WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR NOVEMBER 2012

mwheatcraft54

Laura, I tweak my neck all the time. Be sure to put something warm on it (microwave a damp towel, then wrap it in another towel if you don't have a neck wrap) and try to relax. I've found mine hurts a lot less now that I'm doing more stretching for my shoulders and neck. Good luck!

LinCharpentier

Wow so many of you here I read all the posts but it's almost impossible to keep up.

I had a good food day went to the pool with my niece and great nephew I let her swim while I puddled around with the baby such a sweet little 5 month old. I consider it as exercise as I was pulling him around in a little boat and walking the lazy river against the current. So a good workout different but hey what to heck.

Babysitting two big black labs of my sons and they got away on me so chassed them for fifteen min. Stopped when I seen them in the bush out back so went and filled the wood stove. So guess that counts for weighs lol.

Thank you all of those with the congrats for my weight loss.

If you want more on giving your weight away I have more in my blog.

Make it a great evening.

DeeDee2211

Good evening beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

Thought I would get back here earlier today, but didn`t happen:ohwell: . I`ll see how far I can get before dinner!

Michele Did you get to talk to Bryan? Thanks for the tip on the grapefruit, will try to remember to buy it next time I go to the store!

MaryC I love my FitBit, I would be lost without it!!! I sure hope you found it today!

Cheryl Lost your scales, I think I need to lose mine! Have you found them yet? I could send you mine but it`s being mean this week !

Renny Love the quote!

Bj Congrats on day 50!!!! Keep it up!

Barbie 3:45 am, you have me beat!!! Thanks for keeping us going:flowerforyou: ! Hope you get the bike repaired soon!

Lila Wonderful NSV!!!! It`s nice when someone notices!!!

Eileen Yay for getting that pound back off!!!

Amanda Yay, the middle of the bed is not empty anymore!!! Have a fabulous trip!

M I`ve been braving the cold every morning:grumble: , this morning I fogged my glasses:laugh: ! I think I walk faster when it`s cold! Warmer weather is on the way here too, one day next week it`s supposed to be almost 70 degees:bigsmile: :glasses: !!! Your pics look great, a fun time had by all!

Nancy A housecoat and Kermit the Frog:laugh: , got any pics to share? What a fun day at school!!

Carolyn Sounds like a great trip and those memories are priceless!!! Whenever my granddaughters are sick I always tell my daughter they are and will always be your first priority, those children are priceless gifts !

Jolene How did the interview go? Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!

Janie YIKES...all those calories in such a small amout of food:noway: ! I agree BAH HUMBUG!!!

Robin What an adorable cutie Olivia is !!! Walking at 10 months, she`ll be hard to stop now! Okay...here it is...swift loving kick in the behind!!! Come back, you know this is a great place to vent, we`re always here to just listen or try to help!!! We can all do this, and we do it better with support!!!

Laura80111 It`s amazing how much we can get done when we don`t have someone standing over shoulder, or telling us something every 5 minutes:laugh: ! Sugar free jello sounds good, a cool refreshing end to the day!

LinC Sounds like you had a good day, other than having to chase two big dogs:laugh: , lots of exercise!!!

This is the first time I`ve sat down all day, and now my back hurts and my leg hurts , and I still have some things to do before I`m done:sad: . I would like to be my dog right now, she`s sacked out on the sofa, and in a little bit she`s going to have dinner and she didn`t have to make it herself, lucky dog!

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!!! Sleep well and sweet dreams! Until tomorrow...

