G'day everyone,

We returned from our holiday a few hours ago, house is in chaos but I cannot be bothered tidying at the moment

It is difficult to comprehend the cold you all have been experiencing when we have been having temperatures of 44 degrees + (111 F) the heat has been really bad and not an end in sight. My poor garden has really suffered whilst we were away.

We had a lovely time with everyone and I have taken some great shots of the girls. Everyone got on well, as I expected, but it was a little difficult working around everyone's sleeps!!! Lexie and Joe are happy to laze around whereas Peta and David HAVE to be doing things, like bikeriding, going for runs etc. The weather certainly was not ideal to do anything too strenuous. On New Year's Eve David and Peta decided to head back home which was a little disappointing but also understandable. At home they can go to the beach (a bay) and be home again within an hour but where we were the ocean beach was not really suitable to little ones.
I have to admit having 3 little tackers running around, screeching, crying, laughing etc. it was a little wearing. We are pleased we did it but perhaps won't do anything similar until the girls are a little bigger.

It was good to read everyone's Christmas and New Year's messages and of course Alan and I wish you all the very same.

I guess I should make a start at the washing.......

Cheers
Maria

Morning to all
Well on Friday the 28th after 14 hrs of labour our 4th gr gr child was born His name is Justin Matthew and he weighed in at 10lb 8 oz We knew before that he was going to be a big baby and we were kidding his Mom that we would probably have to puree a steak for him after he was born We talked to our daughter last night and the baby is back in the hospital with jaundice he will be there for a couple of days

My DH (Gary) and I had a great xmas and a quiet new years eve in bed by 11 We just can seem to stay awake anymore

Since we came back I have been very careful of my eating and have lost the weight I put on over xmas, so that makes it another 20 to go to reach my goal weight when I get within 5 lbs of my goal weight i will decide if I want to lose more or not depends on How I look and feel

Take care Suz

Congratulations Suz, another little person to make this a better world.

You are doing well on the weight loss front. I have put on a bit and hope to get that off within the next week or so by going back to normal eating.
Whilst on our holiday, I did notice how different we eat to what the kids eat. We don't have dinner if we have a big lunch but the kids have quite substantial breakfast, lunch and dinners, none of them are overweight but I did think to myself that in time to come they could have problems.

I had a good sleep last night and today I will be into it, getting everything unpacked again and get the house looking the way it should.

I had my bike ride early this morning whilst it was still coolish (20 degrees or 70 F) another very hot day in store with the forecast well over 100F Thank goodness for airconditioners
Tomorrow more of the same but by late Sunday afternoon a 'cool' (down to about 26C) change.
It is a bit scary, so far we have had the hottest November and December on record, the worst drought in over 100 years. The country is so dry, a thunderstorm could easily ignite some of the dry land and we would have major bushfires

Off to have breakfast....have a great day all.

Cheers
Maria

Goodmorning Ladies
Maria It sounds like your summer is almost the same as we had hot and dry with having a market garden and no rain we had to water everyday to keep feom losing are vegetables and even with that some of the veggies did not do that well

Is anyone up for a challenge? If so here are the guidelines
1. Exercise 5 to 6 times per week for at least 30 mins also let us know what you are doing as your chice of exercise
2. Eat a balanced healthy diet including 5 to 10 sevings of fruit and vegetables everyday
3. Drink at least 7 to 8 glasses of water daily
4. Can replace 2 or 3 glasses of water for tea or calorie reduced pop
4. Try to limit sugat intake
5. A weekly weigh in to let everyone know if you have lost or gained We can do weigh ins on Mondays that will give everyone a chance to decide if they want to join in

Lets all " Lose the weight in 2008"

Let me know who is interested and we can all get started

Lets get moving Ladies Take care Suz

G'day all,

That sounds good Suz, you can count me in!

I have to admit I am not one for challenges but I will definitly give it a go.
As it is I belong to a website where I have to input my weight each week at http://www.calorieking.com.au/today/ .
There are lots of interesting facts and figures on this website, I noticed on the American version you have to pay to belong, the Australian version is free.

