*** Supportive Friends -- Looking to Release 50+ Pounds ***

All, arrrived in Cyprus and having travelled semi overnight managed to get another 5 hours sleep this morning. Not a lot of time as I have to go off to the conference opening. I just thought I'd let you know it's not all fun, there's a lot of hardship - this is the view from my hotel room balcony for instance :drinker: -

Right… OK I’ve been AWOL, and I’ve not cared in all honesty. I’m sorry for not commenting and providing any support though!

Last week on Tuesday I managed to psyche myself up to go for a run, I went out with the intentions of doing W1D1 of C25K, when I got out there I actually managed a lot more, and instead of 1min run 1.5min walk x 8, I managed to do 1.5min run 1min walk x 10. It’s my legs and feet that are holding me back, not the breathing, which is good, and shows me the cycling and walking for commuting have kept my fitness up, but I wish I could still go out for a 6mile run like I could this time last year!
I couldn’t run for the rest of the week, I needed to meet up with old friends on Thurs, and I didn’t want to push my injured foot (not actually sure it’s injured but it’s been playing up for maybe 2+ months now) too hard and didn’t want to run consecutive days. Then at the weekend I had to go to my bf’s house to help him pack all his stuff up so we can move it next weekend.
Monday, I did my commute as normal, came home, had a cup of tea then went for a run. Despite my dog trying to ruin my plans by running off, once I found her I continued with the plan and skipped to a modified W3D1 of c25k (instead of run1.5 walk1.5 run3 walk3 x 2, I did run3 walk1 x 6), so I ran 2miles with a couple of walking breaks in about 24mins. I was so proud of myself. Even more proud when I came home and since my mum was with a client I popped 30DS in the dvd player and I did L1D1 of that. Amazingly most of it wasn’t actually that taxing for me, just a couple of the moves, so I might up my weights on that. I was really surprised that I hadn’t lost a lot more fitness and strength since late autumn when I stopped regularly going to pump.
And then an angelic dinner of brown rice, stir fry and baked fish. My mum’s currently on a health kick…it’ll probably only last 2 or 3 more days, so I’m going to make the most of it.
I’m going to try and run and do 30DS again tonight as I’m feeling pretty good right now, but if I’m tired I’m not going to force it. I’m doing a 10k in July and I want to be back in good shape for that.

I’m going to try and get back into the thread, but things at work (where I tend to update it in my lunch hour) are manic, and I’ve not been really getting a lunch hour, but working whilst eating. Blummin’ deadlines are too tight! Which is why it’s slipped. But I’ll try and steal a few moments to at least check in more regularly.

Hope you’re all doing well x

I'm new to this thread, mom to two boys (4-1/2 and 6), teach Communications and Technical Writing part time, work as a professional editor part time, and somehow still manage to find time to write, run the house, and take the dogs for walks!

I've been out of the fitness loop for almost two months due to a torn Achilles and lack of afternoon daycare (my youngest broke his arm in early March, had surgery twice to fix it, and we've got what I hope is our final visit with the orthopedic surgeon this morning ... after which I'm hoping he'll be cleared to play outside, and thus go back to daycare for the afternoons so I can get to the gym). Whew!

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back into my routine, and am looking for a bit more support to do so, as it seems a lot of the people I started this journey with are long since gone. So, good morning from sunny, snowy Saskatchewan!

tnsumner- I am sure you will get into your second choice.

ron2e- gee I see what a hardship you are having there.

penny_eclipse- great job with the running last week.

mjharman- sorry to hear about your blisters. Definitely let them heal before your 5k.

megblackburn- sounds like you had a great evening.

Welcome to all the new faces! I had a great evening planned last night and then it all went south because of a late running meeting at work I did manage to get in 35 minutes on the bike at the gym and ate healthy but not enough calories for dinner which left me waking up hungry and cranky this morning.

Hi ladies and gentleman. How's everyone doing?

