WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JANUARY 2013

Read posts, but too tired to say much. Tomorrow is another day.

Gail / windy metro ATL

Goodness - last day of January already!!!

I am off to visit my aunts and uncle in the north of England this weekend with my DD and the grandtwins. Hopefully I will be able to get plenty of walking done whilst I'm there as I know that I won't get much time to do any other type of exercise (apart from chin wagging! - We are a talkative family!)

Anyway, got to catch up with some work now. Have a good end of the month my friends.

Love to all.
Amanda x

Good morning beautiful ladies:flowerforyou:

I did make it back last night, and had my post totally finished and was saying goodnight, when I accidently touched (I was on my iPad) an ad on the side and it erased my post and locked up my iPad:explode: . I spent 20 minutes trying to get my iPad back on:huh: , I was NOT happy:sad: . I thought I would have time to finish this morning, however I`ve got an early morning meeting and I really need to get a shower now.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Drink your water:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: and log your food!!!

Hugs,
DeeDee in still a bit windy NC

Good morning from windy PA. What a storm! It blew and rained all night. Of course today is trash day – my sister was out running but wound up picking up trash for most of the morning. I can hear our cans blowing around as I type. Then we’re supposed to get the cold and snow that’s coming in behind this. Yay! :grumble::grumble::grumble:

After I just wrote a long post about taking it easy/not stressing about this, I’m within one pound of dropping into the next level – and I want it so bad! I’m going to be extra good this weekend, even during the parties on Saturday and Sunday, and try to make sure the scale is kind to me on Monday. I might even sneak in some salmon :laugh:.

DeeDee, that is frustrating with the ads and viruses that make it so hard just to use our tools. Grr.

LindaC, thanks for the motivation. I’m trying to let DH do his own thing – as we all know, nothing works if we don’t want it to. Right now he’s deep into a hedonistic place and will have to find the will on his own. I use a lot of mantras based on the serenity prayer with him. I will send you strong good thoughts for the scale this week. That’s a terrific barrier to break!

Amanda, look at that picture. Wow, you really came a long way. Have a wonderful time visiting your family – I’m off next week to see DGD too! It’s a nice break from the cold.

Katla, have a great time with your DIL visit and at yoga.

Sue in TX, I’m kind of in the same place. After my sprint for the past several months (at least it seems that way in retrospect) my measurements aren’t changing a lot. However, just this morning I was stretching and noticed a new muscle band wrapping around my outer arm – I have triceps!!! I also read an article about how fat takes up so much more room in a body than muscle, so mine must be much more muscle these days. It’s all good.

Julie, did you get those horrid storms that rolled through the south? I still haven’t heard from my friends who live in GA and Alabama.

Lenti, lol at the kale mystery lunch. I agree, it can be fabulous. I love it in soups too.

Allison, I’m laughing at you whining to your baby trainer. I’m sure he’s used to it.

Lucy, hope you didn’t blow away last night! What a crazy storm. I’m right there with you on the retirement front – after this latest project I’ve been thinking more and more about just being able to putter around the yard, maybe talk DH into buying a vacation home somewhere I could hang out all summer while he’s working lol. DH is younger than me too – but makes much more than I do and has the bulk of the retirement savings, so I guess I better put my big girl panties on and keep plugging away at work. Sigh.

Barbara, good luck getting that path cleared to the bike!

Laura, I’m curious what it will be like when I get to the maintenance stage – it’s a little scary. However, as I’ve been ahem preaching I intend to make this a lifestyle, not a temporary change, so I’m hoping I don’t go binge-crazy. I do find myself occasionally longing for gummi bears though . . .

Tammy, I don’t recall if I mentioned – DH is a UVA grad. We have friends who still live in the area – it’s lovely there.

Jody, I was talking to a friend last weekend who is in a Crossfit program. It sounds crazy hard, but having been through a “crazy hard” program a time or two myself I know that we can make ourselves do anything we put our minds too. I still hate burbees though.

