40+ Club - Summertime Fun

cardigirl

Alf, oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I don't blame you one bit for feeling disrespected. I hate when decisions are made without consulting with the person who it affects the most. Grrrr. Has happened to me a few times, where I had staff taken from me to work in another department without any notice. Totally aggravating and demoralizing.

You are a very smart, capable woman, and if there is a way to follow your passion, I'm certain you'll figure it out. Sending you positive thoughts today. Stay strong!

(((((Alf))))

cardigirl

Went to the trainer tonight. Since starting with her I have lost 15 pounds, 3 1/2 inches off my waist and 3 1/2 inches off my hips. No wonder clothes are fitting differently. The husband on the other hand, has gained some strength but no weight loss or inches. He is now more motivated to get with it and stop cheating and start pushing himself. Yea!

Congrats Texassippian!!! Doesn't it feel good to see the results? Glad your husband is getting motivated too! How are the plant children? (Love this!)

Annaliza, having a dog to exercise with sounds like fun. I miss my little (well she was kind of big) corgi, Sherman, but I could have never run with her. She was possibly the slowest moving corgi ever. :laugh: Except when she spotted a squirrel on the ground. Then look out! Hope your running is on schedule and giving you some enjoyment.

Stiring, your bread making is getting me hungry! Where are you finding your recipes? They sound so good and healthy!

Sing, sorry you've had to work the night shift this week. My schedule is off a bit, because of vacationing staff, so I understand how it messes with the working out and eating right. Hang in there, and you'll soon be back on track.

I had another terrific workout with the trainer today, doing plyometrics! Lots of jumping exercises which I was mostly able to do. But I am tired!!!

Oh and since finding out about my BFP, the scale has been going up! What's up with that?:sad:

Everybody have a good Wednesday! It's almost the holiday weekend!

mkwood10

Alf.....
I'm SO SORRY to hear about your situation at work........ I understand completely!!!
They shouldn't have treated you so badly - they deserve to lose you if that's how they're going to treat their support staff!!! :explode: :explode: I don't even have a BS..... in fact, no college hours at all and I feel inadequate because of it sometimes. But.... I like my job, am good at it and they appreciate me here at K-State, so that makes the lack of a degree less bothersome. At this point in my life I'm content to do what I do best (work behind the scenes and support people) and don't have any desire to go back to school. I hated being a supervisor for 11+ years....... it's nice to not have to listen to people whine about why they couldn't do their job :laugh: :laugh: My hubby tells me I really don't need to work any more if I don't want to, but I'm like you, I like the extra $$$ for fun things that my piddly salary brings in.
Whatever you decide to do; we all love you and appreciate you!!! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :laugh: :laugh:
Marla

tron3002

Alf... Sorry to hear about your job. Talk to your husband about your ideas and ya never know, maybe he will be supportive. Better to know before you take that leap so you have a true picture of your options. And I bet he might even give you a loving push in the right direction... )

Well I have been really busy "spring" cleaning before I leave on my road trip this Friday. I will miss you guys. Makes me wish I didn't give up the internet on my blackberry but oh well... I didn't use it.

alf1163

Hello!!! I am checking MFP on Company time :laugh: I appreciate everyone for all your kind words of support. It really warms my heart. I am still resentful of course. Everybody keeps asking me why I am not in my office anymore and when I tell them their expressions change. The Operations Manager has been apologizing all day long. He said this was not in his power. I keep telling me him that he is not the one who needs to apologize but I do appreciate his concern. He is very kind. He says that he will not allow another move for me. I told him that next I am asked to move I will pack up my things I leave. :laugh: And I really mean it...

I started checking on Zumba certification. Unfortunately there are no workshops in the area yet but I am hopeful they will have something nearby. There is truly a demand for Zumba instructors here especially in my area. And I know I would be a really good instructor. It is the music I love to dance to. And did I ever mention that I used to be an ACE certified group class instructor when I was in Germany? Well, yes I was, unfortunately I did not renew my certification when I moved to TX. My classes were very popular. I was teaching step aerobics and sculpt classes. Most of my classes were taught at a German gym. Others at the military gyms. I really miss that.