Hugs,
DeeDee

mch1956

I got my fitbit back. It was pretty much where I left it in the locker room in the gym at work. I am very grateful. To show my gratitude I left behind .6 lb when I left the gym. I love that saying about giving away the weight, not losing it. I never want it back. Today is day 75 on MFP. It is a good day. Haven't made all my goals for the month but that is ok, tomorrow is another day.
Keep coming back,
MaryC

laneymarie1950

Just joined a couple days ago, hope the scales start to fall, how did you all do it, it is amazing at the weight loss posts, keep up the good work

djhobs

Thank you for all the support with my job change! Even though the boss blind sided us he is trying to protect us with the two year guarentee and also our current salaries. We are going from a 3 person office to an 80 person Corp...but the branch where we will be has about 8 people I think...trying to find the positives...my co-worker and I have started a gratitude list about the changes:flowerforyou:

Back is feeling better and got out of bed this am and biked and rowed...felt even better after...love those endorphins!
Laura -thanks for the pep talk..you are right-i can control my eating....now I just have to buckle down and do it

I am going to try to cut back on my carbs by skipping the carb with dinner...dh needs his potato, pasta or rice and add an extra vegetable. Also need to break the sweet habit...I did put some of the biggest temptations in the basement freezers...good practice for upcoming Christmas baking.

How do you determine the carbs vs protein percentages..is it something MFP does ...any thoughts?

I love all the posts...so much positive support and some excellent ideas on all kinds of topics!

Enjoy the evening. Hugs, prayers and high fives!

Jen

yoyonomore55

Nancy- cabbage juice indicator- Brought back fond memories. I did this with my students many years ago when I taught middle school science. I loved teaching science because of all of the hands-on "labs" I could do with them. I try to include as many activities/projects as I can in math, but with the new curriculum and all of pressure this year, I can't do as much as I would like.

Dee Dee- I check in every morning at 4:45 and every evening but am so tired that I find it hard to reply the way I would like to and end up not posting anything. I really need to find a way to fit about 40 hours into each day! I don't know if I have slowed down this much or if they are just requiring so much more from us at work! I feel better and more energetic than I have in years, but work is killing me! All of my coworkers are feeling the same way. All of you wonderful, motivating women keep me going. I have the food under control, but am still struggling with getting in enough exercise.

Welcome to all of the new people. this is a great place to get encouragement and suggestions.

Have a great evening!

Deb A

linder4866

Just stopping by to say I’ve read your wonderful posts today!! So glad for the scale victories and the NSV and of course for finding the Fitbit! It was also nice that Kermit got to go along to school today. Amanda, have a great time in Germany.

I can’t believe the weekend is creeping up on us again. I spent most of the day going from straightening out one thing after another. Not actual physical things like doing housework but things like working on getting information about one of my dad’s annuities that is maturing. Talking to an accountant. Putting a call in to the attorney’s office regarding a trust question. Speaking to a store about a check THEY DREW with an incorrect amount on it. Straightening out a phone bill. Checking on a medical claim of mine which shows as non-adjudicated but the provider wants $$ from me. Etc., etc., etc.

And I will now apologize to all teachers and other educational professionals for the number of incomplete sentences in the prior paragraph.

Stay safe, be healthy, make great choices, drink your water.

Lin

JNHeff

Deb A.,
Hold your head up high~ don't stress about not adding enough exercise to your plan yet~ you have lost 71 pounds!!!

that is INCREDIBLE!!! BE PROUD!!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :flowerforyou:

i, on the other hand, have only lost 10 since August~ not a stellar record, but i intend to PERSEVERE and SUCCEED at this~

i am so danged onery and stubborn, i REFUSE to give up until the last fat cell in my morbidly obese body leaves, screaming and

crying. this is NOT our first rodeo, and we are going to HANG ON till the END of the RIDE!

if today wasn't a good day, i hope tomorrow is a BETTER one!

Janie

wessecg

I am a little bummed and not being so positive tonight. I went shopping for some clothes that fit the slimmer me so I could show off at the Christmas party on Saturday. Looking at myself in the mirror I realized that I am not as slim as I've been feeling. In fact I am still fat, just less fat than 4 months ago. On a positive note it did make me want to lower my goal to 135 instead of 145.