Judy, when I was doing classes it was fun when the class was small – seemed like it was easier to tweak the routine to push everyone. Congratulations on the job! I’ve been very fortunate not to have hot flashes, but I wish you the best on finding something that works. I have a friend (couple, actually) who are going through it; some are really struggling.

JaneM – adorable baby!!! I’m so sorry to hear you’re still struggling with eating at night – that’s a tough blow. I personally would never de-friend you just because you’re struggling – isn’t that when you need people more than ever? When you’re ready to tackle this, we’ll be here.

Whoatup – welcome – you’ll find lots of support. Keep coming back.

Barbara in WA, good for you! I’m so glad you’re excited about the bike – it will be great for you.

Meg, be careful in the snow (I’m sure you know). It’s often the other drivers that are the problem. I recall when I was coming from Tahoe into Reno a “local” didn’t even bother to slow down at her stop sign on the side of the highway, just blew through right into my lane. I had to jump over to the unplowed next lane, as did the car behind me. Grr. I don’t get people who seem to think other people can just change lanes quickly on a snowy road, or stop quickly, or whatever. :frown::grumble:

Michele, I’m laughing at the V-day gift – one of the members of my Combat team requested one for her V-day gift. I had heard the tip about roasting the chicken upside down – I don’t cook them often but will do that next time.

OK, first meeting of the day is coming up, and then I have to go collect those stupid trash cans. I was going to tell you all though: last night for a quick meal I roasted some cubed butternut squash mixed with chopped onion, a minced garlic clove, and a cup of cranberries, all sprinkled with curry powder and chili powder. I cooked a cup of dried red quinoa with two cups of water, then mixed the entire thing with a little olive oil and some salt – simple, delicious, and good protein. Even DH liked it, and he’s not a huge quinoa fan.

Cheers,

M.

Still doing well. Switching to being lacto-vegetarian and seems to be working! Love reading your posts!

:flowerforyou: It's a sunny Thursday,

JaneH- Congrats on that new low on the scale:drinker: I look forward to catching up with you tomorrow at lunch:happy:

Katla- I'm finding that maintenance is harder than losing it. I still haven't found the right balance between food and exercise but I know I will it just takes time:ohwell:

Mary- good for you doing Crossfit, sounds like you have found the exercise that's working for you:drinker:

Judy- I take evening primrose and black cohost to regulate my hot flashes and they have worked great for me. No RX needed and they are all natural. I'm just wondering when it all finally comes to a stop and I don't have to take them anymore:huh: Congrats on the job too:drinker:

Jane- so sorry to hear about your gain. I know that it's hard to get out of the habit of those evening snackings it's one of those things that I think all of us struggle with. Have you thought to chew gum, have a glass of water handy to replace the hand to mouth motion? I know that for me having the glass of water handy really helped me when I was struggling with the evening munchies. Hang in there you can make the change:flowerforyou: Just take those baby steps:flowerforyou:

Barbara- congrats on those 10 mins on the bike:flowerforyou: glad your leg brace didn't cause you any problems. I'm sure you will be up to 30 minutes in no time.

Meg- sorry to hear you are feeling "fat" this week. I know that there are plenty of days when I'm feeling like that and then I'm reminded that I'm wearing the clothes that I worked so hard to wear last year and look at how far I've come and it picks me up I too love to have extra special nails, I'm always looking for something different. That's one thing that I've managed to keep in our limited budget as it always gives me a pick me up when I get them done.

Lynn- I hear that swimming is a great form of exercise that treats your joints kindly. Glad you were able to learn to swim at 56, that's quite an accomplishment:drinker: I'm sure that scale will move soon with your dedication how can it not:huh:

DeeDee- :noway: jump roping:noway: I'm just not sure my body could handle it.

Michele- I will have to give that chicken / turkey breast cooking a try. So if you place it breast side down it stays moister:huh: That would be great.