The day is going very well as far as not counting calories. I feel very satisfied. I've been everything I normally eat. After my Krav Maga kickboxing class tonight I am planning on having a protein shake if I am very hungry. I will see how I feel tomorrow and adjust it accordingly. I weighed myself this morning and I lost another pound. I weigh 123lbs, 2 lbs under my goal. I guess I have the Stiring syndrome :laugh: Stiring how are you doing now? Have you stopped losing now that you increased your calories?

Take care!! And thank you again for all your support. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

StiringWendel

alf, you make me laugh. :laugh: I've never had my own syndrome before!! First, I'm happy to hear it sounds like you have some support in your office. That has to make this a little (emphasis on 'little') easier to take because people aren't doing the whole 'whatever' thing.

As far as my weight, who knows? Honestly. I had dropped another 1/2lb on Saturday morning (one of the reasons I didn't log my food in that morning), then gained a pound back over the next couple of days, and am back down now to where I was on Friday (a little lower). So I don't know where I sit yet. What I'm trying to do with my calories is make sure they stay above 1800 and below 2300. That's a big range, but it is allowing me some serious wiggle room in what I eat (like extra fruit since it is so good right now) and keeps me from not eating enough (which I think anything below 1800 would be). But I don't think I'll know for another week or two whether this is where I need to be to maintain. I've been fooled by my body before thinking I hit maintenance only to wake up the next day 1.5 pounds lighter. So..........I don't know if that answered your question or not. Please keep us posted on how it goes not counting your calories. I'm afraid, like you, that my inclination if I were to do that would be to eat too little right now.

tron, have a great trip! I will be anxious to hear about your adventures when you get back (especially the trip to the Grand Canyon). Take care and have fun!

cardigirl, don't worry about the weight gain. I'm sure it's temporary. You are doing so great, and it sounds like you have an amazing trainer. Plyometrics are fun, aren't they?

All here is well. Did a great shoulder/back/tricep workout this morning. Eating alot and healthy. I'm finishing another great audiobook called 'The End of Overeating' by David Kessler (he used to work for the FDA I believe). I actually finally have an answer as to why I crave some foods and what I can do about it. I don't know if his answer is the definitive answer, but it makes a whole lot of sense to me. This is one I'm going to keep on my iPod for future reference if I ever need a reminder about cravings and/or impulse eating and what to do about them.

Hope everybody is having a good day! :drinker:

singfree

Stiring, at least it isn't something wierd! I can see it now.....

Webster's Dictionary:

Syndrome, Stiring- see weight loss genius. :laugh:

This sounds good to me!

Hey, if anything positive has come out of this night shift fiasco, it's...FAT LOSS!

My gut is shrinking before my very eyes (and mirror). Lets see...no junk food, no pretzels, no wine. Lots of protein though. I am still exercising at home. Lots of bike riding, not as much weights. Who knows? Maybe I will soon be as light as Stiring and Alf !

Tonight is my last night of night shift. I am finished for the week at 7 am tomorrow!!!

Good night all!

Swissmiss

I am off of work until Monday so I hope to be here more often. I have a question for everyone. If you have noticed my ticker it says that I have three pounds to go til goal. I think that I will probably go for another five pounds. Should I go ahead and change my goal to read 8 more or should I wait until I reach the 3 pound goal and then change it?

alf1163

Swiss, if I were you I would wait until I lost the 3lbs. I dont want to discourage you but since you are so close to your goal it can take a few wks to lose 3lbs. Well, at least for me it did, unless you change your change your exercise or your eating habits drastically. Congrats on being so close to your goal. I did the same. My goal was to weigh no less than 130lbs but when I reached it I set up a new goal to 125 so if I had an increase it would not be higher than 130. Now I weigh 123lbs...:noway:

I just came back from my kickboxing class and I feel GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I released so much stress I burned 449cals in 52 mins. :laugh: I think I am going to sleep like a baby tonight.

