April 26 - May 2

Lastchancelj

LW: 245.8 (very embarrassed and upset with myself for allowing this)
TW 239.0

So a massive reduction. And before you gals get jelly on the large number...remember the massive number I'm starting at....so yeah. The program is challenging. I did have to add on an extra salad most days. This is super tight and I'm not sure I can handle it, but I'm going to push through this month. My order renews in 2 weeks so, by then I will have to decide to proceed or go back to cooking for myself. Which, I have been cooking my steaks via sous vide and then charring on the grill and making myself a salad every day. Attempted the kale mix that holds up better, but like the chicken, something changed my tastebuds and it tastes like dirt. So. I've been ordering groceries with salads every few days for the romaine hearts. I moved my main meal (or Lean & Green) as the program calls it, to lunch and that has helped tremendously. I've found a shake/cereal option that isn't too sweet for the morning. I still have my morning coffee, however, I have ditched Starbucks and brewing my own and having my peppermint mocha creamer. Not giving up all good things in life. When it's getting tough, I remember I went through this with Lance many years ago when I wanted to get more "athletic" and work with an "athletic nutrition person". Anyhow, his program was similar in the beginning. Until I can figure out what works for reduction as well as my intake with the hangry feeling.

Continuing with PT. I will be at this for MONTHS to come. Next week we'll be going up in weights/resistance in most exercises and see how my ankle tolerates it. Only getting in 1.25 miles so far, but I'm working on it. I think I mentioned I've stopped taking lyrica for the nerve pain in the morning. I've been super sleepy during the day, foggy brain, super munchy and some of the other side effects have begun to really be apparent. So now I'm only taking the night time tablet. My leg has been a bit more tingly, but I've got to weigh the tingliness and being unable to rest the back of my calf on anything or the other side effects. Right now I'm choosing the tingles and we'll see if it gets worse.

UGH - just got a fraud alert. Someone was buying tix on turkish airlines using hubby's card. UGH. Handled, but not the distraction I needed this morning.

Sarah - congrats to you for using the hotel TM on your last trip. I know you hate the TM and I applaud you for going outside of your likes to accomplish your goal.

Looking forward to everyone's updates. Sorry I can't recall any other conversation thread items with this card issue.

SarahMaxx

LW: 131.8
TW: 131.2

My goodness, what a difference a day can make! Monday morning, no joke, I weighed 133. That was obviously a lot of water weight, but it motivated me to eat much better on Monday and yesterday, and since that has made me feel better, I think it's motivation to continue to watch my macros--especially sugar. Some was things like dried fruit, but some was from the homemade fudge we bought at an Amish market. (Well, I needed to buy some as a gift, and you always need to buy little extra to test . . . LOL)

Yesterday turned out to be a very stressful day. After avoiding buying a new cell phone for a very long time, I finally decided to bite the bullet because the camera on mine had started to fail and finally rebooting would not bring it back. So hubby and I took off for the Verizon store in the early afternoon. You wouldn't think this would cause stress, but we waited in line an hour to finally get help and then it took our sales person almost two hours to show me the very limited options in an Android that is small enough for my hands and then transfer the data from my current phone to the new one. She also talked in a very sing-songy nasal voice and did not seem to be very well versed in what she was doing. Meantime, hubby was having to conduct some business on his cell phone from the car and the bottom dropped out of his blood sugar level. When he's hypoglycemic, he becomes very, very cranky, and so that plus the long wait, the work issues, and the fact that he's having some back pain just sent him to crazy person land! (I try to be very tolerant when this happens, but yesterday, I was whispering things about his demise to the cat! )

But the day ended okay. We had a nice dinner and hubby joined me in the basement so we could watch the Nats beat the Mets 5 to 0 while I got in a nice, steady hour's walk on the treadmill.

Tomorrow, we are driving a short distance to attend a celebration of life for a man who was a close friend of ours for a number of years. He and his wife used to live about two miles from us, and we typically met for dinner on Friday nights and often took day trips together. But when his health began to fail, they moved to be closer to their grown children. We haven't seen a lot of them in recent years because his alzheimers progressed to the point where he did not recognize many people. But he was a wonderful architect and businessman and served as an important mentor to hubby when he was in business for himself in the 1990s.

Kelly thanks for the atta-girl about the hotel treadmill. Thinking about all of you helps to keep me motivated.

Looking forward to hearing what is going on with everyone else. I need to get busy and will check back for your posts. Before I go, here are my 7-day averages:

Steps = 10,700
Kcals burned = 1,719
Stairs = 13 floors

P.S. I posted this and then saw that while I was writing, Lois also started the new thread. I copied mine here, but do not have time right now to read, so I will be back as soon as I get a few things done.

