Need to Lose 100 LBS -Robins Thread !

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  • Melwillbehealthy
    Melwillbehealthy Posts: 893 Member
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    Lin, I checked out part 25 of this thread and couldn't find the posting by Marie anywhere! I don't know what happened to it.
  • Brabrat
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    Great positive thread : Over here in extremely sunny Australia it is 46 degrees infact it has been listed as the hottest temperature on the globe for the day. My confession is that I really dont have the energy to do my ususal two hour aqua session even though Im in a pool Im just feeling a little over it today naturally Ill do it but I dont want to (said like whinny kid lol) oh and sometimes I get so moody and emotional simply because Im Hungry - I hate everyone :mad: on those days does anyone else have this feeling?
  • grandmakaye44
    grandmakaye44 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    I just got back from my 3 mile walk. It is still pretty cold but has been above freezing enough that the streets and sidewalks are mostly clear of snow and ice. That brings me to my Wednesday wish. I wish that people would clean up after their fur babies and not leave their 'presents' on the sidewalk for everyone to 'enjoy'.
    GS was sick today so I only had him for part of the day. His daddy stayed home with him until about 10 and his mama came and got them both at 2:30. At her school, the principal gives them 'get out of jail' cards when they stay after school to help with extra-curricular activities. Then they can cash one in if they need to leave early. They get to miss the last hour of the day. It comes in handy sometimes.
    Many of you are expressing frustration with the fluctuations of the scales. By weighing daily, I have learned that they are just that, fluctuations, and don't really mean anything in the overall picture. They are normal. You will also learn that your lowest weight does not always fall on the same day of the week. Thus sometimes you will not show a loss when you expected to. Just hang in there. The scale is just one of our tools.
    Have a great evening. Onward and downward. Kaye
  • skinnyjeanzbound
    skinnyjeanzbound Posts: 3,932 Member
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    Bump :flowerforyou:
  • ThatNurseKt
    ThatNurseKt Posts: 45 Member
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    My Wednesday wish is just to make it through this week without a mental breakdown. I'm a stress eater so it's been hard not to cheat with this heavy patient load and being on call.
  • Lauriek70
    Lauriek70 Posts: 2,087 Member
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    Haley-With regards to protein powder, my favorite is EAS Chocolate. I just blended it with milk in the mornings. I would also end up eating breakfast as well such as an egg omelet with meat, cheese and a veggie (at times). Now, I don't do the shakes as often but still like one from time to time. Like you I could not comprehend them filling me up. I love water aerobics but here is the key to a good workout- the more energy you put into it (movements) the more you will get out of it. You can still sweat and get a good workout in that way. It is important to find something you love to do and just do it.

    Brab-Welcome. Just based on your post, if you are hungry then you should eat. Food is fuel for your body and if you don't feed it properly then it won't function correctly. Yes, being hungry and a lack of water (dehydration) can impact your emotional stability and how you react to different situations. Are you eating enough throughout the day? Are you spacing your meals out and eating snacks? Skipping meals will not help. Eating more protein and whole grains will also help. Are you giving your body a rest day or two during the week? If not, your body needs time to recover and heal itself so give it a day or two. Snacks can include yogurt, nuts, veggies and fruits etc, protein bars, cereal bars etc. I enjoy a morning and afternoon snack most days, I just try to make good choices.

    Kaye- Great advice about the scale.

    MowMow- Have you tried putting a pillow under your legs at night. This will change the position of your back and legs. You can also try putting a small pillow between your legs. It really does help with the back pain. Glad you are back to work.

    Nettie-Congrats on moving up to the 8lb weights.

    Queen- 1700 calories shoveling snow sounds high but it can be possible. How much snow did you get? It will depend on how hard/fast you were shoveling, if you work up a sweat etc. You can also search shoveling snow in MFP exercises and see what they estimate for the amount of time. Then you can take the average of the two. There are many factors that impact the amount of calories burned so keep that in mind with the numbers as well. The more you use your fitbit, the sooner you will see patterns with calories burned.
  • Lauriek70
    Lauriek70 Posts: 2,087 Member
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    Sunday- bike (weather permitting) or gym GYM DONE simple walking
    Monday- Trainer workout DONE
    Tuesday- Gym or rest REST DONE
    Wednesday- Cardio maybe trainer not sure; Trainer DONE
    Thursday-Rest
    Friday-Climbing
    Saturday- Pool- aerobics and swim

    Had a great workout tonight. Did interval training using walking, running and biking. It is time to start training my body to handle the longer events and improve my overall fitness.