I found my scale!!! I went to the barn and tore apart the two vans it should have been in. Giving up, I went to the water spigot to wash my hands and passed a tractor which sits near it. On the seat of the tractor was my scale. We're all baffled. I assume one of us was walking from the van to our car and set it down. Anyway now I can do my official weigh in in the morning. I was 161.2 last week and was hoping to be 159.8 tomorrow. If I'm not that is fine, as long as I see a loss.

megblair1

Hi everyone from exhausted Meg. :yawn: Today was a quiet day in clinical but I am totally wiped out and my back and hips are killing me. We had a fun dinner tonight; tuna melts, sunchips, veggies and dip….easy and a nice change of pace. The old man (elderly cat) did very well with his dental work and oral surgery. He’s eating well and takes his medicine. I think he appreciates the tuna flavor much more than the bubblegum. :huh:

Lin: I hear you with the days running together. Seems like an entire week goes by in a blink of an eye. I feel totally overwhelmed with all I have to do too! Retired or not, somehow we find things to fill our days.

Janehadji: you will be missed too! Have a safe and fun vacation.

Jen: I am so sorry to hear of your upheaval! It is good you get to keep your jobs for a couple of years, but still I’m sure it is very stressful. Virtual hugs coming your way.:flowerforyou:

LinC: Congrats on being the top loser!

Janie: isn’t it amazing how fast those “little” calories add up! Congrats on your weight loss too!

Kathy: I’m sure you will love your new windows, but what a commotion! My animals don’t like all that stuff either. Makes them very agitated.

Michele: I always enjoy reading about your day. You do so much, it would take me a week to fit all that stuff in. What is a pill pocket? I get that it must be something to pill animals with, but how does it work?

Mary: I hope you find the fitbit

Wessecg: I have never lost a scale…at least not by accident LOL.:laugh: I hope you found it!

REnny: I loved those quotations!

Bjmcq: add me to the list who can sign all the Lightfoot songs! I’m not sure I understand about your masters degree…are you getting another one? Isn’t one enough LOL? Now that I have a PhD I am quite fond of saying 4 degrees should get me 4 paychecks! No more school for me, that’s for sure. Although I do want to finish my degree in German, would love to take art history….ugh oh….the school bug is biting. My DH will kill me if I go back again LOL. So good luck for however you need it!

Barbie : thanks for the warning about the new thread and thanks for keeping us all going! Stay warm

Lila; are you a grant writer? Oh my that takes talent. I haven’t gotten a single grant I have written. Only 2 but it is discouraging! Good for you. Homelessness is a huge problem everywhere. I am always sad to hear about anyone being homeless, but it’s the veterans who get me the most. I can’t understand why they are homeless…why aren’t we helping them. Black humor is ok….I figure with these old parents (my mom is gone now, but she had very severe dementia) you either have to laugh or cry and I choose to find something sweet or funny instead of bemoaning how awful their situation is. I used to say my mom was abducted by aliens. She had an elvis clock where the legs swayed back and forth each minute. Right when she died, the legs stopped moving. The clock still works, but not the legs. So Elvis has really left the building and took my mom with him.
Edraper: good for you to lose that extra pound so quickly!

Amanda: have a safe and wonderful trip!

DeeDee: hope you get some rest after such a long day. Yes my dad did think the girls could seriously be KGB agents.:bigsmile: The interesting thing was, both my parents were totally against our adopting “discarded” kids. But once they met them, they melted. Having grandkids was the best thing that ever happened to them. I will research extermination of weight gremlins for you and send you the cure if I find one!

M: good for you to be getting back into the exercise regime! I always have mixed feelings about decorations too. Christmas makes me very sad,:sad: so I don’t like putting them up, but if I don’t, I feel even worse! Do you have friends who could stop and see mom while you are gone if she doesn’t go to Tahoe with you? When we made our trips to Russia, I had co-workers go over to my parents’ apartment every day to check on them and keep them company a little. They really appreciated that. Your pictures are so clear and crisp!

Nancy: I was relieved to hear that you had clothes on under the robe! It’s neat that you can do fun things like that at work. We had silly hat/socks/slipper day the other day and people kept the stuff on all day long and even taught in it. It was pretty cute.