I told my daughter what happened to me and she sent me this. It is a stress management technique, it really works:

JUST IN CASE YOU ARE HAVING A ROUGH DAY, HERE IS A STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE RECOMMENDED IN ALL THE LATEST PSYCHOLOGICAL JOURNALS. THE FUNNY THING IS THAT IT REALLY DOES WORK AND WILL MAKE YOU SMILE...

1. PICTURE YOURSELF LYING ON YOUR BELLY ON A WARM ROCK THAT HANGS OUT OVER A CRYSTAL CLEAR STREAM.

2. PICTURE YOURSELF WITH BOTH YOUR HANDS DANGLING IN THE COOL RUNNING WATER.

3. BIRDS ARE SWEETLY SINGING IN THE COOL MOUNTAIN AIR.

4. NO ONE KNOWS YOUR SECRET PLACE.

5. YOU ARE IN TOTAL SECLUSION FROM THAT THECTIC PLACE CALLED THE WORLD.

6. THE SOOTHING SOUND OF A GENTLE WATER FALL FILLS THE AIR WITH A CASCADE OF SERENITY.

7. THE WATER IS SO CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT YOU CAN EASILY MAKE OUT THE FACE OF THE PERSON YOU ARE HOLDING UNDERWATER.

THERE!! SEE? IT REALLY DOES WORK.
YOU ARE SMILING ALREADY!

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Texssippian

Swiss, what ever is more motivating to you: 3 to go and then add 5 more or 8 more all together. You deserve which ever way is most important to you.

Tron: Have a wonderful time on your trip.

Sing: I hope you don't have too much jet lag coming off the night shift.

Alf: I saw your post at work today but did not want to respond while at work. I have worked for the state before so the "lowest common denominator" employee theory applies. They treat everyone like they are the lowest on the totem pole (except visiting faculty who have a separate pole but with its own bizzare pecking order...) A good research assistant should be worth their weight in gold and since you are losing so much weight, worth your weight in diamonds! How many published articles have been built on your work? Shame on them! I know you are looking to get into some type of fitness work. I know you will be great! Have you thought about talking to the kinesiology department at UTSA? Maybe you could change your research work to an exercise study. The egg-head lab profs will be sorry to see you go. Windows are dime a dozen compared to good research assistants. You go girl! We are behind you!

Wore a suit today I wore one time but it was too tight then (about two years ago). Now it is almost too big! Am going to be daring tomorrow and not wear hose (Ok most women younger than me don't wear them anyway but I just cannot do it) and wear open toed sandals (actually nice flip-flops). My boss knows I am being defiant or am mad about something when I wear no hose and flip flops. I am protesting the treatment of Alf! Got very loud pink nail polish to match my top and my flip flops. Need to go paint my toes. Also, did the free weight work out at home. We have the weights but not the bosu ball, so I folded several blankets and stood on that. Not quite bosu but still required core work for stability and lots cheaper! Happy pseudo Friday tomorrow to all who get Friday off! TxMs

singfree

That's amazing Tex!!! I am wearing the same thing!!

Alf, I hope you were visualizing someone when you were at kickboxing class! My boss is a pretty good guy, except for the BO problem. I'm not sure if it's glandular or just poor hygene, but summertime is pretty rough on the nose around here! Really, I can work out all day and not smell like that. Mama Mia :sick: The other day I saw vultures circling because they thought something was dead!!!

'Night All!

Texssippian

Sing,
Who knew you had a hot pink polka dot sweater and matching flip flops! Must have lax dress code on the night shift... TxMs

annaliza

Good morning everyone!

Alf, I'm so sorry that they are treating you so badly at work. I have so much trouble with my co-workers, too that I can understand where you are coming from. I probably would have quit working there a long time ago so kudos to you ...you are so much more patient and understanding than I am. What a foolish group of people you work with....research assistants are skilled employees and are not easy to replace! Though I have to agree with Texs....the state follows the "low man on the totem" rule which is really frustrating to a skilled person.

Texs, you go girl!! I never wear hose, I don't care. I hate them! We should all protest the treatment of Alf!! What an excellent idea. And congrats on your old suit being too big on you...what a wonderful feeling!