    Wish- that my students stop acting like idiots. They are becoming more disrespectful as this month goes on and it is happening throughout the school. Yesterday was extremely bad, all my 7th graders wanted to do was talk. They had to write a letter explaining what type of student they wanted to be for the rest of the year. Then I wrote them all back after school responding to their letters and giving them a challenge for the rest of the year. I will see how this works. I wrote most of them in cursive so I may need to translate tomorrow but I will see. Many of my students can't read cursive, which is a shame it is becoming a lost art. I gave it to them at the end of the day so I will see what happens.
  • SeeLShrink
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    Hey Everyone! My life seem so busy that my wish today is......that I wish I could turn back time and not get so side tracked in life so I could have finished some goals earlier when I had the stamina to do so.
    My classes this semester appear at first glance to be really tough, so I will definately need more study time.
    I am really struggling with my food the last few months. I just need to pick one thing to be focused on and do it.

    I am using my fit bit but not sure it is accurate it said i burned 1700 calories shoveling snow yesterday for 45 mins. Still trying to figure the thing out.

    I am behind on reading posts so need to get caught up.

    Have a blessed day everyone!



    The fitbit not only calculates the calories burned by activity, but it also counts how many you burn by just living. So even if you didn't do anything all day, it would still count your "living" calories burned. That's likely why you saw that 1700 number :smile:
    Hope that helps clear some of the confusion!
  • RobinsEgg
    RobinsEgg Posts: 3,702 Member
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    Kah and JNettie - thanks for handling the roll-over. I have such faith in this group that I know it could run without me! Its hard to believe that this second incarnation of this thread is on its 25th - 26th rollover! Wow - many of us have been together a long time. I sure couldn't have made it this long without ALL of you!

    I've missed the arrival of many newcomers - Welcome to all of you. So happy to see you joining our little discussion group. And thank you for the compliments of saying we sound so friendly and warm. We are, aren't we. We've never really had any problems here. Everyone is just so kind hearted and willing to lend an ear or answer a question or share advice we have learned on our personal journeys.

    I was just pooped yesterday and slept, and overslept today and then my girlfriend Mary came to visit and stayed through dinner, not wanting to drive home during rush hour traffic. I didn't mind as I loved having some company. But I didn't get my planned chore done, which was to get to the grocery store and also get my hair cut. Oh well. Not a big deal, but I feel bad about missing the turn-over.

    Tomorrow is another medical procedure - all afternoon under anesthetic - to fix the stricture in my throat back where its hard to swallow pills and large pieces of food. So I might not be on at all tomorrow. Then Friday I see the neurologist finally and get to hear what exactly is going on inside my head causing all my problems. I'll be glad to get that conversation over. I'm not too worried about that.

    The big plus is I lost 7 lbs. while in the hospital being NPO and on IV's and not eating and getting the extra water weight off me. I'm real happy to see that gone!

    MAJOR BIG THANKS to everyone for welcoming me back after my absence. Made me feel very special and loved. Such a great feeling.

    I've caught up on all your posts - but way too many to do personals, but I'm pulling for each and every one of you. You are each special to me! :heart:
  • SeeLShrink
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    Hey everyone!!

    Welcome new people!! It's amazing how much this group keeps growing and growing!

    So today I totally planned on having a rest day, but I actually ended up going to water aerobic boot camp at the gym. Then I stretched in the hot tub and sat in the steam room. It was a fun but tiring gym day :yawn: . Tomorrow is circuit class! I'm going to try to get in a little early and do some cardio on the elliptical. We will just have to see how much my muscles hate me tomorrow :laugh:

    Wednesday - My wish is that everyone would take some time and think about things they love about themselves. Sometimes on this journey all we think about is how far we have to go, or things we want to improve or fix or change. While wanting and working on changing is a great thing, there's a tendency to start only thinking negative things about ourselves. Don't forget to give yourself some love!

    Lauren
  • skinnyjeanzbound
    skinnyjeanzbound Posts: 3,932 Member
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    @laurie--sorry your kids are being idiots. That's tough, but I love your response to it. I'm lucky that my students are old enough to "know better." It doesn't mean they don't occasionally act rude or disrespectful, but when I call them on it, at least they are sufficiently chagrined.

