Texasgardnr And Ann of B

christchick7

Hi Ann and Mary, It's Sue...you've probably wondered what happened to me. Why I all but left MFP without talking to anyone and quit logging. The long answer is I let depression, stress and circumstances get to me. The short answer is I gave up. Back up to June/July...you recall I was restless with Leslie-she had gotten too easy and therefore too boring at that point. I'd looked
into Richard Simmons 90 day program and was gung ho about it until you, Mary, pointed out that it was very much like what I was already doing with LS. Very true, but I was still restless and it turned out to be my undoing. I responded to a post in the MFP forums from a young Christian woman(call her Macey; that's not her name) who said she was looking for Christian friends to talk fellowship and fitness. I wrote to her, telling her about myself, my CP and Leslie.
She said she wanted to help me and asked a lot of questions. Macey had no idea who Leslie was, and that should have been a red flag for me but wasn't. She said she'd research LS but never did. I got hypnotized(only word for it) with a fitness program called 21 Day Fix by a company called Beachbody. Long story short, I thought Macey was my close friend but she
turned out to be a Beachbody coach(salesperson) and first got me to sign up to be coached by her and soon after, a BB coach myself, because she said she could teach me to do 21 DF in a wheelchair and I would get a 25% discount if I signed up to be a coach under her. The coaching course was a quick learning curve, and I couldn't get the hang of it. They wanted me to do the studying, and contact 10-20 people a week to buy their fitness programs and supplements; in addition to also being coaches. Thing is I don't know 20 people, period, and I'm not good at pretending to be your friend if I'm not. I signed up in August and barely hung on to Oct 1. That's when I started bipolar cycling and gave completely up on health and fitness. Now I'm
yoyo'ing up and down in the 150s, can barely do one LS mile, and although I'm still eating salads and the like, the desire for the wrong foods is SCREAMING at me!!! Starting on Christmas day, I'm getting back with Leslie and back on program. I thank you both for putting up with my crap and being my genuine friends. I need help...only my intellect knows how to do this and I'm SO scared and tired; don't really know where to find the want to to do this. I treated you both badly by not responding to you, and I'm seriously sorry for that. Friends don't book out on each other, but I did. I understand if you are mad at me and don't want to bother anymore, but I REALLY could use your help if you would consider me. I know now that Leslie is
the only instructor I will ever be able to do, and that's THAT. Please help me...

Love In Jesus, Sue

AnnofB

Dear Sue,

Sorry I didn't respond sooner as I didn't see this message till today...have been on a whirlwind "tour" of family and friend type get togethers.

I am not mad at you and you are not a bother! Frankly, when you stopped posting, I just thought that you had found another program that you liked better. MFP isn't for everyone. I remember that you were pleased with South Beach Diet at one time and I thought you might be doing that and dropping in to MFP occasionally. People like "Macey" should be charged with fraud in my opinion. I feel the same way you do about selling things. I woudl fail miserably at sales because if you tell me no, when I'm trying to sell you something, hey, I'm OK with that. Haha... not a good trait for sales.

You sound like you are already in the mindset for getting back on track and that is great. Don't look back, don't beat yourself up about the past, just start fresh and look no further forward than your next meal and next workout. One day at time, Sue. It will work. It will also give you some stability and control in your day.

Youtube is your friend and if you can get a ride to the library and check out some wo dvd's. I know you love Leslie, but we all get board with the same old same old. Do some others like Debbie Rocker or Jessica Smith, just start out slow and do what you can. Every step counts, as Leslie says.

I'm glad you're back in the fold!

Love ya,
Ann

texasgardnr

Oh, Sue! I did the same thing as Ann and totally missed seeing you post. Today I actually got a lot done as far as errands done early enough today that I was reading and looking more on MFP, including WAH group. I had to go back and check that I did log into the December Walk Challenge since your post, and yes I did, but I know that I clicked in and posted whatever exercise I did and then read any new posts in only the challenge thread itself, and then immediately clicked out of the group, and maybe went to my home page for a few minutes as I have not been logging food hardly at all during Christmas.