Stiring, you are doing so well on your maintenence! I'm really happy for you and find you to be such an inspiration!

Hang in there Cardi!! Remember....we are running a marathon...not a race!! You are doing so good...be proud of yourself! Oh..and LOL about the Corgi. I sure hope my new dog isn't slow lol

Have fun Tron!!! I'm sure it will be great with some good memories!

Sing, good job on your pretzel, junk food and wine break! What gut? When did you have a gut? :noway:

Ok, so I've been rebellious over the logging on MFP. I didn't even weigh myself yesterday (my normal weigh in day). Well, this morning I got up and thought, I guess I better do this and get it over with. I actually held my breath when I got on the scale.

And I lost 3 lbs!!!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!

I'm going on a mini vacation from Sunday to Tuesday. My hubby and I are taking my mother in law and the two little ones to see the zoo/aquarium and the childrens museum in Pittsburgh. It should be a lot of fun.

I was proud of myself when I booked the hotel. Never did I think that a hotel having a fitness center would be so important to me. lol, now it's a must have "ammenity" lol So, I've seen more growth in me during my journey.

Anyway, back to work! Take care all!

Oh wait...I forgot to mention. I AM NO LONGER OBESE!! (just overweight )

Swissmiss

Thanks alf and tex....I will be keeping my ticker at three pounds and then will change it when I have reached that goal. I don't know how far I should try to go. Most people would think that I need to lose. I stand 5 ft 5 and weigh 148. Really that is too much but I am having people tell me that I shouldn't be trying to lose anymore.

tron3002

Well we are leaving tomorrow morning... Early. So today I have to pack everything up and get my last minute grocery shopping done. Busy Busy day.

Swiss.... I have noticed that ever sense I started working out I a a smaller size with a bigger number on the scale. But if you don't feel comfortable then lose the next 5 pounds.

So instead of worrying about weight I am gonna worry about inches. What do you thing my waist measurements should be? I am 5'2. I wont tell you what they are until I get the number from what you think.

annalize... Congrats on the 3 lbs. :drinker:

mkwood10

So instead of worrying about weight I am gonna worry about inches. What do you thing my waist measurements should be? I am 5'2. I wont tell you what they are until I get the number from what you think.

Tron,
I'm 5'2" also, and I carry all of my extra weight around my belly. I refuse to even venture a guess as to what your waist size should be because I don't know where you carry your extra weight. I will say it's extremely frustrating to find clothes that fit thru the hips/thighs/butt and are too small at the waist!!:explode: :grumble: :grumble: I don't care as much about what the scale says - I just want my clothes to fit better AND to get back into my skinny clothes from last summer!!! Amazing (and frustrating) how much 5-10 pounds effects how your clothes fit when you have a small frame and you're short like me!:laugh: :laugh:

Enjoy your trip and don't stress out about eating and exercising - you deserve a vacation!!!:happy:
Marla

singfree

Congratulations all on your weight/ fitness goals! We're all finding that our clothes are fitting better and we are pleased with that sexy thing in the mirror. Now it gets interesting.

Alf and Stiring, your challenge is to find a good balance in your nutrition and exercise. It's hard to up the cals after you've been eating under your maintenance cals. Don't be afraid to experiment a bit to see what works for you. Actually, upping the cals slightly and concentrating on weights will put a bit of muscle weight on.

For me, this week I concentrated on cardio, mostly with biking, and just a bit of strength training. Between yesterday and today I did almost 60 miles. Right now I am exhausted after finishing night shift. I have a long weekend since i don't have to work tomorrow...YAY.!!!!!

I hope your holiday weekend is great, have a good night!

Texssippian

Tron, enjoy your trip!

Tron and MK: I agree to watch the inches. Unless you regularly step on people's toes or sit in their laps, they will notice inches before pounds. I too notice more in the way clothes fit than in pounds. Instead of picking a number for your waist, why not just measure now and watch the numbers go down as you continue eating right and exercising?