    @kaye--I agree that weighing daily helps people get over the scale fluctuations. Also, I loved your point that the lowest weight won't always fall on the same day of the week--I've always wondered how people account for this when they weigh in every Monday or every Saturday. What if that happens to be a day they fluctuated up, but their "actual" weight (if there's any such thing :laugh: ) is now lower? That's why I do the same as you and just record when I drop below my current ticker weight. :smile:

    @brab--I agree with laurie; if you are truly hungry, you may need to eat more. When I'm hungry, I look at my food diary and try to figure out why. Am I low on a specific macro? Did I blow too many calories on snacks or less nutritious food choices? I will go over my calorie allowance if I'm truly hungry, but that means eating something healthy that will improve my macro balance for the day. If I ate cookies as a snack earlier, I don't get to eat more carbs to relieve my hunger--that way I know I'm truly relieving hunger rather than using "I'm hungry" or boredom as an excuse to eat.

    @mel & lin--there were some other wonky posting issues I noticed as well--a couple of people's responses posted twice (both here and in the previous thread). Not sure why that happened either. :ohwell:

    @hansea--glad the dinners are going well.

    @holly--when I shovel snow, I burn a little over 500 calories/hour according to MFP, healthstatus.com, and my HRM. Of course, it will vary based on your current weight and how vigorously you are working, but 1700 sounds high to me. I agree with whomever said you should check a couple of databases and take an average.

    @volleyballguy--welcome! :flowerforyou: Over the past 6 months or so, I've had the same issue as you--lots of exercise, but not so great with nutrition, so my weight loss stalled. I'm now trying to get back on track with healthier choices, but I'm struggling at the moment. :grumble:

    @L2T--great idea to buy the smaller size of the same jeans!

    @kris--glad you are finally back to work! :drinker:

    @kelley--I have waded with and fed small stingrays at the Curacao Aquarium, but this summer I will get to swim with larger ones along with sharks in the DR!!! I can't wait as I have no fear of sea-life. Now birds are another story; don't get me started on birds...

    Welcome to the other newlings! :flowerforyou: I know I'm missing a bunch of posts, but so tired and running out of steam for personals.

    Wednesday Wish:
    That this week were over--I'm so stressed with all of this grading! I can't wait to get to the weekend (going for a spa day in Lake Geneva). I know I will still have grading next week, but the kids just have finals, so I will have a lot of time to grade.

    Didn't make it to the gym--I know it would relieve some stress, but I can't justify the time with all of these papers hanging over my head. :cry:

    Grading goals:
    1. 2/72 AP essays
    2. 71/72 AP journals
    3. 33/52 Scarlet Letter annotations
    4. 10/52 JRP journals
    5. x/16 AP analysis activities

    Exercise goals:
    Mon--none
    Tues--none (meeting)
    Wed--gym (lift and HIIT) NOT DONE
    Thurs--walk gunner + gym (cardio)
    Fri--walk gunner
    Sat--walk gunner + gym (cardio)
    Sun--spa day in Lake Geneva so perhaps some swimming

    Exercise & Weight:
    Bench press = 85
    Dead lift = 90
    Squat = 90
    Overhead press = 55
    Upright row = 60

    Overhead tricep extension = 25 (dumbbell)
    Bicep curl = 15 (dumbbell)
    Lat pull down = 100
    Tricep pull down = 90
  • p1xyn1xy
    p1xyn1xy Posts: 461 Member
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    Hi to all the newbies!!! This is a great thread and everyone is really friendly.
    This is really me just going "bump". :happy:
    I'll catch up later, It's bedtime for me. :yawn:
  • NaomiGibbins
    NaomiGibbins Posts: 57 Member
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    Had done whole bunch or personals and now they're all gone! Grrrrr. Hope you are going to wake up to a wonderful thursday.

    For those of you with health problems, I'll say a prayer for you tonight.

    I would very happily share the heat here! A whole week of over 40 is more than I can handle. Can't believe I'm looking forward to 31 on Saturday!
  • aimeemarie150
    aimeemarie150 Posts: 354 Member
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    Has anyone read the book "Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit?" It's a man who always "lived healthy" eating right and exercising a ton and he became a personal trainer. He couldn't understand why people couldn't just choose to live "right" and help themselves. He thought that food addiction and a sedentary lifestyle were a choice. (I agree...to some extent...debate if you want).
    Anywho, he decided to take a break from the gym and healthy eating for 6 months, see how much weight he gained and then use the next six months to get back to "fit". I'm only at the beginning of the book, but at the end, he gives examples of eating plans and recipes.

    Now, I LOVE to cook, but all of his recipes have vanilla protein powder in them, esp. his morning shakes.