Amanda- enjoy your visit...chin wagging:laugh: loved it. I'm sure that during the visit there will be plenty of "chasing the grandtwins" involved and that has to count for some form of exercise.

Linda C- I'm sure that gain is all that water you were drinking and that at your next TOPS meeting you will see that .2 loss. Just keep at it and it will surprise you with the loss you have been wanting for so long:flowerforyou:

Jb- what a fun read your post was this morning:happy:

M- ahh those cravings. I know that for me this journey has been about moderation and I have learned how to allow myself to eat everything I like just much smaller portions. For example last Saturday when we were at the Outlet Stores I went into the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and drooled over the candy apples trying to justify buying one when I saw that they had bite size samples...had one bite and it took care of the craving :bigsmile: with no guilt...if it had been a whole apple the guilt would have been overwhelming.

Tammy- History on line...sounds like something I'd like to do when I finally get to retire. Hubby and I love history and are constantly watching the History Channel, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel to learn more:happy:

Lucy- So much for such a short year so far...hoping your car is able to be "fixed" with no outward signs of it's bump:ohwell:

Last night I baked Brussel Sprouts for the first time and we loved them:drinker: I will be doing that again real soon. Had burgers wrapped in lettuce so pretty healthy for our dinner with a salad of course. It used to be that hubby would buy his salad for lunch when he used to have a job that actually paid him (this current job doesn't pay much at all) so he takes his lunches now and we make our lunches when we are preparing dinner together...so much fun doing it together:bigsmile:

I best get moving lots of work to do for the end of the month. Don't forget to start thinking of what goals you are wanting to make for February as it's right around the corner.

Move it and log it, Drink that water and log it, If you eat it log it....everyday we are working towards the NEW Women of 50+:drinker:

Laura 80111 in Colorado

Ladies I need some support. I've been at this for 25 days now and haven't lost a pound despite doing it all right. I'm exercising and burning calories like crazy, eating right and staying under my calories and the scale just isn't moving. I feel like I'm getting more toned and I think my clothes are fitting better but every time I step on the scale I just feel so frustrated. Since I've turned 50 it's like my weight has jumped up and no matter what I do nothing makes a difference.
I would love some words of wisdom and any help you can offer to keep me going. Thanks so much!

Happy Thurs.
It`s burrrr cold here.
Did great last night,stuck to what I logged.
Thanks for your love and support.
HUGS
jane:drinker:

Hi Girls! Still trying to work my OLD job!! Talked to new boos this morning and got the $$$ all squared away...instead of getting more annually I am getting a signing bonus! :glasses: I feel like an MVP :laugh: It's going to be a great move..company car, gas paid for and health insurance will cost about $400 a month less!!!!!!

Barbara - Great job on the bike!!! Next stop 5 miles!!! :bigsmile:
Meg - I love nail art!!! I do my own nails and Pintrest is the BEST place for ideas! With this new job I will tone it down for a while
Michele ~ Chicken Breast side down??? We are going to cook a turkey this weekend, maybe we will try that! What's deep water?? Underwater I am guessing. Do you swim at the gym??
Linda ~ So Frustrating!!! So close, just keep doing the right thing and it will come..at our age patience is key Keep making good choices!!
JB ~ Great poem!!! Thanks
M ~ Congrats on soon hitting one of your goals!!! I still need to try quinoa.
Lucy ~ OMG!!!!!! OK the black cloud has just been blown away!!! It's all good now :flowerforyou:
Laura ~ Thanks! Yes I wonder if you stop taking when Mento is over...I think I have a LONG way to go :frown:
Jodios ~ Welcome - if you are exercising alot are you eating your exercise calories or most of them???
Jackie ~ I am thinking of trying green smoothies! I have never heard of golden beet leaves. Can you share your recipe? How long have you been enjoying green smoothies?

Have a Great day!!!!! Judy

Jane H - having computer issues but here's the propaganda from Fitbit. I LOVE MINE.......