I also have had a lot of extra family/ friends visits and celebrations to go to this year, or things to get done that I have not been reading anything extra.

I am so sorry that I missed your post till today.

I so agree with everything Ann wrote. I could copy and paste it here just so you could read it again as it is so what I want to say to you. Please re-read her post....

I could NEVER be mad at you, Sue. And you are NEVER a bother. Please always know that you can private message either one of us about anything and it will stay private between us because we actually care about you.

Please start exercising just a little bit to start off. 10 minutes if that is all you can do until you start getting stronger. But never compare that to what you could do when you were at your best ability. Go forward, never looking back to feel bad that you aren't doing what you did. Start anew and do the same with logging food. We are here for you my friend.

Love you :flowerforyou: And may God bless you sweet friend,
Mary

christchick7

Mary and Ann, thank you for your thoughtful and kind responses...I am deeply moved by the time and energy you both have invested in my life Ann, your advice about not looking past my next meal and workout was spot on. Mary, so was your advice about not comparing what I used to do with what I will do in the future. I tend toward feeling competitive with both myself and others, so for now I'll be staying out of the LS Challenge forums. In the past, I have envied people who could LS walk over 100 miles in a month or use both the arm and leg movements at the same time instead of putting in double the workout time to separately work them, which is what I have to do. I would feel angry at both others and myself for not meeting my expectations, and guilty when I failed. That has to stop NOW. I am accountable to only four people in this process. Christ first, because without Him I wouldn't have life or health to take care of. Then both of you because you are my special friends and accountability partners. Last but not least, me because I have to be proactive about my own health. I didn't get Walk Off Fat Fast for Christmas, so for now I'll use U5DWP. I plan to do a warm up, one mile and a cool down each day, I'll be starting PT Friday for rehab after a fall on Christmas day. I hope to start logging food and fitness tomorrow. It'll be one baby step at a time. That's the only way I can hope to do this.
Thanks again...I love you too.

texasgardnr

Sue, Your whole message was truly thoughtful, and I could tell that you have been praying and thinking things through. I believe that all your decisions that you wrote about are well thought out and very wisely made. I also answer to Christ first, and rely completely on Him for my health also, and for wisdom and strength in my daily life. And because of that I am honored and humbled that I am one of your accountability friends. And your sister in sweat .

It is so true that you have to be proactive about your health. I believe that your plan to use U5DWP to do a warm up, one mile and a cool down each day is a perfect amount for you to get back into your exercise habit and regain your endurance and strength. Do it as only you can or need to do it, and never mind how anyone else might or might not be doing it.

You are special and precious, and also very resourceful, so I know that you will figure out ways to get your exercise done! I am so happy that you are going to be back to PT also. However, I'm so sorry that you had to fall to get that, but the getting PT will be a good thing for you right now, as it always is.

I look forward to you being active again on our newsfeed!! I have truly missed you. Feel free to PM me anytime you want to.... I love getting 'mail' also .

love and blessings,
Mary :flowerforyou:

christchick7

Mary and Ann...Day one in the books...I ate WAY too much, did a late night LS workout(warm up, green mile and cool down-U5DWP) and GASP-weighed in for the first time since October!!!! 164.8 pounds which is 4 pounds more than I weighed when I came to MFP. I don't LIKE it, but it gives me a place to start, which is good. I got help on starting to clean up my PC, which is running very slow, and got help synching my DVD to my new TV. Started PT, found out our whole unit is locked down with the flu. And last but not least,
got served a PUREED hot dog with pureed baked beans for dinner. Didn't even identify it
until it was half gone-got hold of the rice krispies ASAP. How was your day?

AnnofB

Hi Sue,
Ditto what Mary said. We are you buds and are here for ya.