    Does anyone have any experience with protein powder? Does it help you feel full? Because honestly, I don't think I could get full on just a shake for breakfast! What is it supposed to do and does anyone have any brands (relatively inexpensive ones, please) that I should try first? Or should I avoid them altogether? I'm looking to lose and "tone up", but not necessarily "bulk up."


    This guy was on extreme weight loss. He's pretty awesome!

    Thanks!

    My Wednesday wish already came true: I work up early and went to water aerobics and worked my butt off! I can seriously feel it in my legs! YAY!!!! I'll walk later on tonight...after some ibuprofen! haha! I also went to therapy where we "processed" the fact that my Grandma died yesterday. It wasn't exactly unexpected (she was 96), but it still sucks, ya know? Then I gave blood and when they took my BP, it was down! My bottom number is still a LITTLE high (124/89), but it's on its way!!!

    I hope everyone has a great day, and I'll probably check in tomorrow. May be time for a shower and a nap!
    loves
  • kah68
    kah68 Posts: 1,515 Member
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    @Laurie~Students can’t read cursive?! Wow, times have sure changed. They must not teach it in grade schools anymore. I’m sorry your students being such pills right now, I hope they straighten out.

    @Hayley~I frequently use whey protein but use Designer Whey – simply because its soy free and contains no artificial ingredients. It also comes in a ton of flavors instead of just chocolate or vanilla like a lot of other brands out there. Most people use whey protein as a way to increase their protein intake and as recovery after workouts, it’s important to replenish your body with protein shortly after working out to aid in muscle recovery – I use it for that reason, I rarely use it as a meal replacement. In general, women cannot “bulk up,” we don’t have the hormones for that – so unless you’re taking testosterone (like some female body builders do), you won’t bulk-up.

    @Robin~No worries, we got you covered! I’m glad you got the rest you needed and you spent the day with a friend (often worth postponing pesky chores for one more day). :wink:

    @Holly~You can also expand the calories burned section on Fitbit’s website, then look at the time and get a general idea of how many calories you burned during a specific activity.

    @Naomi~LOL, 40s being a heat wave for you. I grew up in really cold winters and hated every minute, now that I’m in a warmer climate I hibernate if it’s much below 50! :laugh:

    AFM~It was another crazy day at work yesterday. I got off late then got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident so the gym didn’t happen, I got on my elliptical at home for a bit but wasn’t feeling it – I was just too tired. I think I was in pj’s shortly thereafter and just curled up with my laptop to research beaches in Aruba. I came in really early today so hopefully I can get out of here at a decent hour to meet my trainer for a session. The 2nd week in January at work can be so unpredictable, glad it’s almost over! :yawn:
  • BettyJoCan
    BettyJoCan Posts: 47 Member
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    Kah68 – Thanks for the advice…I really appreciate it. My mom had vaginal cancer when she was a few years older than me so it’s not a great feeling. I don’t like the waiting part of all of this. I will probably be taking you up on your offer to pm you – thanks again!

    Hope you all have a GREAT day :flowerforyou:
  • Lives2Travel
    Lives2Travel Posts: 682 Member
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    @L2T~ I hope your aren’t experiencing a plateau, they are frustrating for sure – I’ve read that it isn’t a true plateau unless it lasts for 6 weeks. All I can recommend is to take a look at your diary and your macros. Are you getting enough of protein? Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking in more sugar or sodium than is recommended? Are you under a great deal of stress? Cortisol levels have a big impact on weight loss. These are all factors that can lead to a stubborn scale. If you discover that you are lacking in an area or are having too much of something, change one thing and see how you do for the next week. That is what I have done in the past. Hang in there!

    Big THANKS to Kah for the above advice. I went back and looked at my macros for the last couple weeks and discovered my carbs were up and protein was down. I reversed that the last 3 days, drank plenty of water and 2.2 lbs miraculously fell off between last night and this morning. Kah, you're my hero!

    Speaking of macros, do most of you use the percents suggested by MFP or have you changed them? A couple months into this, I changed the percent of carbs from 55% to 45% and increased protein by the same 10%. I left fat at the recommended 30%. While I don't hit these percents perfectly every day, I'm darn close when I look at the weekly numbers. Clearly, for me, less carbs makes a big difference. Anyone else find this is true? And if so, what percent do you assign to carbs?

    Hope everyone has a great day!
  • NewCaddy
    NewCaddy Posts: 845 Member
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    Thursday Truth: I cannot get my butt in gear this week. Bad at exercise, bad at food. I do so well until after supper. Well, with only 4 weeks to vacation, I've GOT to change that. I just can't seem to wrangle up any energy/excitement for it.