Get fit. Sleep better. All in the One™

THE ONE™ WIRELESS ACTIVITY & SLEEP TRACKER

If you want to turn fitness into a lifestyle, the One™ is for you. For starters, it never rests. During the day, it tracks your steps, distance, calories burned, and stairs climbed. Come nightfall, it measures your sleep cycle, helps you learn how to sleep better, and wakes you in the morning. The One™ motivates you to reach your goals by bringing greater fitness into your life – seamlessly, socially, 24 hours a day.

Good Morning my vitamin F's. I truly do appreciate that that is indeed what you are. Just finished my first month, and I know that the support I got here truly was like a vitamin that boosted my endurance and outlook. Thank you so much. As you can see, I changed my profile picture. Thought I would put on one with my DH since he is doing this along side of me, and that is really helping me also.
My first months goals were to just make it through one month. Not that I believed in any way that that would be all I needed, but because I never stick to a plan that long without giving up and undoing any progress I made. And even though I went through 3 weeks with no change in the scales, I just kept at it, thanks to all the advise I got here.
Though I only lost 5 pounds this month, and since my goal is at least 50, I did feel a bit frustrated at times. Seems like when I'm so overweight, that it should have come off faster, at least the first couple of weeks, but whatever. I'm trying to remind myself to move more all the time, and to take it one day at a time. Just make yourself do healthy things each day and eventually it will pay off. What do I have to show for my first month besides 5 pounds, a little more belief in myself, and definietly more strength and endurance and more feelings of energy and well being. At the beginning of the month, I could barely force myself to get in 3 30 min workouts a week and now I'm doing 5 45min workouts. That is a big improvement. So here is to :drinker: :drinker: onward and (downward--scales that is) for another month.

Sue, enjoy your golf. Hope your cookies were good yesterday, I'm going to bake oatmeal chochip cookies this afternoon.
Julie, Have a good work day.
Lenti girl, good job on the kale. Surely that will cancel out the potato chips:bigsmile:
Allison, I always try to remind myself that my sore muscles means something is working.
M good job on walking home from the nechanics. It really shows you have changed your mindset.
Lucy, sorry the job is a struggle. May your next few years go quickly. At least this feeling makes it easier to say goodbye.
Barbara.... You find that airdyne and go girl. Your legs will thank you. My husband has ridden an airdyne for years and he has the best legs!!
Laura, your doing good. Keep it going and enjoy the cold and snow, It's really invigorating.
Tammy, have a great day in the wonderful outdoors.
Jane, congrats:drinker: on that scale moving. I know you don't know what made the difference, but could it be your upped your water intake this weekend?
Katia, thanks for the tip on Olive garden lighter menu. I think I'm going their this weekend with Mom and that will be helpful.
Mary in Renton, I've never heard of Crossfit, but great job on signing up again. I know that there are lots of mental roadblocks we put up for ourselves about things being too hard, and it looks like you are overcoming that. Woo Hoo.
Positive Power, you too sound like you are hitting the exercise hard. Good for you.
Renny thanks for the link about Kale. Seems to be all the rage now. It'll be good to learn more about it.
Jane,Martin,,, I'm so sorry about the gain. I hope you can get back on top of things. We all KNOW how hard it is and have all been there in the loose then gain it back scenario. Please don't beat yourself up. Take sometime for yourself and figure out how you can regroup.
Whoatup... welcome. I just joined a month ago, and these ladies have been not only helpful, but inspiring and informative.
Meg... good for you getting your nails done. Hope they look pretty. Drink your water and you won't feel as hungry.
Lynn from Georgia, congratulations on the swimming. You should be proud. I hope the scale moves soon for you. It is frustrating, but your picture makes you look pretty thin, so I'm sure I'ts just going to be that much slower. To me you look amazing.
DeeDee, dinner sounds so delicious. Wish I could jump through the screen and have some with you and a glass of wine.;
Michelle,, one thing about brussels sprouts is that you don't want to undercook them. That's when they are very bitter. Try roasting them with a little olive oil, cut in have first, and then put some balsamic reduction on them. Oh my heaven they are good.
Barbiecat, good for you for choosing to do good for yourself first. We ladies need to learn that.
Amanda have a great time in London.
Linda, sorry about the weight gain, but drinking lots of water before you weigh in definitely will make the scale go up. You just can't count on the fact that you eliminated it all, and every two glasses of water weighs a pound in your body. Next time you have tops weigh in, go in a little dehydrated.
JB, cute poem, and way to be creative. That takes some work.
M.... I hope you get that weight loss on the scales this week, that your longing for.
Lucy, I sure hope you feel this next month goes better for you and good luck with the car.
Jodie, it will work. Just keep at it. Exercise more than you think you can. Don't give up. Drink water. Hang in there.