GaGasheesh

LW: 133.6
TW: 133.2

See what happens when I eat fewer carbs, more protein, and drink more water . . why oh why don't I just stick with that, lol!

Lois, wow, that's a big reduction . . congratulations! It sounds like a very strict program, but I'm sure you'll adjust to it and it will get easier in time. You're getting in a longer walk, so it seems your injury is progressing well also. It's gotta be so hard and painful, but stick with it. Think of all the hard things you've done in your life. . . you can do this.

Sarah, great job on your reduction as well, and for your dedication to getting your walk done, whether on a hotel treadmill or at home while watching baseball. It's so sad when a friend's health declines Hopefully the celebration of his life will remind everyone of his better days and some happy memories with him.

Kelly, you had a good reduction too! You're doing so great. . . very steady. I hope all is well with your busy family.

I have my trainer today . . a bit later than usual. Yesterday I had my online playdates with 2 grands, and family zoom last night. Everyone is healthy and busy and happy. Son in Cali's house is getting closer to being done (that's taken forever) and they're getting anxious to move back in. We went to a park for a picnic Sunday with daughter here, her hubby and the baby (who is now 18 months old!) and had a great time playing with her on the equipment and running around on the grass, lol. I was disappointed that I can only do a couple of monkey bar swings . . I used to be able to get all the way across. It felt good to get some sun. Also, I went out for drinks and sushi with 3 of my friends here last Friday. It was great to catch up with them, especially one I haven't seen in a really long time because her husband had Alzheimers and she was caring for him, but when he got bad, she had to put him in memory care housing, where he was for 6 months before he passed away, last December. She's finding her way back to her life as it is now. He was quite a bit older than her.

It's been nice weather here. We had a heavy snow year, and there are risks of flooding, but so far the weather has warmed and then cooled and then warmed, which is perfect to manage the snow melt runoff. . so, fingers crossed. After my trainer today, I think I'll do an outdoor walk.

Have a great week!

wiredkell

LW: 148
TW: 148.9

Jeepers. My workouts have been great. I wake up every work day at 445am and getter done and on weekends I do them a bit later in the morning. But my eating hasn't been fantastic. It hasn't been horrible but I know my carb intake is higher than it should be... just like you said Sheesh. More water, less carbs, more protein.. and definitely more veggies.

Lois - I'm so proud of you! Great job on kicking it into gear. Like you said, make sure your eating plan is something that's sustainable and you'll be set. Great job!

Sarah - I laughed out loud at the chatting with the cat comment. I'm sure we all have those types of moments. And yes, that's so fantastic that you made it to the hotel gym to use the treadmill. That's not an easy task when you're away on a trip, so great job.

Sheesh - Nice to hear your weather is improving. We are also in risk of flooding due to the higher snow in North Dakota. We have activated our floodway so hopefully there is no or minimal flooding for those around the river.

katiethedetermined1

Hey ladies. I always seem to say I am back. I even set alerts. It has been crazy though. I got the stiches out and can use my hand more but it is so sensitive. There is not rehab for it either. I have been looking up things I can do and trying to use it more. I was able to deadlift a small amount yesterday so I was happy with that. Jump roping and any pressure are a no go still. The MURPH is coming at the end of May and I really want to be able to compete it in that (1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats, 1 mile run). I may have to think of other options but I am still trying.
I am happy that it is getting nicer outside because then the children play outside and I do outside things. My father is building me a clothes line that I have wanted for years. I am super excited about that.
Weight wise I am not losing at all just maintaining. I think with all the stress in my life, my body is doing fairly well. I have my better days and then bad days but overall I think I am doing good. I know that I am getting stronger at the gym with certain abilities like pushups and ab things.
Trying to stay positive!

SarahMaxx

Hi, ladies. I've checked in and read a few posts over the past couple of days, but have always needed to quickly get offline. Now, it's a rainy Sunday afternoon and things are going a little slower.

On Friday, we had torrential rain and for the first time ever, we had a window well fill with water. We have a lot of maple trees around us and the number of seed pods (we call them helicopters because they look like a helicopter blade) was far greater than usual. And these little suckers filled up our gutters. (We tried gutter guards once, but they created other problems.) Anyway, the gutter overflowed and poured down into the window well and would have eventually leaked into our rec room in the basement. So poor hubby had to take the wet/dry vac out back and suck it all out. And then two neighbors helped him put up the long ladder and clean out the clogged area. Thank God for good neighbors.

