie goes to work at 6.45 ish and train early. However, I'm finding that it can make me cranky if hubbie needs to work from home before going out on site and it gets too late for me to get in the gym before the school run. Also, it starts to impede on time with my daughter before school. So what I've decided is to use the time between hubbie going to work and my daughter getting up to take care of me. I will plan the days meals, decide what I'll do in the gym and will do a meditation session. Then, once my daughter is at school, I will go down into the gym and train without feeling I am neglecting my family. So we'll see how that goes today.

Food wise today I will have my protein shake after the gym, sushi for lunch and then homemade chicken pasta bake for dinner.

Do you find that the anemia makes you feel lethargic and tired? I remember my dad getting his diagnosis and realising he had become very tired over time and just hadn't realised there was anything wrong - he'd put it down to old age! It's a shame that the iron tablets upset your body.

I totally get your feelings on sweating, I always used to hate that it too and couldn't wait for a shower then hubbie told me one day that sweating was a good indicator that our bodies were working as they should so now I try to see it as a positive - the more sweat, the more good I've done!

I managed to get a lot of work caught up with yesterday and I know that as soon as I've finished in the gym this morning I will be really focused so I will harness that energy and put it into finishing my list of tasks.

What do you have planned for today? Did you make it to the gym after work yesterday? X

[PurplePetal]

Hey Corinne,



Hoping that today finds you stronger and healthier.



Your plan for your workout sounds great!! Whatever works for you. And definitely make sure you work all that around your family. That is why me going right after work is perfect because at that time my husband is barely getting to them and picking them up. So I still get home with about 45 minutes to an hour to spare which gives me the time to get dinner ready. Thank God that all has been going smooth.



As for the anemia. Yes, it is rough and it does make you extra tired which adds to the already tiredness all the daily activities bring. But I honestly think that the healthy diet and exercise has helped me tremendously with my energy. I feel more energetic. Before as soon as I go home (not gym or exercise at the time) I would walk through the door and completely crash! Once the kids got home I would drag through the day. It was rough. Now it is so much better.



My day yesterday went really well thank God and I got my planned meal plan in and my exercise. I got home, washed, cleaned, cooked, prepared lunches and spent some time with the kiddos which was fun.



Today, the meal plan is as follows:



Breakfast:



Toast with peanut butter

˝ grapefruit

˝ cup of oatmeal with honey, almonds and cinnamon



Lunch:



Leftover homemade chicken soap with squash and carrots



Dinner:



Large salad made of spinach, feta, pecans, cranberries, light raspberry vinaigrette.

Dessert: Sugar-free jell-o pudding.



The exercise will be 30 minutes on treadmill and 30 minutes on stair master. Changing it up a bit.



Tomorrow will be rough. It is actually a coworkers farewell party who is going to a difference location. We have reservations at a really good Mexican restaurants with delicious appetizers and the best alcoholic mixed drinks. Everyone is talking about what they are ordering to eat and the drinks that they are having. I looked at the menu and there is really nothing really healthy but a chicken salad without their famous cilantro pepita dressing…which sucks because the dressing is SO good. Plus, they want to stay there from 4pm to 10pm which is 6 hours of torture. Saturday I will back lunches and we will be taking the kiddos to the pumpkin patches and petting zoo. Sunday I will keep myself busy cleaning and getting things ready for the week so hopefully Friday will be my only test day. I know people are going to give me a hard time because they don’t really know what I am doing. They give me a hard time and don’t understand why I want to lose weight. The tell me I shouldn’t lose any more weight. Like I said, I am going to go by how I feel.



I don’t think I shared because I wanted to make sure you were better before anything but I weighed in on Tuesday and I lost another 4 pounds!! I am now down to 156. I couldn’t believe it or was expecting such a loss. I was ready for a pound or two. So I was really excited. I am going to try my best to get through this weekend without moving that number up. I think this coming Tuesday I will see only 1 or 2 pounds off and I will be great with that. Once I get to 145 I will see how I feel and how much more I want to lose.



Anything special going for you and the family this weekend?



I hope work continues to go great and that you catch up very soon. As always, sending you lots of positive vibes and lots of energy. Let’s rock this weekend!!!

[Cocopops]

Congratulations on the 4 pound loss - that's fantastic. I am so proud and happy for you. You really are doing brilliantly.