Good job on the Leslie workout. And I love that you are facing down the scale with a "you're not going to win" attitude.... I mean the scale isn't going to win-YOU are!

The flu, yikes! It is everywhere this year. I have a dear friend just getting over it. Has been absolutely miserable.

Pureed hot dog and baked beans... wow... I don't think they are on the list of "good luck for the New Year foods" we are "supposed" to eat. Thinking collared greens and cabbage for "money". Haha, that never worked for me.

We stayed home and just did regular chores. It's been raining off and on, mostly on for days...

TTYL,
Ann

christchick7

Hi Mary and Ann...day 2 done. Did 25 min of LS basic moves set to Spotify's Your Favorite Coffeehouse playlist...mellow music and a somewhat slower pace which I badly needed tonight. On the plus side, had cheese pizza and a Caesar salad for lunch. I reset my goal to 1500 some odd calories and a hoped for half pound loss a week. Trying not to go too crazy with the Christmas cookies...I have a question...I weigh 164 now at 5 feet tall, always felt a good goal weight would be 125 pounds because that's what Jenny Craig told me back in the day. Tonight, my friend Tom -my only flesh and blood fitness pal-said he thought that was too steep a goal and I should aim for about 150. I don't really know what a good goal weight would be...how do I figure that out? The compulsive in me wants to be 120 ish but I don't want it to lead to bulimic thinking again. When you were first setting goals, what did you do? Love 2 you both, Sue

AnnofB

Hi Sue, I think Tom is right about 150. That doesn't mean that you can't make another goal after reaching that, if you feel it's necessary. I would focus all my attention on that number and see what you feel and think about it when you get there. 120 at 54 is for teen-agers, I think.

texasgardnr

Sue, Exactly what Ann wrote... that is what I was thinking also while reading your post. You can always reconsider at 4-5 pound increments later on. Seeing as Tom knows you IRL I would trust his judgement. Hope the flu bug leaves you alone. Hugs.

christchick7

Hi Ann and Mary...got the flu and pretty badly. Got up both yesterday and today but don't yet know if that may have been too much. Was hoping to do 5 minutes of walking today but that's not happening-standing up is too much of an adventure. Am living on tea, toast, chicken broth and Mio ice tea. Definitely taking the advice you have all given me-not looking to go below 150 for now. Will be in touch ASAP. ;Love you.

AnnofB

Oh I feel for you. Get better soon!!!

christchick7

Ann and Mary...slowly getting over the flu-I still have a nasty cough but a little better otherwise. Ordered Walk Off Fat Fast...needed a new LS fix and am very curious about the 80 year old woman in the DVD. Am planning to try 5 minutes today. Am trying to log food too...be in touch soon.

AnnofB

Glad you are feeling better Sue. Will be interested to hear your take on this wo.

christchick7

Ann and Mary...got LS Walk Off Fat Fast this week and tried it for the first time yesterday. Ordinarily, I might have blown this off as being too basic, but given that I'm restarting now for the first time since October it is just PERFECT. Yes, it's just the four basic moves, at least the first 20 minute workout. It is a strong moderate pace and I REALLY got my heart rate up- also getting a strong lower body workout. Side steps are kind of wobbly now and doubles are out of the question. I keep crashing into the wall. I can do Chris Freytag's glute squeezes instead of kickbacks. Can do 2 steps up and back no problem, but found
myself going back to just walking frequently to keep the pace. Will have to add back in hand weights soon to work my upper body. Right now I'm just GLAD to be able to workout,
period. Do either of you have WOFF? What are your thoughts on it? I'm really ANXIOUS to hear from you. Love, Sue

AnnofB

Hi Sue,

Sounds like a challenging workout. Good on you for sticking with it and adapting your moves. I don't have it, but have the Walk Blasting wo which I understand from someone on the monthly walk challenge is a lot like WOFF. So I'm going to stick with it. I know Leslie will make several wo's at a time and they can be very similar.

Have not seen Mary online lately; I believe she's having some computer problems and it's back in the shop.

