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kerrimiller2018
Posts: 31 Member
Welcome to the Green Thumbs! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
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Replies
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I’m in my mid 30’s and have about 50 lbs to lose. I started vegetable gardening last year and absolutely loved doing it. It’s very cathartic tending to a garden and fresh garden veggies are so much better than what you buy from a grocery store.
I’m looking forward to the beginning of gardening season and trying new recipes and ways to incorporate fresh veggies into healthy low-cal dishes!1 -
I am a fiftysomething grandma, post bariatric patient who needs to remember the old habits of calorie counting. Growing things is therapy and I like cooking from scratch.1
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I’m late 30s and started my vegetarian journey a year ago thru meal delivery kits. That can get pretty pricey as well as buying organic at the store so I started a container garden in my apt’s back area. Gardening is my low impact exercise and quite the stress reliever! I’ve started seeds so far and I’m a few weeks from final frost!
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I figured It out, Kerri!
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Hello fellow gardeners. I am a mid-something who is on a journey to losing 100 pounds. The weight has crept up on my over the past ten years and rather than deal with it as it happened I decided to just weight until I was really out of shape and frightened for my health to do something about it - ugh. I was very excited to find you within the weight loss journey community (not typically two areas that you see together). I no longer grow vegetables because I spent a good portion of my summer battling the squirrels, chipmunks and ground hogs for my tomatoes, etc. I live in an area of NJ that is surrounded by farmers markets and great options for fresh produce so no worries there. I DO love the rest of my gardens which are a mix of ornamentals, pollinator gardens, and containers. Gardening is a great stress reliever and keeps me connected to mother earth. Looking forward to chatting with everyone.1
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Good Morning ladies. This, MFP, is my first attempt at any sort of social networking so I apologize in advance for being awkward. I much prefer a face to face conversation but these days that's a bit old fashion, not to mention impossible in some cases.
I, too am a grandmother jgnatca. Only two grandkids though, but I've been "daycare" for their working parents since they were 3 months old so maybe two is enough. lol! Up until a year ago I also cared for my mom, who I lost to cancer. Cruel disease, my heart is broken.
My husband is handicapped, in that he can only walk short distances. I have spent most of my life as caregiver, still do. It is who I am, but at some point, as I got older I suspect, I forgot to care for me. After I lost Mom I went to hell, quite frankly. I've always been healthy, active - I was raised to be that way - but stages in life and generally ignoring my own health put me in a bad way. Medications for this or that... "you're getting older and..." was the phrase.
So, early in February I decided to do something - enter South Beach - I lost 10 pounds BAM! in a matter of two weeks....!! Then nothing, no weight loss for days, weeks - not an ounce. I was ready to scream, then I stumbled onto MFP. I've been here 6 days, I think...
I realize the initial 10 pounds on South Beach was fluid...ok. And that you can't eat a pound of bacon to avoid a cupcake. By logging my food, every bite, I realized my calorie intake and portion sizes where that of a lumberjack, not a 60 year old woman, and I'm only 5'1" tall. I'm learning that I can have a wide range foods with this "life style" as long as I'm smart and eat small portions. I weighed myself this morning and I've dropped five pounds since I began MFP. I find that amazing, but moreover I feel good. I'm eating healthy. Don't get me wrong - I could eat a mountain of cheese cake right now. Left alone, in the right mindset, on a gloomy day - yeah boy ya betcha!! But I can't do that to me now.
Going to the green house! Hope to get seeds in dirt!2 -
I'm in my mid-20s, hoping to drop a few pound and just generally get in shape.
I'm hoping to get a small container garden started this year. I have grand plans of eventually having a nice vegetable garden and small greenhouse, but that won't be until I have a house of my own. For starters, I'm going to work on growing tomatoes, peppers (bell and some hotter ones), zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, and lettuce. Hopefully some herbs as well.
I live in rural South Dakota so it's going to be nice to have fresh produce available to me all summer!0 -
Good Morning ladies. This, MFP, is my first attempt at any sort of social networking so I apologize in advance for being awkward. I much prefer a face to face conversation but these days that's a bit old fashion, not to mention impossible in some cases.
I, too am a grandmother jgnatca. Only two grandkids though, but I've been "daycare" for their working parents since they were 3 months old so maybe two is enough. lol! Up until a year ago I also cared for my mom, who I lost to cancer. Cruel disease, my heart is broken.