How's your day going so far? I hope you are still feeling positive about the co-workers leaving party.

I've been out all day and have literally just finished all my jobs - it's 9.30pm. Sorry for not messaging until now. Some days end up being manic and today was one of those days.

My daughter is away with her grandparents this weekend and I'm missing her already.

Apologies for the short message but I need to have an early night tonight as I've a lot on again tomorrow.

Speak soon, stay strong and enjoy your evening. X

[Cocopops]

Good morning Sandy,

I'm sooo happy for you losing another 4 pounds. I was thinking about it after I messaged you before I went to bed last night and it really is awesome. Do you ever work out your actual calorie consumption per day when you plan your day's meals? I'm interested to know how it compares to my meals.

With being so poorly over the weekend, I didn't weigh myself this week. I reasoned that the results wouldn't be a true reading due to the illness. I will weight in on Monday next week and take it from there.

I am going to work with my husband today so it will probably be quite a physically active day - it will be good as I won't feel bad if I don't make it to the gym today as at least I will have worked up a sweat at work!

We go to Florida in 3 and a half weeks so I am looking forward to that. I am going to up my gym training as of Monday for the remaining 3 weeks - just to give me a push for the holidays.

Do you have any holidays planed? I guess with work and studying, you won't have much time for holidays.

I'd best say goodbye now, time to go to work!

Take care. Corinne x

[PurplePetal]

Hi Corinne,

Just got back from the gym and took a shower. Now I am laying on the sofa relaxing while my Boys watch sing, my baby girl sleeps and my husband heads to the gym.

Well my coworkers farewell gathering went really well. And there was a shallow yet effective reason. I put on this patterned skirt I have with a brown blouse and some pumps aND I actually liked the way I looked. I got a lot of compliments as well. Think it helped me get through the night fast and smooth.

This morning I woke up and went for a long walk with my yougest. Came home made breakfast for the family and I myself had some greek yogurt with chopped strawberries and rasberries, A toast and egg whites.

For lunch I made sandwiches for the kiddos and enjoyed some fresh fruit with my husband outside on the porch.

Dinner for the family was spaghetti and garlic bread while I had green beans, ground chicken and a side salad.

I used to count calories so much that now I am able to estimate about how many calories I have once I built my meals. I average about 950 to 1200 a day. I know I should probably have more.

Tomorrow we have the pumpkin patch. I plan to go to the gym early morning then come home, get kiddos ready and then we are going to pick up our God daughter and go to the pumpkin patch. I will be taking fresh snacks, sandwiches, bars and yogurts with us. I will stick to the fresh snacks and my salad.

How exciting....Florida. Definitely something to look forward to and more motivation. As long as you are feeling better go for the extra push at the gym!! Hoping work with your hubby went great. Hoping the rest of your weekend also goes great.

Talk to you soon!

[Cocopops]

Hi Sandy,

Great to hear that you are still on track and didn't get swayed at the leaving party.

What's a pumpkin patch? I haven't heard of that before.

Yesterday was tough - I did a bit of roller driving and a heck of a lot of sweeping, which gave me blisters but was a fantastic cardio workout! I ache like mad today!

Hearing your food plans and dedication at the gym certainly helps to keep me motivated. You sound to have nailed your food intake and your willpower is awesome.

I've decided to start taking myself off for a run twice a week when my daughter is at her tennis lessons. Usually I would sit in the car and wait for the lesson to finish but there is a park nearby so it would be a good opportunity for me to go for an outdoor jog/walk.

It's 10pm here now so I need to cut it short and hop off to bed but I will message first thing in the morning and will look forward to hearing about your day out with the family today.

Speak soon my good friend. X

[Cocopops]

Good morning Sandy,

I hope you had a lovely time with your family and goddaughter at the pumpkin patch.

My food plan today is sushi for lunch, or maybe smoked salmon and soft cheese, depending on which I fancy most at the time. Then for dinner we are having spicy chicken with sweet potato fries and peas. I will serve regular portions of the sweet potato fries for my hubbie and daughter and just allow myself 3 or 4. Then it feels like a treat meal without breaking the boundaries.

What do you have planned for today?

Looking forward to hearing from you x

[PurplePetal]

Good morning Corinne... well it's morning here.