I am looking forward to the river tonight! We have a make up session tomorrow night for the one we missed on Monday, but I don't want to do river on the Friday before the fourth. I think it will be too crowded. Next week starts another 4 week session.

Sing, enjoy your long weekend.

Need to go buy lottery tickets! Take care all. TxMs

alf1163

Annaliza, congrats on your weight loss!!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: You are doing an awesome job!! And thank you for your support, all of you, it has helped me tremendously. I woke up this morning rested and with a very positive attitude. My new desk is all set up except for my computer. I have a cubicle in a big room sharing it with whoever will be coming in later. This is a huge project, it's been in the news. It is for military people with PTSD. I like my corner, it has the same view I had in my other office, actually next door. The only problem, I don't have wall space so I cannot hang my son's puzzles that I had framed and hung on the wall. He likes to do puzzles, 1000 pcs or more. I guess it helps him relax. I guess I will bring them back home. :grumble:

Tron, have a fun and safe trip. Enjoy!!!! Waist measurements, hmm, I guess it depends on your body type, everyone is different. I could not really tell you what it should be. Have you researched it in the internet? I am 5'5" and my waist is 26in on good days. :laugh: I don't think I can get nor I would want to get any smaller. I really don't want to lose anymore.

This is day 2 of not counting calories. I like the extra time that I have now but I am still concerned about undereating. I have been eating very clean, as usual. I remember on days I ate about the same as now I was eating about 1600-1700 cals. Now, yesterday I burned a lot of calories, more than what I usually burn doing CE. I came home and had a protein shake and some peanut butter. I am starting to feel hungry right now so I think I will fix myself another shake.

Have a safe Holiday weekend!! I am not off tomorrow but I am getting off early. I am going to a women's basketball with a friend and then dancing again with friends. I'd better eat more!!!!! :laugh: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

singfree

Good morning!

Reporting day again. Pretty good week, considering my schedule. Actually I lost a little weight, down to 150 lbs. My clothes are looser and I look thinner in the mirror. I'm going to stay with a heavier regimen of cardio and do some strength training also. I really think that upping protein and restricting carbs a bit is the way to go (for me at least).

I'll check in later, have a good day!

Donnie46

I am Donnie and I found this site today and I have joined up, it all looks so good, although I haven't quite found my way around the site as yet.

I have loads of weight to lose so I am going to need some help and advice along the way.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

DONNIE x

Swissmiss

Welcome Donnie...I found the site hard to use at the beginning also. If you have any questions just ask or you can go to the thread (found at the bottom) where technical questions are posted.
I asked my Zumba instructor what to do about my knees. She recommended dance shoes with a split sole. She also has knee problems (worse than mine) and this is what she wears.

alf1163

Welcome Donnie!! This site and thread will be very helpful to you. Just ask away!! :laugh:

Swiss, I didnt know you did Zumba? I love it. I am actually considering becoming an instructor. Luckily my knees dont bother me when I do it, it is mostly after I run. I found a place in town that they help you find the best pair of workout shoes to meet your needs so I am going there as soon as possible. That might help with my knee issues. Do you do strength trng? Strengthening your quads protect your knees and also good stretching after your workouts. I also take glucosamine/chondroitin pills. I feel my knee pain has been reduced some considering how active I am.

Well, guess what? I come to my office and what do I find? They are having a meeting in my office, some staff sitting at my desk and everything!!!! :grumble: :mad: I cannot believe this!!!!!!!!! So I am using someone elses computer right now and I cant really do my work because my space is being utilized. I feel they are slowly pushing me out of here. And I had a nice run this morning, well it was really hot and humid, but I was feeling great until I got here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I could have stayed home with my family since my husband is off work today. We are meeting for lunch though...

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Swissmiss

:flowerforyou: alf...I sure do strength training. On the days that I do not have Zumba. I have also been told to work on my hamstrings as they help hold the knee steady. I am so glad to find someone else who does Zumba. I love it and am feeling so good. I am seeing more of a waist every week. The weights were not doing this for me. I looked up online for the shoes. The cheapest I have found is $30. I don't think that is bad at all. Husband, however, says nope not at this time. I knew all along that the shoes I have been wearing are not good. My feet hurt even when I am using weights.

singfree

Alf, can THEY do anything else to push you out? What is wrong with those people? Really, this is beyond belief! Please enjoy your lunch and don't let them get to you!