Carolyn: I love the Civil War sites and history. So cool you got to see some of them on your trip and congratulations for not killing the family in the meantime! About the 2nd week we had the kids, I got a call from DD#2’s school nurse. She had lice and of course I had to go get her. Well, I work completely across town from her school, so I simply informed the nurse how long it would take me to get there. She was horrified and kept insisting that I come sooner. I kept saying “You don’t understand. I can’t get there any faster…that’s how long it takes.” She was just incensed that I was taking so long!!!

Jolene: good luck with the interview!

Robin: Olivia is such a cutie! OK,,,,one kick in the butt coming your way. Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. Olivia will want you around when she is older!:flowerforyou:

Laura: I hope your neck is feeling better by now . I haven’t thought of sugar free jello for a snack…now I want some!

Wow I just realized that it has been over an hour and I am still typing. We are quite the chatty group and I love all the sharing we do and the support we give. But now I must get to bed. 4;30 comes early even for an early bird like me! Take care, Meg :yawn:

walker54

Hello my chatty MFP friends!

I'm finding my way back to this wonderful thread after a hiatus.... That math class I took for work was a strain but I've finished (and survived). The partnership with my co-teacher is still quite stiff but slowing improving, and I'm actually preparing materials and homework assignments that pass muster with her, so this feels like a major victory. I also volunteered to be the costume mom for my son's high school play, and that was quite a time commitment for October and early November. But things are settling down a little bit -- just in time for Christmas. :bigsmile:

I've managed to stick with the gym/pool at least 3x/week, and my eating has been pretty good. I've lost a few more pounds that aren't showing up on my ticker since I haven't logged in my last few weigh-ins yet. Still struggling with drinking water, and gave up on taking vitamins. I just can't do it consistently.

I know it's almost the end of the month, but I just wanted to pop back in and tell you how much I've missed all your positive energy, enthusiasm, and support. I've missed hearing everyone's news, triumphs, and struggles, too. I'm thinking ahead for my December goals so I'll be ready when Barbie creates the next new thread. Be of good cheer, if you can. And if you can't, may tomorrow be a better day.

Polly:flowerforyou:

Katla49

I had a digestive melt down today that included dry heaves and the inability to keep anything down but water. This is more difficult because we're traveling. DH went to the pharmacy and got me a bottle of nausea control recommended by the pharmacist. It helped. Yesterday was a bad diet day that included spicy and high fat fast foods, and starbucks. I haven't eaten a load of garbage like that in months and my body didn't like it. I do have several digestive issues but have been feeling so good that I guess I forgot to take care of me. I'm feeling better now, and will start to eat again in the morning.

lizmil79

Hello Ladies,

I think I am caught up. Love reading hour posts, the last two days of work went ok. Really tired. I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday. So happy to hear of all the scale and nsv's . Been able to workout every morning using Richard Simmons sweating posies 2 . Its ok am hurting a bit but I think that should be expected. Going to bed early. So sorry about not replying to all of the posts. I will catch up Friday

exermom

M - I bet your mom would absolutely love to go to Tahoe with you! That'll give her something to look forward to and to keep her mind off not having any decorations up. Then, when she gets home, she won't have tons of work to do. Lovely pics!

I was feeling so so good, and today Vince finished his cake so I made cookies for him and Jessica (who'll be here tomorrow). Yes, I did have some of the cookie dough. I have found that I much rather make chocolate chip cookies from scratch than from a mix. I really don't like the cut-and bake ones, too much artificial ingredients in them. And mixing the butter with the chocolate chip mix is just so hard to get it really incorporated. I much prefer to make them from scratch.

Nancy that is so cool that you'll be bringing Kermit to school with you. You know, when I was working in the high school and the kids were in the same school, many times they didn't like me being in "their" school, primarily because they knew that if they got out of line, I would know about it! Wouldn't it be a hoot if someone came to work wearing a teddy? I bet they'd have to go home, tho....lol Or at least cover up.

I thought I was doing so well with 2 cups of turkey for dinner tonight. Then I logged my calories and found I was quite a bit over so instead I'm only going to have 1 cup. That's one of the nice things about logging food before you eat it.