Another stinking hot day here, our problem is that we are in a drought and we are restricted with watering the garden. You are not allowed to water lawns and once a week you can hand water your plants for 1 hour. Of course everyone is watering then and the water pressure is minimal
I have to confess that I have cheated a bit, I have a very small garden and to see everything die before your eye is not good.
People who grow their own veggies have also been complaining and I can understand why. The plant nursery industry is also having a tough time, no-one is buying plants

I am still exhausted from our 'holiday' but at least the house is now in better shape and I will just relax and do little today.

Cheers
Maria

Morning
Maria I guess its just you a me for the challenge so far did I put to many guidelines in for this month? Maybe we could just start with exercise and the water then add more stuff next month I know more of you will join in!

Take care Suz

G'day all,

Suz, yes it does like just you and me at the moment but that is OK.

I can report that I went for my bike ride again this morning and with our heat drinking the water should not be a problem

I am aiming to ride each morning but in the middle of this week some very hot weather is forecast again (42 degrees) it depends how hot it is at 6 am if I actually ride every morning this week!

Talking about riding my bike, I noticed this clicking sound as I was riding and thought it was my bike but it is my KNEE!!
The joys of getting old so now I have a 'clicky' knee

Hope everyone is well and happy,

Cheers
Maria

Morning
Maria If you can not ride because of the heat thats OK the guidelines only said 5 or 6 times per week if you can do more thats great I will be going to my exercise class this morning ( 1 1/4 hrs of areobics, weights , and mat exercises ) I do that on mondays, wednesday and fridays I am trying to do other stuff on my own like walking, or an exercise tape
Maybe some of the others will join in this week

Take care Suz

Ladies,
I just got here today after being on holiday so I am just now receiving the challenge. I would do this, but I don't like doing challenges because it is just disheartening to see how slowly I lose.

Suze, sounds like you have the right idea with the exercising. If you are doing this much per week, I am sure you will just have weight rolling off. Leon and I like the show, "The Biggest Loser." We can certainly thank our lucky stars that none of us have let ourselves get that heavy. I can't even imagine why people that young are so heavy. I would just imagine that most of them would have to have skin removed after losing so much weight.

I am hoping that everyone is doing well in this new year. We have had some of the weirdest weather. One day 70 degrees and the next 38 degrees. Even had tornadoes yesterday because of this varying temperature.

Maria, I so enjoyed your pictures of your Christmas. You really have such a nice looking family. As we freeze, I have to remember you all sweltering. It really is a big and varied world. So, now your house is in order and you are back to work.

I guess Slavika is off on holiday. Where are the rest of you?

Hello everyone!!
I wish the weight was falling off but since we do weight workout at class I think i am putting on muscle and the fat is not leaving I just checked my height and found out that i am aminch shorter than I used to be so I have had to reset my goal weight and my new scale says i am heavier so now I have more to lose I am so depressed!!!!

i am sorry suvivor that you do not wish to join the challebge but that is your chose maybe you can help keep us motuvated and "kick our butts if we lose our way

Take care Suz

The challenge sounds interesting. I will give it a go as I workout anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week, for usually 1 hour at a time, already. I do drink a lot of water/tea/milk so that won't be a problem. Eating a balanced meal will be easy, but the one about limiting sweets might give me some trouble. I have tended to eat sweets in-between meals, a hard habit to break. I have noticed that I lose weight very, very slowly now so I am not sure I will be too happy on Mondays when I report whether I am up or down. So, this past Monday I was UP... what a way to start the challenge. In my defense I had 2 birthday parties and ate out 2 times.
Suz, I also find that with the weight lifting, clothes will seem looser while the scale doesn't move. Do you have Osteoporosis which would account for the loss of 1" in height? It is always something!

Glenda, on the previous thread you said your cholesterol is up? And that you eat a lot of frozen dinners? Since my memory has become a "short term" thing I am wondering if I got that right. My DH used to eat a lot of frozen
meals for lunch because he couldn't wait until something was made .... BY ME!! He had to land in the hospital with Diverticulosis and a bad blockage before he would give up his fast lunches. Now, while I am making myself a sandwich and either soup or salad, he works along side of me and makes his sandwich his way. We don't agree on what makes the perfect sandwich. I used to make his lunch when he worked, but since he retired I told him he would be on his own for lunch. He didn't like the fact I would put the mustard on the bread, he wants it spread on the filling along with ketchup, thin slice of onion and red tipped leaf lettuce .... But I digress, my point here is that the frozen meals are not the healthiest thing we can eat. They are very high in salt, sugar and fat with very little fiber.