@megblackburn - congratulations on your 5k run and the walk with your son is a time well spent although it took you much longer. When kids our younger they want to be with us all the time and when they get older they will probably run the opposite direction. I'm already dreading that moment and my babies are both under 2 years of age. Thanks for the advice, I'm taking it reaaaally slow and its getting frustrating.

sj068 - great job, 3 lbs loss. I am totally green with envy. Happy to read that you had a great weekend. Good luck on the future 5k runs. I'm itching to try my C25k app which I downloaded ages ago. Hope I have the energy and the will to even finish day 1. I want to be able to run someday without my blasted shins complaining the day after. I'm not sure if the problem is my weak shin or maybe I'm just not running properly at all. I feel that I run heavily, you know I could hear every step which means I'm not a very light runner which could be irritating when I'm on a treadmill in the gym.

@evdjohnson - new shoes. that's a great motivator there. good to hear that you already used it and was jogging/walking with it. I'm sure its the coffee which made your head hurt. I also have massive head aches when I couldn't take my morning coffee. HOw about those pants made of stretch fabric? Like those used in yoga etc. Since it's elastic, the waist band need not be on top of your stomach. It's what I use and it doesn't have the extra fabric near the legs like in ordinary sweat pants.

@tnsumner- sorry to hear about the 1st choice pick. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. Good luck.

@ron2e - great view. the pool and the beach looks so inviting. Have you already taken a dip yet?

@penny_eclipse - good luck on the 10k. I'm sure you'll do great with your discipline and dedication.

@mjharman - good luck on you run, hope those blisters will be manageable by that time. Great work on the food area since you got a "Great Job" from your dietitian.


As I said earlier, i wanted to start using my C25k app. I went to the mall and bought the arm bands for my phone. I was pretty excited to try it this morning but then my baby woke up and being so cute and adorable, I couldn't leave him to my husband who was still snoring. I decided to do yoga instead. Good thing, my baby found my yoga poses entertaining and he was laughing, cooing, shrieking the entire 44 minutes. All in all, it was a slight good burn, 260 cals to be exact. I just bought my polar ft7 HRM so I was pretty psyched about it.

Hopefully, I'll be eating better this week. Since I already did my grocery shopping and didn't buy junk unlike the last time.

Hope everyone has a great day. We can all do this.

januadiaboli - Hello Canada! It sounds like you and your little one have had a tough time lately. I can't imagine my 3 year old with a broken arm. He would be a darn nightmare! My hubby tore his PCL when he was 14 and he still has some knee issues occasionally. May I ask what kind of exercise you are cleared to do with your Achilles ligament newly healed? I imagine lower impact stuff?

ron2e - Gah! That picture looks ridiculously amazing and beautiful. My soul died just a little bit when I saw that pic! I SO hope I am able to do tons of traveling when my son is older. Please tell me you got to have a nice swim in the ocean.

tnsumner - I feel your disappointment. Hopefully this will lead down a better road! I will keep my fingers crossed for you as well. Keep us in loop!:) Since you brought the great Jillian up, I know tons of ladies who just love her stuff and have nothing but good things to say about her programs. I do want to note though, that there is a program called ChaLEAN Extreme that tons of people are in love with. It's super amped up cardio and strength training - with either resistance bands or free weights for those who can afford it. A fitness trainer friend told me about ChaLEAN and I think I will try it and will keep you all posted. I hope I find myself raving about it in about a month or so.

megblackburn - Thanks for the advice. I think I may have to go with yoga capri pants and wait longer to get back into more normal sized things. Argh! How long do I have to wait?! *big sigh*

sjo68 - One of the worst things for me is to go to bed hungry and wake up even hungrier. I am embarrassed to admit that hubs can't even talk to me until I've started eating breakfast on those days. Well, to be honest, any time I'm too hungry I turn into a big baby. I can't even be nice to anyone but my son during too-hungry points.