    @BJ..Hope you get good news on Friday. I had it terrible and I ended up doing a thermal ablasion and it was the best thing I've ever done. No more babies for me so it was an option. I went from 5-7 days of "bad" to 1/2 day of cramps and not enough bleeding to warrant use of anything. LOVE IT! I hope that whatever they find, they can find a solution for you. I'm with Kelley and if you want more details, go ahead and PM me.

    @Jeanette...Yes, the forums can be tough. I think some people will &!^ch if we stay "fat" and then warn us not to do things that can help us get "skinny" (personally I hate those words because it's all subjective). You know what your body can stand and the general population will applaud you...as we do! :flowerforyou:

    @Hayley...I use protein powder on some days. I should use it everyday because I know I feel fuller longer when I have enough protein in my body. Unfortunately, I don't enough foods that give me my 100 of protein so I use powder. My sister and I use Body Fortress from Walmart. I do vanilla and add fresh/frozen fruit. She likes the chocolate and peanut butter ones. As long as it stays within your calories you will still lose weight, just helps you keep the muscle you already have.

    @Laurie...You made me giggle. CURSIVE! My son and I go round and round with that. He actually learned it in 3rd grade but nobody ever required it to be used so he's lost all of it. It still has a place in this world...he can't read his letter from his grandparents. I'm working on him, but...:noway:

    @Robin...I'll be sending prayers that everything goes smoothly for you for the next couple of days. We sure hope you can find an answer and relief.

    @Claudia...I use the 40 carbs / 30 fat / 30 protein as a standard. I'm still not very good at it, but when I focus, I really try to get close on the protein because I keep hearing how important it is.

    AFM: I'm sitting here listening to the wind howl...MAN!! I think I heard we were seeing 65+ wind speeds. Glad it's not as cold as it was, but it is miserable. I just checked the weather and while it's 24 degrees, with the wind it feels like -4. I have lots to accomplish today as I have to wrap about 7 gifts and pack (I really need to get this procrastination thing under control :embarassed: ). Tomorrow we head to Spearfish, SD to have Christmas with 3 out of the 4 kids of my husband's family. Very exciting as I haven't seen his youngest brother in over two years. The kids are beside themselves. Today, I'm going to start the plan of getting up from my desk every hour and take some laps up to the third floor, across the building and back down. Should definitely help my steps count and maybe get me back in the mood for this journey. Husband is still struggling, but I felt like he heard my concerns last night (or should I say this morning since it was at 3 AM -- when he works nights, sometimes I have to get to him while he's actually "awake").

    Good luck to all of you!
  • Garetie
    Garetie Posts: 92 Member
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    :flowerforyou: bump :smile:
  • JNettie73
    JNettie73 Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Thursday Truth -
    ~I jumped on the scale this morning and saw a new lower number. I jumped off and was tempted to step back on but didn't want to in case it was a false read. :blushing:
    ~Was also tempted to log it on here just so my ticker starts moving again, however it's not my weigh in day so I decided to wait until Monday. :blushing:
    ~I was very tired yesterday and decided to put my workout off until after work. By the time I got home from work I was so exhausted that I just changed into my pjs and decided to make yesterday a rest day. I sat on the couch for the rest of the night and watched tv with the hubster. I didn't feel the slightest bit guilty for skipping my workout one bit. :wink:

    Welcome newbies. Jump right in and join us.

    BJCamp - I hope your ultrasound goes well.

    Kah- You are welcome. I got stuck in a traffic jam yesterday on the way to work. I was trying to get into work extra early so I could put up a bulletin board showcasing my student's work. The jam was due to an accident right in the intersection of the highway. I must have just missed it by a matter of seconds. When I got to the intersection the people were just getting out of the cars and were visibly shaken up. :frown: I had to stop to let the people walk to safety on the side of the road and let the ems workers come through. (There was a fire station 2 minutes up the road so they arrived very quickly.) It was a pretty bad accident so I was forced to use a different route. Needless to say I got into work with 5 minutes to spare before my students arrived. :ohwell:

    MyMOwMOw- Are you vegetarian too? Or did you just decide to make a meatless lasagna? Sounds like you have a good plan for the week. I hope your back feels better soon.