Take care, Friend,
Ann

texasgardnr

Hi Sue, I'm back now. Yes I had computer problems and at the same time my brother was also in a horrible accident so I've not been here. I just came back yesterday and then posted to the January Challenge tonight. I'm catching up with posts tonight. I'm so sorry to read about you having the flu I am glad that is behind you now.

You are doing great starting back to exercise slowly because as you well know the flu steals all of your strength. I'm so glad that you have WOFF and that it was a good work out for you. Basic can be good at any time for a change of pace, but is especially useful when coming back from an illness or time off from exercise. Take good care of yourself and sending you hugs.

No I don't have WOFF. I may get it sometime just for a change of pace or scenery. I can't remember if it has music only option on this DVD. Does it? I like that option.

Take care and hugs to you Sue

:flowerforyou:

christchick7

Hi Mary and Ann...I have missed you both so much-thanks for staying in touch with me. I've been on and off with logging, exercise and writing people back because of post-flu
fatigue and am also on a new painkiller. All of which makes me sleep a lot. Tried WOFF
the 30 min walk and LS TOTALLY kicked my tail. So I know I've got a way to go to come
back. My greatest needs right now are stamina and strength. Yesterday I was exhausted-
too weak to walk my hall. So my PT put me on the NuStep and that felt really good so I'll
ask if I can do it 1x a week. Plus continue with walking and stretching. Mary, I'm sorry to
hear about your brother's accident. How is he doing? Ann, is the Walk Blaster the new one
which works a lot like U5DWP? I don't have that one-what's it like? Mary, WOFF does have the music only option. I don't think it is right for an experienced LS walker, but for right
now, it really works. LOVE to you both...talk soon. Thanks for your accountability!!!

texasgardnr

Yay, I'm glad that you get to use the NuStep :drinker: . that one has always been good for you.

Sue, the Walk Blasters DVD has 10, ten minute mini walks. One can program in what ever order or however many they want to do. Also there are pre-sets like U5DWP has. There are easier mini walks and harder ones. The other day after coming back from the rehab hospital I had zero energy and had already indulged in too much comfort/ carby food instead of just exercising first so I programed 3 of the walks.... the 'no sweat walk' then the dance walk (mambo etc) and then another 'no sweat walk'. then did a bit of my own cool down and my own stretch routine that I always add to Leslie's stretches. It was an easier walk but made a difference in the rest of my evening.
Some blasters are more intense like 'short & sweaty' or focused on body parts like 'tummy trimmer' . And some more gentle like 'light walk' or other wise known as 'no sweat walk' by Leslie, which can be just that- an easy walk or used as an easier warm up, and the flexibility walk (a cool down walk with a lot of stretching). But I modify up or down, or pick and choose, depending on the day.

WOFF sounds great in that each of the 3walks is complete in itself or can be strung together. If I understood it correctly.
Each 10 minute blaster mini walk starts up and then gets faster and then slows down a bit, but not altogether so one can get into another mini walk easily or go onto the cool down one.

For some reason ever since my wrist fracture this summer I've not got back completely to where I was at before. I've been doing some back to basics Leslie interspersed with some really challenging (for me right now) old walk aerobics series DVDs or surprise myself with a mega miles DVD for instance when I have lots of energy reserve.

Thank you for asking.... My brother is in the rehab hospital now. He is learning how to move the wheel chair around with his one good arm and one good leg (both on the left side). Sounds to me like paddling a canoe on the same side while trying to go straight ahead . He agrees Between the multiple pelvic fractures and the seriously fractured leg, not to mention the fractured ribs, he can not begin to weight bear for at least another 10 or so weeks. And with the Right upper arm (at the shoulder) fracture and surgery he can not use crutches. Thank God that there were no internal injuries. The doctors were astonished.