StiringWendel

Hey everyone!

alf, if I were you, I would have probably walked out of work by now. Kudos to you for staying. How rude of these people! Take care and don't think about this over your holiday weekend. Just enjoy!

Swissmiss, shoes are SO important. I was having some serious problems with my feet earlier this year, and I thought I might have them permanently. But the right shoes have really worked. I hope you get a chance to buy new shoes sometime soon because you don't want to do any permanent damage to your feet.

singfree, congrats on the weight loss/toning up! Interesting that this might be the result of increased protein. My carbohydrate consumption has been going up a bit lately, and I think I look a little 'puffier'. Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll toy with trying to lower the carbs a bit later and upping the protein to see if I have different results. For now, though, I'm going to continue enjoying the homemade bread. :blushing:

Donnie, welcome! :flowerforyou: Please feel free to post whatever questions you might have.

I didn't lose weight this week. :drinker: Okay, that's the first time I've ever celebrated saying that. :laugh: But I weighed 103.3 this morning, up about 1/2 pound over last Friday. I'm hoping this holds for another week, and then I figure I'll have my maintenance answer--holding my calories between 1800-2300 might just be the trick for me. I hope so.

I have two weeks left in STS. It's so hard to believe I've been with this program since February. I'm not going to know what to do when I wake up the day after I finish! But I'm looking forward to doing some different workouts, and then really kicking some butt with P90X in September.

So I was a little upset yesterday. I told my husband that I wanted to get rid of my bigger clothes (we were headed to Goodwill with some other things) and he told me he thought it would be best for me to wait six months or so. Intellectually....I know he's right. I mean, I don't have the best track record for keeping weight off. But emotionally....it kind of hurt. But I suppose what I need to do is prove him wrong! :bigsmile: So I'll spend the next six months staring at my bigger clothing in my closet and thinking to myself 'Never again'.

And on that note, I've decided to keep counting calories. I think I really need that to keep myself accountable to myself. So onward I go.

I hope everybody has a spectacular Fourth of July! :drinker:

Swissmiss

alf, you are lucky to be able to use the computer at work for personal purposes. I do go online during my lunch break just to record my food. But, I have been told that I shouldn't be doing that. Rules!!!

cardigirl

Happy daybeforethe4thofJuly, everyone!

Welcome Donnie, you've come to the right thread! You'll find lots of support and good fun here. We are a nice bunch of people.

Sing, glad to hear that you've found a good combination for yourself. Lower carbs and more protein. My kind of food intake!:laugh:

Stiring, I'm sorry your husband said that, but you're right, use it as motivation to not gain the weight back! You can do it! That's my biggest fear...I've lost weight and gotten under 140lbs several times in the last 10 years, but it always creeps back on and brings another 10 lbs with it. I vow to not do that to myself this time, and I think the combination of training and eating right may keep us both from regaining! Here's to keeping off the weight. :drinker:

Alf, I'm sorry you had to work today. And I'm really sorry that they are not respecting your space. That is so aggravating. I hate when someone sits at my desk and uses my computer. Grrrr. I've been looking a videos of Zumba, and I really admire anyone who can move so well. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. My poor trainer has to show me things over and over and over again before I get the hang of it. He had me doing some sort of leg exercise where I had my hands on the floor with my legs on the exercise ball, and although I could do the exercise, I'm pretty certain I got no points for grace.:ohwell: He hasn't had me do that exercise since. :laugh:

And thanks Stiring and annaliza for encouraging me about the weight. I don't know why it's moving back up. It is the most frustrating thing. I'm burning at least 3000 calories a week, and really watching my intake, so it seems like I should be going in the opposite directions. I'll have to talk to the trainer about it on Monday.