Sally is in Maui. I received an e-mail from her today. She has rested up after the long flight, done her grocery shopping and is probably sitting on the beach right now. I hope she has a lovely time meeting up with all her friends.

Our weather has been un-typical too. Quite mild with the temps into the plus C. So far, touch wood, no storms. This morning we woke up to the most beautiful Hoar Frost on all the trees.

bye for now...

Hi all: I've been among the missing, since I have been recuperating from some sort of stomach bug. I managed to check email and that is about it. I havae been making too many trips to the bathroom. That ought to help me jump start fi I do the challenge. I haven't quite made up my mind as yet. maybe when I feel better. I do go to Curves 3xs a week and try to walk at least 6 days a week. I have to pump up my bike tires before I can ride. But first things first.

Trudy: I know what you mean about husbands lunches. Whatever I suggest he doesn't want. Of all the meals, lunch is the one I hate the most. There seem to be the least choices available.
Of all the frozen dinners, I like the Healthy Choice ones as they are low sodium, have more fiber, and really are fairly tasty. Also the South Beach ones are pretty good too.

I think that now with more people health concious, the Lean Cuisine, and WW Smart ones are pretty good, too as the mafg. have had to watch their ingredients more closely. Of course, if one buys just the run of the mill stuff, then they get the not so good ones.

My walking partner called this a.m. and said she was unwell, and wouldn't be walking today, and that suit me just fine. I still don't feel 100%. Maybe later today as it warms up, I'll take a turn around the park.

So as far as the challenge is concerned, I'm going to hold off for now. But that doesn't mean that I won't be trying to lose. I liked Peggy's motto - Lose weight in 2008. that is my goal.

Ann

Trudy, you remember well. The frozen dinners I was eating are all vegetarian and a line called Amy's. You might have seen some of these products in the regular grocery store but I buy mine at a health store. Well, I always paid attention to the calories, but not the fat content. The ones I really really liked had 19 g fat or thereabouts. And I eat these at noon mainly at work. It is easy to put together a vegetarian meal at home at night. Anyway, it was just the convenience of the thing. Now I bring my salad ingredients and cut up a salad and have some Morning Farm meat like chicken.

Ann, glad to know you are up and about. My friend and I walked around our Boomer Lake (about 3 miles) Monday after work. On Tuesday a young girl was raped about the time we were there on Monday. It is pretty dark by the time we finish. I know we aren't young, but I think I will stick to the gym until it stays lighter longer.

All, I have been a little down since scheduling my surgeon appointment for cataracts. I think I feel so old (I am, I know.) But I am so tired of not being able to see.

It is cold. It is just the start of January. We are poor. I have never liked this month much and this is no exception. I think we need to see grandkids this weekend.

Suze, by the way, didn't congratulate you on your FOURth gr gr kid. We just had our first and have been so excited!

I think I need a Margarita. Just kidding!

Hi Ladies
Well i have exercised 3 times since Monday and I think I will bundle up later and go for a walk it was way to windy yesterday to walk almost tornado like winds since tuesday night
the new scale i bought not only tells you your weight but also % body fat and % water So when I gor on and saw what % bodt fat I had I was horrified so now i really need to lose the weight (FAT) My DH says he is going to cut back and start going for walks with me but I don't believe him well i should go I have a closet to clean out so he can get on with putting in the wood flooring and a bedroom to empty out so it can be painted

Take care Suz

Suz, how does your scale know the % of body fat and % of water when you stand on it? I thought the only way to know about body fat was to use a caliper.
I read that when you do strength training with weights, it doesn't show immediate weight loss because you are re-defining the body. The weight loss shows up later, even though you can go down a size before you notice the number of lbs.

The late night news showed the trees down around the Toronto area. Glad we missed that one.

Sorry to hear you have been ill Ann. Hope you get your energy back soon.

Glenda, we haven't seen the sun in a few days and I find that hard. It can be the hardest part of winter for me. Mix me a margarita too... and I am not kidding.
My sister in law had both eyes operated on for cataracts when she was in her early 50's. She suffered with poor eyesight for quite some time before the surgery. Some people get them when they are young. My Mom had the beginnings of them when she was 90. I guess you never know.
I would stay away from Boomer Lake, no point in taking chances. That poor girl, what a thing to live with.

Bye for now..