I thought I was going to the Y to take the yoga class on Sat. but we need to leave for Raleigh for the concert arounnd 10:30, so I'll do a DVD at home. But I did leave my water mug there so I'll go do the Stairmaster tomorrow and while I'm there I'll pick up my water mug. On the way home I'll get a fruit basket and take it to the gal who is my mahjongg secret santa. I know she won't be at the secret santa reveal lunch, and I won't go. But I'm going to give her her fruit basket early. Actually, it was pretty nice having her for my secret santa. She's into health, nutrition, etc. so I just thought of things that I'd like to receive and I'll give them to her. Like someone told me that last year their secret santa gave them a flower arrangement at the end of the year. I just thought "I wouldn't really want that. Well, what WOULD I want? A fruit basket" So that's why I'm giving her a fruit basket.

Carolyn - what an interesting story about why you went to TN, the roots you have. I was mesmerized. I hear ya about the sick child and their parent. I always felt so badly for kids who had to fend for themselves a lot. When Vince and I got married, I vowed that I wanted to be home with the kids. I'd spent too much time alone and didn't want my kids to go thru that. Maybe my being alone was really for the good in the end. You always want to give your kids things you didn't have. We may have eaten a lot of chicken and hot dogs, but I was home. I remember taking Jessica to daycare. She went part time more for socialization than anything else. Women would be dropping off their children in their new BMW's. Here I was in my old brown station wagon. But I was home. I wasn't working for a car payment or a vacation. I still don't have my cards started -- wonder why?

I got up early this a.m., did a Jackie Warner Personal Training DVD, had breakfast, and took a short nap. Then went to crochet class. The woman who runs it said that she won't be running it after Dec. 20, which is OK, I got (sort of) the hang of working in the round and now I'm learning how to finish off an article. So it really isn't a big deal to me. Then did a bit of food shopping. Even with not buying any meats and primarily things on sale, I still spent $40. When I got home I found that some of the golden beets that I'd gotten were organic. I really didn't need the organic ones. Then stopped at Kohl's since they have mattress pads on sale 50% off plus I had a 20% off coupon and Denise asked for one for Christmas. I also stopped at Hallmark to get Bryan a birthday card. I thought I could return the calendar I got for Vince, get the card, and then use my $5 off coupon. But I couldn't since I'd already used a coupon for the calendar. Well, I used my $4 coupon so I paid a lille over $1 for his card.

Laura - you've given me an idea. Haven't bought the spinach for my egg yet, but I do have the turkey leftover from Thanksgiving that I want to use up, so maybe I'll put that in my egg. What an interesting combination that'll be.

Jolene - I'm sure you'll do great on your interview, but I'll be thinking good thoughts just the same (but you won't need them)

Janie - it always amazes me that fudge is so low in calories compared to so many other things. I just tend to think of fudge as something really decadent.

bjmcq - fantastic NSV! Time for shopping for new clothes.

Robin - KICK, KICK, KICK

Janie -great attitude, you rock girl, scream and yell at those pounds, that's the way to do it. You sound so great!

wessecg - you flet less fat, that is an accomplishment in itself. And you put a great positive spin on it -- more motivation to get to your goal. You'll get there with that attitude, that's for sure. Glad you found the scale

Meg - Pill Pockets are made by Greenies. There are ones for cats and ones for dogs. Basically, you put the pill inside it (there's a little depression) and mold the pill pocket around the pill so that it's a treat. Loki really likes it, so does Lexi. I usually get mine at PetSmart. Makes giving a pill so much easier. I just watch to make sure that Loki takes his full pill. He's never tried to avoid the pill, sometimes it just comes out and (like tonight) I have to put it into another one.

Polly - welcome back

Amanda - you said that you had a mini whisk that you used in your protein shakes. Well, I have a mini \whisk so I figured "hey, why not, what do I have to lose?". It did seem to help. Thanks.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

Michele

barbiecat

:bigsmile: when I walk around my neighborhood with Brandy and Sasha (every morning), I notice new holiday decorations and think about all of you decorating your houses.