And Stiring, you are right, he is an amazing trainer, very enthusiastic (well, he's young!) and very motivating. He told me on Monday this week, when I said that maybe my BFP was too low, that I needed to start eating steak and ice cream. I don't know if he really meant it, or not, but hey, ya gotta love a trainer that tells you to eat ice cream.

Texassippian, I love that your boss knows you're protesting something by looking at your footwear. And Sing, you made my day saying you were wearing the same thing. LOL...

ETA: I forgot to ask, but I went to Trader Joe's today and was looking at the almond butter. Of course they had to confound and confuse me by having roasted almond butter and raw almond butter. Which is the better for you? My instinct is that raw is better, but the roasted sounded good too! Thanks in advance for any responses!

Everyone have a safe and happy 4th of July!

singfree

Happy 4th of July!

My company is now owned by a British corporation: One of the British gentlemen was at out facility over the 4th of July several years ago. He was asked what he was going to do on Independence Day. He said jokingly, "We like to call it Good Riddance Day". :laugh:

Anyway, I hope you all have a great time this weekend and celebrate safely.

I think we will take a hike on the Appalachian Trail today, since there is a trailhead near our home.

Remember friends, keep the faith about your personal weight loss goals and don't EVER become discouraged. If something is not working, try a new approach. Clean eating and exercise will never go out of style!

Cardi, I hope I can see some of the fireworks from Boston tonight. I believe CBS is carrying it for the final hour.

Hoosiermomma

Happy 4th of July!!
No Big Plans today. Just SEVEN days away from Jessica and Jake's wedding! Lots of family coming to town (57 at last count) and 4 solid days of celebration. Obviously am not going to count calories for the next little while. I do believe the wedding prep is good for weight loss though. So much running around. I have yet to look up what the polish dog and raspberry ice tea at Costco add up to for calories but that has been my lunch on 3 different days last week. Yikes, I just looked it up -- 640 cals. with ice tea !!:noway: :noway: Does it help that I put lots of raw onions on it?? With the wedding expenses the $1.57 price tag is a nice break!

I did say that I would post a new photo once I lost 15 lbs. We haven't been taking very many picures lately but this one is with a friend in Chicago and I am very close to that goal. New photos should be coming soon since weddings are photo extravaganzas! I had planned to be 141 by the 11th but am super content to see 143 on the scale. It has been so great to be on this journey with all of you!

Conrats :flowerforyou: Annaliza on your 3 lbs. down! Such a nice reward for the hard work. Really the lbs. off are a bonus to me. I am figuring you are also enjoying the feeling of gaining control, increased energy and fitness!

So sorry Alf:brokenheart: for the mean folks at work! We would like to think that the monetary compensation is enough but truly we do need to feel needed and appreciated too! I am sure that many of your co-workers really do appreciate you, so sorry you are being pushed around by the those "stinkin' " thoughtless ones!! Keep up the good work and look for the positive people!

Tron, have a great trip!! I cannot believe that Alf has a 26 waist! I mean I don't think you're fibbin', Alf that just amazing. Me? I am 5'5" and pretty happy with my 29 1/2 waist. I figure my goal before the next daughter's wedding is to beef up the excercise routine and wittle the body a bit. I am hearing about some pretty awesome programs here on MFP!

Love those side benefits of your tough work schedule, Sing! :flowerforyou: The pre-wedding brough-ha-ha might be doing the same for me. No time for exercise though!

Back in April I had signed up for "the Biggest Loser" contest at our town's Health Centre. I couldn't officially finish because we were gone to Cali the closing days but I went in a week later for final measurements and tied the score of the person in second place!! :drinker: You all can celebrate with me that I am UNOFFICIALLY the SECOND BIGGERST LOSER in our little town. A dubious honor to be sure, but I'm Excited!:drinker: :drinker: "I am thanking all of my friends at MFP you for their support." (a line from my imaginary acceptance speach for my unofficial award!)

Whew!! So much to say.. so little time. The house is up and running. I was just enjoying a quiet morning break from the usual rush between 5:30 and 6:50 getting 8 people out of the door with breakfasts and lunches! Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend as we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy yet today due to the sacrifices of our Founding Fathers!