Everyone have a good day. Try to get in some movement and tomorrow starts a new month. I ordered a fitbit, sound that will be my new fun thing. When it gets here you ladies can fill me in if I have any questions.

Take care everyone,
Karen from Mi.

Hi Beautiful Middle-Aged Women:

A few of you inquired about the Green Smoothies and what I use in them. I only started my log 1/10/13, but I've made my diary public. I put all of my Smoothie ingredients in the breakfast meal because I drink most of it in the morning, although I always have enough for a few more cups during the day here at work. I make a mason jar or two in the morning. The only thing in the breakfast meal that doesn't go in the smoothie is my peppermint tea, honey and half & half (half & half and sometimes blue cheese are the only dairy I eat/drink). The 10 almonds is actually about 10 almonds and 2 cups water which is my homemade almond milk, but I couldn't find any other way to track it. There you'll find the smoothie ingredients I've used since tracking. Be careful with the Dandelion greens because they needed more fruit.

I don't use bananas because for some reason, bananas, no matter how little I eat, go straight to my hips I'm also more of a green person so there's not a whole lot of fruit in mine. If you want them sweeter, use more fruit. The smoothies 1/29, 1/30 and 1/31 are EXCELLENT.

If you have a Facebook, look for Simple Green Smoothies--they have an EXCELLENT page with all kinds of recipes. I'd also heartily recommend Victoria Boutenko's Green Smoothie Revolution book.

I had made the transformation to probably a 50% raw food diet a little over a year ago. I added to that a Matcha Green Tea smoothie every morning, but that turned into a Green Smoothie every day about 3 months ago. I still eat a lot of raw, and if you look in the diary, I also eat kind of regular food on occasion because I'm not going totally Pleistocene and eating grubs and crickets.

Someone asked about Golden beet greens. Firstly, I am a BEETNIK. I just love beets and borscht and beet salad, roasted beets. If it's "beet," I'm there. There are red and golden beets. Golden are far better and their leaves are sweeter than the red, but I do eat more red since they're easier to find organic. I try to buy everything organic. Whole Foods is great for "odder" greens, as well as places like Reading Terminal Market and the Italian Market (each city probably has their own version).

If you want, you can message me and I'll answer specific questions without tying up the board (if that's preferable), but I cannot toot the horn enough on the value of eating more greens and the nutritional superiority of eating them after they've been blended when you are able to digest more of the nutrients.

Jackie from Cherry Hill outside of Philly

EDIT: Like I said, the 10 almonds are really 2 cups of Almond milk. If you don't want your Smoothie like sludge or sorbet, you do want to add at least a little bit of liquid. And although I stated the peppermint tea doesn't go in my smoothie, if you see an entry without honey and Half & Half, well, that went in my smoothie. Peppermint tea with nothing in it is a great addition in a smoothie.

Oh, and if you do look at the diary and see the 18 bacardi and diet cokes one weekend, I am not an alcoholic. I was out of town on a girl's weekend and spent a lot of time in a club--I went on the alcohol and diet coke diet for two nights. Then you'll see a few days of no tracking, where I came down with the plague, probably because I caught something awful at the club.