:bigsmile: this morning as part of the regular line dance class we practiced the dances we'll be doing for some assisted living places and convalescent hospitals next month......in the afternoon I spent an hour and half practicing with a different group for a performance we'll be doing at a Toys for Tots event and an assisted living place.

:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: the recumbent bike is seriously injured.:sad: Jake took the cover off the wheel and found that the fly wheel is broken. He called the company we got the bike from and left a message but no one called him back so we have no bike to ride and bike pieces on the floor in the living room.

:bigsmile: Nancy, I did PJ days with first graders but never thought about how it would work with older kids....you are such a great teacher....I am especially impressed with what you've done to encourage fitness.

:flowerforyou: be looking for the link to the December thread tomorrow in the evening....i don't want any of you wonderful ladies to get lost and not be able to find us....December will be challenging and we'll need all of pulling together to get through it.

Barbie from NW Washington

DeeDee2211

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

MaryC Glad you got your FitBit back!!! How kind of you to leave .6lb. behind in gratitude!!!

Laneymarie195 Welcome to the group!!! Come in often and chat with us! Log your food everyday, in fact if you can, preplan your day out and stick to your plan, drink lots of water, get in some sort of exercise everyday, check in here everyday (we`ll cheer you on), and as Barbie says "Never never give up, no matter what!"

Jen A gratitude list sounds like a good idea!!! Glad your back is feeling better! I`m cutting my carbs down a bit too!

DebA I hear ya on needing 40 hours in a day:grumble: !!! I thought I was going to be able to slow down some this month, didn`t happen:ohwell: ! Pop in whenever you can!!!

Lin Sounds like your day was filled with busy phone calls:grumble: , sometimes that`s worse than running around being busy!

Janie With your determination I know you`ll succeed!!!

Cheryl Glad you found your scale! I`m sure hoping it will give you the number you want this morning!!! I`m sure you will look lovely at the Christmas party, don`t be too hard on yourself:flowerforyou: !

Meg Glad old man is doing good!!! I like the story about the Elvis clock and your mom ! Being a grandparent is fabulous!!!! If you find any extermination ideas for those weight gremlins...send them my way!!!

Polly So glad to see you back!!!!

Katla49 Sure hope you`re feeling better today!!! Our bodies get used to good food and when we do otherwise it lets us know in not so nice ways not to do that again:sick:!

Liz I`m with you...glad it`s Friday!!!!!! Good for you getting in your exercise!!!

Michele I`ll be waving as you go by on your way to Raleigh!!! Hope you have a wonderful time at the concert!!!

Barbie How wonderful your group goes to the hospitals and assited living places, I`m sure you bring a lot of joy to those that are there!!!! Sorry your bike is not feeling well, Jakes surgery on it revealed the problem, now to get it all stitched back up! Hope it recovers soon!!!

Well today was my weigh in day :frown: :frown: :frown: , I gained 3 pounds, the 3 pounds I lost last month:noway: ! Oh well, today is a new day! I`m determined to get those three pounds back off and hopefully another one with it by the end of Dec. I did lose a 1/2" from my hips, so there is my victory for Nov.!!! I WILL win this battle, it`s just going to take awhile longer than I first thought!

I must run now, doggie is doing a dance, means we need to go outside soon!!! Hope you all have a fabulous Friday!!! Drink your water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: and log your food!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee

mwheatcraft54

Good morning and happy Friday, everyone!

I went out for a walk yesterday and wound up running about half of it. I felt so good! My legs were springy – I told DH I felt like I had frog legs. I don’t think it’s from the skiing, I think it’s probably just because I’m getting progressively lighter and stronger at the same time. Anyway, I feel terrific. It’s very frosty out this morning, so I’m definitely waiting until later to try it again today.

About the vinegar and grapefruit thing: it’s true, a little acid will curb your appetite (I hadn’t hear it was carb-specific but I guess I could see that). A pickle or grapefruit before a meal will definitely make you want to eat less. Word of warning – if you take medicine on a regular basis, be sure you check with your doctor or pharmacist before trying grapefruit – it interferes with a number of common drugs including heart or cholesterol medicine.