Since then, hubby has come down with a cold and sore throat, but thankfully, he has tested negative for Covid. I always worry a little after we've been with a group of people, as we were at Jim's memorial service. And hubby does not suffer well! LOL I hate to be sexist, but there does seem to be something about a "man cold." So I've taken over some of the things he normally does around here.

Lois, when I downplay a loss, you always fuss at me, so be joyful about that great loss! And 1.25 miles is really good, and eating your largest meal mid-day, sounds like a good plan, if you can manage that. The important things is that you are taking steps to put together a workable plan.

Sheesh, you're right. Fewer carbs, more protein, more water. That helps me with hunger for sure. And I am glad to see that you got out with girl friends for the evening. You do so much for your family, you deserve some time just enjoying yourself. When you mentioned sushi, it reminded me of a time when I went with a friend and one of her friends who is deaf to a sushi restaurant. My friend and I were seated across from her friend so she could interpret what I said in American sign language. And she and I were facing a very handsome man in the next booth. So at one point, my friend signed, "When you get a chance, turn around and look at the hunk behind you." And to our amazement, this gentleman smiled and signed "Thank you!"

Kelly, I'm with you. The scale does not always reflect what we're doing. I have weeks when my activity is good and intake is okay and the scale will jump up. And there are weeks when both activity and intake are really above average and I'll just stay at the same old point. The important thing is that we don't let these weeks discourage us. I did a lot of that in my past.

Katie, the activity you mentioned sounds so far above my abilities at this point! I admire you for even considering it. If someone told me to do 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, and 300 squats, I would just have to tell them to shoot me now! Just be careful with that hand.

I am still getting my 10K steps each day, but I'm not pushing to go much beyond that. After years of walking many miles and having no foot problems, I am suddenly developing a rubbed area between my little toe on the right foot and the toe beside it. I can't stand moleskin between my toes, so I've been trying vaseline to try to mitigate the rubbing. Yesterday, I tried one of those tiny bandaids. If it doesn't resolve, I guess it's off to a podiatrist. It's a puzzle because I have not changed shoes nor am I doing anything very different in terms of movement, other than walking outside some when the temps are good.

Well, it's time to do something productive. It was great to hear from everyone.

Lastchancelj

Happy Monday morning Ladies!!

First, - Sarah - you are so accurate that I should not downplay the reduction. It was super hard to accomplish that number. I felt deprived, anxi, ous and hangry. So thank you for the reminder that I need to celebrate that I DID WORK to achieve that number. Anyway, week two is going ok. Between removing the Lyrica in the morning and the new program, I'm working it. This weekend Rhea wanted to visit Grammy & Grandpa, so she had her daddy drive her up. Well, it was dinner time and I ordered Panda Express for all of us. For me, I opted for the beef/broccoli and angus steak (hoping to get 5 oz of protein in that mix) and the super greens. Shortly after, my tummy was rumbly and I was in the restroom most of the night. Anyhow, I did have a great visit with the Little One and then they had to go home. Yesterday, my daughter and SIL wanted to come up for dinner...and of course they selected Cheesecake Factory. So here's my failures and successes... 1 piece of the brown wheat bread (normally 3), 1/3 of a spring roll appetizer (I was really hungry and dinner was taking a looooong time), I ordered the herb crusted salmon filet and broccoli. It was pretty good (salmon slightly overcooked and a bit of mush - but flavor was good). I skipped on cheesecake or any dessert and did not take a bite of anyone elses either. So I had some good, some not so good and ok modification. Today I want to focus and get on this program and make it work.

We are already in the high 90's and almost 100 so I have to time my walks after the sun goes downs (or work on getting up earlier - which hasn't been happening). Anyhow, priorities and suffering is my own issue. But yes, the longer mileage was good and I can't wait until after next week's procedure where they will repair the ingrown toenail and it won't hurt to walk or wear shoes like it does now. And with my ankle, walking in my oofos sandals for a mile doesn't work (I attempted)

Sarah your cat comment cracked me up!!! I'm sure we've all had those thoughts, I just don't have a pet to be able to share those thought with but loved that you did. Hoping you like your new phone. Hubby is still on an Android as well. The rest of us are Apple users. Great reduction and focus this past week!! Keep it up. Condolences for the passing of your friend. Hopefully many people were able to share happy interactions so everyone is able to have the happy memories at the forefront.

Kelly - I feel you girl!! I remember when I was going through those number hikes when there should have been a dip. Keep at it and possibly you'll get a nice dip this week.

Katie - so happy to see your post. Keep checking in whenever you are able. We are all thinking of you and here to support however we are able.

Reports are done - too quick this am.

have a great week.

Sheesh - I love how you have balanced your workouts, eating, family and friends.