So, because I don't have enough to do this weekend I ordered puzzle gym flooring (2'x2' squares that fit together like puzzle pieces) and a new stand-alone chin-up bar and pull-up assist (a stretchy band that hangs from the bar for your knee or foot to go in to help with doing pull-ups/chin ups until you can do them yourself) and I'll be making my "gym" a little more official. DH was outraged that I went ahead and did this without checking with him first - as if. Pfft. He doesn't like making decisions; I make them in no time (not impulsive, just when I decide I want to do something, I do it). He's been talking about finishing the basement since I've known him, but it's still just a big black hole. I did at one point make him and the kids order a dumpster and get rid of all the years of clutter that had accumulated down there, but as a rule I use it to store Christmas deco and not much else. However, it's a good place to work out - temperature is pretty steady and the house doesn't shake when I'm hitting the kickboxing bag.

Anyway, all my stuff is here, he's playing poker tonight, and I'm clearing out my own personal space. Yay! I'm not putting mirrors up on the wall yet, but I may buy a new flat-screen (small) to hang on the wall - BIL is going to run some cable for me. Oh, that reminds me - extra cable box. Must call. Anyway, new room makeover coming up!

Robin, I'm so sorry to hear work is still painful for you. I will be sending out good thoughts that one of the other jobs comes through for you.

Allison, I loled at your diet-and-Bacardi weekend - I haven't had one of those since my birthday at least, but every so often I let loose. I still like to cook too much to go raw, but I do make my smoothies with green stuff. I'm going to try avocado in them this weekend (I have a bunch to use up).

Lucy, I'm so glad the mechanic was able to fix your car! What a bummer to lose the panel, but I can completely understand given the rain yesterday.

To those still struggling to get the scale moving, I can only tell you my personal testimony: I went for over four years without losing an ounce despite walking seven miles a day, seven days a week. I was so sad - the doctor kept telling me it would change, just give it time. We knew there was nothing wrong with my thyroid; I just wasn't losing weight.

When I finally decided to do something more serious about it this past summer, this is what worked for me: I started an intensive workout program (P90X, but crossfit, spinning, anything that combines weights/resistance and cardio) that had me working out HARD over an hour every day, six days a week, and I started tracking every single calorie religiously. I quit drinking alcohol for several months and still only have the very occasional glass of wine because I don't have a lot of room in my diet for the empty calories. At first, all I did was limit my calories to within a 1500 - 1800 range or so. I had about 45 lbs to lose when I started, which is a lot but not a lot-lot.

For the first two weeks of the program the scale didn't budge. In fact, I lost five pounds the first week or so, then nothing more for almost four weeks. I was so sad, but I knew even if I didn't lose another ounce I was still going to be healthier, so I kept at it. Then ounce by ounce, 1/2 pound at a time, I started losing - to a rate of about a pound and a half a week. That continued all the way to Christmas. By the middle of January I had lost 40lbs and gained a ton of muscle. I did two straight rounds of P90X, adding in an hour of walking every afternoon while the weather was good from Sept - Dec.

Someone else mentioned an Oprah show - I won't swear I believe everything that comes off that show (or ever watch it), but it's been my experience that after 50 I had to start working out like a fiend. It was soooo hard at first - I hurt absolutely everywhere, had no flexibility or strength or stamina, and I was certain there was no way I could do everything Tony was doing. Little by little, step by step, I started pushing myself to try a little harder, did all the stretching/yoga days even when I didn't want to, tried increasing the weights the moment they became "easy" for me, and I'm just simply different now. I feel younger, I look younger, and I am much lighter. I'm not afraid to try something because I know if I can't do it at first it's only a matter of a little practice before I can. Heck, I'm doing kick-jumps now and have to watch my head so I don't hit the ceiling!

Ok, that's it. I'm off. Good luck, try not to get discouraged, remember you're doing this for life, not just for a few pounds.