Well before I forget to answer, a pumpkin patch is something that comes along around September through November for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Pretty much it's just a place where they have all different shapes and sizes of pumpkins. They also have little areas where they have people carving pumpkins and decorating them which is always fun for kids. They also added bounce houses where the kids go in there and bounce around and now they have a petting zoo where the kids are able to pet sheep, pigs, calves, and what not and also feed them. Kids love to go there. Sadly we didn't make it this weekend. Saturday went well and as planned. I followed my gym and food routine. Yesterday got a little rough on me and I must admit I got a little down. Bear with me because the situation probably wasn't that big of a deal but if I've explained myself to you, you know that any tiny little thing can throw me off. Sunday morning I went to the gym as I stated that I would. When I got home I got the kids ready and when I was getting ready my husband comes into the room and tells me that someone is at the door for me. I go to the door and before I even reach the door it flies open and my good friends from Nevada walk-in holding a cake and flowers singing Happy Birthday. My birthday is this Wednesday and I had my plans on how I would handle the week. Long story short (Probably will still be long) my comadre which is a Spanish term that we use for the mothers of our kids godparents, came in with her homemade peanut butter chocolate cake in which she knows I adore. They also brought my favorite dish in which my comadre made herself. It's a dish that she makes for me every time we're in Nevada. Without asking questions or what not she starts talking away to try to catch up as she's serving me this massive plate of food. She's a little on the heavy side and she knows that when we get together either in California or Nevada we have no diets and just enjoy ourselves. I felt very awkward just trying to eat a piece here and there without her noticing. I also felt really bad because I was hoping I wasn't making it seem like her food was not any good. I was sharing my plate with my daughters hoping that the back and forth would make it less obvious. I must say I did eat a good portion of it. I don’t want to say it was due to having to choice because it was delicious but I guess I felt I needed to eat it. Then she continued by getting up and turning on the coffee pot and slicing me a huge piece of her delicious peanut butter chocolate cake. I will tell you, that cake is to die for. Again I shared with my daughters so that it would not make it obvious on how much I was actually eating. My baby girls are so small that they couldn't eat that much of it and a big portion was still on my plate but an hour late, it was practically gone. L She ended up noticing and asked what was wrong. I didn't want to lie but I didn't want to go into too much detail. I just told her I was watching what I was eating. She laughed and said “you look great... Even better than you did before a couple of months ago when I last saw you and I think you were heavier then. Don't be so rough on yourself.” Anyways we sat there for a while and talked, caught up and they left mid afternoon. It was a mixture of emotions because it was so nice that they drove almost five hours just to come surprise me but then at the same time I also felt bummed because I felt like the visit threw me off. After they left I was just kind of slugging around not wanting to do nothing. We decided not to go to the pumpkin patch because it was extremely hot and my kids don't do well in the heat as well as I don't. My husband decided to take the kids outside I make water balloons. As I sat looking out the window drinking a coffee a million thoughts were going through my mind. I ended up getting a call from a previous coworker of mine who is also a really good friend of mine who called me to try to set up a time next week that we can get together and go have some birthday drinks. I ended up opening up to her and telling her how guilty I felt that I wasn't able to enjoy or better said I didn't allow myself who enjoy my comadres visit. She threw me off even further by saying something that I didn't know. She agreed with my comadre in that she thought I look better right now. She went on further to share something with me that surprised me. She stated that a couple of months ago when my previous boss saw me she actually went into that corker's office closed the door and told her that she was very concerned about me. She said that I looked rail thin and was even contemplating speaking to my husband about her concerns. She said she was scared to death for me. Those are some pretty strong words. She said that my old boss just recently stated that she saw me a couple of weeks ago and she was so happy because I looked so much healthier. Of course I had to ask a question, “does that mean I look fat?” My coworker sighed sounding a little frustrated and said that that wasn't the case at all and that it was a good thing and that I finally had color and didn't look like I was going to break or faint. She said “Sandy that was a great thing.” I guess I'm a little thrown off. When I hung up I actually had a good cry on my husband's shoulder. My husband is very honest with me even if it's tough for me to hear. He tells me he loves me too much to lie to me and give me chances to learn and grow. He agreed with them and said that he thinks that they're completely right. That I look great now and I shouldn't be so tough on myself. At one point I was getting a lot of people telling me that was way too thin. When I looked in the mirror I felt I looked good but I must admit I constantly felt very weak and dizzy. It's so hard to be physically and mentally on the opposite sides of things. I see what I want but my body can't seem to adjust to it. I still want to get down to at least 140. I guess it just feels like it's me against the world right now. I definitely don't want to go down to the 125 I was before. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about it. I must have slept about an hour. I'm heading to work right now half tired. Just want to make it through the day. But I must admit that I'm feeling pretty down. Am I straight out ignoring those who love and care for me the most and being a brat? Do I see a distorted image of me in the mirror when I look at myself because I'm so traumatized from my past? It's just crazy when I look at myself in the mirror because I see myself is huge. Others look at me like I'm crazy. I never thought I would be one of those shallow women who need to be rail thin. Never thought I would be one of those who looks in the mirror and sees a cow at 155. At one point that weight was like an impossibility and I would have given anything to be at that weight. When did I get to this point where now I feel I can’t weight more than 140? And is 15 more pounds so much of a difference people are making that much of a big deal about me losing them? I hate to say this but sometimes I wonder if it's become a disorder. That makes me sad. My husband again reminded my that I am big boned and he loves my curves and that I am meant to be curvy like my mom and sisters. He also reminded me that I have 17 to 20 pounds of excess skin so at the end on my surgery I would only be weighing about 115 pounds if I try and get to my current goal. Another thing my husband said to me yesterday that made me extremely sad was that he told me he was bummed that I wasn't even allowing myself to enjoy my birthday week as I usually do. Usually my job will celebrate it with lunches and desserts, I have about three to four friends who I have a ritual with and they take me out all separate and enjoy a fancy 1 on 1 dinner and a good talk with me, my mom makes me my favorite…her chile rellenos on my actual birthday and most importantly the day that I get to enjoy with my husband where he takes me out to a nice romantic dinner a walk at our favorite beach and I always finds a beautiful surprise to toss there to top off the night every year. He always works so hard on topping himself. A couple of years back he actually handed me the keys to our first home with a card that stated, “you own the keys to my heart, but now it is time you own the keys to you’re your castle.” It was beautiful and my sisters teased him saying that he wouldn’t be able to top that one the coming year. The next year we got pregnant with my daughter and they said “wow you managed to top it by giving her, her baby girl.” lol This time I thought ahead and I had set up all my excuses for everyone on why could not go out with any friends as well as excuses to my coworkers, my mom and my boss on why we could not have birthday lunches, desserts and treats. They accepted it but where kind of iffy and felt odd about it I could tell. I just left the day opened with my husband but not without putting limits and rules on what he could do including sharing a plate of food at the restaurant and absolutely no dessert. Like I told you before unfortunately when I get serious with something I take it to the extreme…literally. I just don’t know any other way to succeed. I am so sorry that I've made this message so long I guess I wanted to share it with you because you are the one that's in the loop with me about what I'm trying to do. I don't know if it's selfish of me that I still have every intention to continue the week my way and it seems like I have not taken into mind anything that's been said to me. Today I have my breakfast and lunch packed as planned and I plan to go to the gym after work as planned. However I'm not sure how excited I am to be doing it anymore. Hoping that this message isn't discouraging and that I give it a day or so for this feeling to go away. Don't get me wrong I adore my people and all that they do for me and I know that them voicing out is their a way of loving me. I'm going to try my best to try to meet him halfway and take this journey pound by pound. If I end up feeling good at 145 or even 150 I am going to allow myself to go into the maintenance phase and go from there. If I'm still not getting it I will probably try to hit my goal 140 lb. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm going to take it one day at a time. Hoping that you're with me with this plan. But I want you to know that whichever plan you decide to take I am a hundred percent on board with you and you have my full support. I'm still in this. Feeling a little down but definitely extremely loved. No doubt I am blessed and truly grateful for it all. I really haven’t been this happy with my life and where I am now with my career, home, family, stability and faith. But what about myself. I guess I can go another 20 pages on that subject so I will stop there. Thank you so much for the ear…it means so so much! <3

[Cocopops]

Hi Sandy,

I have sent you a private message on here - I hope it gets to you okay!

Let me know if not and I will re-send it.

Speak soon.

Corinne x

[KatDBell]

I'm new to this, need support and motivation staying on track. Seems like everyone has similar issues with being surrounded by food, stress and other people love to push food (which I absolutely despise).

Hope I can join this support group.