DeeDee, I was wondering if it was the cooler weather that was causing me to feel better yesterday. I really bundled up before heading out, and while I wound up stripping along the way (lol!) I definitely wound up going faster too! I hope we get warmer weather – I think it’s supposed to be really nice this weekend. I hope your dog makes room for you on the sofa when you finally get to rest :laugh:.

MaryC, so glad to hear your fitbit was where you left it! Isn’t it wonderful when things work out like that? LOL at leaving a little something behind.

LaneyMarie, you’ll be amazed at how a little time will have passed and suddenly you realize you’ve been logging your food for six months and lost a substantial amount of weight along the way! One day at a time.

Jen, I hope the two years is plenty of cushion for you to decide if you want to stay or look for a new job. Try not to blame the owner – he’s doing what’s best for him and his family too, not to punish you or your customers. Hopefully it will work out. The biggest change will be, as you mentioned, a cultural one as you go to a bigger company. I will encourage you to try to break the carb habit – it sounds like you’re going about it quite the right way. You’ll be amazed how much clearer you think and feel once you get “off” them . You could try a modified Atkins or SouthBeach for a couple of weeks to get through the addiction (and no lie, carbs are addictive), then bring yourself back to a controlled amount. Good luck with your break and the holidays – it’s a good habit! I currently use a 40/40/20 ratio of proteins/carbs/fats. However, I’m a vegetarian so my carb count is always higher. When trying to break the habit, it’s better to go higher on the fats – 40 protein, 30 carb, 30 fats (non-saturated). The fats will help you feel fuller, and the higher protein count will help you stay fuller longer. It’s a really good quest.

DebA, I agree trying to find time in the day is becoming more of a challenge. What I finally realized was that I was adding in so many things that I’m doing for myself now that I’m not having as much time to do stuff for others – my housework is slipping, and sometimes I don’t feel like cooking. Guess what? It’s OK, there are other people in the house and they can pick up some of the slack. I owe it to myself to treat myself well; I don’t believe others deserve my time more than I do. I already do so much for our house, so I refuse to feel guilty about what I’m doing or not doing by myself right now. Sorry, that sounded a little rantish, and I didn’t mean it to, just that if you’re feeling like you’re trying to do it all AND get in some time for exercise, meal planning, etc., you might need to let something else slide for now.

Lin, take care of yourself. You’re so busy trying to take care of everyone else – they need you healthy and sane!

Janie, you’ve lost 10lbs! That’s 10lbs you not only lost but didn’t gain back! You’re still on track, so don’t beat yourself up. As your body adjusts to its new “normal” the weight will keep coming off, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. It’s all good.

Cheryl, I totally understand that feeling. {{{hugs}}} I was so thrilled this summer to be in smaller clothes than in several years and be so much stronger, but then I saw pics and felt like I wasn’t anywhere near where I want to be. However, it’s now three months later and I’m even slimmer and stronger than then, I can do more and am in much smaller sizes and it’s still coming off! You can do this. It just takes time. You didn’t get there in a month or two, so it’s not going to come off in a month or two either. You’ve come so far since I’ve known you on here – and that’s been a relatively short amount of time too. Keep it up!

Meg, I’m sorry you’re so sore and tired. Your dinner sounds fun – I love those easy and yummy dinners, especially when someone else fixes them lol . Thanks for the comments about the pics – I haven’t figured out how to resize them yet. I may have to go to a different host site – Foxfire and Tinypics don’t appear to go together. And yes, my mom lives in an area where she has a big church community and friends who check on her. I just know how she feels about family, so I’m hoping she’s OK. I kind of wish she would have created a closer tie to my ex and his family – they’re all on the Front Range now, including MIL, who is undergoing cancer treatment and could use a friend closer in age than my ex. I had thought my mom and MIL would get along but they never seem to quite hit it off. :shrug:

Polly, congratulations on surviving your math class! Your co-teacher may just have control issues that she’s working through – I wouldn’t take it personally. Remember, it’s not you :laugh:. Costuming – ugh. I worked as a semi-professional costumer for a few years while I was in school – I almost never go near my sewing machine now, I was so turned off from sewing after that. Congratulations as well on sticking with your exercise and eating! That’s great – you’re definitely going in the right direction!