jehan - I meant to respond to you last time I was going to post then forgot! I know exactly why you are getting shin splints when you run because you described your problem. When running, most people hit the ground with their heel first then roll up to the balls of their feet. Some do this less and some do it more. It sounds like you do it more, since you described you feel like you run "heavy". Running heel first actually sets you up for a greater chance of Achilles issues and shin splints. Try a mid foot strike. Imagine as you are placing your feet on the ground that your weight goes from the middle of your foot rolling up to the balls of your feet. It will take time to train yourself to do it but in the end it will come naturally. This way a majority of your weight rolls from the middle of your foot upward. And your shins aren't doing tons of work lifting the front of your foot up. Does that make sense? I hope this helps you! Thank you to my high school track and basketball coaches for teaching me this! I used to get horrible shin splints every time I ran and when I finally trained myself to do the midstrike with my feet, I felt so much better. P.S, I just adore baby cooing. Ah, I remember my son gurgling, smiling and cooing at me when he was a little baby. So cute.

Live4more - Yay! Great job! Keep it going!


My son had his 3 year appointment today and I have to tell ya'll about some of it bc I'm so proud. He's in the 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. The doctor and nurses were so impressed by his vocabulary and speaking that they asked me what I did with him! Ahhh, it felt so good. As we were leaving, our nurse told my hubs and I that we are super awesome parents. YES! It's feels so nice to have that kind of validation from someone you don't know. And a thousand brownie points to my hubby who later said, "It's all you honey, I just assist." So sweet!

I am getting caught up in baby fever again. My very good friend had me watch her baby girl and watching her made me all googly-eyed. Reading jehan's post about her baby being impressed by her yoga made it worse (in a good way). A second baby is definitely in our future and is one of my secondary reasons for wanting to get healthy. I. Love. Babies. Not a huge fan of being preggo but looove the babies!

Does anyone have advice about healthy snacking? What are some of your go-to snacks? I like to roll out a bag of home-made popcorn but the sodium in it is just killing my sodium allotment.

Lastly, could someone tell me how to put my weight loss ticker thingy at the bottom of my posts? I thought I did it, but it's not working!

Hi all. I'm a busy working Mom of 2 kids. I've hit my mid-forties and can't seem to lose weight. Need to lose about 50 lbs. Somehow seem to find time for everyone & everything else except working on me. I could use a supportive group to chime in with every now & then and this seems like a good spot! --Gina

Just looking for motivation and support-- So many people in my life are looking to compete with my weight loss (in a negative way) and I just want some positive people who can help me push through the next couple months.

Good afternoon.

tnsumner– no I haven’t done any Jillian Michaels DVD. I might like to try tsome of them though.

jehan- yoga is good for you too don’t worry about missing a run and great job avoiding the junk at the grocery store.

Live4More- day 2 on the restart, good for you. Before you know it you will be so far into it that you won’t remember to count the days.

evedjohnson- it is always wonderful to receive compliments about our children, congratulations. My go to snack is often string cheese and an apple.

megblackburn- the recipe sounds delicious and I may give it a try this weekend.

Welcome to the new faces!

Today has been an excellent day. While I am not a secretary I do take care of a lot of the administrative stuff where I work so today in honor of admin. Professionals day my co-workers got me flowers and a cupcake. The cupcake is from a very exclusive bakery here in Seattle and so far I have not eaten it. I have put the lid back on the box so I can’t smell it. My intent is to take it home to my neighbor who did a huge favor for me yesterday. Is that bad to re-gift a cupcake as a thank you? Oh well. I will not eat it. I will not eat it. I will not eat it. I will not even look at it again.

@evdjohnson, for the recipe, after accidentally leaving out the milk last night, I recommend no milk! It turned out really creamy without it, and for my husband who is lactose intolerant, it was just less dairy to deal with. I had planned on using 1% milk though. I think whatever type of milk you chose would be ok. This soup comes together really quick and doesn't have to be at high temps for long.

@sjo68, good job with self control!