My husband is handicapped, in that he can only walk short distances. I have spent most of my life as caregiver, still do. It is who I am, but at some point, as I got older I suspect, I forgot to care for me. After I lost Mom I went to hell, quite frankly. I've always been healthy, active - I was raised to be that way - but stages in life and generally ignoring my own health put me in a bad way. Medications for this or that... "you're getting older and..." was the phrase.
So, early in February I decided to do something - enter South Beach - I lost 10 pounds BAM! in a matter of two weeks....!! Then nothing, no weight loss for days, weeks - not an ounce. I was ready to scream, then I stumbled onto MFP. I've been here 6 days, I think...
I realize the initial 10 pounds on South Beach was fluid...ok. And that you can't eat a pound of bacon to avoid a cupcake. By logging my food, every bite, I realized my calorie intake and portion sizes where that of a lumberjack, not a 60 year old woman, and I'm only 5'1" tall. I'm learning that I can have a wide range foods with this "life style" as long as I'm smart and eat small portions. I weighed myself this morning and I've dropped five pounds since I began MFP. I find that amazing, but moreover I feel good. I'm eating healthy. Don't get me wrong - I could eat a mountain of cheese cake right now. Left alone, in the right mindset, on a gloomy day - yeah boy ya betcha!! But I can't do that to me now.
Going to the green house! Hope to get seeds in dirt!
I can totally relate to eating the same amount of food as a lumberjack. There’s been many times where I’ve started to feel full and just kept eating anyway. Just by logging my food for the past week I am already getting better about judging portion sizes. Now I just need to limit myself to one portion... Great job on losing 5 lbs since starting mfp!0 -
I'm in my mid-20s, hoping to drop a few pound and just generally get in shape.
I'm hoping to get a small container garden started this year. I have grand plans of eventually having a nice vegetable garden and small greenhouse, but that won't be until I have a house of my own. For starters, I'm going to work on growing tomatoes, peppers (bell and some hotter ones), zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, and lettuce. Hopefully some herbs as well.
I live in rural South Dakota so it's going to be nice to have fresh produce available to me all summer!
Welcome jellis! It sounds like you are going to be having a nice container garden this year!1 -
Kerri, when I think of the portions I was eating a few months back it blows my mind. Now I get hungry between meals, big time, but I'm learning to use healthy snacks to help get from one to the other. So far it's working.
Jellis, a lot of veggies grow great in pots. I have several large and some not so large raised beds and yet I'll always plant a favorite cherry tomato or cayenne pepper in a pot on the patio. In case space is an issue and you haven't already thought of it- use a sturdy trellis for the cucumber - most varieties climb well with a little coaxing.1 -
I was originally planning on raised beds, but I think I’m going to be moving after this summer so I don’t want to build the beds just to turn around and leave. I’ll save them for whenever I’m a little more settled
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Hello fellow gardeners! I'm Rae from the beautiful state of Oregon, USA. I've been an avid gardener for the past 25+ years and I've had my share of successes and failures. I tell people I have a "light-green thumb" because not everything always turns out, but I enjoy it so I have kept on trying. I'm also a very frugal person. I absolutely hate waste and I HATE paying big money for produce when I can grow my own. I have canned, frozen and dehydrated a lot of my bounty over the years so I have quite a lot of experience.
All the above aside, this is the first year I am not planning a large vegetable garden. Ugh! I'm already feeling the twinges and longingly glancing at seeds as I pass through the hardware store. I just couldn't resist joining this group hoping it will satisfy a bit of my garden cravings vicariously. I won't ever stop with the flowers and a few veggies, but my days of a big garden might be over . . . . or at least back-burnered for a wee bit
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Here's a bit of my garden history:
Nearly 28 years ago my husband and I (along with 2 young sons) moved to the country to an old farmhouse with 2.5 acres. I told him I wanted a garden. He knew a guy down the road with a tractor. One day I went to town for groceries and when I came home I had a tilled up garden plot. Nearly 1/2 an acre of a garden plot! Yikes! I planted up the whole thing and then all I did was weed and water, weed and water for the entire summer. My little boys had zero interest, but they loved playing in the yard while Mommy was gardening. We had a lovely crop of everything you can imagine and I spent weeks (months?) putting it all up.
Every year thereafter the garden plot got a bit smaller and smaller because my boys got bigger and bigger. They were very active in sports and I just didn't have the time to dedicate to it while we were traveling around watching their sporting events.