Cheers,

M.

This computer is driving me crazy. Can anyone tell me why when I do a word document and copy and press Command C (Mac) the go to the reply box and Command v I get several copies of my post? Anyway, it’s been a good day. Chicken in the crock pot, exercise done, golf balls hit and almost got my responses posted. Did it once and it went somewhere. Good thing I still had the Word doc.

Barbara in Sequim – good for you for doing more than you thought you could. I bet tomorrow you’ll do even more.

Whoatup – please tell us your name and where you’re from so we can connect to you. The first step in weight loss is deciding and you’ve done that. We usually state our goals at the first of the month so now is a good time to think about what you want to achieve in February. Welcome.

Jane – so glad you have decided to get back to weight loss. If there is any better place to get support in your journey, I don’t know where it is. Blessings.

Judy – good for you for asking for what you’re worth! AttaGirl.

Meg – nope didn’t go, we had gust up to 50 mph. One of DH’s buddies called and said he’d hit his ball on the green and the wind would blow it off. Too much wind for me. Made oatmeal cookies instead. Only ate one but heaven only knows how much dough I ate! I’ve decided for next months goal that I’m going to be much more vigilant about measuring and weighing instead of just saying “that’s about a tsp”.

Tammy – when we lived in England, it seemed like the only veggies we could get was brussel sprouts and I swore I wouldn’t eat them again when we got back home. Kept that promise!

Lynn in GA – Don’t give up! Everything you’re doing is a positive move for a healthier lifestyle. It will happen. Looks like you’ve lost pretty good. Maybe try to check your portion size and see if you’re accurate. WW says that’s one way to break a plateau.

DeeDee – no golf too windy and cold but my foot is better. I’ve been doing dvd’s at home and so far it’s not hurt it. Thanks for asking. I’m not sure about jumping rope and the high impact on knees. It’s not for me at my age but you’re a lot younger.

Michelle – I got a good chuckle over you being called the “carrot lady” Bet you could also be the “cookie lady” as you’re always taking people cookies. You’re the best.

Linda C – Aren’t you glad you have the strength to lift logs. Good for you! It’s time to get rid of those 20lbs you were talking about, one at a time or .5 at a time or whatever. Maintaining is getter than gaining. You are so close to your “barrier” just have faith you’ll get there. Be strong and don’t get discouraged. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Jb in Portland – thank you for the great poem. You are awesome and it relates to all of us. I especially liked,”Kissing those ounces goodbye and away”. Have a blessed day!

m – I’m a believer in salmon but haven’t made it because DH doesn’t like it. Always eat it when we go to a restaurant that has it.

Tammy – thanks for the reference to Coursera. I’m going to check it out as I’m getting bored!

Lucy – Oh sorry about your car. You know they say bad luck comes in threes and you’ve had yours for 2013.

Katia – I also need suggestions for belly slimming (besides lose the fat which I already know and am trying to do- make that I am doing.)

Jodios526 – Welcome to the group. Tell us your name and where you’re from. I think everyone will tell you the same basic advice. It takes time- when you’re doing the right things good things will happen – check your portion size are they accurate, are you eating the proper amount of calories, etc. Don’t give up – be determined. I read in the 100 Days Diet Book that if your interested in losing weight, you’re results oriented, if you’re committed, nothing can stop you, not a party, not friends, not anything. So be committed to this lifestyle change and enjoy the journey. You may learn a lot about yourself.

Jane H – that is so awesome you’re meeting Laura 80111 for lunch. When I was doing WW I met one of my board friends in Denver. My girls took me to the Molly Brown House for tea and she just happened to work across the street so we got a chance to visit and she met my girls. Lots of fun to put a person’s face to an online friendship.

Better hurry and hit post reply before it goes away.
Sue in TX

HI!Just wanted to say,you are an awesome group.Thanks for the nice comments and love and support.
It`s so nice to talk to people who understand and care.
Luv you guys
jane