@1awesomewoman, welcome. Good job cutting down on the sodas. I've done that too, only have one every couple of weeks now. Which zumba game do you use? I've got Zumba Core for our xbox kinect, and I really like it.

@litagirl03, welcome! You'll find the support you need here, and maybe just a little friendly competition :happy:

Numb face from a dentist appointment this afternoon, so dinner for me is going to be late, and I'm really hungry! :grumble: Hope you all had a good day!

megblackburn - I think I'll go your route and not add milk. My husband is lactose intolerant too and I hate dealing with the disgusting aftermath of his dairy consumption, haha! I hope your teeth/mouth/face feel better by the time you get to sleep tonight. Also, your son's glasses are super adorable.

1awesomewoman - I love Zumba. Just did some this afternoon after an unsuccessful lunch to get back under my caloric intake for the day.

cinger0439 - Hi! I think you'll like this thread. Everyone here is so nice and supportive. I'm actually a North Dakotan living in San Diego and remember those icky gloomy winter days. Just about every winter I almost bought a sunlamp to kick me out of all that being stuck inside.

ron2e - Are you back at home yet? How did the pink shorts fair?

So, I did find the motivation to do some Zumba this afternoon even though I was feeling lazy. Burned 688 calories! Yay! Mission accomplished. I think I learned a hard lesson about over-eating and wanting to stay on a diet. Yes, I could overeat but that's going to result in me having to do doing a lot more work.

'Night!

Vanessa

afternoon all - working from home today and taking a quick lunch break!

@litagirl03 - welcome! Don't let the negative people hinder your progress - surround yourself with positive thoughts. This is a good thread to be on as everyone is supportive (though also honest - not everything is always positive or good news!) and as Jehan says, effort is taken to properly read what people have to say. Stick with it and you will start to feel better!

@1awesomemum - welcome! Well done on the sodas - i used to be an avid coca cola drinker but now I've cut it out I find it so sweet when I drink it I don't like it. And I don't like the sound of all the unpronoucable ingredients - I don't know what they are but I'm pretty confident I can live better without them! I hear you about not being able to afford gym membership - we've recently bought a house and there is a gym within walking distance - but with the increased payments with a mortgage, I can't justify it. I have however bought some exercise dvd's (Jillian Michaels) and a beginner box of weights. And with all of that, you can work out from home (my husband has to restrain himself from laughing sometimes:laugh: ) for a fairly low financial outlay.

@sjo68 - well done re: the cupcakes, good for you and I'm sure your neighbour was pleased!

@evdjohnson - sometimes I think we just have to use the full fat versions - half/low fat is good but it doesn't work for all receipes. I tried to make cheesecake with low fat cream cheese once and it simply didn't work. And I think you are right - sometimes they do just taste horrible! Good on you for working it all off though - this is the balance that I had to find. I was convinced for years that as long as I exercised I could eat what I wanted within reason. How wrong was I!! So now, I am far more aware of what I eat - and it's not always as healthy as it might be - but I make sure that I compensate with the right kind of exercise to balance it. Snacks - hmmm. hummous, pistachios, fruit. I get the graze snack boxes delivered to me at work - healthy snacks that don't break my calorie allocation and are better than the chocolate or crisps that I will go to otherwise. And their flapjack is so, so good!

@meg - hope you've recovered from the dentist. I hate dentists with a passion (although mine is a very sweet lady!) and I live in terror of going in for a checkup and ending up needing work done.

@cinger0439 - welcome! I sympathise with sitting at a computer all day. I have to try to find ways of building bits of exercise into my day in the office or I go mad. Then if I back it up with a workout when I get home, I feel like I'm at least holding my own. Who knows whether that's true but I like to think it works for me.

@jehan - well done for being fuelled by the family comments. People have little idea how hurtful they can be - show them with the great progres that you make!