Love :flowerforyou:,
Mary

christchick7

Mary and Ann...been thinking about what you said about not comparing the old me to me now. Struggling A LOT with that atm. On the plus side, eating more salads etc and aiming to work out with LS each day although I can only manage 20-30 min a day. Minus...fear about regaining the weight I just lost. MFP just reset my cal budget at 1450 yet can't seem to keep my cals under 1800 these days. Plus, there is still a lot of processed food served;
trying to steer clear of at least some of it. Also my roommate and I have been snacking on
Chex mix for the past week. Too soon to know how that'll work out. Am I doing something
wrong? What else can I do? Thank you for your help...love you both!!!

AnnofB

Sue... I'm certainly no expert or even a good example, but I wonder if you were able to drop one hot chocolate serving a day, that would be a good start toward getting down to 1450 calories. Maybe switch to coffee? Folgers makes a flavored coffee called Chocolate Silk or Chocolate Mousse, something like that. (We dump our coffee into glass containers after opening so don't have the container in front of me.) It has the chocolate flavor but not the calories or the sugar. I have to have coffee creamer and if you use those little containers like Almond Joy or Hazelnut, they don't have to be refrigerated either and they give you a bit of sugar. There are lot's of flavors out there to try. There are also sugar free versions of the creamers-but frankly to me they have an after taste.

This might not be a feasible option if your facility uses a service to provide coffee... so not sure this will help. But even then, it wouldn't hurt to ask if they can provide a different flavor as an option.

It's tough not being able to pick more healthy choices, I know. I think under the circumstances you are doing pretty good. Love that you continue to exercise and you are getting a hold of the worrying about regaining. You can do this. Have faith in yourself. And remember, lower your expectations, not because you are NOT going to push yourself, but because life has a way of interfering in us getting what we want. So, remember that and remember to be kind to yourself. If you mess up (like we ALL do) don't beat yourself up-be positive and start again the very next meal or workout with all your might to do well.

,
Ann

christchick7

Discouraged and tempted by other diet/fitness sites and briefly thought about diet pills this afternoon. Diet pills have never worked for me so I was able to back away from that pretty quickly. With this MFP/Under Armour merger happening, I looked into SparkPeople, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and My Food Diary. All but MFD were sites I'd tried before and failed at; MFD I have to look at more closely. GRRRR!!!

On the plus side I walked 600 feet and did the NuStep for 15 min...plus stretching. All told about 30-35 min. Maybe LS tonight if I have the energy. Past couple weeks I have been eating large breakfasts and lunches with cereal for dinner. Today I had a banana and hot cocoa for breakfast, chef salad for lunch. and hopefully cereal for dinner. Ann I love your idea of substituting mocha or French vanilla coffee. The diet one which I just used up, is 30 calories plus a spot of skim milk. The regular is 60 plus. I figure it's between 40-80 calories total with the milk. I think I can live with that. Very good idea-thank you!!!

AnnofB

I hope that MFP doesn't change too much. MFP has been the best tool for me in my weight loss journey. I don't want to change... and I sure don't want to lose the dear friends I have made here!

Great day food wise and workout wise Sue. If the coffee switch is helpful that would be great. Sometimes it's just the little tweeks we make that make a huge difference.

Take care,
Ann xx

texasgardnr

Sue, I noticed in your diary that you did the coffee switch and had just one hot chocolate today :drinker:. Especially during the winter those hot beverages do help us, but tweaking and substituting can be those little changes that add up over time. While still having things that we want, some of the time .

That was an excellent suggestion about flavored coffees, Ann!

I haven't caught onto the merger thing yet, but I do hope that nothing changes in a big way. This site has helped me so much also, and I can't say enough good things about my friends and the give and take support as well as our Leslie walking group .

At any rate I won't borrow trouble from the 'morrow by worrying about these sort of things today, or by me looking to make any changes prompted by worry. And as far as it is possible for you, Sue, just keep on what you are doing today and do the best you can not to look to greener pastures. b/c usually the grass really isn't any greener over "there".