Katla, I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well. It sounds like you might want to find a grocery or someplace that sells “regular” food that you can keep on hand to eat when the only choices are not good. Good luck and feel better soon!

Liz, so glad to hear you’re able to keep working out! Congratulations!

Michele, you’re right, I should probably talk to her about it. She’s on a plane right now to Cali to go see the grandbaby (sob!), so I’ll check in with them at some point later this weekend. I agree with you about the whole storebought/premade stuff – I just don’t buy or use a lot of preprocessed foods. If I’m going to indulge, it’s going to be with food that’s truly worth it. We’ve heard of the pillpockets for animals before (my vet recommended them), but we never had any problem with our dogs eating their pills when we wrapped them in a tiny peanut-butter sandwich (scrap of bread, smear of peanut butter, stuff the pill in it, then fold it over). Worked great for them. I don’t know that the cat would eat it though. On the protein shake thing: some powders are more dissolvable than others. I found I couldn’t just add the powder to a hot drink without blending it, but I make smoothies in the blender with no problems. My fav right now: scoop of protein powder, scoop of pumpkin, scoop of greek yogurt (I’m using vanilla because that’s all they had at the store the other day), ½ tsp of pumpkin pie spice, handful of ice cubes, cup to a cup and a half of cold coffee. I also throw in a tablespoon of ground flax seed, then whir it until smooth. You can add a half a banana too if you want. So yummy – a cold pumpkin latte!

Oh no, Barbie! I hope you don’t have to give last rites to the bike! You just got it, right? I would think it’s still covered by warranty. Good luck. Thanks in advance for getting our December post together.

OK, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. I see clouds outside right now – hopefully they are there to preserve whatever warmth the earth has retained and act as a blanket for those of us down here shivering lol :laugh:. Keep logging and now I’ll remind myself to drink some water too. I’ve been terrible about it for the past several days and really need to get back to it.

Cheers,

M.

wessecg

Thanks Exermom, Mwheat and DeeDee for your words of encouragement. Wow mwheat, that was sure sweet of you to take the time to give so many of us so many words of encouragement.

Well, I didn't get my 159.8 this morning but I did get a .8 pound loss and it was enough to move my ticker from 23 to 24. I like when it moves even though I didn't lose an entire pound. Otherwise it seems like I didn't lose.

So technically my goal was to be 159.8 for the Christmas party tomorrow. It is still possible that I could weigh in tomorrow morning and see 1/2 pound difference. I am going to do it. Salmon again tonight!!

Oh, for a NSV - I look really hot in an old pair of my husband's size 34 jeans this morning (hey, he doesn't fit it them!!)

rjadams

Thank you all so much for the encouragement. I got on the dreadmill last night after work and had a wonderful salad for dinner. Baby steps.

My boss is out of the office today so not too much stress and that too is a good thing.

So when DH leaves the house in the morning, Ritter usually jumps up and snuggles with me until I get up and Bodi just curls back up in his bed that is on the floor on my side of our bed. This morning when both dogs came up to the room I heard Bodi give Ritter a "Back off pup" kind of snarl and then Bodi jumped up on the bed to snuggle with me. (He gives me a couple of kisses and then lays his head on DH's pillow and I just hold one of his big ol' paws in my hand and we both fall asleep.) He really told Ritter that it was his turn to hang with mom and it was awesome. When I got up I couldn't find Ritter, he was hiding in a corner instead of sleeping on Bodi's bed like usual. I guess Bodi really warned him off from joining us in a morning snuggle. (sometimes they both will come up on the bed)

Well time to work. I may talk a nice long wald to coffee a little later.

Much love to all,

Robin, Bodi and Ritter.