Well, working from home today and the sun is shining so it's not all bad. We have a decorator coming round this evening to give us a quote for decorating our bedroom - got to get rid of the shiny purple paint that the previous owners thought was a good idea! Going to do a JM Beat Fat, Boost Metabolism workout and also need to start the cleanup of the house in time for Saturdays house warming - so a busy evening awaits for me I fear. And the curtains for the spare bedroom have arrived this morning - woohoo!

have a good rest of the day everyone and if I don't exhaust myself this evening I'll check back in later.

Good moring everyone!

evdjohnson- I would have sent the cupcake to you but after you little binge today I am glad I didn’t. It looks like your damage control (Zumba) this afternoon was helpful though.

megblackburn- I hate that numb feeling!

jehan- sometimes people (even family members) are just rude. You show them that you can do it.

janetay- how exciting to be in a new house. I didn’t realize as it must have happened before I joined you all on this thread. My hubby rolls his eyes at me but I love the smell of a freshly painted room. Enjoy the sunshine today.

Today is a sunny beautiful day in Seattle. I am indoors at work with a window looking out on all the splendor. Sometimes I thinkmaybe it would be bbetter to have an interior office then I wouldn't miss being outside so much. Hope everyone has a great day.

Good afternoon friends!

jehan - How horrible that someone is trying to bring you down and make you feel bad about yourself. As women we should support each other, not cut each other down! UGH! I'm angry for you. Next time, just say, "Thanks for your support!" with a BIG fake smile. Message received, I guarantee it. My mother-in-law is well, she is a real piece of work so I totally got ya. I was able to offset ALL my calories yesterday and ended up with a 236 calorie deficit so yay but def don't want to do that kind of thing again. We are hoping to get preggo in hopefully less than two years. Mmmm, I love that baby smell. Really hoping for a girl this time!

janetay01 - "I was convinced for years that as long as I exercised I could eat what I wanted within reason. How wrong was I!!" Totally agree with you 100%. I really like hummus so I think I shall add that to my snacking regime! Oooo, another food for me to put garlic in! Haha! Decorator? Jealous! I love re-decorating so I am happy for you to be able to do that! Let us know how it turns out!

mjharman - You are much braver than I! It would be so cool to get through a spin class without feeling like I might pass out. You attack that class!

sjo68 - Thank you it did, I was so relieved when I saw I had a deficit after I completed my food and exercise diary yesterday. How did your neighbor like that splendid cupcake? Enjoy your beautiful Seattle day!

ron2e - That is great you are staying under your calories AND doing lots of exercise. I bet you dog is really happy. I know what you mean about the "general public". I am really hoping to be at least a little presentable at the beach before the summer ends.


Do you smell that? It's almost beach weather. Not sure whether to be filled with dread and angst or go with the flow. I will try really hard not to be self-conscious at the beach. We took our son to the beach this morning and it was coldish so I did have a sweater but caught myself tugging at my shirt more than a few times. I love the ocean but it's hard to not feel self-conscious when I see so many other people who look much healthier than I.

In the interest of ending on a positive note, I invite you to watch a video I will post below. Dove did a really eye opening experiment about how women perceive themselves and the results were staggering and sad. I even started crying at one point. Let's be kinder to ourselves!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/doves-real-beauty-sketches-ad-campaign-video_n_3088071.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#slide=more292176

Hi everyone..

@evdjohnson -thanks for inviting me again. Anyway, I tried to do what you said about my running and I also watched some youtube videos about the proper form and guess what, I ran yesterday and I woke up this morning with no pain on my shin. Yehey.

@sjO68 - good for you. I guess your brain is now circuited to avoid unnecessary junk.

@mjharman - how's the spinning class?


Well, thanks for all your comments and motivation. Yup, next time, I see them, I won't be sucking my stomach in, lol.

Finally, thanks to evdjohnson, my shin is now pain-free from the running I did yesterday. I managed to sneak out of the office. I was jokingly telling them that if I'm not back after an hour they should have an ambulance look for me. Since, I woke up late again, I'll just do my yoga in the office since I'll be doing some overtime work.

Hope everyone have a nice day....