Hugs and love,
:flowerforyou:

christchick7

Hi Mary and Ann...at a loss to know how to lose weight using calories. Been under a lot of stress for the past month...half of it has been a religious conflict with a friend who's of a different faith and she's trying to convert me. I am more than happy with my current faith but she's not getting the hint. The other half was me wanting to read something that would have done a serious number on my head. Fortunately, a close friend and some research online talked me out of it. I'm OK now and I have to say that was 100% on me.

All that to say, I've been eating WAY TOO MUCH and a lot of fat, carbs, and sweets. I gained 4 pounds quickly recently and that freaked me out. So, even thoughse it's pretty pricey I signed up for the least expensive WW plan they offer. If I lose 10 pounds in 2 months, WW will pay for those two months. I've been on WW for 2 days and so far stayed pretty close to my daily points. I like that they have a new chat feature where you can ask a
coach questions online for free. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to log in both places but only do messaging here. Have either of you done WW? What did you think? Again thanks so much for your love and support. Love and Respect, Sue

christchick7

: Lost TWO pounds...YEAH!!!

texasgardnr

Yes :drinker:, I saw that you lost the 2 pounds!!!! Well done!! Stress makes me crave the carbs and sweets. Must be something with the cortozol levels and the way the adrenals react to stress. I'm with you on that because I struggle with that a lot. Taking care of my brother's stuff and his accident has been stressful. At least he is in rehab now and out of the ICU trauma unit.
I'm sorry that your friend is pressuring you. Religious conflicts because of that kind of pressure when it is from a friend is stressful. Maybe a very very open and honest conversation with her about agreeing to disagree, without allowing a theological debate to occur, seems to be in order if she isn't good at the gentle hints.

I'm glad that you have a friend that you can talk with to help you get past wanting to read something that you know would have bothered you. I'm usually very careful now not to read or watch those things that I know will stay in my head (not in a good way). I've had to learn the hard way of course what those things are. But the end result is they were not good for me (even if others can read or watch w/o problems).

Take care and stay warm!!

AnnofB

Best of luck on WW Sue. It's a good program. It may give you more structure and sometimes that's key. It helped me lose weight many times.

Sorry you are dealing with an overbearing friend. I agree with Mary. If you can get her to agree to disagree and move on, that friendship might be saved.

AnnofB

christchick7 wrote: »

: Lost TWO pounds...YEAH!!!

So good!

christchick7

Ann, you said you have done WW many times and it has helped you to lose weight. Would you mind being my WW online buddy and share your experiences with WW? How did you join WW in the beginning? Did you do meetings or do it online only? Back in the beginning, what exercises did you do? What do you think the pros and cons of the plan are?
What was the most important lesson you took from it? I am doing the basic Online Plus plan for $20 a month. You do it completely online. If you want to do meetings that costs $45 a month, and if you want personal one on one coaching that's $65. What I like about Online Plus is that it offers 24 hr online chat with a WW coach to answer any question you have. I'm using that 1x a day right now, and that has been really helpful. I think $45 a month for Online Plus and meetings is ridiculous!!!! What about groups like teens, who need to be educated on nutrition, or seniors, who may not have a lot of discretionary income when it comes to buying food or attending meetings and could use the help? Much food for thought and I look forward to hearing both your thoughts and Mary's...

Love you both, Sue

texasgardnr

Hi Sue, Waaaay back in the day in my 20s myself and a couple of girlfriends went to WW meetings for a while, Hmmmm that was back in the mid 70s. I do remember being more aware of portions and eating more healthy and balanced. We were all single co-workers and used to going out after work to eat or hang out anytime we wanted. We stuck with it for probably several months. The first time we all went out to have whatever was our fast food splurge myself and at least one other girl ended up with tummy aches and worse. Our bodies weren't used to our old way of eating by then. I'm not sure how much we lost but I do know that began the slippery slope back to my old way of eating again and looking for other ways to lose weight that were popular back then.