    Mel- Thanks. It made me a bit irritated too but I am over it now. I find it ironic that some people who like to jump into the forums and pick fights with others often hide behind profile pictures that are not one of them, have their profiles hidden or have not filled it out. I think it is easy for these people to hide behind a computer and criticize others because no one really knows who they are. I also think the people who do this may be fighting some battles of their own and project their anger onto others in effort to feel better about their own life. I mostly stay away from the forums too for that reason. I will not let anyone's negative opinion get in the way of me reaching my goals through. Like I said before, I love the personal satisfaction of proving that person wrong even if they never know my accomplishment. :happy:

    Madeline - Awe, poor little critter. That sounds painful. Do they know what may have caused the burr? Or is it just one of those things guinea pigs are prone to?

    Lauren - I don't know if I told you this or not, but I love your profile picture. What an amazing transformation you have had! You are so inspiring. :flowerforyou:
    Also I love your Wednesday wish. Simply perfect.

    Hayley - I have heard about that man before but never read the book. I have any experience with protein powder so I cannot help you with that. I just wanted to say that I make smoothies on a fairly regular basis with Greek yogurt and frozen berries. I find my smoothies to be very filling and could easily just have one for breakfast and not want more to eat. I don't though, instead I make mine after a workout for a little extra something in my belly to help get my calories and protein up for the day. The way I have my day set up is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I don't always have an after lunch or after dinner snack. It depends on how hungry I am for the day and what my calories look like.

    Volleyballguy - Welcome.

    mnwalking - Can you remind me what you are going to school for again? I cannot remember.

    Lilly - We all fail from one time or another. I think it is important to embrace those failures. Try turning those failures into learning experiences. It is difficult to do but look at what you did or what happened that caused you to fail. Once you figure that out try using that information to your benefit to help you succeed. My success so far has been a learning process with a lot of trials and errors. I have good days and bad days. Rather than sulking about the bad days I never give up. Just keep pushing forward and eventually you will reach your goal! :flowerforyou:

    Brabrat - Yes, I get that feeling from time to time too. But have not had it in a long time. If you are that hungry then by all means you definitely should eat. I have also gotten the "just not feeling the workout" feeling before. When that happens I try to push on a bit more. If that feeling continues and I don't feel I can push through I abandon the workout and make it a rest day. In those circumstances I would rather listen to my body than push myself through something I know I am not doing a good job at and risk injuring myself. But that is just me. Everyone is different. You have to find what works for you and stick with it.

    Kaye - great advice. Thanks for the reminder.

    Laurie - Sorry to hear your students are misbehaving. I love you idea with the letters and writing back to them. I hope you get some good feedback from them. I agree with what you said about cursive, it disappoints me too.

    Robin - You are welcome! Best of luck to you today. I hope your procedure goes well! :flowerforyou:

    Skinny - I read what you wrote to Kaye about weighing in once a week. I weigh in every Monday. Up until Christmas I have been lucky and each Monday I had a new lower weight that I was able to log. Then by Thursday or Friday of the same week I notice a drop again. When I see it I hold off until Monday to log this weight. From that midweek point until Monday I may see some fluctuations but only an ounce or two. I don't get hung up over the fluctuations in ounces during this time period. Since the lower weight has been maintained for a few days I consider this a true loss rather than just a scale fluctuation. If I see continuous fluctuations on my weigh in days, like I have been experiencing since Christmas I just opt not to log it and try to wait it out as patiently (or non-patiently) as I can. Considering I am only a few months into this journey I prefer to weigh in once a week because I believe in the beginning the weight comes off faster. If I weighed in every time I saw a new lower number I would be doing that every few days for an ounce here and there. Then I have a hard time determining if it is a true loss or just a scale fluctuation. Once my losses start slowing down and I have been back on here much longer I will most likely need to change up my method of weighing in. I hope that makes sense. In my own mind it does. :laugh:

    I never knew you had a fear of birds. I guess you really don't care then when I am always posting about the birds I see in my backyard. :wink: Just curious, what is it that you don't like about them? I had a friend who was afraid of birds because she was afraid they would land on her.

    Lives2Travel - Wahoo for the loss! I just use the percentages MFP assigns me for my caloric range. Honestly I don't know much about how much of each macro I should be consuming so if I were to change it I have no clue where to start. So far the preassigned numbers are working for me. I will look into it more and educate myself if I feel things eventually need to be changed up.

    Tracy - Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the support. Just a FYI, I was naughty and didn't wear my fitbit at all yesterday. I probably should have put it on for work. Out of curiosity I would have liked to see how much I walked and burned at work. I spent the day chasing the kids (they were in rare form :frown: ), teaching them dances in music and brought them to the gym to get their extra energy out. I love your plan to get some laps in at work. I hope you have a great time with family. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.