About 10 years ago I switched from a regular in-the-ground garden plot to raised beds. Hallelujah! What a concept! The planting and weeding became easier, but it was still a bit of work. Mostly, it was my therapy and also good exercise so I continued for a long time. My husband works for a manufacturing company and he would bring home all these odd-sized wooden boxes and packing crates to use for garden boxes. It looked a bit odd but I didn't mind. We just kept adding them in a grid pattern until we had about a dozen or so. We also have a second fruit garden with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, marionberries and rhubarb. We just put that one in last year.
One day this winter I was staring out my kitchen window, contemplating my ramshackle packing box veggie garden, when my husband came up behind me. We both stared out the window for a bit and then he asked if I was thinking of not doing it this summer. Gosh! We've been married a long time because he was reading my mind.
We've got a lot of remodeling projects going on, we've got grandkids now that we love to spend time with and we have some traveling plans coming up. Maybe it's time for a little break? SO, we are taking a break this year and see how it goes. I'm still going to plant some tomatoes in pots, work more on the berry garden and who knows? A stray zucchini or lemon cucumber might randomly pop up in my flower bed! 0 -
RaeBeeBaby - your post sounds familiar to me, very familiar, but I'm comfortable with my raised beds - and I hope to garden until I drop. We'll have to share tips on food preservation! Sounds like we could share tips on other things as well - like the trails an errors of living in an old farm house!0
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trials and errors... forgive me, it's early and I watched basketball last night....0
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Hello! I'm Hazel from Wales in the UK, I'm 46 and I like to think I'm fairly green-fingered (we say green fingers, not thumbs over here
). I'm quite new to MFP but I've lost 40lbs already by calorie counting.
I've rented an Allotment from my city council for the past 4 years, but I moved to a newer, bigger plot recently. The winter's been harsher than usual here this year so we're all about a month behind on our planting! Anyway, this is a photo of my allotment (as it looked last summer) - there are empty plots either side of mine which doesn't make it look so neat and tidy!
I grow all kinds of veggies on the allotment, also some fruit (raspberries, blackcurrants, plums, goosberries), and I have dozens of big pots of herbs growing in my back garden at home. What a lovely group to find - I hope to get to know some new like-minded people!
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Hazel, I love the look of your "allotment" and the fact that you travel out of your way to do some of your gardening is admirable! I've been in my raised beds all morning, tilling, raking and weeding the lettuce, onions and greens...can't wait for warmer weather to get full into it.
40 pounds lost - excellent!! I'm sure by losing the weight counting calories you've learned the value of growing fresh veggies and fruits.
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The allotment is a grand idea! Around here we also have what they call "community gardens" where you can get a small plot like that. Since I've had a lot of my own space to garden I've never looked into it, so not sure of the cost. It might not cost anything! (Now of course I have to check.)
One of the reasons I'm taking out my raised bed garden is because it never had a proper fence around it. We'd put up temporary deer fencing (plastic mesh with posts) in the spring and then take it down in the fall so it would last for a few years. It became an extra chore twice a year. Plus, I have a cherry tree nearby that has gotten bigger. We pick a lot of them, but there are always still a bunch. That tree got so big it is now dropping cherries into half of my beds and that makes a big mess.
Ultimately, when my husband retires, he is going to build me a greenhouse so I can garden year around. I want one with sides that you can open or close easily for ventilation and to keep the critters out. We have also battled ground squirrels and gophers along with the lovely deer. I DO love them, but they love my garden too much!0 -
Somehow missed your post, Blondie. Too bad the varmints brought your veggie gardening to a halt. I have several raised beds for my veggies and they're near the house, and I have about half an acre around the house fenced. Fenced to keep the deer out and the dogs in, when they're outside. Anything I hope to keep has to be within the fence. I don't mind really, I love the deer - they are beautiful animals. They graze every evening in the orchard I see from my patio. Last evening there were 15 - sometimes more.
I love my flower gardens, too. I especially love working in my rose garden -I've a few antique roses that I cherish.
Are you sufficiently frightened enough to try to lose the weight now? Sometimes that's what it takes but please be determined - not frightened. We'll help.
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@onwardsdownwards - I have always wanted to visit Wales! My husband's family originally came from there. He was born in Oxford, EN, so we have plans to travel to the UK within the next couple years.
As you all get your gardens planted, please post pictures! Love them!0 -
